Day 2 Hamilton to Fort York

As the sun rose over the lake, we reached up to welcome it and then bent to contemplate the Earth. Day 2 of the Great Waterfront Trail Adventure started with a yoga session in Confederation Park, birds chirping from the sidelines, the scent of linden trees wafting through the air. We were tuning in to the mystic quality of the lake, a connection I feel every time I ride these shores.
David Crombie, the former mayor of Toronto who developed a vision for the waterfront in the 1990s, felt that people would be the best agent for environmental protection and regeneration. Build a trail, the people will come, and they will learn to love and nurture the lake. And that's what has happened. This is the most urban portion of the Lake Ontario Waterfront Trail, but it's the stretch where municipalities and conservation authorities are leading the way in developing a wilderness corridor that's an essential feature of life in a healthy city.
But first we had to get through Burlington. The city gets top marks for a sophisticated trail that brings the downtown to the lake and has tons of interesting features for young and old. But then it's on to the Lakeshore Rd., lined with palaces and chateaux that might make some degree of aesthetic sense nestled in acres of parkland, but are nothing short of ridiculous lined up cheek by jowl. In any event, there's no room for a bicycle lane on this street.
Before I leave Burlington, a big thank you to the municipality for a wonderful reception. They had a clever idea - we could fill out postcards (scenic views of Burlington) and they will mail them for us. It was a thoughtful and imaginative touch.
Oakville's a nice change of pace. Paved shoulders, and then down to the lake on to scenic Coronation Park. Mississauga is just as good - Lakeside Park has turned what was once an industrial wasteland into a place of curving trails along the edge of the lake, beautful views over the water in a lovely naturalized setting. And as we leave, I notice a really decent off-leash dog park where various species seem to be having a lot of fun.
I find that being part of a 170-person bike ride offers a lot more opportunity for solitary diversion than riding with half a dozen. A couple of us went our own way through Rattray Marsh, which wasn't on the official GWTA route because you're not allowed to ride a bicycle through this wild-life sanctuary. But I wasn't going to pass up a chance to visit one of the lake's magical places, so we walked our bikes through and enjoyed the peace and serenity of this provincially significant wetland that was saved in the 1960s, in an epic battle that pitted local community activists against a developer who planned to fill it in and build houses.
Out into Jack Darlington Park, one of the busiest on the waterfront - it was great to see so many people enjoying themselves by the water.
St. Lawrence Park in Port Credit is a very nice example of urban residential development that feels good - townhouses and apartment buildings that overlook a spacious section of trail with beautiful landscaping and a good lookout spot. I like Port Credit - a little further on, I forget exactly where - the trail runs past a pleasant cove with a nice sandy beach with a hedge of lots of different kinds of roses. The effect is quite wonderful.
We take another solitary moment on the tour, stopping at the Birds and Bees coffee shop on Lake Shore Rd. in Etobicoke for a top-notch cup of coffee that's virtuously fair trade, bird friendly, shade grown, organic - did I forget anything?
And into town through scenic Humber Bay Shores, past the crowds at Sunnyside and over to Fort York which is to be our camping spot for the night.