I Love It When a Plan Comes Together

Today was what would be considered a full day. It was also a day where a plan that was set in motion about two weeks ago came to fruition. More on that in a bit.

Yesterday ended with a beautiful sunset and today began with a beautiful sunrise – and I had a great view of both from my tent. Thanks again to Michael for providing a great camping site. The forecast for today called for warm to hot temperatures – the likes of which I haven’t had since leaving Ontario. As a result, I decided I wanted to get an early start to try to beat the heat. The goal for today was Boston – the distance depended on which route I took. Google wanted me to take Route 1A – a winding, presumably scenic route of about 95 km. I wanted to take the more direct Route 1. Given my history with Google’s recommendations, I went with Route 1.

The first half of the ride on Route 1 was very pleasant. Wide shoulders. Not too much traffic. Relatively flat terrain. That changed a bit once I hit Rowley. There were some sizeable hills but Quebec and Newfoundland prepared me well for those. The biggest adjustment came when I started getting close to Boston where Route 1 suddenly turned into a multi-lane highway with heavy, fast moving traffic. It had been quite a while since riding in conditions like that. Fortunately, the shoulders stayed generally wide and the drivers generous (well, most of them).

As I mentioned earlier, there was a specific plan in the works for today. A plan that developed shortly after arriving in St. John’s about 2.5 weeks ago. My route over the last week or so and subsequent arrival in Boston on this day was not as random as I may have implied. The reality is that I was planning on arriving in Boston to surprise my dad, brother, and their significant others who were travelling there for the weekend. The big plan was to surprise my dad at the ballgame tonight – his first trip to Fenway Park. My brother knew of the plan, but no one else.

I initially thought I would get to Boston by mid/late afternoon; however, the more direct Route 1 was a LOT more direct – only 75 km. As a result of the short route and my early departure, I arrived in Boston shortly after 12:00. Upon my arrival, I decided to head over to Boston Common to get a photo in front of Cheers. That’s sort of where the plan both fell apart and came together.

It came together when I successfully had my photo taken in front of Cheers. After that, I started talking with a couple who had overheard me tell someone that I had cycled in from Toronto – they were from Stratford. Once again, our respective trips were discussed – including the part about surprising my dad at the ballgame. The plan then fell apart by a ridiculous coincidence. Completely unexpectedly, my dad appeared beside me. As you might imagine, he was completely surprised by my presence. They had just finished one of the duck tours of the city and decided to head to Cheers for lunch at pretty much the exact time I had arrived. In the grand scheme of things, I think meeting up this way was even better than meeting at the game.

Fast-forward a few hours later.

We just got back from the ballgame – an extra inning affair which neither team seemed particularly eager to win. In the end though, the Blue Jays were more determined to lose than the Red Sox. The game may not have been the best played game I’ve ever been to but it certainly had its share of exciting and interesting moments.

It’s now nearing 2:00am and I have to say I’m more than a little tired. And hungry. Sadly, I think the food will have to wait until tomorrow since the options at this hour are pretty limited.

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 75.94 km
Time on bike: 3:53:45
Maximum speed: 54.29 km/h
Average speed: 19.48 km/h