- 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
Our room was nice, a suite in fact, with a shared living room and two small bed rooms. Since the restaurant closed so soon after we arrived we took our meal to our room. In the morning we headed over for breakfast only to find our they didn’t start at 8, but 9. Guess we could have slept an extra hour, or gone else where for breakfast, but dinner was good, even in the room.
The motel owners also like to go on bike tours, we chatted some during breakfast. They rode through south east Asia and India. We had nice chat about riding. We got ready and left late, but ready for the 70 miles in front of us.
Route 17 meandered all the North Channel of Lake Huron. The rode was no longer ripped up so that was nice, but there was still the traffic. It still didn’t bother us, but it was a thing. On the the plus side it was Sunday so the truck traffic was considerably lighter.
We made quick work of the first 30 or so miles till we go into Bruce Mines. Today we saw the most touring bikes of any day so far. Of course they were all heading the other way. Not that Jerry or I were ever labeled followers, but looking at EVERYONE going the other way gives anyone repose.
We stopped at a gas station for a water and a sit. I wasn’t really even thirsty but the ice cold water went down so fast and easy that I went inside for a second small water. When I came out two guys had started talking to Jerry, I joined in on the conversation. The one guy, I can’t speak to before I got there, but after I joined he was pretty over the conversation, and left shortly after. The first guy, started talk to us about our route. He was actually extremely knowledgeable about where we were, and even more important, where we are going. We talked a long time about the advantages and disadvantages of each route. Again, I could have probably found much of this information out if I did my due diligence, however, we didn’t want to make a full plan, that would probably be changed as we go.
Speaking of changing plans, this new conversation has changed everything. As the conversation continued I was very impressed with his knowledge of roads across Canada and Northern America. I really should have asked if he had driven for work, but the way he spoke it kind of sounded like he really just liked to drive. With our new route in mind we headed on our way.
We made our way down the road a bit more and started to see the sun start to drop. We looked at the map to check how we were doing. I knew we left late and I assumed we were going to get in to town around 7. I looked at the map to see the restaurant to find it was going to close at 9. Suddenly the race against closing time was on. We pushed and made our way into town relatively quick, checked in, showered and headed to dinner.
We got wine, we decided to have wine once a week. On the ride Manhattan to Miami Jerry had wine every night (except Sunday in South Carolina) while I stayed dry. On this trip we compromised with once a week, tonight being the night. We had a nice meal and some wine talking about the week.
On one of the stops a man started asking us about where we were going and how we were getting there. Some where in the conversation he noted Jerry being my senior, however ‘he’s clearly in better shape’. I laughed it off in the moment, but as the day continued I was more and more insulted. I mean yes Jerry is more fit, and maybe he just wanted give Jerry a compliment, but couldn’t he compliment Jerry without insulting me? What do I really care about some stranger man’s opinion of my body? But I’ll be honest, it did bother me. On one hand I was kind of happy that it gave me something to focus on for the rest of that day. However I did feel silly about it enough that I figured I wouldn’t include it in this. However, during dinner it came up. Jerry pointed out how the guy made a face like he regretted his comment the moment he said it. (Which I didn’t see) But I did notice when he left he did make a motion towards me as he said good bye. Jerry pointed out that that motion was, in Jerry’s opinion, his attempt to make amens. The anger I felt was a useful tool to keep me going but after talking to Jerry I realized just how silly I was about the whole thing.
We’re not as far along as I hoped, I’m not sure I’ll be able to afford this, but we are making it and most importantly we are having fun doing it.
Week 1
Total Distance : 918.77
Average Speed : 10.34 MPH
Maximum Speed : 31.1 MPH
Elevation Gain : 42,750 Feet
Max Elevation : 1,591 Feet
( All stats were obtained using Map My Ride)
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