Day 3-5: London Calling

Day 3

Rainy weather and less than ideal road conditions made the Dutton to London trek not the most enjoyable ride we have had so far. But once we got to London the weather cleared and things started to improve quickly. Jim Johnston from the Green Party, local MP Irene Mathyssen, local councillors Joni Baechler and Judy Bryant, as well as the Town Crier Bill Paul, were there to meet us with a friendly welcome at Market Square. Afterward, we headed off to Elgin Hall where Joni and Judy had made arrangements for us to stay free of charge. Finally a hot shower!

Day 4

The next day we met up with some local members of the community for our first scheduled MP visit. Unfortunately, Ed Holder, Conservative MP and representative for London West, was not there and the staff in his office refused to open their door for us. Undeterred we went back outside where we had set up our windmills and staged a die-in on his lawn. Thanks to Cory, Krista, Dillon, and Gosse for joining us! No thanks to the London Police Department for showing up and trying to intimidate us for exercising our democratic rights.

Day 5

Today we went to visit Glen Pearson's office, Liberal MP for London North. Although he wasn't there to speak with us, his staff gave us a much warmer welcome and his assistant took the time to meet with us. Glen has already signed the Kyoto Plus Pledge for Politicians and we are hoping he will be a strong advocate for the Climate Change Accountability Act when Parliament reconvenes in September.

Winds of Change in Merlin

Sometimes we're not always sure why were going to certain places until we get there. By the time we got to Merlin, the answer was clear. We were smack in the middle of a major wind farm. Built by Kruger Energy this 101.2 MW project produces enough energy for 30,000 homes, with more to come. With 44 turbines already operating, Kruger Energy has been rewarded a contract through the Ontario Power Authority to build 44 more. This will generate tax revenue for the municipality, lease payments for landowners, and, of course, more green renewable energy!

With three other wind farm projects in development, the Chatham-Kent area is on its way to become a renewable energy power hub. By 2013, there will be five farms in the area totalling 418MW of power and energy for over 120,000 homes!

Day 1-2: Windsor-Merlin, Merlin-Dutton

The weather was great for our departure from Windsor. Over the next eleven days, Katelyn will be cycling 50-100km daily on her way to Toronto and I will be following in a Toyota Prius hybrid as the support vehicle. Despite hitting a couple detours along the way, Katelyn and I both made it into Merlin without any hitches. That night was the real adventure though as we ended up going to the wrong church for our accomodation. After a couple of hours of waiting we decided we had misunderstood the arrangement and that maybe it was intended for us to camp out on the lawn. So we pitched our tents around in the backyard. Then at around nine oclock we got a call from a somewhat befuddled pastor wondering where we were. Apparently there are two United Churches with the same pastor. One in Merlin and one in Fletcher. We were at the one in Fletcher. Whoops. Since we were already set up, we decided to spend the night outdoors anyway.

On Tuesday we were up bright and early for our long haul from Merlin to Dutton. It was a beautiful day and Katelyn related that it was a very pleasant ride along the Talbot Line Trail. As for myself, I got in to town pretty early, and so had time to look around the main drag, check out the library, and most importantly confirm our accomodation! That night we watched Sisters on the Planet, a great documentary produced by Oxfam about four woman who are personally engaged in the struggle against climate change.

Oh, yeah, at some point we started calling the Prius Cameron Diaz.

Introducing Dr David Suzuki - Public School that is

While staying at St. Paul's United Church, the ministers there told us of a fantastic new project that we just had swing by and see before leaving Windsor. It's called the Dr. David Suzuki Public School and it will be Canada's first LEED Platinum certified school. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is the world's most recognized standard for green building design. The school will open in Fall 2010 and will be the first time the famed scientist has allowed an educational institution to adopt his name.

Notable features for the school will include a wind turbine and solar panels for green energy, geo-thermal heating, a green roof, a grey water system, and a "living wall" which will naturally purify air inside the building.

The project is a joint venture between the Government of Ontario and the Essex County District School Board.

We're off!

Last night we stayed at St. Paul's United Church. We were warmly greeted by Rev Olav Kitchen and his team. They made us dinner and returned in the morning to send us off with a hearty breakfast. Many thanks to Olav, Marilyn, Ina, and Katie!

Then at Centennary Park, Rosalie came all the way from Toronto to send us off for our official launch. Pedal for the Planet Ontario is officially under way!

See you in Merlin!

Where are we going?

We will be cycling from Windsor to Ottawa and making a lot of stops along the way. So feel free to come on out and join us! Maybe you'd even like to come along for the ride :)

Here's where we'll be for the first leg of the tour from Windsor to Toronto which runs from Aug 24-Sept 3. More details will be added as we plan specific events.

