after getting rained out on August 13th’s soggy attempt by six of us at this route, my hopes for a group ride on the Ramble diminished. it was really just a last minute plan when I sent an invitation out the day before my planned September 1 Ramble after seeing a stellar forecast for the day. I figured that a last minute invitation for a big ride on the Friday before the final long weekend of the Summer was unlikely to hook anyone. so, on Thursday evening I resolved to do it solo.

leaving at a gentleman’s hour on Friday morning, I cruised by Meridian Place just in case some had taken my bait. no such luck. so, I headed out of town ready to push wind the whole day. Eleven kilometres out of town that all changed when my front derailleur and chain had an unexpected confrontation as I tried to hammer up a hill. oh damn. I had half ripped one of the two mounting nuts out of the carbon fiber frame. I stopped on a Crown Hill front lawn only to discover my multi-tool could reach in to tighten to bolt. I immediately looked to the work shed where two guys were loading up a truck. the friendly owner of PLANcaster Heating & Air, without hesitation Paul got me the tools I needed to get my bike into limp mode. He even insisted I keep the tools in case I needed them further along in my adventure. what a thoughtful and generous person! just drop them in my mailbox whenever you’re biking by here again, he said. with that, I was on my way again, with only a big ring to get me around the remaining 220 kilometres of the Ramble.

I carried on through Bass Lake and northeast to Hamlet on the Severn River where I crossed on the new swing bridge. leaving Hamlet led me to the Southwood Road, the centrepiece of this adventure. what a beautiful, quite road all the way through Torrance Barrens Dark Sky Reserve to the town of Torrance on highway 169. heading on a busy highway was no fun but it was the only road that would bring me east to my lunch in Gravenhurst. after refuelling, I rode over top of highway 11 to Doe Lake Road turning south off of Doe Lake onto Housey’s Rapids Road. again, a long, wildly quiet stretch of road stretching through the sparsely inhabited lake country to Cooper’s Falls and on to Washago where I enjoyed some Kawartha ice cream. heading down Rama Road in mid-afternoon reminded me it was Friday of a long weekend as the traffic thickened. by the time I got to Orillia it was bumper to bumper, many vehicles pulling trailer up to their cottages. one last stop in Carthew Bay to down a salted Pepsi and some cold water before I headed into the homestretch down Ridge Road. Finishing my adventure with a dip in Kempenfelt Bay with long shadows leading me into the water at Centennial Beach was icing on the cake! Another successful Southwood Road Ramble under my belt!