Checking out Toronto from the Edge with Ford Canada

Perspective is a fascinating thing. Just as our personal perspective causes us to view the world differently based on where we stand on issues, where we physically stand literally shapes how we view our world. You may have seen this fascinating post that explores how shockingly different major landmarks appear from different vantages; it makes the impact of perspective shockingly clear.

Last week, I was invited by Ford Canada to test drive the all new 2015 Ford Edge, and also to experience Ontario’s capital from a few unique perspectives.

Coming from a small town, we referred to Toronto as “the City” growing up. Despite being one of several cities within driving distance, everyone knew what you meant when you said: “I’m driving down to the City today” or “They are coming in from the City.” Like many from small towns, my personal perspective of Toronto was narrow and clouded by fear of the unknown.

Having family in “the City,” we made regular trips in, mainly to the west and north ends. Though somewhat rare, we did make it downtown for the odd baseball or hockey game, or on a field trip to a museum or other attraction. These infrequent trips provided a limited physical perspective of Toronto; that of a tourist who viewed the city as a novelty, a place full of visual “treats” and sensational experiences.

As a young adult, my perspective of Toronto widened as I took apartments in the city’s west end and worked for a few years in the core. My personal perspective also widened as I began to experience the culture of the city and befriend its people. Physically, I experienced the city from the top of office buildings, from side streets, fancy restaurants and seedy bars.

We met the Ford team at Steam Whistle Brewery to learn about the new features of the completely redesigned Edge. The perspective from the brewery was nothing new to most who have visited the city.

I was pleased to hear that the mid-sized crossover SUV was built in Canada, adding critical jobs. Hopping into one of the Titanium models, we weaved through the city streets, testing out the solid navigation system and enjoying the incredibly quiet cab, complete with well-crafted and immensely comfortable leather seats. We met at Polson Pier, a site I'd only ever visited at night to attend concerts and events at the Sound Academy (formally the Docks, for those old enough to remember).  In the daylight, we were treated to another perspective of this great city. This time, it was a beauty.

At Polson Pier we put the Edge through its paces on a closed course. Encouraged not to hold back, we challenged the vehicle through aggressive acceleration and breaking and tight turns and slaloms. The Sport model stood out firmly in these tests, feeling glued to the road and incredibly responsive. At 315 horsepower, it also had guts to spare. We gave some of the impressive driver assist technologies such as assisted parallel and perpendicular parking a try, all while enjoying the view.

The front end wide angle camera lets you pull out of tight parking spots confidently.

We took a test drive to enjoy another perspective of Toronto, the sprawling York University Glendon Campus.

We then returned to the Steam Whistle Brewery to prepare to experience Toronto from one of its most thrilling perspectives: the CN Tower EdgeWalk!

Thorough and repetitive safety checks preceded our rapid ascent up the tower’s elevator to just above the LookOut level. Stepping out the door onto the grated walkway that wraps around the tower, we were greeted with an incredible view of the Toronto Island. Taking our first, terrifying glance over the edge, we saw the Steam Whistle Roundhouse building and the Roger’s Centre, positively dwarfed-looking from 116 storeys up (1168 ft!). Walking around the tower and attempting the various lean-outs recommended by our guide, it is truly something to experience Toronto from one of the widest possible perspectives. The city is truly immense.

Perspectives. Whether you view "the City" from a bench in High Park, Yonge-Dundas Square, the top of the CN Tower or through the panoramic sunroof of a Ford Edge, there is always something that changes how you feel about a place.

How has viewing something from a different physical perspective changed your personal perspective about something? Share in the comments.

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King City Craft Beer and Food Truck Festival Recap

A post by Ed Arsenault

Beer festivals are generally common to those living in a city, but for those that live in smaller communities they don’t happen too often. Starting what will hopefully be a growing trend, the Parks, Recreation and Culture department of King Township hosted a Craft Beer and Food Truck Festival on Saturday June 14, 2014. I had the pleasure of being a guest and joining in on the festivities.

Along for the ride was our resident beer expert, Scott Fry (@SFRealManTravels) and representing Real Girl Travels was Sarah (@sarahe05). The three of us made the rounds sampling as much as we could in our relatively short time frame.

So what is different about this festival from any other?

