<- Read the previous post: The “Hill” is Alive With the Sound of Music

Day 51 June 27 Thursday

Joliette to Deschaillons-sur-Saint-Lawrence

We spent the day in part cycling along the St.Lawrence, although we couldn’t see it all the time as we were a bit inland. We also couldn’t see because there was a heavy mist this morning, and it was so thick on our sunglasses we had to peer over them like granny to be able to see.

We are so impressed with the bike lanes and shoulders here.

We’re getting into tourist territory, and finding signs we can read

They are well taken care of, nice and wide, and it’s made the cycling safe and a pleasure. It is exhausting when the roads are bumpy or potholey, because it shakes you up so much. It can be tiring on the hands, and your muscles. And it has been the first time in weeks where we’ve been able to cycle side-by-side and carry on a conversation.

Our first real glimpse of the mighty river

Instead of going to Trois Rivieres tonight, we decided to cut off some miles and cross over the river to the south side earlier than planned. The Pont Laviolette was quite narrow, especially for the RV, and they did not allow pedestrians or cyclists on it. So we packed up and shuttled to the other side. We ended up going quite far east, further than we wanted, because there were few campgrounds that could accommodate the RV with power and water. We stopped at an info centre and took advantage of the bilingual staff person, who was able to call the RV site and make a reservation for us. Bill ended up doing the majority of the extra miles, and that will really help with tomorrow, as the forecast is looking ugly.

Love to take this home, but how…..?

That’s one way to beat the rain

We ended up taking some non-highway bike trails today, and they were really pretty. One area had a little bridge and the trail was hard-packed, so it was no problem for our skinnier tires.

We hunkered down inside this evening, as the weather really started to turn. I felt like I was in a ship rather than on land, because the wind was rocking the RV like we were on waves. It can be nice to sleep to, except when you can only imagine what the next day on the bike is going to be like.

View Al’s pictures from day 51

Day 52 June 28 Friday

Deschaillons-sur-Saint-Lawrence to Levis

Today was a really rough day, on all accounts. We woke up to drizzle and strong winds. The forecast was a heavy rainfall warning, and gusts up to 70 km/hr from the east, where we were heading. Bill was awake early, so he decided to try to make some headway before the rain and the wind really started to whip up and foil our day. We have been pretty lucky with the weather over the last few weeks, so I guess we were due some storms. Bill did an out and back and made 31 kms for the day.

We shuttled forward and all got out to make the rest of the way to Levis together, about another 50km or so. The headwind was picking up, and the drizzle had turned to out and out rain. It was a struggle to make any headway, but we got about 20 kms further.

The rest of the day did not go well. The rotten weather, along with the stress of having four very different people together for two months in an RV took its toll. Emotions flared and we had a falling out. I think this is totally predictable for a group of people in our situation, but it did not make it any easier to deal with.

We had an interview scheduled that afternoon, and I commend Bill for being able to do it considering we had such an emotionally charged day.

We decided to cash in some of the extra kms we had banked on previous days when the weather was good. We packed it in and went forward to our RV site in Levis, to turn on the furnace and wait out the storm.

We are a team, and we will get past our differences. I’m always leery to share things about the trip that aren’t inspiring and positive, but this is real life on the road. If we are encouraging people to talk about mental health issues openly and honestly, I feel I have to walk the talk. We will all get through these hard spots, as I believe we all care about each other a great deal, and are all just trying to do our best. Al reminded us that we need to focus on the purpose of the ride, which bonds us all together, and I think he is right.

View Al’s pictures from day 52

<- Read the previous post: The “Hill” is Alive With the Sound of Music

Day 53 June 29 Saturday

Levis to La Pocatiere

The day started again with lighter rain but the same headwind. The rain let up fairly early, but we had the headwind all day, which made for slow going.

A stormy day on the St. Lawrence

We weren’t the only people out on the road battling the elements. We ran into Nicole and Suzy, who were walking to Quebec City, and had been for 21 days.

Nicole and Suze

I can’t say from where, it was lost in translation. We ran across quite a few walkers/hikers today, all decked out in their rainwear, with walking sticks, so they looked like they were doing some pretty serious distances.

