Toronto to Niagara Falls on Bikes - 2014

A bit over two years ago, a bunch of us rode to Niagara Falls from Toronto. It was my first time riding that far and proved to be a real challenge. Due to my knee that was hurting me, I could not ride back the next day and it has been a disappointment for me. Two years later, I wanted to do this again with my older kids, as an adventure and hopefully a fun time before school starts.

The gang - Dillon, Megan, Ryan and Lens Bubbles. Click for larger.

We planned to go at a slower and more constant pace of about 20 km/h  so that we don't exhaust ourselves early on, but that turned out to be less of a problem. We took the Waterfront Trail for most of the way there but switched to directions provided by Google Maps.  the Waterfront Trail has very good signage but sometimes signs were not visible at some turns. We spent quite a bit of time checking directions to make sure we are on the right track. The Google Maps directions had a couple of steps omitted, causing us more delays. One advice when using Google Maps directions is to check each point on the map to make sure they are correct.

Last time I rode a vintage Coppi bike with a Brooks saddle, which was a real mistake. The saddled was very hard and my butt felt like it was on fire at the end of the trip. This time I made sure everyone got comfortable seats, and I brought along a gel seat cover, which made a big difference.

Beautiful Port Credit - Sony A7 & Carl Zeiss FE 35mm f2.8 ZA. Click for larger.

 
The Waterfront Trail is very beautiful and a scenic route. It passes many towns and cities, parks and natural conservation areas, and best of all, most of the ride is along Lake Ontario. There is one section of the trail, the 8.5km Hamilton Beach Trail, is one of the best part of the ride. It is really beautiful. The last time we rode there, we missed it.

Sign of confusion: Note both street names are identical. Sony A7 & FE 35mm f2.8 ZA.

Checking the map to make sure we are on the right track.

I brought along my Sony A7 and the Zeiss 35mm f2.8ZA.  For the first 50km, I just hung it on my neck and took pictures of the kids while riding, but that proved to be tough on my neck, so I took it off and left it in my bag. My old problem, the pain in my right knee, was also starting to hurt. This really dampened my spirit as it ruined my trip last time. Expectedly, it got worse as I rode. We had to stop and get a knee brace, which helped a great deal.

Trail Blazers -- Sony A7 and Carl Zeiss FE 35mm f2.8ZA. click for larger.

We were lost a couple of times near Niagara Falls following the Google Maps directions.  Also, as we are closer to the end, the elevation in the last 30km was something close to 120 meters, and there are many hills to climb. It was difficult for Megan, as she being the youngest and riding this far for the first time, but she's tough as a nail and very determined.

Taking a break at the same spot we did two years ago!

We made it to Niagara Falls in around 12 hours. It would have been at least an hour shorter if we didn't have to do so many checks on the map and getting lost. My wife and my youngest son were waiting for us there.

My knee was getting very bad and I knew it would not be possible to ride back in this condition. My wife prepared some vitamin treatment for me, and I prayed for my knee to get better in the morning. In credibly, it did and I was feeling much better but still hurts. I really didn't want to disappoint Dillon, as I knew he really wanted to ride back, so I decided to do it.

We left Megan and Ryan in Niagara Falls, and Dillon and I headed home. 1/3 of the way home, my other knee was having the same symptom as my right knee, which was starting to hurt. Another knee brace and a couple of Tylenol later, I forced myself to continue. Needless to say, the last 20 km was one of the most difficult ride I had ever done, but we made it home.

I am so proud of the kids, especially Megan. She's one tough kid. Ryan has been training for this for a few weeks and it was much easier for him this time than the last, and Dillon, he made the trip seem so easy. He was carrying most of the supplies and tools, and he was the front person for drafting.  It's too bad this will likely be my last long cycling trip due to my knee problem, but I am happy I made it there and back.

Biking From Toronto To Niagara Falls

On Canada Day (July 1st), seven of us rode our bicycles from Toronto to Niagara Falls, to test our endurance.  We started at 6am and arrived at Niagara Falls at 7pm, for a total of 13 hours, covering more than 170KM of distance.  My 13-year-old son Ryan, who rode more slowly, hence the longer time it took.

Dillon, Kevin, Lens Bubbles, Ryan, Quang and Ivan. My friend Cliff would join us later in Mississauga. Click for larger.

The event didn't start out smoothly.  I had a fall just a few kilometers from where we started, and had  a scraped knee.  Luckily, it was only the skin and nothing serious, except a sore shoulder.  We pressed on and at around Mississauga, two flat tires from Dillon's front wheel.  Fortunately, after this, no more flats.

