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Story by Karen Scaife
After reading the stories about last week's frightful weather conditions and getting the specifics from Eli, I must thank the weatherman for the sunny skies and warm temperatures we experienced on Saturday's ride.
At 8am about 13 of us rolled out of Sobey's parking lot, except for Keith who volunteered to wait for Murray who was a little behind on his trip down from Orillia. Immediately our group separated with the faster riders clipping along at 30km +, which I understand they sustained until the nasty unexpected gravel section on Shanty Bay Road. Unfortunately, the road has been torn up for eventual resurfacing, leaving a bed of soft sandy gravel mix to navigate through from Hawkstone to the 13th SR. It was mentally fatiguing to put it mildly. Cycling on any gravel road has it's idiosyncrasies, but this section seemed to be particularly demanding. Due to the state of the road, Murray walked the entire section and Isabelle reported that there was one cyclist who ended up with a flat while battling the road conditions.
James Griffith, Eli Brettler and I rode into Carthew Bay, refreshed ourselves, chatted with some locals before bidding our farewells. Eli and I left Carthew Bay heading south as Isabelle arrived and this was the last we saw of anyone for the duration of the route. We made our way south through Barrie, briefly stopping at Tim's on Big Bay Point, then continued on to Bradford. The winds were fair which made for easy cycling. Tim's in Bradford was uneventful and our visit was a short one as Eli and I were both looking forward to making our way south on the 10th SR , then heading west in the general direction of Alliston. Having the wind somewhat behind us was a treat in itself for the last 35km or so and once heading north on the Town Line, we were carried along nicely by a tailwind. Several kilometers before reaching our Start point we were cheered on by a couple of enthusiasts (you know who you are), which boosted our psyches and got us back to the parking lot for a 8:10pm completion time.
What a great day!
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