We also got concerned for a while, when a gentleman with an orange flag signaled us (as cyclists) off the road to a nearby waiting police car. We were trying to figure out what it was – Were we speeding?  Were they doing an impaired bicycling check at 9:00 am? Were they looking to make sure our bike bells worked? It ended up that there was some type of bike event going on that day, and they were just detouring us to the bike path route that all their cyclists were following. Several times we ran across flag people trying to get us to turn here or there, and many of them didn’t speak English. So we ended up pointing straight ahead, which was east, and saying “Newfoundland”, and they smiled and seemed to understand. The only turn that was tempting to take was when they signaled us to go into their lunch stop.

It may look like Terry’s butt is on fire, but it’s just his red bike seat!

But we didn’t need it, as Al greeted us with Lipton’s Chicken Noodle soup and make your own sandwiches, all ready to go. We really didn’t think we would need a hot lunch this late into June and the trip, but it was real comfort food, just what you need on a cold and wet day. Thanks Dad (I mean Al)! And Bill made it a double treat by getting some bakery cookies.

We passed through lots of little tourist towns today all along the St. Lawrence River, there was one about every 10 kms or so, one of the prettiest being St. Jean-Port-Jolie. I suspect they would have been a lot busier on this long weekend if the weather had been better. There are so many beautiful properties, brightly colored “gingerbread” houses that were immaculately kept, along with those unique stone houses and churches that you generally only see in Quebec. There were also tons of artisans everywhere, so many neat little shops to visit. Unfortunately, we didn’t really have any time to stop and explore, as the wind had slowed us down considerably and we needed to keep going to get in at a decent hour today.

A quaint stone windmill

I also didn’t take a lot of pictures for the same reason. Patrick and I had cycled through this area with friends in 2005, and I was tempted to put in some old pictures we took then instead. But it was sunny and hot that time, and you all would quickly discover my ruse.

We had to load up the bikes and take a detour at one point. The 5 km of road under construction led us on a 20 km detour, with poor road conditions, so I was glad we shuttled that part.

Much to our surprise, we haven’t seen many boats on the seaway. I expected to see a lot, considering it is supposed to be busy for freighters, etc. I don’t know if the heavy winds had anything to do with it.

We are trying to use up all of our food stocks before the end of the trip, so we have been making meals of whatever we have in the cupboards. We had some penne alfredo with B-B-Q chicken, but dessert was a real Quebec treat – sugar pie. If you’ve never had it, it looks like pecan pie without the pecans. And it is so sweet your teeth tingle when you eat it. We need to experience what the area has to offer – right? Plus, we will share a plate of genuine poutine, complete with real cheese curds, before we leave the province. We just need to find the best in the area to sample, and we will leave that up to Al to search out.  He is a connoisseur of those types of things.

View Al’s pictures from day 53

Read the next post: If you think we’re worn out, you should see our bikes! ->

Do not, under any circumstances, take your bike into the shower with you!

<- Read the previous post: There’s no Friends like Old Friends

Day 48 June 24 Monday

Day off in Ottawa

Ahhhhhh….another day off, I so look forward to these breaks. Today I got up at about 8:00, puttered around a bit, asked myself why I was up, and went back to bed for another hour or so. Happiness is sleeping in!! Terry was out and about long before I got up.

The only things I had to do today was take my bike in for a new computer and a safety check/tune up, and visit with Anna and her daughter Alicia, friends that Patrick and I met on our honeymoon cruise this winter. She works in the same building as the National Hotel and Suites where we were staying, so she met me for breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Anna describes herself as a real “social butterfly”, which is true because she seems to know everyone! She introduced me around to all the staff. While she worked, she generously lent me her SUV to pick up my bike, which was still with the RV in southwest Ottawa, so I could take it to the bike shop. It seemed very unusual to be away from my bike, as we have been inseparable (butt welded to seat) for almost 8 weeks at this point. Did I mention that I have a name for her? It’s Pinky Tuscadero, named after a character from the Happy Days series, because she has hot pink accents. She was named by Kim, a friend of mine from our triathlon club, who christened her on a bike trip to Drumheller. Anyway, Pinky and I have grown quite close. It is at times a love/hate relationship, but that is generally related to the cycling conditions, and not my trusty steed.

