Back on the saddle

So, as suspected I was little sore today – sitting against that tree wasn’t a good idea. Despite that, I had grand plans for an early departure this morning – and not just to get away from the mosquitos. Oh, and speaking of which – I have to say the existence of such creatures gives a lot of weight to the Theory of Evolution. I mean, what kind of benevolent entity would create nature in all its beauty and then fill it with blood thirsty mini-vampires? Yes, that’s rhetorical.

Anyway, my plans of an early departure, well … departed when I realized I needed to charge the batteries in my cameras. Yes, cameras. As in plural. Because I really need to be carrying extra weight. Good thing I’m losing a lot of weight by not eating! I finally hit the road by 9:00am which wasn’t too bad as today was scheduled to be a relatively short day. And for once that plan actually, basically came to fruition.

There was one minor hiccup at the 55km mark. I had stopped at the 50km mark to have some “lunch” (peanut butter sandwiches) and then carried along on my way. I don’t know why but at the 55km mark I looked down to where my GoPro was hanging only to find that my GoPro wasn’t hanging there. I believe I said, “Gosh, darn. How unfortunate.” (then again, that might not be an exact quote). There was probably also a, “No-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!!!” in there for dramatic effect – which I could’ve shot had I not lost my GoPro.

Anyway, I knew I had it at my lunch stop, but I really didn’t want to lug all my stuff back there to find it. So, I took all the bags off the bike, put them on the side of the trail and raced back on my now significantly lighter bike. About 2.5km into the ride I notice another cyclist on the trail – which was a very rare site. I also noticed said cyclist stop to pick something up – I could only assume it was my GoPro. SO, putting it into high gear I raced ahead and a few moments later had closed the gap. A huge fight ensued as to who was the rightful owner of the GoPro. Helmets were thrown. Water bottles too. Let me tell you, a full water bottle to the head hurts! Fortunately, one final water bottle to the face and I came out victorious and she finally gave my GoPro back (after she wiped off the blood from her now bleeding nose). Not my finest moment, then again, maybe it was. The important thing is I won.

So, with my GoPro back in hand I raced back to collect my gear and finish off the second half of the ride – which went without incident. However, I think I’ve decided to skip the trails from now on. They’re nice in that there’s not traffic but the crushed gravel isn’t the most pleasant surface, and since they’re following old rail tracks the route is very straight and not particularly scenic. I may change my mind again once I start riding with traffic again but we’ll find that out tomorrow.

Cedar Shade Campground

The highlight of the day came when I arrived at the campsite. It looked very nice as I was pulling in so at least the $40/night fee would be a better value than the KOA. Well, it turns out they have a rate for cyclists (and apparently I was the first of the season). $10! I was stunned and thrilled. The only downside (and it’s completely out of their control) is that they are currently under a Water Boiling Advisory. But even that has been okay because they gave me a big bottle of water to compensate. Now that’s customer service. It’s like they’re the opposite of KOA … hmmmm … which would be AOK! Which seems fitting. Cedar Shade Campground – tell your friends! Oh, and I had my second ever poutine here too. I may have not had poutine before yesterday, but I could very well have it every day for the rest of this crisis! Hmmmm … I wonder if that’s what I’m looking for on this adventure!

Oh, and even though I’m still in Ontario, this campsite is definitely in French territory. Did I mention I really need to learn French? I’ll have to get some tips from my nieces!

Here are today’s totals:

Total Distance: 111.46
Time on Bike (actually moving): 5:34.58
Maximum speed: 155.16 km/h (I’m not going to lie, I don’t think that’s entirely accurate)
Average speed: 19.95 km/h

(Reports in this entry may have been exaggerated for dramatic effect)