Canadian Mountains

I didn't have it in me to go sit in a restaurant to eat dinner. I feel like crap. I look like crap. I'm freezing and have no warm clothes, and I'm waiting for my laundry to be done (thank you Bev at the Norwood Motel for getting the ok from your boss for me to use the motel's laundry facilities!).

Today's ride started out just after a brief sprinkle of rain. We had been watching the weather since last night. Forty percent chance of rain all day today. Dressed in my very non-breathable rain gear, I headed out. I probably made it about 25 miles and had to strip on the side of the road. I was just too warm. You know when you're in the shower and sometimes a vacuum is created by the hot water and it causes the shower curtain to coil its slimy wet self around your wet body? Well, I felt like I was biking in that shower curtain in my rain gear. Life was a little more bearable after prompt roadside removal of said "shower curtain."

Rolling hills gave me a beautiful start to the ride today. The clouds seemed to be held at bay by the lake. The air was lightly scented with wildflowers. It was subtle and floated gently on the breeze. The fresh sweetly flavored air was therapeutic. For awhile it actually cleared up and the sun made an appearance and continued its speedy browning of my skin. I've got some great tan lines! The woman at the motel in Nipigon said this would be a pretty ride because we'd be able to see the lake. She was right. It was breathtaking at the tops of some of those hills. Many photos were taken this morning. After a great ride yesterday, my spirits were high as I set out. The beautiful scenery only added to my good mood.

The terrain abruptly changed. No more rolling hills. No, now I was faced with mountains! I trudged up very steep, very long mountain passes that reduced my speed to a pitiful 3 mph at times. With my heart racing, breathing labored, quads burning, ears popping, and sweat pouring in torrents down my face, I made my way to the top of pass after pass after pass. It was endless! I started gauging the severity of each pass based on the semi-trucks in front of me. If they slowed down, put their hazard lights on, and took over the shoulder, I knew I was in for a good climb. At one point, I was severely lacking in calories. I had no fuel left to burn. I stopped about 3/4 of the way up a pass and sat on a rock in the shade eating my peanut butter/banana/honey sandwich watching the trucks labor up the hill and taking in the beautiful panoramic bird's eye view of the lake and valley below. I only wish I would have remembered my camera cables so I could have been uploading photos as I go and sharing them with my blog readers. All of the views from the tops of those climbs were amazing. Firmly believing in the saying, "what goes up, must come down," in order to get me to the tops of those climbs, I enjoyed some great descents. The longest steepest climb had a descent to it that brought me up to 40 mph coasting speed! I think that's the fastest I've ever gone on a bicycle. It was quite a rush. Of course I couldn't keep away those pesky thoughts of hitting a rock the wrong way and going flying through the air to certain death, and/or very important screws coming loose off my wheel, thus throwing me into the air to certain death. Lovely huh?

It's funny. I think that billboards are such an eyesore, however, the billboards I have been seeing ever since I entered Canada have kept me great company and have been wonderful motivators. Advertisements for hotels, gas stations, souvenier shops, towing companies, restaurants, and other area attractions are highlighted often on my route. It makes it seem like the next town is a reasonable distance away - which by car it definitely is. By bike, it feels terribly far, and I think without those billboards, it would seem hopelessly far. Most of the time they don't indicate mileage. Every now and then though, they'll say how far away the next town is and I quickly do the conversion from kilometers to miles. I have a slight sense of renewed energy - undetectable by the outside observer, and barely detectable by me, but it's there - when the miles are below 10 to the next town - even moreso if it's my stopping point for the night.

My body was not awesome today. More time in the saddle proved almost too much for me. I stopped about halfway through my ride at a really disgusting vault toilet at a roadside picnic area to slather on more 40% zinc oxide and A + D ointment. Trying desperately not to gag at the horrendous smell rising up from the bowels (literally) of the pit toilet that soaked the air inside the non-ventilated structure, I tried as best I could to make this affair a brief one. After about 20 minutes, the slathering seemed to calm the tremendous discomfort I was feeling and I was able to keep pushing on. About 10 minutes from my stopping point, the clouds finally made it through the invisible force field from the lake that seemed to keep them away all day. The skies opened up and it poured! I didn't have a chance to get into my rain gear or get my cameras into their waterproof bags. I made it to the hotel and quickly emptied all my bike bags. There was standing water in the handlebar bag where my cameras were. Luckily I saved them before they drown. Bev (the nice woman who works here at the Norwood Hotel) came down with rags and towels for my bike and me. I toweled everything off as best I could. Of course it stopped raining and got sunny about 10 minutes after I had arrived at the hotel. Hopefully tomorrow everything will be dried out for my next ride, which I believe will be 50-some miles of more mountain passes along the lake to Marathon, Ontario. Right now, with a belly full of spaghetti, I just want to sleep for the next 3 days. I haven't had a full night's sleep since this trip began. I'm in desperate need!