Cruising on the Paths

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Cruising on the Paths

Saturday, 11 August 2007

Today I again took Blue and tried to check out the recreational paths in Thunder Bay, as much as I could. The path which goes past our hotel is on one side of the Neebing River, and there is a matching path on the other side. Insofar as was possible I went on each path till I could go no further or until I “lost” the path.

There was one path which seemed to end at a busy suburban street, but I followed another cyclist who went on the sidewalk parallel to the street (something I hate to do) and came upon another set of paths. These led to a university, Lakehead University, and lo and behold, I found myself on a piece of trail signed as part of the Trans Canada Trail - it was so difficult to find separate stretches of the TCT up to this point that I’d pretty much decided not to bother. I followed it until it opened up onto the parking lot of some residence halls for Lakehead, then “disappeared”.

I then rode to Marina Park, following signs for the Bayview Tourist Route, which pretty much took me along the roads closest to the waterfront. There were various “commercial” properties between those roads & the water, so I didn’t really see it until I got to the park. But, again, there were bits of the TCT, which I think were heading off to Fort William, south of the city. As it was, on a Saturday, traffic was pretty heavy, especially in one area where there were a lot of “big box stores”, and I was glad when I’d passed that area. Even so, between paying attention to traffic and the condition of the road I was on, I almost rode past the entrance to the park - I‘d expected more advance warning signs. It was a very nice park, combines a marina with elements of historical significance, plus a bit of commercial interest, restaurant, gift shop, art gallery, etc. I also had the chance to look at what is called “The Pagoda” (although there are no Chinese influences at all in its architecture), which is thought to be the oldest operating tourist information centre in Canada. It was closed temporarily when I went over to it, but it was an interesting sight, especially in contrast to the more modern elements of the park.

I chose a different route to return to the hotel. It was a bit more demanding - had some steep hills - but it was probably shorter & it was definitely more pleasant than the route I’d taken to get to the park. And, yes, I finished up on the path by the hotel - shades of Ottawa.

DAY 45: 52.4 km, in 3:28 hours, ave. speed 15.1 km/hr, max. speed 27.9 km/hr

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