- 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
The dorms were comfortable but cold. When my alarm went off I found Jerry in a sheet cocoon. The “breakfast” started at 6:30 but when we got there at 7 nothing was out yet. When they did put stuff out, it was only apples and coffee. Jerry had the cherries he bought a day or two ago and I had a shake. And in no time we were on our way.
I looked at the map and choose not to take the bike path, not to take the major road, but to take a few country roads that connected to make a zig zagging path toward our goal. It was actually very nice. Shade, little wind, almost no traffic, ideal for biking. We saw a couple road biking but only from a distance.
As we made our way down our zig zagging path we came across a hardware store. Jerry ran in to buy a pair of pliers so I could stop jury rigging (*GG) something to pull out anything giving us flats. I was kind of pleased with my self getting the last bent and twisted piece or metal out using an allen key, but the pliers are the correct tool.
While Jerry was inside the hardware store I saw a few bikes parked outside a cafe. When Jerry came out he said the clerk recommended we eat there. We walked next door as the cyclist exited. The were very happy to see us. We chatted about where there were from and heading, and what we were doing. I find it interesting that when one meets a similar group, there are similarities between all of the groups players. Maybe it is just our brains trying to put things together in ‘like groups’ or maybe personality types tend towards the same things.
The ‘leader’ of their group was an older gentleman, Bob Ormerod. We chatted while he plotted the next leg of their ride. He had old maps, cut or ripped to size of whatever holder he probably had mounted on his bike. He asked about out route. When I told him a few bullet points. He responded with, basically those roads are shit, there are nicer roads, and we are no longer spring chickens with bravado. On one hand I was happy that he did’t decide to just talk to me as Jerry’s little friend, on the other, I’m like thirty years your junior.
We chatted about our route after they left. Again Jerry and I had the notion that, the short road is this way, lets go this way. I don’t think it’s bravado. Sometimes the easy way is the hard. If you need to pick something heavy up, sometimes its better to just pick it up. Obviously this isn’t a rule across the board, and there are many times when caution and planning around obstacles is preferred. However, traffic is traffic. We are doing our thing, they are doing their thing, hopefully we can just do our things and never meet.
We left the cafe just in time to see our new friends finishing fixing their flat. We had a third good bye and turned right as they headed straight. As we rode we at first had a feeling of, ‘these are the roads to be avoided?’ As we continued the wind picked up and up. Mostly a head wind, which isn’t great but better then a wind blowing you towards traffic. As the day continued I started to wonder if the wind was the issue more then traffic. The larger road didn’t have the the same tree cover as the small roads. We continued and the traffic picked up and picked up.
Canada’s roads labeled 400’s are like the interstates in the US, and the roads with a crown above the number is like a state road. We passed over a 400 road. Wide, beautiful shoulder. The exit ramps might be hell but the shoulder looked lovely. But we will stay regaled to the below 400 roads.
We rode toward the dreaded detour sign. We paused to look at the map. I think I see a way, so we decide to press through. As we approach the construction it looks not passable. Suddenly from the dust we see a bike emerge coming toward us. Did he get through or was he heading our way and had to come back? When we meet, we flag him down. Road was impassable by him but he thinks we could make it, also he tells us the detour is LONG. We press ahead just a few more yards and the road I saw on the map was there for the taking. There were rocks blocking the road from cars but our bikes easily fit through. We rode through what looked like the set of The Stepford Wives. Where we entered the houses weren’t done, but there was an entire community that went on and on. We rode through questioning how one can even find their house when everything is the same.
A few turns and suddenly we are at a hills crest. There was a nice bike lane that started just in time for the drop. This was a really nice long drop. Some tree cover, parks and views, all with a nice bike lane. However it quickly became apparent that we would have to ride up out of this hole we just entered. Jerry bought some new socks and I got the one tube our size the bike shop (Free Wheel Cycle) had. Then the hill climb out.
Once out of the climb the road got busy and busier. Suddenly we were on a fairly major road. The traffic was fast moving and the shoulder was small. I wondered if this is what Bob warned us about. We made it safe and sound but maybe I should listen to the locals better.
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