![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.randonneursontario.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Screen-Shot-2021-07-19-at-9.27.59-PM.png\")
<\/a>As I continued north to Udora, the roads were empty, and the winds were light. It was almost surreal how alone I felt. This portion of the route offered smooth enough roads and before I knew it, I had arrived in Udora. It is a tiny little no-stoplight town that wasn\u2019t much more than a few houses, a gas station, and a general store. Again, I had arrived BEFORE the shop was open. Thankfully this time, I only had to wait a minute before they did. I was in need of something to eat at this point so I went for the \u201chealthy\u201d option of 2 butter tarts. They were surprisingly good considering they were not freshly made.\u00a0 Either that, or I was in enough of a dark place emotionally from the long solo ride, dark skies, and chilly weather. Whatever it was, they brightened my spirits and away I went.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The route to Uxbridge was almost a straight shot without much elevation change. Just some little rollers through typical Southern Ontario Farmland. As for the Uxbridge control, I took my geo-locational photo featuring the Uxbridge post-office mural in the background and pressed on. (After some more Garmin induced confusion\u2026 I really should have studied the route a little harder)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The journey home from Uxbridge was where my mostly enjoyable ride started to feature some more of the lovely \u201ccharacter building\u201d experiences that you MUST expect on every Brevet. The rain started as the temperature hit about 15C. Not ideal for my clothing choice and forgotten vest. That said, my feet got swamped, as well as the rest of me as the rain came down. It was at this time that my power meter decided to go a little crazy, perhaps due to some water ingress. If it wasn\u2019t for the cold and the grit, I wouldn\u2019t have been so \u201chappy\u201d about my current situation. My legs were still feeling reasonable, but I was nowhere close to setting any records on this route. The cold was just too much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The route south out of Uxbridge goes through some lovely terrain and a descent that seems to last forever. The forest smells and occasional blast of WARM air out of the woods was most welcome. The descent out of the highlands was lovely, but I was so cold and wet that my hands and wrists were starting to complain. It was of course at this point that I arrived at Whitevale Road. If you haven\u2019t experienced this road, you are in for a \u201ctreat\u201d. The potholes are impressive, as are the multiple construction and detour signs on the route. So, what did I do? I ignored all the warnings and pressed on, following the route with stubborn belligerence. Problem one: loose gravel, and potholes large enough to lose a small child. Thanks to the relentless construction and development in the area. The \u201cuse at your own risk\u201d signs are always fun. After getting through the worst of that, I arrived at problem two: Whites Road has been \u201cimproved\u201d into essentially a highway with medians and guard rails. The route is completely interrupted at this point, so I had to \u201cportage\u201d over the median to get back on route. Shortly thereafter, I arrived at problem 3: detour signs leading to a COURSE gravel road which I again ignored and pressed on to the road blockage. Concrete k-stones blocked my path, but in true Randonneur fashion, this is just part of the fun. Again I portaged over the blockage to continue the route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s at this point where my opinion about the route differs greatly from the route designer. I think the route should have gone south and re-tracked the start, but the route takes you through perhaps some of the worst trafficked roads in this part of the city. Character building of course. Thankfully my legs were feeling quite sprightly at this point and thanks to an increasingly strong wind out of the Northeast, it was easy to keep pace with traffic. Additionally, a good chunk of this portion of the route now features separated bike lanes. I wasn\u2019t completely thrilled about this portion of the route, but it wasn\u2019t much trouble thanks to increasing temperatures and the helpful wind. I arrived at the finish with little fanfare and only city traffic to greet me. I took my completion selfie and rode the remaining distance to home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In summary, this route is not without its charm. Perhaps a little too much character building for me on this wet and chilly day, but maybe when the fall colours peak on a sunny day I\u2019d consider it again, but only if I could arrange for some company.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ride report by Cameron Ogilvie. Title: Darn it to heck (For when your transgressions are insufficient to warrant more severe punishment) I\u2019m normally an early riser, but when my alarm went off at 4am I was in the wrong part … Continue reading <\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>