Day 66 Riding Toronto to Brighton

I woke up today with some intense vertigo, which makes you feel like the room is spinning and is often paired with headaches and nausea. It is definitely not ideal for cycling so I took a rather expensive train for most of the journey. The route from Cobourg was really pleasant, it was mostly secluded back roads and the main road had a huge road shoulder, which was so generous compared to the rest of Ontario. A bit of tailwind helped me out and there were no cars around, so it didn’t matter that I was still a bit wobbly.

I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived at the B&B, it was a lovely house, with some classic cars in the garage and the interior was decorated with such beautiful furniture and decorations. It reminded me that I didn’t have any more dodgy motels ahead of me and I could relax in wonderfully comfortable homes for the rest of my trip. I still didn’t feel too well from vertigo, so I mostly stayed in bed, caught up on my blog and watched some TV shows before going to sleep.

Day 67 Riding Brighton to Kingston

I woke up to a wonderful breakfast, quite possibly the most beautiful meal I have eaten in Canada so far. One of the B&B owners, Ken, is an Australian too and we chatted quite a bit and he gave me a great map for my route, which included Prince Edward County, known for its numerous wineries.

The ride itself was a bit lengthy, but it was broken up by a free ferry in the middle and a rest stop for a jumbo maple and walnut milkshake. The roads were so wonderfully quiet and it was neat to see the cool art on the side of barns. I came across some other cyclists too, probably because the region has a really nice bike network and the views on the waterfront are so pleasant.

Arriving in Kingston was quite lovely, it has a really pretty waterfront and a lively bar and restaurant strip. It turns out Kingston was the first capital of Canada, before they picked Ottawa, so it has some impressive buildings like the Town Hall and Fort Henry. After dinner I was quite exhausted and decided to go to bed early and browse the city the next morning instead.

Day 68 Riding Kingston to Perth

I slowly cruised around town before heading to Perth, which is coincidentally the same name as my hometown back in Australia.

I took the main road, Hwy 10, which seemed straightforward, but when I turned onto Opinicon Road, the road zigzagged, with lots of mini hills to push through. It seemed like I was changing gears every few hundred metres and the constant up and down motion certainly distracted me from the headaches I was experiencing earlier in the day.

The road was really quiet and there was plenty of greenery and lakes to appreciate along the way. I just took my time, as my airbnb hosts, Garry and Janice, wouldn’t be home until later in the evening. Their place was actually an old convent, which they had transformed into a home, where they have had over 300 positive reviews from airbnb guests. My evening was quite relaxing, just watching Netflix on their TV and catching up on some emails. Garry had some tips for things to check out in Perth and told me some cool facts, like how Perth has the world record for largest block of cheese and the most kilted people running in a race.

Day 69 Riding Perth to Ottawa

Visiting Perth was good fun, I managed to find the giant cheese replica, the original one was 22,000 pounds and made for the 1893 World Fair held in Chicago. Riding to Ottawa was mostly easy, aside from a detour when I realised that part of the Trans-Canada Trail was too rough for my bike.

I met up with Jenna, my cycling buddy from earlier and we stayed with her friends who she used to live with when she studied in Ottawa. They took me to Parliament Hill where they had a nightly light show, which had the history of Canada and some cool effects projected onto Parliament. The city has quite a clear line between the business district and the university and party area, where it seems like every night is a good opportunity to celebrate something.

It was quite exciting, with some rest days in Ottawa and only two rides until my finish line in Montreal, I was slowly getting closer to the 8,000km mark on this tour. It felt like such a luxury to go to sleep without setting an alarm and taking the time to enjoy the last few days of my journey before heading home.