International Summit

Four leaders from three countries gathered secretly in northern-ish Ontario today to discuss the future of their respective countries. Okay, that’s not true. Well, maybe it is but, if so, I have no knowledge of it. However, four cyclists from three countries did meet not-at-all-secretly in northern-ish Ontario to discuss their day, trips, and of course, the weather. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

I woke this morning after a very relaxing – although chilly – night in the enclosed gazebo of Dave and Sheila. I don’t know if I really needed the extra sleeping bag Dave had provided but I used it as an additional cover. Being too warm isn’t really a concern for me.

My plan for the day was to be on the road by around 9:00. Beyond that, my plan was more than a little vague. There were a variety of possible stopping points but I really didn’t know how far I would go today – a lot would depend on the weather. My gut feeling had me aiming for Serpent River – about 80 km away.

Before heading out, I had a great breakfast with Dave and Sheila which included more stories covering a wide gamut of topics. It also included Dave’s suggestion of taking Lee Valley Rd. out of Espanola instead of Highway 17. Sounded like a good idea to me. And so, I had a vague semblance of a plan – which if more than I usually have.

The ride from Whitefish Falls to Espanola was somewhat hilly (and still chilly) but, with no wind with which to contend, the ride was pretty easy and I arrived in Espanola in about an hour. Dave had shown me a shortcut to get to Lee Valley Rd., however, I needed to stock up on food for the day (see, I’m learning) and that took me beyond the shortcut road. Oh well. At least I had food for the day. But more importantly, when I got on the open road heading west I also had a tailwind. Yes, a tailwind. A glorious tailwind.

The glorious tailwind guided me about 40 km along Lee Valley Rd. and then back onto Highway 17 into Walford. In Walford, the day (or more accurately the weather) took a turn for the worse. On the upside, the wind continued to blow from the east. On the downside, the clouds decided they no longer wanted to contain the rain. And they didn’t.

The rain started to fall about 2 km west of Walford. As it happens, there was a motel/restaurant called Ellen’s Place there. It was far too early to stop for the day but it did give me a place to take shelter and eat lunch. Just to be clear, it wasn’t pouring rain – just a light drizzle. So, I ate my lunch, refilled my water bottles and was back on the road. This time I only made it about 10 minutes before it was obvious that the light drizzle was going to become a more significant downfall. So, I stopped again to put on all my rain gear. Yes, I probably should’ve done that when I stopped for lunch. Lesson learned.

I was just about to pedal off again when I saw a familiar sight. Sebastien and Claire, the French cyclists I met yesterday, were quickly approaching. They stopped for a bit and we discussed the day so far. The also asked me, “Did you meet the German?”. It turns out there’s a German guy who is also cycling out to Vancouver – although, he started in St. John’s. Either way, I had not yet met any German cyclists but, given our common direction of travel, the potential was certainly there.

With the rain continuing to fall, the three of us were back on the road. Not together, but still in the same direction. I took off ahead mainly because my bike, with its thinner tires, tends to naturally ride faster than bikes with wider tires – which is what the Sebastien and Claire have (and considering they’re pedalling up to Inuvik, they will need those tires!).

The rain continued to fall for the next 30 km as I arrived at Serpent River. As mentioned before, Serpent River was a possible ending destination for the day; however, I still felt good (despite the rain) and the tailwind was proving very favourable and so I pedalled on.

The biggest challenge on the day wasn’t actually rain but sweat. With the rain coming down steadily, I needed to keep the hood of my rain jacket on in a vain attempt to keep the rain off of my glasses. Of course, the hood makes things a lot warmer … and then the sweats starts to form … and then the sweat starts to run into your eyes … and then your eyes start to burn so much that you can’t keep them open. Fortunately, this only happened to one eye at a time. But cycling along the Trans-Canada Highway with one eye closed and the other blurred from the rain probably isn’t the safest way to travel.

I finally gave in and prepared to pull over at the road to Elliot Lake. Turns out there’s an Information Centre at that very spot. Even better. I could use a little shelter! I pulled around the back to the covered area and as I slowed down I saw a camera sitting on the ground. A few metres later I saw the camera’s subject. The German! (No, I didn’t say that out loud … but I did think it). Although, at that moment I didn’t KNOW it was “The German” but given that it was another fully loaded cyclist I assumed as much. Moments later I officially met Moritz, an 18-year old German pedalling from St. John’s to Vancouver.

We ended up talking for about 90 minutes – I think we were both happy to have an excuse not to go back out into the rain. However, eventually we realized that the rain was not going to stop and with Blind River only 30 km away – and the wind still blowing in a favourable direction – we hit the road. Again, not together but we planned to meet up again at the Tim Hortons in Blind River.

It was shortly after 5:00 pm when I pulled into the Tim Hortons in Blind River. I was soaked. Cold. And a bit tired. But other than that, I felt really good. Actually, it was without a doubt the best I’ve felt at the end of a day so far. About 10 minutes later Moritz arrived. And about 45 minutes after that Sebastien and Claire pulled in.

So there we were in Blind River, two French cyclists, a German, and a Canadian, sitting around a fake fireplace at Tim Hortons, relaxing, chatting, and reflecting back on a very wet but a very successful day of cycle touring. Yup, cycle touring is good.

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 125.33 km
Ride time: 5:11:45
Average speed: 24.12 km/h
Maximum speed: 56.31 km/h