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PICTURE
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DESCRIPTION
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August Long Weekend, 2006. I didn't really have anything major planned
for this weekend. I spent all day Saturday cleaning and puttering around
at home. But I decided to ride my bike to Hamilton to visit Mom and Dad
on Sunday, returning to Toronto on Monday.
I rode my Bike Friday folding bike. This is the first time I have ridden
it this far, two days in a row. I wanted to get used to "touring" on it
before heading out to Vancouver soon.
This first picture was taken on Dundas St. just west of Kipling Ave. a
few minutes after leaving home. This section of Dundas St. is usually
pretty nasty for riding, but it wasn't so bad on a Sunday.
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About half an hour after leaving home, I was in Port Credit (Mississauga).
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My first rest stop was in Bronte (Oakville). There's this odd gazebo
just off of Lakeshore Rd. It was a nice place to sit in the shade, eat a
banana, and have a drink....but you'd think they might put a bench or
two in there??! Anyway, here's a photo of my bike at my Bronte rest stop.
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Downtown Burlington, down by the lake. I took another quick break here to
sit down in the shade and have a drink, then continued along the
Waterfront Trail instead of Lakeshore Rd. Off in the distance you can see
the Skyway Bridge that links Burlington and Hamilton over the beach strip.
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The Skyway Bridge in the distance.
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Another photo from the same place...this time with a bee buzzing towards
me.
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The walkway / cycleway along the lake in Burlington.
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Looking back at Burlington's waterfront.
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Lots of people were out enjoying the great weather.
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Continuing along the Waterfront Trail, I had departed from my usual
route into Hamilton. I normally take the shorter way around the Bay
and get to Hamilton via York Blvd. This time I kept going along the lake
and over the Beach Strip. I had never cycled along the Burlington side
of the Beach Strip. Sometimes it's worth going the "long way" to
discover something new or just enjoy the scenery.
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The pathway changes from pavement to smooth crushed gravel for a good
chunk of the Burlington Beach Strip. There's some shade offered by
trees on the sides of the path, and also some great lake views.
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Continuing along the Beach Strip pathway.
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Small sand dunes and vegetation. Doesn't really seem like we're near
Hamilton here. If I had turned around 180 degrees to take a picture, I
would see highways and industry in the distance.
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The Skyway Bridge (officially the "Burlington Bay James N. Allan Skyway")
which carries the QEW over the Beach Strip and channel between Lake
Ontario and Hamilton Harbour (officially "Burlington Bay").
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Plenty of sailboat traffic through here today.
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...and some duck traffic too.
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The lighthouse at the end of the channel on the Burlington lake side.
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More boats out on the lake.
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Looking back at the bridges. The lower bridge is the old lift bridge
that carries local (non-QEW) traffic across the beach strip.
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After crossing the lift bridge I was officially in Hamilton. Here's a
photo of the old lighthouse and the lift bridge towers.
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The old lighthouse.
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The view of Hamilton Harbour from the canal. Unfortunately, this is how
most people see the City of Hamilton as they pass by on the QEW.
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The Hamilton side of the Beach Strip pathway is a really nice, wide, paved
trail, with a view of the beaches and Lake Ontario on my left, and houses
on my right.
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I stopped for some lunch at The Dynes, an old restaurant and hotel on
the beach. They have a nice big patio with a view of the lake, the trail,
some some beach volleyball courts.
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After a very long lunch break, I continued my ride to Mom and Dad's place.
I zig-zagged through the east end, mostly staying on side roads and
cycling routes suggested by the Hamilton Cycling Map.
Riding from Toronto to Hamilton is mostly a pretty flat ride along the
lake. But of course, Mom and Dad live at the top of the escarpment, so
the most difficult part of the ride is always the last kilometre! I
decided to go striaght up John St. (now that it's 2-way again!) and
continue up the old trail up the escarpment that leads towards Upper
James St.
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Approaching the top of John St., next to St. Joseph's Hospital. I should
have taken a few pictures of the trail going up the escarpment, but I
was concentrating too much of just climbing the hill! My Bike Friday has
some nice low gears, so the hill climb actually isn't too bad. This is
the second time that I've done it. Once I made it to the top, I was
practically at Mom and Dad's.
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| All photographs ©2006 Victor Gedris |