Day 111- Chinese food for dessert !

Day 111 Friday, August 27, 2010 Distance 81.87 km. Time 4 hr. 57 min. Total so far 7686.69 km. Before we left Burketon, we stopped at the little restaurant and filled up our water bottles. Today was going to be another very hot and hilly day and our legs were still feeling yesterday’s ride. Within a couple kilometers, we ran into road construction and had to walk through thick sandy gravel for over a kilometer. We still saw lots of farmland, lots of corn fields and soybeans. There were also lots of horse ranches, some offering lessons and rides and boarding. We went from Hwy. 57 to Hwy. 19 and then to Hwy. 2 up to Port Perry. We stopped there outside MacDonald's for a break and Bev and Carol came out to talk to us. Bev was raised in Chatham near where we grew up and worked for Bell Canada and lived in Sault Ste. Marie on several occasions. He and Carol were impressed by our long trip. She had been busy inside telling a Newfie joke and someone there pointed out Dave’s bicycle and his NFL. flag. That’s when they decided to come out and ask if we were from there. Silver started acting up again so we asked about a bicycle shop . We were told a man had a shop by his house on Hwy. 7 . That Hwy. 7 is very busy but we found Barry Johnston’s Bike Shop with lots and lots of bicycles around it that people have given to him and then he fixes them up and sells them. He moved my kickstand a little and I asked him to cut off the piece that is supposed to keep the chain from falling off inside. It had moved and we thought that it was hampering the work of the cable. I took it for a test ride but it still wasn’t working well so he and Dave lifted it up on the stand and he worked with the screw adjustment for the derailleur and also bent the derailleur a little. The next test ride proved to be much better so we took some photos, said goodbye and I hoped that would get me home with no further trouble. We continued up Hwy. 7 to Hwy. 12 and then to Hwy. 8. None of which are any good for bicycles. I think the politicians in Ottawa should go for a bicycle ride through part of Ontario sometime and see how dangerous it is for bicycles which are supposed to share the Hwy. with cars and trucks when there is no bike path available (like they ride on in Ottawa). On Hwy. 8, we came to Uxbridge. We tried to phone a teacher friend of Dave’s but the number didn’t work so we had our lunch on a bench on downtown main street and followed Hwy. 8 to busy Hwy. 30 which we followed up to Hwy. 13 which, finally, had a bit of an edge. We passed Holt and later came to Sharon. I took a photo of the Sharon sign and we wondered what it meant when it said “Home of Sharon Temple” Dave joked and wondered if it was the mother of Shirley Temple and we didn’t find out until 2 days later in Chesley from Jim who grew up in Sharon. It is a temple in the shape of layers of a cake made by a religious sect, the Davidites, years ago. Apparently, we didn't see it. Dave did groceries at Vince’s Market. We talked to various people there and one guy even invited us to stay at his house but alas it was out of the way and out of our direction. I wanted to stop here but there was no town park but we were told of a town park in Holland Landing about 4 km. away on Hwy. 13 which was where we were headed anyway. We stopped twice in Holland Landing. In a little strip mall, I asked about getting a hair cut but the lady was busy until closing time. My side hairs are puffing out and getting in the way of my rear view mirror. At another store, we asked directions to Anchor Park and a couple stopped and said they lived just past there and we were welcome to camp in their yard which even had a pool. I memorized their address and said if the park didn’t allow camping, we would be over to their place soon. There were no signs at Anchor Park, so we set up under the huge pavilion. There was a baseball diamond, soccer field, children’s toys and a great mountain bike course that Amy and David and Seth would love to tackle with their bikes. We did see one boy take a hard fall and Dave spoke to a boy that had broken 2 bones in his leg earlier this year and is out of commission until January. OUCH! It was busy there until dusk. We talked to various people that came to the playground with their children and grandchildren. One guy was there with a three day old baby (I guess mom must have been napping). Joan was there with her three blond grandchildren who with another sibling are involved with music, dance, and hockey. Each child is pursuing a different direction. She lives in Newmarket and brings her grandchildren to play in the park when she visits her 93 year old mother who lives in a house backing on to the park. We had our supper and were just packing things away when Joan returned carrying a big box. Her daughter had ordered Chinese food -enough for 6 people and they had lots more than they could eat so she brought us each a plateful and a bottle of water. Thank you, Joan! We ate it ALL up! It was the best Chinese food that we have ever had. Our bellies were pleasantly full. I finished the journal in the tent with a little light on. There were still a couple moms and little children playing and I could still hear some teens in the bush. Hopefully, they will go away soon.