Gravel roads
Day 5: Wednesday, May 25th
Brantford, ON -> London, ON
Miles: 77.52
Total miles: 349.1
Average speed: 9.7 mph
Weather: Sunny with moderate headwind
I woke up at 4 in the morning (having slept very little due to barking dogs and sheer terror), but it was still dark. I continued to lie in my sleeping bag until it was beginning to get light and I began riding just before sunrise-- at 6 am.
My morning ride was great. The first 40 miles went quickly, in spite of having to navigate around some Google-suggested gravel roads. It was 10am and I was only 20 miles away! Then the wind picked up and I became tired. I realized I had far more than 20 miles to ride. I was fighting with myself. Just four more miles, then rest... Only four... Only two... Only half... Then I saw a woman on an ATV. She saw me and called "there's g---".
"I'm sorry, what was that?" She had such a strong accent that I had no idea what she was trying to tell me.
"G---". I crossed the street to get closer to her. "G--- if you turn right, g--- if you turn left. You fall"
Ohhh. Gravel. Oh well. I turned around, as I already had several times that day. I came across a gas station and as I bought a Gatorade, the friendly clerk helped me figure out my route. The last ten miles went even more quickly than the first 40. I was so close, I could taste it!
This was when I entered the city of London. I had imagined a quaint tourist town. Wrong: city population, 400,000. This was not peanuts. I had to navigate using just my google maps directions, not having a small map of Ontario. This was difficult because Google maps had given me directions such as "turn right" with no further clarification. Ummm, you call those directions? So I meandered around until I finally found the correct street, after which I meandered about some more to find service to text my host and then lay on a bench attempting to nap for an hour waiting for my hosts to get home from work.
Tonight I stay with Nicole and Max, a Canadian and a Brazilian who spent four months touring Europe by bicycle. They're a very interesting couple and I really enjoyed talking to them about traveling and not traveling and the best kind of balance. We exchanged stories over a yummy dinner of beans and chicken, followed by watermelon.
Nicole and Max met in England and were married in 2012. They moved back to Canada last year because this is Nicole's home town. They told me about all the unique things that happened to them on on tour (as is inevitable): a closed campground had them making very last minute plans, rather than chat with a sort of crazy guy they chose to ride out into the rain. Once, they asked a man if they could camp in his yard and he reluctantly said yes. Later, his wife came back and told them they could use the spigot for water. Later, she came back and said they should feel free to walk into their brother's house for a shower because he was gone. Finally, she came back again and had them go in for dinner and dessert, and then breakfast in the morning!
Now: bed. Tomorrow: (hopefully) back to the states!
Brantford, ON -> London, ON
Miles: 77.52
Total miles: 349.1
Average speed: 9.7 mph
Weather: Sunny with moderate headwind
I woke up at 4 in the morning (having slept very little due to barking dogs and sheer terror), but it was still dark. I continued to lie in my sleeping bag until it was beginning to get light and I began riding just before sunrise-- at 6 am.
My morning ride was great. The first 40 miles went quickly, in spite of having to navigate around some Google-suggested gravel roads. It was 10am and I was only 20 miles away! Then the wind picked up and I became tired. I realized I had far more than 20 miles to ride. I was fighting with myself. Just four more miles, then rest... Only four... Only two... Only half... Then I saw a woman on an ATV. She saw me and called "there's g---".
"I'm sorry, what was that?" She had such a strong accent that I had no idea what she was trying to tell me.
"G---". I crossed the street to get closer to her. "G--- if you turn right, g--- if you turn left. You fall"
Ohhh. Gravel. Oh well. I turned around, as I already had several times that day. I came across a gas station and as I bought a Gatorade, the friendly clerk helped me figure out my route. The last ten miles went even more quickly than the first 40. I was so close, I could taste it!
This was when I entered the city of London. I had imagined a quaint tourist town. Wrong: city population, 400,000. This was not peanuts. I had to navigate using just my google maps directions, not having a small map of Ontario. This was difficult because Google maps had given me directions such as "turn right" with no further clarification. Ummm, you call those directions? So I meandered around until I finally found the correct street, after which I meandered about some more to find service to text my host and then lay on a bench attempting to nap for an hour waiting for my hosts to get home from work.
Tonight I stay with Nicole and Max, a Canadian and a Brazilian who spent four months touring Europe by bicycle. They're a very interesting couple and I really enjoyed talking to them about traveling and not traveling and the best kind of balance. We exchanged stories over a yummy dinner of beans and chicken, followed by watermelon.
Nicole and Max met in England and were married in 2012. They moved back to Canada last year because this is Nicole's home town. They told me about all the unique things that happened to them on on tour (as is inevitable): a closed campground had them making very last minute plans, rather than chat with a sort of crazy guy they chose to ride out into the rain. Once, they asked a man if they could camp in his yard and he reluctantly said yes. Later, his wife came back and told them they could use the spigot for water. Later, she came back and said they should feel free to walk into their brother's house for a shower because he was gone. Finally, she came back again and had them go in for dinner and dessert, and then breakfast in the morning!
Now: bed. Tomorrow: (hopefully) back to the states!
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