Day 75: Ridgetown, ON to Port Stanley, ON

Aug 19 blog

48 miles

3,146 miles so far

Todays route was 48 miles and took us to Port Stanley, a popular beach town along Lake Erie. We left Ridgetown a little late after our traditional oatmeal and coffee breakfast. It was a beautiful sunny, cool day and for the most part, the wind cooperated.

We stopped in the town of Elgin, as we heard live music playing, spotted a microbrewery, a food truck and a buzz of activity. As it turns out, it was a fundraiser for a historic school house that is now used as a community center. We opted for the food truck which was run by the local Lions Club. Hotdogs and grilled sausage were the offerings.

We also stopped in a microbrewery called Natterjacks where I bought a beanie hat and an IPA to go (stuffed it in my pannier for later).

While today’s route was along a very busy and bumpy road with no shoulder, most drivers gave us plenty of room.

We ended our day at an Airbnb where we rented a room in a beautiful home that was built up on a hill not too far from downtown Port Stanley. Our hosts were Deb and Ron, both retired Canadian police officers. They couldn’t have been nicer - Deb drove us to the downtown area where we had dinner, explored the boardwalk and marina, and walked out to the lighthouse,. After we finished Deb picked us up as well! Good Samaritan of the day!

We called it an early night and planned on an early morning the next day. We did our best to quietly load our bikes so as not to disturb any of the other guests - I should mention that Deb and Ron were hosting six Airbnb guests while planning to host a birthday party the following day with many guests, twelve of which would be staying with them. Even so, Deb and Ron were up early to see us off and wish us well for the rest of our journey!

Brewery stop