Surprise, Surprise

Maybe it’s somewhat fitting that it’s taken a few days to post my first update. I mean, it did take a couple of extra days before I even started my ride. However, I’ve now been on the road for three days so it’s probably about time I get at least SOMETHING posted.

Not entirely surprisingly, my plans for a Monday departure came and went without an actual Monday departure. A Tuesday departure was as equally successful (or unsuccessful, depending on your point of view). Fortunately, a Wednesday departure actually came to fruition.

Said Wednesday departure occurred at about 9:00 AM. It was more than a little chilly (by my standards) but it was sunny and the prospects for warmer temperatures throughout the day were very favourable – that didn’t stop me from wearing a jacket and long pants to start the ride though.

With my “trust” placed solely in my Garmin E-trex 20 GPS unit, I set out for destination number one – Dunnville. Dunnville is about 120 km from Kitchener and yes, probably a bit much for my first fully loaded ride in nearly nine months. Again, no one ever accused me of being too bright.

Things started off very well (spoiler alert: they ended off very well too) but it didn’t take all that long for the first surprise of the tour to occur. By “all that long” I mean about 60 km.

Much of the first part of today’s ride was along trails. I opted to stop at one of the trail map signs for a bit of a food and water break (something with which I have to be known to struggle … more on that later). I wasn’t there long when another cyclist wheeled up and made a comment about my loaded bike. He asked where I was heading, to which I replied, “Philadelphia.” He then asked, “What’s your name?” To which I replied, “Mark.” (I really like easy questions!). That’s when the surprise hit! He said, “I’m Ken. We met in Boston in the hotel lobby three years ago.” I vividly remembered that meeting. For those who don’t remember, well … this was the post. Apparently Ken was reading my blog the other day and saw I was heading to Philadelphia soon. He didn’t recognize me because the last time he saw me I had a three month old beard as opposed to the clean shaven look of today. However, given the Philadelphia connection he figured it was a safe guess. He was right. Anyway, we chatted for a bit and I even thought to get a picture. It was definitely a great surprise to see him again.

The rest of the ride was somewhat uneventful … although, for much of it I kept thinking of the randomness of the Ken reunion that just happened.

Oh, and getting back to the issue of struggling with food and water stops, I didn’t make my first real stop (and I probably shouldn’t admit this) until I got to Hagersville. 84 km into my ride. I won’t lie, I was a bit of a mess at that point. Fortunately, there was a Foodland there. Unfortunately, I found myself struggling a bit to actually eat anything. So, I forced myself to eat a banana, an orange, a CLIF protein bar, and a bottle of Gatorade (aka. sugar water). I’m sure my eating habits will get better as I get back into the swing of things (yes, I know … I find that hard to believe too).

The remaining 40 km went reasonably well … as reasonably as fatigue, dehydration, hunger, and headwinds can be anyway. Oh, and Google not being able to identify a specific address. Sigh.

That said, my day ended brilliantly. I met my hosts Julie and Nancy who were absolutely fantastic. So much fun and so generous. So generous in fact that they were also hosting another family that was on tour – Jas, Kirsten, and their daughter Kat. They too were also fantastic and a lot of fun. It was a great evening … and the lasagna for dinner was a bonus. I’m a bit concerned that I may have had more beer than I should’ve given tomorrow’s pending ride. But I’ll worry about that tomorrow. Dehydration isn’t serious, right?

For now, all I can say is that it was a very successful first day – even if I’m not in 120 km shape yet! And I’m SO not in 120 km shape yet. Sigh.

Today’s totals:
Distance traveled: 120.01 km
Ride time: 5:57:42
Average speed: 20.46 km/h
Maximum speed: 42.00 km/h