Ride from Toronto to Oshawa via Waterfront Trail (and back?)

The ground is dry, and the weather forecast is sunny for the next few days, so how about a ride from Toronto to Oshawa via the Waterfront Trail?

The ride itself will start at 09:30 on Sunday morning at Sherbourne Common South. I suggest 09:00 as the meeting time in case anyone has trouble finding the place or needs extra time to prepare. Everyone planning to attend should show up by 09:20 at the latest.

Sherbourne Common is a new East Bayfront park that's not yet shown on Google Maps. You can find it on the South side of Queen's Quay East at Lower Sherbourne Street:

http://maps.google.ca... (http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=Queens+Quay+E+%26+Lower+Sherbourne+St,+Toronto)

I'll loiter around the pavilion with the washrooms. I'll have my silver and white bicycle, and I'll be wearing a green shirt.

From Sherbourne Common South, we'll ride along the official Waterfront Trail route to Lakeview Park in Oshawa. It's a scenic route that I've travelled many times, and I know it well.

There are a few difficult hills where some riders may have to dismount and walk, but other than that, it's a relatively easy ride. The only exception is a treacherous 1.4 kilometre stretch in Whitby where people with narrow tires may need to walk due to deplorably rough surface conditions.

After we arrive at Lakeview Park in Oshawa, riders can return to the city by bicycle, GO train, or using their own methods of transportation. The fare for an adult single-ride GO train ticket from Oshawa to Union Station is $8.25. For those wishing to take GO Transit, I/we can escort you to the Oshawa GO train station, or to the Whitby GO train station if you want to save $0.70. The closer we get to the city, the cheaper the fare.

Everyone is responsible for supplying their own bicycles, helmets, sunscreen, food, water, et cetera. There will be places to fill up on water and purchase food along the way, so if you deplete your supplies, you'll have several opportunities to replenish.

The ride to Oshawa and its GO train station is about 80 kilometres. To ride back to Toronto along the official Waterfront Trail is an additional 70 kilometres, so a total of 150 kilometres for those of us who are up to doing a metric sesquicentury.

If we average at least 20 kilometres per hour over the whole ride and use a total of one hour for breaks, the full 150 kilometre ride should take less than nine hours. We'd be back in the city before sunset. If it makes things easier for attendees, I'm open to riding at a slower pace and/or riding at night.

If there are any questions, please feel free to ask.

-- A.J.