Ontario Hairpins

Port Burwell to Dunnville – 80 miles
Average Speed – 12.1 mph

Once again, we started way later than we should have, but at least it wasn’t as hot and humid as it was the past few days. We tried to take a shortcut through a detour, but that didn’t work out at all and delayed us even more. Once we eventually were on our way, we made decent time, until we came to some killer hills, which required walking. The first hill was so steep that it was impossible to pedal at all. I only continued pedaling because my bike doesn’t weigh as much as Robert’s and because I was going so slowly that I figured that I couldn’t get out of my clips without rolling back down or falling over. I thought I had an aneurysm because my head hurt so bad afterward. Never did we expect these hills in the first place, nor did we expect to encounter several more walking hills. When I saw a hairpin curve sign, I thought it was a joke. A hairpin in Southern Ontario?

These hills don’t even compare to Lolo in terms of steepness. They have it beat in every way.
Part of the shock for us was thinking that we would be on the flats for our entire trek along the lake. We reached Port Dover and went to the info center to look for maps. The friendly staff there immediately fetched us some water and found the map that we sought. We really appreciated the info they gave to us about the road to follow. I was more than curious about the terrain. They said that there were a few hills a the beginning and then it would be flat. They were correct. They told us that in the winter, they put salt at the bottom of one of those climbs we did so that cars can make it up.

Port Dover Pig

We stopped for lunch in Port Dover and then headed out to do the last stretch to Dunnville. Because of the time, we decided to abandon the lakeshore route and took the most direct route into Dunnville.

We are staying at a wonderful bed and breakfast,The Lalor Estate, a real treat after a long and tough day of cycling. Once again we fought the wind, so were rather exhausted when we reached our destination. Our comfortable room and welcoming host quickly made us forget the travails of the day.