The number one difference was that it was intended for an entire community. Knowing very well that families were the demographic, the team at King Township made sure the event catered to them. Families could be found lying in the grass on blankets with rock n roll music as the soundtrack of the day. This is the only festival I have ever attended where dogs were permitted onto the grounds. Because of that I found my own dog’s doppelganger and made some new friends (on two legs and four).

While some bigger brewers were missing from the event, the selection of good tasting beer was not. Some notables in attendance included: Flying Monkeys (@FlyingMonkeys), Steam Whistle (@Steamwhistle), Double Trouble Brewery (@HopsandRobbers), Arch Brewing Company (@ArchBrewingCo), , Hockley Valley Brewing Company, Highlander Brew Company (@HighlanderBrew) and King City's own King Brewery (@KingBrewery)

A quick recap of our favourite flavours on the day were: Orange Mungus by Flying Monkeys, an orange infused beer that tasted much more like a mimosa. I’ve declared it would be the perfect starter drink on a weekend cottage trip in lieu of orange juice. Arch Brewery's Dinner Jacket delivered a red India Pale Ale that was softened by infused oats. Highland Brewery stole the show for us with their BlackSmith Smoked Porter. Maybe it was the espresso taste, or the hints of maple and dark chocolate, or perhaps it was simply because it was the end of our drinking day. Either way we had to have more and visited the fine folks of Highlander Brewing multiple times for this drink.

Orange Mungus by Flying Monkeys

Food choices were excellent as well, with the options ranging from Mexican to Italian to Greek to smoked meats. For us the clear winner of tastiest food belonged to Gourmet Gringos and their fish tacos.

Fish Tacos from Gourmet Gringos

I hope that King Township keeps the tradition of the Craft Beer and Food Truck Festival alive and returns next year. I'd be sure to visit again, this time with my dog! Thanks to King City's Parks, Recreation and Culture team (@ParksRecCulture) for the invite out and all their hard work organizing the event.

Did you attend? Let us know below in the comments or on Twitter or Facebook. 

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Steam Whistle Brewery

Steam Whistle Brewery, A Family Adventure?!

     I have been to Toronto many times with my family for different types of Sporting Events or Ice Shows. But had never thought of going on a brewery tour while I was there. Until I heard from The Steam Whistle Brewery Company claiming it was the "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" type of brewery (Sadly, no Oompa Loompas). This sounded like the perfect place for the kids to take their dad... 

  I was right! The kids, and even my mom, had a great time. The kids were even lucky enough to pull the actual "Steam Whistle"!! (Jealous)

Three Things I love About Steam Whistle 

1. The delicious taste of the beer. 
2. The Steam Whistle Company is as Green as it gets when it comes to saving the planet.
3. Real Man Travels and Steam Whistle have "founding" similarities. Steam Whistle was thought up on a canoe trip in Ontario around a campfire and that is exactly how Real Man Travels was created.

   Steam Whistles Tour Info

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Toronto to Welland:136 km Bike Challenge

Ideas to do crazy things always seem to be created over a few drinks, but hardly ever get followed through. On September 14, 2013 I am proud to say that my good friend John and I followed through on a crazy idea and rode our bikes 136 km from Toronto, Ontario to Welland, Ontario. The best part of this is that we decided to embark on this adventure just 6 days before. This left us no time to over think it and best of all no time to train. The challenge to ourselves was to take the long ride in our current physical state.

Like most crazy ideas, people we told had many different reactions including: “You’re doing this ride…by choice?”, “You two are going to die”, “You guys are stupid” etc. We never let it bother us because for every naysayer there was someone cheering us on. We even had some friends get us some good luck drinks the night before our ride. Was it the best idea? Probably not but we can say now that we did the first portion of the ride hung over…like real men.

Getting ready to ride at 4:00 am. 

With our backpacks loaded up with water and snacks, a change of clothes and some necessary tools/repair items we met up at 4:00am in Toronto to begin our 136 km ride.  For the first half of the ride we would be following the Waterfront Trail. The Waterfront Trail is a series of connecting paths that spans from Windsor, ON to the Quebec and Ontario border for a total of 1400 km. This first half took us through Etobicoke, Port Credit, Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington and a small slice of Hamilton. Out of these areas Port Credit and Mississauga had the most scenic views. When we arrived in Port Credit a boatload (pun intended) of fishermen were loading up there vessels and it felt like we were cruising by the docks of a coastal town. The portion of the Mississauga trail featured the most parks and was quite in tune with nature and really changed my view that the city is indeed more than town homes and condos.