Scraped knee.

I am very proud of Ryan, who didn't have much bike riding experience and made it to Niagara Falls, despite the initial rough start.  And also for Dillon, who's a year older than Ryan.  He also rode back the next day.  For me, about 2/3 of the way there, my right knee joint started to hurt and it got worse as I rode.  By the time we were near our destination, I was practically peddling only with my left leg, and was limping my way to the hotel.

Taking a break at Grimsby.

There were seven of us riding to the Falls, but only three were riding back (Quang, Kevin and Dillon).  The rest of use either was driven or took the train home.  It took roughly 12 hours for the three to ride back.  The trip was very challenging for all of us.  The hot weather and humidity made it worse.  We consumed large amount of water and sugary drinks on the way there.  It was truly a great experience.

Lens Bubbles and Ryan arriving at the Niagara  Falls.

NEX-5 Back to Sony for Repair

Actually, there is nothing really wrong with my NEX-5, in terms of operations and functionality.  It's purely a cosmetic problem: the anti-reflective coating on the rear LCD has all but rubbed off except near the center of the screen.  It looks really disgusting when the screen is turned off although it's not as bad when it's on.  I don't think it's acceptable that the coating comes off so easily.  Sony should either provide a glass cover for the LCD screen or make the coating stay on more permanently.

At the moment, I don't know if it's even covered under warranty until the technician has a look at it.  This is the first time I have had to use Sony's customer service and so far it's been very positive.  The reception and the facility is excellent (although it's hard to find the customer service department.)  I was quoted a turn around time of 1 to 10 business days, depending on availability of parts.  This is a far cry from the Canon service when I regularly had to waiting at least two weeks and most often four weeks.

When the screen is fixed, I will put on a screen protector first thing.

On a side note, I have been really going gaga over the NEX-7.  Today I read the image comparison of the A65 (version 1.02 firmware) versus the the A850 on a Chinese site and I am really impressed with the high ISO performance of the 24MP APS-C sensor on the A65 (and the A77, NEX-7).  Too bad these are all jpg images but the improvement is like night and day in terms of noise reduction, especially chroma noise.  Given the translucent mirror that causes a 1/3 EV light loss on the A65, the NEX-7 image should actually be marginally better.  If the final image quality of the NEX-7 is similar to what I see on the A65, I will not hesitate to buy NEX-7 as soon as it hits the dealers' shelves.

Skylon Tower in the distance, Niagara Falls -- Sony NEX-5 & 18-55mm kit lens.

Skywheel at Night

Skywheel viewed from the side -- NEX-5 & Sony 16mm Pancake

Took the kids to Niagara Falls for a couple of days this long holiday weekend.  As usual, everything is expensive in a tourist area like Niagara Falls, but the kids had fun.  We took a walk at night around Cliffton Hills and the Sony 16mm lens came in really handy.  I could shoot hand held and still got sharp pictures.  I have heard a lot of bad things said about the 16mm f2.8 lens, but I really like this little pancake.  It's very sharp in the center at f2.8, and quite acceptable at th edges stopped down.  For the money, it's a good deal.

Night Shooting Handheld with the Sony 16mm Pancake

So far the fastest native autofocus lens for the Sony NEX is  the 16mm f2.8 pancake.  I shot with it one night on the NEX-5 when we were in Niagara Falls this holiday weekend.  The wide angle plus the relatively fast maximum aperture allows shooting of 1/30s or even a bit slower and still get sharp pictures.  I find that the keeper rate is pretty good.  Since it's a wide angle, it does not need to stop down significantly to get good depth of field.  Very happy with this lens.

One of the things I am unhappy with the NEX-5 is that the auto focus system is much worse than the Panasonic G1 or GF-1.  The G1's focus is nearly always fast and sure.  The NEX on the other hand, has trouble focusing evening in very good light.  Most of the pictures I shot had to be focus adjusted by hand before they were taken.    So, it's auto focus system is nearly useless for low light work.

I am happy to find that ISO 1600 is usable on the NEX-5.  It's comparable to the 5-year old 1D Mark IIn.

Skywheel at night -- NEX-5 & 16mm f2.8 Pancake. Click to see larger.

LED Water Fountain -- NEX-5 & 16mm f2.8 Pancake. Click to enlarge.

Dome of the Fallsview Casino's water fountain at entrance -- NEX-5 & 16mm f2.8 Pancake.

Winter Wonderland

Megan & William enjoying the snow -- Canon 5D & EF 85mm f1.2L. Larger Picture.