Day 55: Hamilton to St. Catherines approx 74km (I don't have the map anymore)

Another picture perfect biking day.

Today I got to sleep in till 5:50 a.m. because I’m sleeping in the camper so no tent to pack up and breakfast wasn’t being served till 6 a.m. When I arrived at the dining hall there was Andy, John, Gerry, Jake and Louie. Pete & Lynda and Barb showed up shortly afterwards. Mike is on sweep duty today so he will not be biking with us. John, Barb and Louie are signed up for a service project so they want to be into St. Catherines by 11 a.m. I’m biking with Andy, Gerry, Pete and Jake today.

The kitchen staff at Redeemer did a great job on supper last evening and also on breakfast. Lots of variety and we could get thru the food line quickly. I think they’ve done this before! I also wanted to mention that last evening I met a former teacher from my LDCSS days, Herman Proper. He also acted as principle at our Christian High in Chatham. Just as I was standing there shooting the breeze with him, Marsha (Batterink) came and said hi. She has spent countless hours in our home many years ago babysitting our children. She did feel slightly older when I introduced her to Andrew. Sorry Marsha, I know you are married to Jim but I’m uncertain as to what your married name it. Helen Vreugdenhil also looked me up at Redeemer to say ‘Hi’. Good to see so many faces from the past.

Started out on the bike at 7a.m. Pete has a band-aid on his left elbow and knee and he also put a matching white wrap on this left handlebars (and they say guys aren’t vain!) We had no sooner left the college when we past a gentleman raking the front of the church lawn, without so much as a warning Pete did a U-turn and told us to carry on without him. Pete caught up with us ½ an hour later and explained that this gentleman had taken him to the bike shop yesterday and Pete wanted to thank him.

Today’s route was like a pattern of the last few days; many people cheering on the side of the roads, handing out baked goods and we noticed a lot of homemade signs welcoming and encouraging us. We’ve been told that we have around 5 planned stops.

The first stop was by the Scenic lookout…..freezers

Second stop…Was by the top of the escarpment. A stand was just being set out by the Fruitland CRC. Since it wasn’t quite up and running we waved and cycled on.

Third stop, ‘The Dutch Shop’. One of our C2C cyclists works here. We thanked them for giving Eritia Smit the summer off and told them how lucky they were to have such a fine employee. Eritia, I think you can ask for a raise when you get back; we really ‘talked’ you up!

Fourth stop, Shalom Manor…a retirement and assisted living facility. We walked into the dining hall just as someone was on the ‘mike’ telling them that we were stopping by. Great timing. We waved and carried on for a few block till we reached the Mountainview CRC in Grimsby our fifth stop. Coffee, doughnuts, fresh peaches and ice cream were some of the food they had set out for us. We’ve vowed to pace ourselves on the food, so just a cup of peaches and ice cream, then we had to tear Jake away from the pulpit (I think he’s missing his Sunday duties) before we headed out to the sixth stop. Sixth stop..Providence CRC in Beamsville. We reached this stop just after 10 a.m. They had a lunch spread out that would make your eyes pop. So much food and again people cheering and wanting to talk to us. We obliged them on both counts. Seventh stop was being manned by Pieter Pereboom's parents. The temperature outside is heating up so the freezers that they handed out at this stop were much appreciated.

Seventh stop Jubilee CRC. Again more people to talk to and this time we had cups of fruit salad.

The area we traveled thru today had a few dairy farms, a lot of fruit farms and wineries.

A view of the grapes

Ten km to go before we hit our destination for the day. I wanted to get in rather early because I’ve heard they’re offering pedicures, massages and haircuts. I plan to take them up on two of the three. Several hours later I’m sitting in the truck blogging away. I’ve had my shower, pedicure and massage. Three local CRC are serving us supper. Oh, I met my cousin, Ed DeVries today. I haven’t seen him or his wife Michelle and their two children for…well lasts just say that it’s been awhile.

After a fantastic supper Ralph, Andrew, Gerry K and I took a scenic drive to see a few sights. Some of the things we saw were:

The flower clock :
The town of Niagara on the Lake; beautiful flower beds and many quaint shops to wander thru .

The mighty Niagara Falls :So that’s my day. St. Catherines has opened their computer lab for us and many people are taking advantage of it….but you can’t connect to the internet on our laptops so now Ralph and I will drive around the neighbourhood in hopes that someone has an unprotected internet connection that I ‘borrow’ in order to send this blog (and on a Sunday, no less).

P.S. It’s official. I’m going to stay on and attempt the last week. I’m not sure if I can actually do all the climbs but I don’t want to live with the regret of giving up before I’ve even attempted it…so here’s to next week. May all the cyclists have what they stand in need of, both physically and mentally. Till later, Cynthia