On Saturday November 10, 2007, I did a route similar to the one that Jeff Groves, Roman Allemann, Carl Hoyer, Josh McCormick and Emily McCormick did for their first day. The route was basically a large loop that started in Campbelleville, Ontario, went south to Burlington, up through Waterdown, and back to Campbelleville. I added a small loop near the end that took me up and down the Niagara Escarpment one more time before finishing. The total distance was 78 km with an ascent and descent of 900m. My dad followed me in a support vehicle and took pictures. I started my ride at 7:51 a.m. at the Campbelleville post office. It was chilly enough that there was frost on the plants, and a few snowflakes in the air. Throughout the day, the temperature ranged from 2 to 10C. About an hour into my ride, I had to stop and switch to a more comfortable seat that I had in the support vehicle. The first half of the ride was mostly flat with a gradual decent to Burlington - although there were some hilly sections. Just north of Burlington, I had to ride along Hwy. 5 for a piece. After the first tractor trailer zipped by and blasted his horn (nearly sending me from my saddle), I took to the gravel shoulder and stayed there until turning off onto Rock Chapel Rd. Once I reached Burlington the gradual descent turned into an aggressive ascent - at times quite steep. The approach into Waterdown was one long hill. In Waterdown, I was joined by Jeff Groves, who rode with me for about 10 km. After Waterdown, there was gently rolling countryside with a gradual climb. This terrain continued until I reached Rattlesnake Point - a part of the Niagara Escarpment popular with rock climbers. At Rattlesnake Point, there is a very steep, switchback road (Appleby Line) that goes up the side of the escarpment. By this point in the ride, I was starting to get tired so I was only able to ride part way up. I ended up pushing my uni up the last half. The next part of the route was a small loop that involved heading back down the escarpment along Side Road 14 towards Milton and then heading back up the escarpment along Steeles Ave. (the climb up Steeles Ave. was, fortunately, more gradual than the climb up Appleby Line). Once back on top of the escarpment, it was pretty much all downhill into Campbelleville. I finished my first day of riding at the Campbelleville post office at 2:40 p.m.
11/11/2007
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On Sunday November 11, 2007, I did the same route that I did on the first day, but this time without the added loop at the end. This was the exact same route that Jeff, Roman, Carl, Josh, and Emily did on the first day of their ride. The route was 71 km with an ascent and descent of 800m. During the day, the temperature ranged between 2 and 12C. As with the first day of my ride, there was frost on the plants and ground when I started. But unlike the first day, there was also ice on the puddles. Carl, Roman, Josh and Emily joined me on the second day. Carl and Roman rode the full 71 km; Josh and Emily rode for about an hour before having to leave. Again, my dad followed behind in a support vehicle. We started our ride at the Campbelleville post office at 8:25 a.m. Because I was tired from the previous day’s ride, Carl and Roman gradually pulled ahead. They waited up for me at about the half way point (on the climb out of Burlington). There we had a short lunch break along the side of the road. After lunch, we climbed the long hill up to Waterdown. Although I kept a fairly steady pace, fatigue was catching up with me and I soon fell behind Roman and Carl again. At one point, I had to stop and change my shirt and sweater. My shirt was soaked from sweat, causing me to get chilled in the cooler temperatures. Like the first day, the steepest part of the ride was the hill at Rattlesnake Point. This time, I ended up pushing my unicycle most of the way up the hill (once you are off, it’s too steep to get back on and ride). Because I didn’t do the extra loop at the end (down and back up the escarpment), it was pretty much downhill into Campbelleville once I got to the top of Rattlesnake Point. I finished my ride (and finally caught up with Roman and Carl) at the Campbelleville post office at 2:35 p.m.