Thursday, July 2, 2009

Day 41




7/2/09:10 miles east of Kenora, Ontario on the farm of Clayton and Diana to Dryden, Ontario.

La la la ……..back in the saddle again, back in the saddle again…...now just imagine me singing “Back in the saddle again”. Great day, fantastic scenery and awesome asphalt berm to ride on. Woe, we have nearly 2 weeks of this kind of topography and scenery to ride through, and it’s just spectacular. I have always loved Canadian Shield country, and we’ve about 1000 miles of it to pedal up, down, along and through. And speaking of up, we got it going again with the climbing, after nearly 2 weeks of prairie, it’s actually a pleasure to get out of the saddle for stretches and climb. I really love to climb, so it’s to my satisfaction to get the climbing side of me active again.

Note to Clayton and Diana: your drive back up to Rt 17 was THE hardest climbing of the day for us, and I was well aware of that ride back up to 17 2 days ago when I descended to your farm on Tuesday.

         Ok, so the day started with me finally getting nearly 9 hours of quality sleep last night, on the stage of the entertainment hall, on a mattress, tucked inside my sleeping bag. I think I woke up once and that was it. So I really caught up on my sleep for sure. Ryan woke me at 7am, having already gotten up, had coffee, breakfast, and was on his way to getting his gear packed up. I flew through the packing regime so I’d have a tad of time to do the internet on Diana’s computer before we left. Went in for some coffee and had two PBJ’s with Diana’s home made strawberry jam – wonderful!. Greeted Stan and his friend Bev, and we talked a bit about the ride today.

         Got my computer time in, and was set for the road. Again, as has been the case with all of our Canadian hosts, I was sad to leave our new friends. But this thing just has to keep rolling despite the fact that we have 3.5 months to do it. I do feel privileged that we were able to stay for an off day at their farm and really enjoy their hospitality and their way of life. As I told Clayton yesterday when we were sitting in the gazebo sipping on beers and looking down over the acres of farmland and into the lake below, “you don’t realize how lucky you are.” And he admitted that he didn’t. And it’s like the Joni Mitchell song says: “you don’t know what you got till it’s gone”. They have a wonderful gig going out there in the bush of Kenora. Wonderful way of life and a “down on the farm existence”. I just loved it. And I definitely plan on visiting them again in the future.

         So we bid farewell to Diana, and down the gravel road we went. And then there was the infamous hill, and it was definitely little cookie material, and out of the saddle at that. But it was over withing 10 min and we were back at Rt 17 east. And then the fun began……great road, fabulous scenery and wonderful climbing. It was like a roller coaster for the first two hours of riding. Never a flat stretch, and it seemed like we were just doing these gradual stair step climbs on and on and on. With no real descents to speak of. Like, is there a drainage divide somewhere up near Thunder Bay or what? The weather was for me, really nice, somewhere in the mid 60’s, cloudy, but with slight openings of sun, and a cross tailwind. It was just right for not getting overheated and sweating all over the place. Plus, it was just the right weather for NO bulldogs! 

         I stopped numerous time for picture opps. Continued to ride through hour three, and the climbing kind of tailed off to long stretches of false flat with some real flats. My average up to then was about 12.6 mph, but with the new change of topography, I could really get her spinning up in the 16-18 mph range, so the average began to climb. Then I went from looking at the 80-miler to Dryden a bit more optimistically, believing it could be done in under 6 hours of riding.

         I passed lake after lake. It seemed that just around every corner was another lake. If you have the time, pull out a map and look at Northern Ontario, and just look at all the lakes, thousands, tens of thousands of them. And this area that we’re in right now is more lake than land. I just love it. So I’m getting close to 4 hours into the ride, and I planned on stopping at Vermillion Bay for a quick pick me up – coke, candy bar and whatever else. And low and behold, the sun had began to come out as the thick layers of clouds were clearing. What did this mean? Yup, the bulldogs. I did have a couple of these God awful harpies fly around me, but nothing, NOTHING as bad as what we experienced in Manitoba. So putting up with 2-3 bulldogs flying around is no problem. Matter of fact I’m riding along and I see this massive shadow behind me and I’m thinking, “you’ve got to be kidding me, is that a bulldog?” And I look up and it’s a bird flying over me. “Wow, I must be hallucinating” I thought.

         I get to Vermillion Bay and find a nice little gas station/store and get my coke, a mars bar, and a sandwich. Waited for Ryan for about 25 min.

Ryan pulls in with a fellow cross country cyclist by the name of Rob. Rob began in Prince Rupert, BC, a very nice starting point, darned near in Alaska. We talked for a bit about our trailers, as Rob was considering it, but opted for rear panniers. And he had those puppies piled high with gear. Rob was considering riding further east than Dryden today. So Ryan and Rob grab some food. Ryan and I bid him a temporary farewell as we’ll likely see him sometime in the next couple of days if he’s going further than us today.

