- Day 1 -1 Week
- Day 1 -12 Hours
- Day 1
- Day 2
- Day 3
- Day 4
- Day 5
- Day 6
- Day 7
- Day 8
- Day 9
- Day 10
- Day 11
- Day 12
- Day 13
- Day 14
- Day 15
- Day 16
- Day 17
- Day 18
- Day 19
- Day 20
- Day 21
- Day 22
- Day 23
- Day 24
- Day 25
- Day 26
- Day 27
- Day 28
- Day 29
- Day 30
- Day 31
- Day 32
- Day 33
- Day 34
- Day 35
- Day 36
- Day 37
- Day 38
- Day 39
- Day 40
- Day 41
- Day 42
- Day 43
- Day 44
- Day 45
- Day 46
- Day 47
- Day 48
- Day 49
- Day 50
- Day 51
- Day 52
- Day 53
- Day 54
- Day 55
- The End
- Retrospective
We had a nice dinner last night. It was an odd place, like the nice date night spot for the college, but with live music. More importantly they had pasta and salads. I think our server told the bar tender what we were up to, so he came over to wish us luck and congratulate us this far. Which was very nice but very unexpected, I think he might have thought we were unappreciative. We were really just caught off guard, this guy shows up at the table and just congratulates us. Maybe just the New Yorker in us, but when someone just approaches like that, they must be up to no good… OH, you’re just being … nice. ?
On the morning of day 10 we wake up knowing today is just a push. Route 6 north, no turns, no real stops just go go go.
Breakfast was a fine waffle machine.
Finish drying the clothes in the sun.
Pack.
Ready to go.
The morning air was crisp and a nice ride. Past the college and up the hill toward the edge of town. The hill before the end of town had construction and I think we weren’t supposed to ride up. At the top we got caught at the light, Jerry was little in the intersection. I noticed a cop, or what ever they are called here, standing slightly behind a wall waiting for someone to grab. I saw him looking at us. He’s about to come over. What, exactly he is going to bust our balls on I’m not sure. Just then a guy crossing the street wearing a tee shirt “I’m retired / ask someone else”. Jerry say’s ‘I like your shirt, I just retired’. And just like that the cop backed away. It was pretty great.
We rode on Route 6. Sorry Bob. It really wasn’t that bad. Traffic moved fast and there wasn’t much on the road, but all in all fine.
The only problem with the day, for me anyway, was my constant playing with what’s next. It was a real mind fuck, that I ‘knew’ the next thing was right around the corner, except when it wasn’t it took the wind out of my sails. All day, it felt like I was going backwards. Next whatever is 10 miles away, but it was 12. Then next thing is just over this hill, but it was three more hills. It really, in hindsight wasn’t a hard day, except I made it hard on myself by constantly ‘knowing’ what is next, or more importantly, being wrong about what was next.
The wind was pretty unrelenting again. I complained most of day 9 about it, and most of day 10’s morning. Finally Jerry says he’s had enough of his own lip problems and was going to apply lap balm. He bought us a tube each for the Manhattan – Maimi trip we did two years ago. I watched him put his on before I finally opened my bag to dig out mine. And with instant relief I remembered on the Manhattan – Maimi trip I was equally reluctant, and had equally instant relief. Why must we hold off on solutions because of some preconceived idea?
While riding we saw a man run out, from the left to stand on the shoulder on the side we are riding. Jerry said hello as he passed, but the man clearly came out to talk to us. I stopped. The man asked me if it was in fact it was us that he saw that morning in Fergus. When I said we had rode Route 6 from Guelph, he was elated. He told me about a few tours he did on bike, but we shared the ferry from Tobermory to South Baymouth. Though he was getting on the ferry tomorrow, and us the next day, mostly because he was driving to Vancouver. They trip was a drive to Vancouver to then turn around and drive to the East Coast… he didn’t specify which city. He then gave us two waters. It was very nice that he came out to greet us, and give us water, just because he likes riding his bike too.
By the time we got to the hotel I was so over it. It had been just around this corner for the last twenty, thirty corners… and out country corners that you can see coming for a mile or two. I ran inside, checked in and got comfortable.
This feels like a sad post, but in the end of the day it was a very slowly learned but important lesson… Take it as it comes.
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