Gananoque

The temperature started a little warmer today, but we were still bundled up for a while.  We had a short ride to Glenora were we boarded a ferry for a 15 minute trip across the Bay of Quinte.  From there we headed into Loyalist country were those loyal to the British Crown settled during our colonial days.  Many towns, structures, and monuments are designated “loyalist…”  For example, we stopped along the waterfront and read a monument commemorating the frigate Royal George’s escape from the aggressive Americans to the south.

We cycled through Kingston, a city with a population of 120,000.  It took about 2 hours to go through this large urban area.  Just outside of the city proper, we came to Fort Henry.  The fort is strategically on an elevated point near the mouth of the Cataraqui River where it flows into the St. Lawrence River at the east end of Lake Ontario.

The original fort was constructed during the War of 1812 to protect the Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard (the site of the present-day Royal Military College of Canada) on Point Frederick from a possible American attack and monitor maritime traffic on the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. The original fort was replaced by a much larger construction in the 1830s and was restored in the 1930s.  When we arrived a bus load of teenagers were going into the fort carrying overnight bags  The fort features overnight group accommodations for a unique experience in a 19th Century British Fort by providing lodging in a large Barracks room.

The rest of our day was mostly cycling towards our destination of Gananoque. The waterfront town Gananoque has a population of 5,000 year-round residents but a large number of summer residents. As such, visitors enjoy many interesting restaurants and attractions.   One of these attractions are boat tours through the St. Lawrence River’s Thousand Islands (yes thousand islands dressing came from here).  We had dinner in one of those unique restaurants overlooking the water as we relaxed after a long day on our bikes.

Photos

Today's ride - 63.5 miles

Trip to date - 324.9