         I pulled ahead or Ryan on a climb and kind of got the wheels rolling for that last 42K of riding into Dryden. This is pretty much my MO. I almost always crush the final portion of the day’s ride, just because I can kind of smell the hay in the barnyard thing. I love riding the last 20-30 miles at a good clip……because I’m pretty hungry at the end. A great appetite awaits if you ride the end nice and aggressive. And other than one or two middle cookie climbs, the final stretch to Dryden is flat to rolling, so I’m able to keep some good punch to the pedals. Dryden comes up pretty fast, and it’s been a great day as the sun is now pretty well out, with just cotton ball clouds floating through the sky.

         Now I had seen a sign for Subway some 8 miles outside of Dryden, and Ryan and I have this understanding that we go directly to a Subway if we’re riding separately, and eat and wait for the other. So that was my plan, and I’m sure that when Ryan saw the Subway sign, he knew where to find me. And the Subway is about 3 miles into town. Dryden is probably the largest place we’re going to hit between Kenora and Thunder Bay, and I was pretty concerned about having wifi so as to send out my weekly workouts in a timely manner. So I was banking on getting wifi one way or another in Dryden so as to not be hanging in nowhere land with no wifi in the next 2 days.

         Go into Subway, order my usual, get the same look from the Subway gal that I always get when I order 2 12-inch subs to eat inside – wide eyes and jaw dropped. “Yea, I know,” I tell her, “but I just biked 80 miles and I’m hungry.” I get that look all the time now. It’s pretty funny, especially when Ryan is around because he gets the laughing machine going asap, goofing on our eating abilities. I also got my “bottomless” fountain coke and commenced to devouring the carcass. I always look at my watch when I arrive somewhere so I have an idea of where Ryan is in relation to when I stop. So I noted the time I rolled into Subway, and then began eating. He usually arrives about the time a get one sub down. But this time I get both subs down, 3 20 oz cokes down, and nothing. So I sit for another 15 min, looking at the map. Nothing.

         At that point I was getting cold in the AC, and went outside to sit in the sun and wait for Ryan. Now 45 min roll by, and I just know that I’m not putting that kind of time on him in 24 miles of riding. An hour goes by. Nothing. I go in and fill up my water bottle with ice and water several times. Still nothing. At that point the mind begins to go into all sorts of direction. I know he at the very least flatted. So I’m hoping now for just a flat and no more crazy breakdowns like he’s had in the past. Worst case scenario…..nope, don’t want to go there. So now 1.5 hrs go by, and I’m kind of freaking because he’s not here, and the fact that I have to get my workouts sent out today. I go in and ask about internet access in town. The girls say that the only place they know of is at a Starbucks down further east in town.

         My dilemma is that that Subway is our meeting place, so I cannot and will not leave, but have to find wifi to get those workouts done. And I remember that there was a cheap motel just up the road a half mile that advertised wifi. So I go inside the Subway and ask the staff if and when Ryan comes in, to tell him to go back up the road a half mile to the motel and I’ll be there. And I’m just hoping against all odds that I don’t find myself in another situation like we had on Icefields Parkway, when Ryan was missing for half a day. So I come out and low and behold, there’s Ryan riding down the road. Hallelujah! All those thoughts and worries were just sent spinning down the drail. I was really happy to see that he was ok.

         Turns out he had a flat in the yak tire, and tried to ride a slow leaker for a bit, but it just got too flat. He had to find someone with a air compressor because I had the pump. So he did find the compressor, and put in a new tube, and then finished the ride to Dryden. So I just told him of my plans since the time was way later than either of us had planned on with respect to finding a place to camp. Had to get my wokouts out, and off to the cheap motel it was. Got the place, and here I sit. Most all of my training work is done, and I’m getting hungry again………amazing right? Ryan is chilling doing some channel surfing.

         The next three days to Thunder Bay will probably take us through some of the most remote area that we’ve encountered on the trip. I’m told that the cell service out here is totally hit or miss, and such was the case at Clayton’s farm, where I could not use my air card on my computer. Thus, Diana was kind enough to let us use her computer to send and retrieve emails. But I could not send my workout files, or we could not skype. So doing this kind of ride, in this part of Canada, and both of us having to have some contact with the outside world, at least every other day, is tricky.

         So if you happen to send us an email in the next 3 days and get no response, and/or see no blogging in the next three days, you’ll know why…….no wifi, no aircard access, no nothing. We could likely encounter the same problem between Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie. But we’ll work on that one once we reach Thunder Bay.

         So, all is well, and we’re fine. Let’s hope for more good weather and a wonderful tailwind to Thunder Bay. Tomorrow……..the town of Ignace or the hamlet of English River. We’ll see how the legs feel and what the terrain and weather will give us. All the best………Pete

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