Day 54

7/15/09: Segments 54 and part of 55; http://www.4thehealthofit.net/segment_htmls/Segment54.html South Baymouth, Ontario to Owen Sound, Ontario; 70 miles.

Great news and really bad news last eve. Jerry Jividan made it up here to vistit and take pics of us riding. Bad new is that Tim and Judy will not be able to make it. I’m very, very bummed that Judy cannot come up.

Today was probably right up there with one of the worst days I’ve had on this trip. Now I know that some of you don’t feel a bit sorry for me when I say that because here I am doing this dream trip of riding a bike every day and seeing and experiencing Canada for its land, its people and its magnificent scenery. I get it. But let me tell you that all is not a bed of roses day after day. It’s like anything else in life as you do it long enough that the novelty can sometimes wear thin. Well, today was one such day.

         We did our ferry crossing from South Baymouth to Tobermory at 9:10am, and who pops up again as we pull our bikes onto the ferry – our buddy Rob. Turns out he made a wrong turn yesterday on his trip across Manitoulin Island, and was not able to cross the whole island in a day. He had to bag it about three fourths of the way across, and then start out at 5am this morning to get to the ferry on time. This kid has guts and heart all the way! So Ryan’s folks get their car aboard, and we all go up to the deck three to just sit inside and enjoy the 2 hr crossing. Besides, it was cold and cloudy out, with the potential for storms at any minute, so going out onto the outside deck was not even an option for us. We were quite content to sit at a table, the five of us, and just talk and/or work on computers.

         The crossing went by pretty fast, and before you know it Ryan and I were changing in the Tobermory ferry terminal to get ready for our 67 mile ride. Rob was going to check on a potential job down in London, Ontario, so he would not be riding with us. The wind was out of the southwest by this time, and blowing like hell. I threw on my PU gear, downed a muffin that Cherly gave me, and off we went – into the wind.

         Ryan and I had told Neil and Cheryl that we should be able to make it to Owen Sound in 4 hrs, maybe 4.5 with a bit of wind.. And that turns out to be about 17 mph with no gear on the bikes. So we get going and I’m fighting like a motha to hold 17, and I mean fighting, as the wind is a gnarly crossheadwind. And the road……pure shit! There was no bern, and it had those cracks that ran across the whole lane, like every 10 feet. The outermost part of the lane was more often than not beat up with even more cracks, and also contained chuckholes and giant gashes. Total mess. So I’m up out of the saddle every 3-4 minutes trying to get my speed back up so that we can make our time to meet up with Ryan’s folks. And we had all decided that we either meet at the Subway or the KOA. Up, down, up, down, up, down. In and out of the saddle to fight this crazy crosswind that was ever so slowly turning into a headwind.

         Now the other interesting part of this ride with that the road was as straight as an arrow (almost anyway – check a map for Rt 6 south) and with this now headwind, it was brutal to look miles down the road at nothing but straight highway and know that the relentless wind was with you each and every pedal stroke. It was a huge mental trip. There were really no turns, no curves, nothing but this straight road that went on for 50-some miles into the headwind. It was a fight from the get-go, and I turned back and told Ryan that our 17 average idea was shot, gone, dead, and that something like 15 would be amazing at that point. I finally had to give up the quest for 16-18 mph and bumped up a gear for a more reasonable 15-16, which was still a massive amount of work. Within 40 min of riding the wind had totally changed to a southerly and it was total misery. Out of the saddle on the flats. Out of the saddle on gentle uphills. Out of the saddle on descents. It was killer hard.

         And I’d watch the weeds on the side of the road just getting pushed so hard that the tops were nearly touching the soil, being bent in a near horizontal position, mile after mile. So what do I do? I revert to my old “it’s me against it” philosophy, and challenge the weeds, which are really a reflection of the wind, but the wind is invisible. So these weeds which are bent over and flapping like shredded cloths on a clothsline, they become my foe. And I yell occasionally at them, “come on you can do better than that.” And then I throw some F-bombs in there to, jump up out of the saddle and just get my gear back up to speed, and go seated. Well, I did this for about 30 min, and in the meantime dropped Ryan off of the back, totally hammered my legs, and was in the hurt locker by 1.5 hrs into the ride. And all the while I was watching that average speed drop like a rock in the water. All this mind you ……….WITH NO GEAR. With no freaking gear! There were times when I was struggling to maintain 12 mph ………with that voice in my head saying “with no freaking gear!”

         And then, with the shouting over it was time to let out a laugh of “wow this is totally shit, crazy, and here I am with another 50 miles of this to go. Unbelievable.” And then I came up with this little jingle about the F-ing crappy road and the F-ing horrible headwind, and the dark mass of clouds building up behind me that seemed to want to bust loose at any minute with a huge rainstorm. I’m not musical so I cannot give you the key I was singing it at, but it was definitely my mantra for the next hour. Total mindgames just to survive. And the time…….each minute felt like forever. I had to purposely not look at my trip time on the cyclocomputer so as to not bum myself out every so often. I’d just glance down and look at the mph without the trip time. Minutes turned to hours and hours turned to days.