ITINERARY

DAY 1
Aug 24 - Windsor to Merlin (67.5 km; approx. 7 hrs travel time)
DEPARTURE FROM WINDSOR
Location: Centennial Park
Time: 0900

ETA in MERLIN 1700

DAY 2
Aug 25 - Merlin to Dutton (90 km; approx. 9 hrs travel time)
DEPARTURE FROM MERLIN
Location: Merlin Rd./Middle Line Intersection
Time: 0900

ETA in Dutton 1930

DAY 3
Aug 26 - Dutton to London (52.5 km; approx. 5.5 hrs travel time)
DEPARTURE FROM DUTTON
Location: Miller Rd./Pioneer Line Intersection
Time: 1000

ETA in London 1700, arrival event at Farmers Market (Talbot/King)

Contact: jjohnston@greenparty.ca

DAY 4, DAY 5
Aug 27, 28 - London
Aug 27 @ 1300 London West, Ed Holder Conservative

200-390 Commissioners Rd. West

T: (519) 473-5955

Aug 28 @ 1300 London North Centre, Glen Pearson Liberal

768 Maitland Street London, Ontario N5Y 2W3

T: (519) 663-9777

DAY 6
Aug 29 - London to Stratford (56.25 km; approx. 6 hrs travel time)
DEPARTURE FROM LONDON
Location: Fanshawe Park Rd./Clarke Rd. Intersection
Time: 0900

ETA in Stratford 1800

DAY 7
Aug 30 - Stratford to Kitchener (48.75 km; approx. 5 hrs travel time)

Pedal for the Planet Breakfast and Service, St Johns Church
Breakfast 8.30am
Bike send off 11.00am
St John's United Church
175 Waterloo Street, Stratford, ON

DEPARTURE FROM STRATFORD
Location: St. John’s United Church
Time: 1100

ETA in Kitchener 1500
1530 visit Stephen Woodworth, MP Kitchener Centre Conservative

Suite 12, 300 Victoria Street North
Kitchener ON N2H 6R9
T: (519) 741-2001

DAY 8
Aug 31 - Kitchener to Guelph (17.5 km; approx. 2 hrs)
DEPARTURE FROM KITCHENER
Location: Fountain St./Kossuth Rd. Intersection
Time: 0900

ETA in Guelph 1100
1200 event at City Hall
1 Carden Street
Guelph, ON

Our contact at the city is Rob Kerr, Guelph City Council, 226 979 1484. Rob.kerr@guelph.ca

DAY 9
Sept 1 - Guelph to Bronte Creek Provincial Park (73.75 km; approx. 7.5
hrs travel time)
DEPARTURE FROM GUELPH
Location: Ignatius Jesuit Centre
Time: 0800

1400 STOP in Burlington, event at City Hall CONFIRMED
1600 visit Mike Wallace, MP Burlington Conservative N N CONFIRMED

777 Guelph Line, Ste 209 L7R 3N2

T: (905) 639-5757

ETA in Bronte Creek Provincial Park 1830
No event

DAY 10
Sept 2 - Bronte Creek Provincial Park to Mississauga (41.25 km;
approx. 4 hrs travel time)
DEPARTURE FROM BURLINGTON/BRONTE
Location: Burlock Dr./Lakeshore Rd. Intersection
Time: 1000

1100 STOP in Oakville; visit Terence Young, MP Oakville Conservative

337 Kerr St. L6K 3B7

T: (905) 338-2008

1430 STOP in Mississauga; visit Paul Szabo, MP Mississauga South Liberal

1684 Lakeshore Rd. W, Unit 20 L5J 1J5

T: (905) 822-2111

ETA in Mississauga 1730

DAY 11
Sept 3 - Mississauga to Toronto (37.5 km; approx. 4 hrs travel time)
DEPARTURE FROM MISSISSAUGA
Location: Mississauga Rd./Eglington Ave. Intersection
Time: 0900

* ETA in Toronto 1300

* subject to change

What is Pedal for the Planet?

A new climate treaty will be negotiated during international climate talks in Copenhagen, Denmark, December 7-18, 2009. Canada now stands out as one of the last major industrialized countries opposed to targets for deep reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and one of the biggest blockers of climate change negotiations.

Pedal for the Planet is our chance for individuals, organizations and communities to join together, to ensure that Canada does its fair share to tackle the climate crisis. Starting on July 3, people across the country will join rides and walks leaving the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Using bikes, trains and other modes of green transport, we will demonstrate our personal commitment to change, and relay our expectations for a Copenhagen climate treaty on to Ottawa.