A New Dawn

Day 6: Thursday, May 26th
London, ON -> Marine City, MI

Miles: 79.35
Total miles: 428.45
Average speed: 10.4 mph
Weather: Sunny with moderate headwind

I woke up and had breakfast with Nicole and Max before heading out. It was so nice to chat with them about traveling and I really enjoyed my stay.
I found my way out of London by way of a beautiful bike path. It was well marked and wide and had many underpasses for roads or bridges. I liked London; it didn't seem too big or small and had lots of cyclists around!
I felt as though I was creeping my way along slowly all day. The miles went one by one and I had a lot of time to think about nothing (mostly calculating mileage and trying to remember the name of the next road I would turn on). I was passing by farm after farm, and went through one town the whole day. I was about 40 miles in when I ran out of water. I had no idea what I would do because there would be no stores until the end of the day and it was hot and I was so thirsty!
I had been inspired by Nicole and Max's story and was prepared to ask a farmer to camp on a corner of his property tonight. Now I was thinking: this is my chance to practice! So I went on, trying to gather the courage to ride up so one of the many houses I was passing to ask someone for a bit of water. I planned my speech and forced my legs to just keep moving. Each house seemed not quite right though: no cars so probably no one home, busy doing farm work, dilapidated or slightly strange. Finally, I began to get a bit dizzy and totally exhausted. All I could think about was water. Next house, no excuses.
This was when I saw a house with a car in the driveway and a woman unloading her groceries. Then I saw another woman helping her. Perfect; they can't possibly think I'm scamming them! I crunched up the gravel driveway and took a big breath, "excuse me", I called. One of them noticed me. I began my speech, "so sorry to bother you, but I don't suppose I could have some water?"
They were incredibly nice. One of the woman immediately said, "of course!" And took my water bottles inside the house, after asking me if I needed a washroom. She came back with my bottles, full of water-- with ice! I found out from talking to the other woman that she was visiting her mom, who was a farmer. They were both incredibly sweet. I left and drank my delicious water within one mile of leaving the house, in disbelief of the kindness. Isn't it amazing that we are so lucky to have a little knob that we can turn to receive the essence of life, in our homes?
I continued riding and at last arrived in sarnia, where I was to take a ferry to Michigan; but first, ice cream. I remembered from my last tour, Remi and I had ice cream across the street from the ferry. I saw the same ice cream shop and stopped there for a cone of maple pecan ice cream. I talked to the shop owner for awhile and he told me he'd only been about an hour into Michigan, never any further. He used to be a farmer and he loved it but his ex wife took their farm in the divorce so he had to find something else to do. "That's life for you. Sometimes things happen that seem a little unfair." Finally, he said goodbye with, "safe travels, hope to see you again in two years!"
I got on the ferry and took it across the river. I only had to pay $2-- and pedestrians pay $3 so it's even better to have a bicycle! I arrived on the US side and had to go through customs. I felt very happy and was chatting with the border patrol woman who was checking me. She asked me where I started, and where I'd been staying. I tried to fudge it a bit so that it sounded like I wasn't a bum (I want her to let me back into the country!). Then she asked me where I was staying tonight, and if I was riding much further. I said no, I was done riding but I had no idea where I would stay. I thought I would just ride on until I found a spot to camp.
This was when she beckoned to me with her finger and said, "I have a place you can stay. And apartment. Just let me get you set up," and she went back into the building, leaving me to chat with the other friendly border patrol officers, one of whom was from El Paso!
The woman came back and gave me keys and directions to the apartment. She told me she didn't live there, it was a shelter. As I rode over, I imagined what it would look like. Probably dingy, not much inside, with dirty bunk beds. I was nervous about the result but happy to have a place to spend the night that wasn't a cemetery.
The apartment was very close and as I entered, my expectations were crushed. It was amazing! Beautifully decorated, a full kitchen, two built-in bunk beds, two TVs with lots of DVDs and an Xbox, and a bathroom stocked with mini-sizes of everything. I couldn't believe this had just happened. And I didn't even know the woman's name!
I spent the evening cleaning and eating until I was entirely full, thinking of the kindness of strangers. I cannot believe such wonderful, kind, and generous people are here--and are willing to help a complete stranger in such a powerful way. I only wish I could've spent more time chatting with her! I found out later from a guest book that her name is Nancy and she and her husband Steve run this place as a form of assistance for people who need a temporary place to stay or for victims of domestic violence. It's completely non-profit and out of the goodness of their hearts that they do this.