Presqu'ile Promise Cycling Route
by Petra Hartwig, Cycling Seniors
For our annual Mother & Daughter bike ride we chose this looped route and found that combining cycling with walking this delightful route created some of our fondest memories.
We started in the heritage Village of Grafton which has a nice café and some small shops. We enjoyed Orchard Grove Road aptly named because you’ll see apple blossoms in May or heavily-laden apples trees in the fall. This road to Lakeport Road was low in vehicle traffic, and had lots of places to stop, like pebbly Wicklow Beach where there was a port-a-potty available. Lakeport, originally named Cat Hollow, has a poem inscribed on a rock plinth at the water’s edge and is a nice respite from riding.
We sat in the shade of lovely old trees in the centre square of the Village of Colborne, and stopped at the Colborne Art Gallery. Eastbound out of the village we were delighted to see the construction of paved cycling shoulders which should be completed shortly. That'll make for a safer to ride on County Road 2 into Brighton.
Union Road runs south from County Road 2 and connects with Lakeshore into Brighton along the Lake Ontario shoreline. Wetlands harbouring cranes and swans along this route bring you to either continue on to the town centre, or to visit Presqu’ile Provincial Park. We chose to check out the Park and were rewarded with riding trails and boardwalks for walking. It was cool and refreshing and we loved the diversity.
We chose Gosport to have lunch. At Harbourview Café we sat on the deck and were rewarded with a breeze off of Presqu'ile bay. Boaters stopping for refreshments were interesting to talk to and came from both the USA and Canada to continue through the Murray Canal on their way up the Trent-Severn Waterway.
Riding north into Brighton, we stayed at the Brighton Inn B&B (registered with Ontario By Bike) and ate at Vito’s Restaurant. The food was delicious and we slept like babes in arms.
Riding westbound along Little Lake Road, we stopped at Little Lake for a refreshing swim. We were glad we “carbed up” and stretched our legs because Telephone and Pipeline Roads greeted us with ‘killer hills’! Once we reached Shelter Valley Road, it was all down hill from there as we returned to Grafton.
Exhilarating, beautiful views of the Northumberland hills, farmland and the fresh smell along the Lake Ontario shoreline, combined with walking some of the trails in Presqu’ile, made for a memorable bike ride. We count it as one of our best and highly recommend it.
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