Days 35 and 36: Whitby to Cobourg, then to Bloomfield

Yesterday morning, Jas made some breakfast and I ended up leaving the house shortly after 9 AM, the latest departure time on my trip.

I rode south until I reached the Waterfront Trail, which is also part of the Trans Canada Trail. Don wanted me to get a photo of the sign in Whitby that commemorates Camp X. Camp X was a Canadian spy training complex during World War II. Ian Fleming, the author of James Bond spy novels, was one of the secret agents there.

I stuck with the Waterfront Trail the whole way until I felt hungry around noon when I got off the trail and searched for a restaurant at Bowmanville. I chose Liberty St Diner since it has a good rating on Google Maps. That’s how I choose most of my restaurants.

The restaurant was full, but one of the guests allowed me to sit with him. His name is Mark and he came from Barbados in 2008. Mark told me there are more job opportunities in Canada than in his own country. He now works for a bank in Canada. I admire people like Mark who are smart and took the opportunities that were offered to him in a new country. This is how immigration helps the host country.

After lunch, I rode for about three more hours to Cobourg. There were some moderate hills that I had to ride up then down. When I reached downtown Cobourg, there was a Pride festival on the main drag so I had to walk my bike through the vendors.

Finally, around 4 PM, I reached Victoria Park Campgrounds, which is right by the lake. I had ridden 53.9 miles that day.

The campground was full of motorhomes. I was the only cyclist there. I asked the attendant how much is the cost to camp. He quoted me CA$49 and change. I just wanted some grass to put up a tent and couldn’t believe it’ll cost me around $36 USD. I ended up stealth camp in the campground after I ate a Mediterranean meal at Corfu Mediterranean Grill.

I met Normand, who traveled to here in his huge, bus-like motorhome with his wife Hélène. He allowed me to charge both of my phones. I learned that Normand lives in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, and he’s a retired electrical engineer.

As I was setting up my tent, a man riding a mountain bike came over. My first thought was that he’s the campground guard and caught me stealth camp. It turned out that he was just curious and wanted to know where I’m from and where I’m going.

The mountain biker’s name is Steven and he is a chemical engineer who lives in Cobourg and operates his own company. He has a place in Mexico that he and his Filipina wife go to every year. Steven showed me a YouTube video of his Land Rover roaming around Mexico and told me some interesting facts about Land Rovers, such as that these cars are made so that they can be repaired easily. Something like 75% of all Land Rovers made since the late 1940s are still on the road.

After I set up my tent I decided to call it a day even though it was only about 6:30 PM and there’s about 2:30 hours of light left before sunset. My sleep was interrupted when someone had loud music on and other people were chatting late into the night.

This morning, I woke up at 4:50 from the first light and the chirping of the birds. It took me about 40 minutes to pack up my tent, sleeping bag, and sleeping pad. I had to endure some mosquito bites as they feasted on me. After leaving the campground I went to a Tim Hortons on the east side of the town where I had a cappuccino and a breakfast wrap.

Once again, there were some moderate hills that I had to climb. The Waterfront Trail was on the road for most of the day. Luckily, I was riding my bike so early on a Sunday morning that there were very few cars. Later, I got on the Millennium Trail, which was gravel. I took it all the way to Wellington in Prince Edward County where I encountered the closure of the trail due to construction. It was a fortuitous detour because I was hungry at the time, having ridden close to 50 miles without much of a rest except for water breaks and bathroom breaks.

I quenched my thirst with a strawberry shake and satisfied my hunger with a spicy tofu wrap at the Good Place in Wellington before getting back on the good section of the Millennium Trail. I rode it for another 6 miles or so to my destination in Bloomfield.

When I arrived at my Warmshowers host’s place I was surprised because it’s a bicycle shop! I met my host Rick briefly as he was helping some customers with their bikes. When he had some downtime he showed me the barn in the back of the property where I’ll be staying.

The barn is full of old bicycles. I met Rick’s business partner KT as she was making lunch. I had arrived in record time since it was only 12:30 PM and I had ridden 55.8 miles since this morning.

After taking a shower, I tried on some bicycle saddles that the shop seemed to have plenty of. I didn’t find a better saddle than what I have already so I kept mine.

It’s a little after 4 PM. The shop closes at 6 PM so I have some downtime. I have to look for Warmshowers hosts in Ottawa. Other than that, I’ll just relax.

Whitby Harbour lighthouse

The lake is so calm.

The sign at Intrepid Park has information about Camp X.

Riding on the quiet road.

The largest burger I had was in Liberty St Diner.

Mark, who is from Barbados and works in a bank.

On the bike trail

A section of the Pride festival in downtown Cobourg

Cobourg Beach

Victoria Park

Normand, a retired electrical engineer

Steven, a chemical engineer and a business owner

My tent in the morning

Riding toward the sun as I'm going east.

Cows eating breakfast.

Almost every town welcomes cyclists.

A World War I memorial in downtown Colborne

Wish I rested here longer.

I've reached 1000 miles!

The Millennium Trail

The swamp by the trail

Spotted a family of swans in the swamp.

I'm starting to develop a new hairstyle: The Trihawk.

Lunch at the Good Place in Wellington

Surprised to see that my Warmshowers host's place is a bike shop.

Yes, I agree!

I'll be sleeping here tonight.