I Can See Clearly Now

With over 1,400 km behind me and a whole lot of nothing over the 600 km in front of me, I decided to make today a fully relaxed day off. No biking. Just hanging out. Updating my blog. Maybe a beer or two. No stress. Not surprisingly, that plan didn’t really pan out.

For a day off, today ended up being pretty busy. But productive. Some good. Some bad. Some cheap. Some not-so-cheap. But all things considered, it was a good day.

When I stopped for lunch yesterday, I just happened to notice something on my front tire – no, not roadkill. It was a small green spot. Upon closer inspection it appeared as though a piece of the rubber had been worn off (or more accurately torn off), exposing the underlying (and final) layer of defence against flat tires. I figured this was something I should have looked at sooner rather than later.

So, goal number one for the day was to address the tire issue. Having learned from last year, I opted to go with prevention rather than wait until I needed a cure. As such, I ended up at Fresh Air, a bike shop conveniently located less than 5 km from Annie’s. On route to Fresh Air though, I was able to take care of a tune up of another sort.

Back in Sault Ste. Marie I had a slight mishap with my glasses. During one of the many aerial assaults by the resident mosquito squadron, I inadvertently sent my glasses flying – I swatted at one of the tiny vampires and missed. However, I did connect with the mirror attached to my glasses which sent both my glasses and the mirror hurtling through the air. Apparently, I hit them pretty hard because when I put them back on they were noticeably crooked. The lenses even seemed a bit off. I adjusted them as best I could (which wasn’t particularly successful) and moved on. That was six days ago.

After six days of dealing with crooked glasses (and vision) I decided to contact a professional. Annie directed me to a nearby optometrist office which happened to be on the way to Fresh Air. How convenient.

I have to say the people at Harbourview Optometry Centre were fantastic. I should’ve (but didn’t) get the name of the woman that helped me but she was great. I really didn’t have to explain what I needed. She took one look at me and said, “You need a tune-up.” And yes, I most certainly did. She disappeared with my glasses for a few minutes before returning with glasses that looked like new. And they fit like new too. Apparently the lenses needed to be adjusted by about 0.25″ and were close to falling out. Potential crisis averted!

With my newly adjusted frames, I was seeing clearly once again. Next stop: Fresh Air. Did I mention I couldn’t believe how much better my glasses fit? Sometimes it really is the little things that make the biggest difference.

The people at Fresh Air were just as great as those at Harbourview Optometry. After a brief discussion with Greg, I decided to replace the tires – they still had some life left but there’s not much in the way of services between Thunder Bay and Winnipeg and I’m hoping this decision will allow me to avoid another “Day of Four Flat Tires” like I had last year.

Fifteen minutes later, Greg returned with my newly equipped bike and we were road-ready once again. And, as an added bonus, I wasn’t even charged labour for the repair. Very impressed with Fresh Air.

With my glasses and bike back to their proper states, the rest of the afternoon was now open. Also open was a nearby Bulk Barn. I knew if I went in such a store there could be but one result – there would be M&Ms in my future. I went in. Turns out there was also banana chips and other chocolate candies in my future as well. Yes, it continued to be a good day.

From there my day was REALLY open. What to do? What to do? With the sun shining, I decided to ride out to the Terry Fox Memorial – about 12 km away. I enjoyed a strong tailwind for most of the ride and opted not to think about the strong headwind I would have during the return trip. When I arrived at the ramp to the Trans-Canada Highway I was greeted with the ever-unfriendly “No pedestrians/cyclists” sign. I’m not going to lie, I find it somewhat ironic that a memorial statue in honour of a man who was running across the country is along a stretch of road that isn’t accessible by pedestrians. Normally, I’m a law abiding cyclist but in this instance I opted to not see the “No pedestrians/cyclists” sign and cycled onto the highway.

Ten months after cycling to St. John’s and visiting the starting point of the Marathon of Hope, I was now at the end. The memorial is located high above the Trans-Canada Highway, with a beautiful scenic view overlooking the Thunder Bay area and Lake Superior. I still find the Marathon of Hope to be a remarkable accomplishment. Running nearly a marathon (26 miles) a day, for 143 days is truly remarkable.

The ride back into town wasn’t too bad. Yes, there were gusting winds but it was a short ride so certainly easily manageable. Especially considering the rides I still have ahead of me. The day thus far had been as productive as I could’ve hoped and there was just one task left. Annie had texted me to pick up some beer, so that was the next stop. This ended up being more eventful than expected.

There’s an LCBO fairly close to Annie’s place, so I headed there. I parked my bike and was about to go inside when Eric and Jordon (who I met back in White River) exited the store. It’s been really remarkable the number of times I’ve randomly run into other cyclists that I’d met earlier in the trip. They were also taking a couple of days off in Thunder Bay and as far as I know they’ll be back on the road on Thursday. It’ll be interesting to see if our paths cross again.

Distance travelled: 35.22 km
Ride time: 1:51:47