Some shoreline shots between Toronto and Burlington

 

My least favourite stretch was the Oakville portion of the trail. It seemed like they didn’t really care about the trail and just threw signs up along the roads. The first portion of Burlington felt this way as well but quickly changed when we got to the developed waterfront area. This was approximately the 68 km mark and we decided we would walk along the trail and see some of the sights they had. This included a model boat pool, a snack shop, beach rentals and memorials. It was a nice area but we still had a large portion to go so we rode onward under the Skyway Bridge. Along a small stretch of the trail in Hamilton before we would turn off of the Waterfront Trail for good, we decided to stop and have a beer. We grabbed a seat on some rocks in the water and cracked open a Steam Whistle and looked across Lake Ontario to see Toronto off in the distance.

A much needed beach beer break.

The next portion of the trip would see us through Stoney Creek, Grimsby, Beamsville, Vineland and finally Welland. The ride to Stoney Creek was good and smooth, we had left the trail and were mostly on roads but they were quiet enough where we could ride side by side and talk. While biking through Stoney Creek we made one big mistake. We were in an area with lots of options for restaurants to grab a bite but decided to push on to Grimsby in the hopes of knocking out a few more kilometers. There are a few rules that you should abide by when being adventurous:

1. Eat before you’re hungry
2. Drink before you’re thirsty
3. Layer up before you’re cold
4. Layer down before you’re hot

In our case we lost all fuel in our bodies before reaching Grimsby to eat and it was a complete struggle to move. We actually ended up taking a half hour break in a wine field and just laid down using our packs as pillows. After a quick Google search we found a pub that was just a mere 16 minutes ride away.

When we finally arrived in Grimsby we ate some lunch and then John asked the bartender to inspire and motivate us because we needed it and she told us a tale of how a 60+ year old couple rode in from Toronto, had lunch and then continued on to Niagara Falls the week prior. We looked at each other and knew we couldn't quit if someone 40 years older than us had done it. So we grabbed a red bull and hit the road. On the way out of Grimsby we passed a church that had a message on its sign that I feel was intended for us. I can’t remember it word for word but it was along the lines of success is yours to make. That was a piece of motivation I needed to continue and finish the last 43 km.

Misc photos from along the way.

The last 43 km were the toughest by far, not only were our knees, legs, butt and shoulders sore but now we had reached the escarpment area and had to battle hill after hill. Despite the hills, the scenery in this area was amazing. Rolling hills and wineries as far as the eye could see. It was a truly beautiful area to bike through. 

After another short break to rest our legs (at that point we were 19km from Welland) we pushed on and John started to recognize the streets of his hometown. When we arrived at Pelham Road his eyes lit up and I knew we were close.Being closer gave us both the push and drive to pick up our pace. When the "Welcome to the city of Welland" sign appeared it felt like a gift from the heavens, we had made it! We stopped to take a photo in front of the sign with our bikes held high (took John 2 tries to lift his up heh) and then we were off to John’s parent’s house which was around the corner where Frank Campion (@FrankCampion1 - Councilor Ward 2 of Welland) had set up accommodations for us.

Upon our arrival we were greeted with smiles and victory shots that were already set up on the table. I won’t forget what Frank had said about the shots already being poured, “I didn't know when you guys would arrive, but I knew you wouldn't quit”. That’s what the trip was all about, not how fast we got there but rather about pushing ourselves and not quitting on each other/ourselves and accomplishing the goal of making it.

We made it!

The funny thing about the second half of the trip is that we lost all motivation to stop and take pictures. At that point it simply became get the trip done! I personally regret it because we passed some beautiful wineries and interesting sights and I am unable to share them with you all. But what I can share now are some tips for long bike rides that we learned from this adventure:

1. Bring heavier snacks, granola bars were good, but a sandwich or something with more fuel helps when your miles away from a restaurant.
2. Don’t wear a backpack, invest in a rack and some panniers to carry the load.
3. Take as many breaks as you need
4. Every 20-30 minutes stand up on your pedals while riding and get your full weight off your butt
5. Whenever possible ride side by side to talk and distract your mind from the pain in your body

I recommend trying to push yourself on a bike trip whether it be 30 km or 300 km. There is a great satisfaction of making it somewhere using only your muscles! If you have any similar adventures, please feel free to comment below about it, I’d love to hear! And if you have any questions about our trip ask away, I’d be happy to answer.

Here is a video slideshow:

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