For Ian Wheatley, there’s only one way to see a country – even if you have to go around the world do to it.
The retired Australian was one of 154 riders on the Great Waterfront Trail Adventure who bicycled through Chatham-Kent last Tuesday and Wednesday.
The adventure had riders touring from Pelee Island to Grand Bend from August 7-12. In Chatham-Kent, they paralleled the Thames River for much of the way travelling along Riverview Line where they stopped at St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church.
The group later travelled through Pain Court and visited in Mitchell’s Bay before stopping for the night in Wallaceburg.
“I ride so I can see places like this,” the retired steel industry worker said. “There is no way in the world you would be able to see this from a major highway or even in a car.”
While the riders stopped for fresh local watermelon and wraps prepared by parishioners, they raved about the benefits of cycling.
Mike Humphries of Richmond Hill, laughed that he had “avoided cycling” for 40 years before falling in love with it two years ago.
“It’s healthy, it’s social and you get to experience things in a totally different way than driving.”
The ride is organized by the Waterfront Regeneration Trust, an organization founded in 1992 out of concern for the development of waterfront property in Toronto.
The Trust established a waterfront trail – a 350-kilometre, virtually continuous trail along the Lake Ontario shoreline, which connects hundreds of parks, historic and cultural sites, wildlife habitats and recreation areas from Stoney Creek to Trenton.
The group has continued to increase its scope with plans to have 2,000 kilometers of trails by next year. In 2008 it held the first trail adventure.
This year’s group included cyclists from four Canadian provinces, four American states and 68 different cities in total. Riders ranged in age from 10 to 77.
Greeting the riders were representatives of CK Trails, the local group that has helped develop more than 70 kilometres of recreational trails and pathways designed for walkers, runners and cyclists.
Trails president Dianne Flook said the Riverview Line route is quite popular and is becoming known throughout the province.
“It’s a beautiful ride and it will be even better as we continue to grow trails such as the Round the River Trail,” she said.
Earlier this year, Chatham-Kent council approved the Round the River Route Trail project’s design process, committing nearly $1.3 million of the project’s $5.8 million cost.
That amount includes a $325,000 in grant funding under the provincial Ontario Municipal Cycling Infrastructure Program.
Flook said she hopes as more cyclists are drawn to Chatham-Kent, their economic impact will be appreciated.
“We have 150 people who came here and paid for lunch today and they’re spending the night,” she said. “That’s the tip of the iceberg when you consider the number of bicycles and gear sold each year.”
Published figures show cycling contributed more than $1.2 billion to the Quebec economy.
The Ontario government plans to invest between $150 and $220 million in Active Transportation infrastructure.
