Old Dog, New Tricks

A week has now passed since the beginning of this year’s adventure and, other than being woefully out of shape, things have been going well. The weather hasn’t been an overwhelming factor as of yet but so far the weather has either been somewhat sunny with a headwind or raining with a tailwind. Today was somewhat sunny.

After yesterday’s very wet ride I opted to take refuge in a motel. Moritz also had the same plan so we split the cost – which was a good thing because motels in Blind River are grossly overpriced. Ok, maybe “grossly” is a bit of an exaggeration, but still too much for what we needed. Fortunately, we were able to haggle our way to a slightly-less-grossly-overpriced room.

When this morning arrived, I still had no real grand plan for today’s ride – other than riding west. Side note: We met yet another cyclist at the motel in the morning. She was from Minneapolis and was heading to Montreal. End of side note.

At 150 km away, Sault Ste. Marie seemed a bit ambitious. Then again, there aren’t really a whole lot of options between Blind River and Sault Ste. Marie. I decided to let the day unfold and make decisions as needed.

The first decision was easy. I needed breakfast and food for the road. Fortunately, in Blind River there’s a restaurant I’m more than a little familiar with (and still looking to for sponsorship) and that was the day’s first stop.

Once the necessities of food were taken care of, I was back on the road. It didn’t take long to figure out what kind of day this was going to be. The sun was still being masked by a pretty solid layer of clouds, but the wind was blowing freely. Very freely. And from the west. The elements were officially in place to make for a very long and challenging day on the road. And it was.

As unpleasant as yesterday’s rain was, the tailwind more than made up for it. And today’s headwind more than made up for yesterday’s tailwind. As I pedalled, I kept being reminded of the long, windy day I had last year as I made my way to Halifax. As you may or may not recall, that day did not end well. I was determined to learn from that day. I resisted the temptation to power my way through the wind. I was not going to enter a battle I couldn’t win. And so, I was patient. I stayed in a low gear and I pedalled. And pedalled. And pedalled. And I stopped for a rest. And I drank water. I even added electrolyte supplements (even though I’m not convinced they do anything). Every two hours I stopped to eat something. Sometimes a sub. Sometimes an apple. Or an orange. Once it was even a popsicle. And by 4:00 I was still 60 km from Sault Ste. Marie. Sigh. Yes, this was a long day.

When I stopped at 4:00 I was in Desbarats. I had pedalled 90 km into the wind. And I was tired. On the flip side, I also had nowhere to stay. The best part about cycling west in June is that the days are really long. So, after debating with myself for quite some time, a decision was made. Even though I was still 60 km from Sault Ste. Marie, I decided to pedal on. Leisurely. I knew that even at a pace of only 15 km/h I could still be in Sault Ste. Marie in four hours with a lot of daylight to spare. The key was patience.

I’m not going to say it was a pleasant ride, but at 7:30 pm I was pulling into the driveway of Velorution – a bike shop with a campground for touring cyclists. And today, that campground was like the promised land. After ten hours (about eight of that was actually pedalling) I had arrived in Sault Ste. Marie. And all things considered, I felt great. Yes, I was tired. But I wasn’t overly dehydrated. Sure, I was hungry. But not famished. And best of all, I was in good shape to enjoy a rest day tomorrow. And did I mention there was a Wendy’s less than 500 metres away? Yes, the day would end with a chocolate frosty.

Even though I hadn’t planned on cycling 150 km into a headwind for eight hours, I’m glad I did it. I figure it’s good practice for the prairies. I think I learned a lot today. Patience, eating, and drinking. What a concept. Apparently you can teach an old dog new tricks.

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 150.19 km
Ride time: 8:10:27
Average speed: 18.37 km/h
Maximum speed: 39.71 km/h