In yesterday’s post, I said that wind wasn’t bothering me much. Well, the winds were pretty strong today, strong enough to slow me down pretty noticeably, and they blew in a storm along with severe thunderstorm warnings. So, I’m not feeling as positive about the wind situation. I also mentioned the flat terrain around the Great Lakes. Well, that has been mostly true, but as you can see in this photo looking down on Lake Erie, I did encounter a few hills. This perspective shows a downhill, but trust me, I had to climb up to that point. If you weren’t already doing this, you may want to take just about everything I say with a grain of salt from now on.

Here is a photo showing the storm blowing in. The darker blue horizon in the distance is Lake Erie.

This photo shows the storm is pretty strong out over the lake.

When the sky was looking especially ominous, I decided to wait out the worst of the storm at the Boathouse Restaurant in Port Rowan, Ontario, right on Lake Erie. Just as I was going in, the two cyclists shown in the photo below, father (Brian) and son (Joe), were coming out to bikes that were fully loaded with gear, and we had a nice conversation about our trips. Brian and Joe started their journey in Anacortes, WA “about 80 days ago” and they are heading to Bar Harbor, ME–the exact opposite of my trip. They are generally biking 40-60 miles a day. This afternoon, they knew they were going to get rained on and so were putting on their rain gear.

Brian is 73 and Joe (age not determined) is a recently retired military officer. Brian wasn’t so sure Joe enjoyed the biking that much but said Joe likes hanging out with his dad. They are camping for the most part, and tonight were facing the prospect of pitching their tent in the rain. I am staying in a vacation rental tonight in a pretty rural area that is, ironically, in a food desert for me even though there are chickens in the backyard. But I’m not complaining–at least I’m dry and have a roof over my head.

I’ve learned that this area along the north shore of Lake Erie is known for its wineries, considered some of the best in Canada, and I passed a few of them today. The photos below show just a couple of examples. First, the Frisky Beaver Winery near Port Dover, where I stayed last night, has an adjacent bar/restaurant known as “Smoke & Gamble” that features “crappy beer, fine wine, and frisky pizza.”

As I passed Booth’s Harbor along the lake, I saw the Blueberry Hill Estates winery, which advertises a weekend opportunity to “sip and shop” for handmade goods by local artisans. As I mentioned in my blog entry of 7-2-23, I have been too busy biking to contemplate trips to wineries, but it is nice to know they are out there for others to enjoy.

I racked up only about 30 miles today. Tomorrow I will be doing about 40 miles, and Saturday, I’m planning to push myself to bike 80 miles to reach Wallaceburg, Ontario, where I will stay Saturday and Sunday nights. Wallaceburg is just a short distance to a ferry that will take me across the St. Clair River to Algonac, Michigan, on Monday.