The Picton H&S is now history. Nineteen of us met at the Picton Harbour Inn on Monday 7 June. Unfortunately, three had to drop out because of family reasons. The early arrivals were able to go for a short tour during the afternoon. After the get together meeting, we all went for diner at one of the local restaurants.
Under a sunny sky and warm weather the first ride got underway on Tuesday morning. Gerry Sutherland agreed to lead a slower group interested in shorter distances. In fact, he turned off the designated short route early which resulted in them missing the bone jarring new chip surface on County Rte 7 and gave them time to visit the Wampoos Winery before lunch. They were all in a good mood when the rest of us met them at the Duke of Marysburgh Pub for a very relaxing lunch. Gerry's group dubbed themselves "The Steadies" for the rest of the tour. After lunch, both groups proceeded to the Black River Cheese Factory for a desert of ice cream. With a temperature in the low 30s and the humidity over 90%, the ride home was a touch warm. The "Steadies" logged some 40 kms while the rest went close to 80 with a route via Milford and the odd detour due to construction towards Picton. After a few beers and snacks (junk food) the group went for a fine diner at the Lake on the Mountain Inn and Resort.
Wednesday, another sunny and warm day, was the Wine Route Tour. There are now five wineries opened in Prince Edward County. I was aware of only one of them when I organized this H&S tour. We headed West from Picton towards Bloomfield and Wellington. Unfortunately (maybe better for us), only one winery was opened for visiting and tasting, the Carmela Estates Winery on Greer Road. The "Steadies" made it to Wellington for a pleasant lunch in the park and some window shopping. After the visit of the Carmela Winery, the "others" proceeded to Consecon on Wellers Bay where, much to their surprise they found a pleasant small pub in an old mill. Lunch on the patio was accompanied by the site of a Blue Heron fishing and some large fish (probably salmon since they now exist in fairly large numbers in Lake Ontario) trying to go over the weir dam into lake Consecon. Return home was easy with a strong tailwind. Another 80 + km day. After happy hour which was held after a short thunderstorm, the group went for diner at the local Fish and Chip restaurant for a fine feed.
Thursday morning greeted us with cloudy skies and cold temperatures ( 12 C). We delayed the start to 10 am to let the temperature climb before the departure. The ride was to the North East up to Green Point, around Big Island on the Bay of Quinte and return to Picton for a distance of 90 kms. By noon the skies had cleared and the temperature was in the low 20s. Gerry took the "Steadies" for a tour of the Sand Banks Provincial Park for a stroll on the beach and a fine lunch in a bakery in Bloomfield. Thursday evening was the final diner at the Waring House, one of the many fine restaurants in the County.
Friday morning was an optional cycling day which a few took advantage of for a tour of the Sandbanks.
From comments received, all enjoyed this tour. Prince Edward County has a large number of paved side roads through mainly farmlands. A few hills but not of much consequence. The local population is very cycle friendly making cycle touring very enjoyable during the low density tourist season of early June and late September.
My Thanks to all the participants for a very enjoyable tour. Photos of this tour can be viewed at http://www.PictureTrail.com/renaudp. To speed the opening time, the pictures are divided into four albums.
Renaud P.