         And the headwind was just incessant, relentless, never-ending.

Two hours in and Ryan was nowhere to be seen when I turned around to look down the road. It was just me and Mr. headwind. And Mr. headwind was just giving me a royal butt kicking. I wanted to stop for a coke and something to get my blood sugar up, but at just two hours in, I didn’t feel I had enough time yet to justify getting off of the bike. So I kept plugging away, thinking that maybe at the 2.5 hour mark I stop, as according to my calculations at 14 mph, my new, lower estimation, I’d hit Owen Sound in 5 hours. It’s funny, this was like a marathon where you blow up, and you look at your watch and all of a sudden you go from having this dream time you want to run, to a lowered expectation, and then when it’s still bad and you’re continuing to suffer, you lower it again, and again and again. And then finally you get to the point where you just want to finish the freaking thing. Well, that’s were I was headed with this ride. Went from 17 mph average, to 15, to 14, to 13, to 12. Now 12 was my rock bottom, I just want to make it out of here alive prediction.

         More miles – more horrible headwind. The yelling, the jingle singing, the head trip stuff, that was all gone by 2.75 hrs in. It was pure survival from then onward. And by three hours in I just HAD to stop and rest my aching legs and quench my sugar need with a ice cold coke and a candy bar. So I past a farmers market place here – nope, a restaurant there – nope, and finally I find just what I was looking for – a small gas station/store. I pulled in and almost fell off of the bike I was so tired and sore. Went in and got two NOT SO ICE COLD cokes – total bummer. But I was there, I needed the drinks, so that was that. I downed the two cokes and a Mars bar and got on the bike asap, knowing that if I doddled even a minute longer I would have payback time on the bike with stiff legs and a weak mind. So back to the fight.

         By 3.75 hrs in the wind began to die down just a hint, so I could maintain a higher average speed again. Now mind you, it was still a headwind, but just a bit milder. And my legs were to the point where they just pedaled, with no pain, with no soreness, just pedaled. And at that point I knew that my legs were turning to jelly. Ryan’s parents had passed and gave me a wave, as they were on they’re way down to Owen Sound to meet us, so I knew that they were aware of the slower pace. But I wondered if they were aware of the massive amount of suffering going on with Ryan and I. At that point I started looking at the mileage signs. And there it was Owen Sound 26 K. Now that 22 miles seemed like an eternity with the headwind, but I tried to compartmentalize it into chunks of 3 or 4 miles at a time.

         And that worked, as I just got down to business and kept the pedals turning. There was a point where the fatigue was really setting in, and I could feel my head kind of spinning a bit now and then. But nothing like the day we did 153 miles. I still had my wits about me today. I think it was just pure exhaustion at this point. And then I see another mileage sign: Owen Sound 10 K. It was like I was about to enter this dream I’d been thinking about the whole ride – the bloody end! I put it down hard to churn out those last few clicks down the road, and arrived in Owen Sound to begin my Subway hunt, and sure enough there was one about 2 miles into town. I pulled in and there was Ryan……..and I’m thinking, “how the hell did he get ahead of me, was it during my very, very brief coke stop?” His parents were parked there and he was talking with his dad.

         So I ride in and ask how the hell he got there. Well, turns out more leg problems with fighting headwind, and he got a lift with a delivery truck into town. I’ll let him tell you his grisly story himself. So I call Jerry on Neil’s cell, get him up to speed on where to meet up with us, and then go into Subway, get my usual 2 12 inchers, but I can only eat one. I was so blooming tired I just did not have the energy to get that other sub down. We then climbed on the bikes to ride out to meet Neil and Cheryl at the KOA, which was a nasty up hill, and then some country riding, probably another 4 miles to get there. And I was just whipped, dead tired, almost speechless. Set up tent, and I wanted to just crawl into it and sleep. But managed to hit the shower for a piping hot wake-up call to bring me semi back to the world. And then Jerry arrives, after a 9-hour drive to meet us.

         That impressed the living hell out of me that a friend of mine would travel 9 hours on the road to come up and hang with us for a day. So I was just so excited and happy to have him here. We all then hunted for a place for dinner, and after touring the town for 30 min looking and looking for that magical sports bar with a TV where we could watch the Tour  - we went to Shorty’s………one of the first places we hit, but had decided to keep looking for something better. I even asked a guy at the light if there’s a pub around other than Shorty’s, and he yelled back to me, “F no this is Owen Sound man.” So Shorty’s it was. And we had a very nice time.

Back to camp and Jerry and I drank a bottle of merlot under headlamp and must have talked for 2 more hours. Finally put his tent up and we hit the hay. Ryan was out like a light before we ever pulled the cork on the bottle. And that brings us to Thursday morning, which is when I’m writing this blog. I’m in the laundry room because the lobby is still closed. I tried to Skype Judy, but she cannot hear me. I know her and Tim will not be coming up today as she could talk to me on Skype, but she could not hear me. I’m bummed, but ……..what can I do. Today………..sun is starting to peak out, and that terrible front that was supposed to bring a day and night of rain has not materialized yet here in Owen Sound.

Well, lobby just opened, time for coffee. Out………..pete