I took her to Kunstadt’s on Bank Street, and Chris took great care of her.

Chris from Kunstadts – sorry it’s fuzzy, but he was a warm and fuzzy kind of guy!

I now have a working computer, so I am no longer in the dark regarding my speed and distance. It’s amazing how sucked in you get with technology – I think it was good for me to ride “blind” for awhile, and focus on the journey rather than how fast or far I had gone. Anyway, I think I will make it all the way without a new chain or tires. Time will tell. Thanks to all the staff at Kunstadt’s who fit me in right away to guarantee I had my baby ready to ride the next day.

While I was out gallivanting, Terry was visiting museums, and Bill was slogging away in the RV doing a few fix ups, and some laundry. He got the raw end of that deal. I don’t envy him, it was stinking hot and humid out – 32 degrees with a humidex of 40 – and I was sweating like mad just standing in the RV, let alone working.

I met with Anna after she got off work, went to her house to pick up Alicia, and met her parents. We went out for some great Thai food, which was a nice change of pace – I love Thai coconut curries!  Then the three of us were off to the concert at Greenfield’s Pub. It was a great venue, the staff were excellent and the layout was perfect for the concert. They had a pretty packed house, and I can say without a doubt that everyone who attended got to see THE best local talent the Ottawa roots scene has to offer. It was a very diverse line-up, with something for everyone.

It started with Keith Glass, doing a short set of his own songs. He’s a very talented artist, as he accompanied most of the other performers all evening.

Keith Glass

Next was Brock Zeman, who I had seen before at the Northern Lights Folk Club in Edmonton. All the performers played about 3 or 4 songs because of the packed line up, and I was thrilled that he chose to play all of my favourites.

Brock Zeman

Maria Hawkins was up next, and I found her very inspiring – she has a great energy about her, she did songs you could sing along to like “Stand By Me,” doing her own unique rendition.

Maria Hawkins

There were a lot of other artists that I had never heard before, and they spanned so many different genres that I felt I had been to a mini folk-fest. Bobby Watt entertained us with his celtic ballads, Ball and Chain did a mix of inspiring and melancholy songs, including one about the last cowboy in town, and Sneezy Waters played some good old tunes and spun some yarns about playing in Edmonton in the 60’s.

Bobby Watt

Ball and Chain

Greg Werthman, the organizer of the concert who is also Bill’s nephew, played some of his original music, and  Bill did a song too and spoke about the ride and the cause.

Sneezy Waters

Greg Werthman

Bill and Keith

I was totally blown away by Lynn Miles – she was very honest, and has an amazing range.

Lynn Miles

All the performers were very in touch with the mental health theme, and many of the songs and stories connected to our message loud and clear. I left feeling I had witnessed something very special and unique, and I’m sure I am not alone in that sentiment.

Our partner charity this evening, Parents’ Lifelines of Eastern Ontario, had a very successful evening. They shared that many in attendance not only picked up information about their services, but had some extensive conversations with the staff, and they received many donations. It is so gratifying when the charity is able to make connections with people who can benefit from what they offer. That is one of the goals of the ride.

A big thanks to the staff at Greenfield’s, all the performers who donated their time and talent, and especially to Greg and his lovely wife for all of the work they did to organize this great event.

See more photos from the concert in Ottawa

Day 49 June 25 Tuesday

Cycling Around Ottawa

We had more changes to our planned route today. Rather than cycling out to Hawkesbury, and shuttling back, we decided to take advantage of the extensive network of bike trails that exist right in Ottawa and the surrounding areas instead. This gave us a chance to be tourists again, and experience the beauty of all the waterways in the Capital Region.

The Rideau Locks – Not!!!

Gatineau “Mangrove”

Any one following us on spot probably thought we were riding in circles – because we were! We covered lots of areas – the Rideau Canal, Rideau River, the Ottawa River, and even a jaunt over to Gatineau,

Rock sculptures

where we cycled in the somewhat cooler shade of their forested trails. It was still hot and humid, but I was surprised how much more comfortable it was cycling than walking or even standing still, as we were creating our own breeze. We saw all the historic buildings and the locks from the river, as well as some cool rock sculptures and scads of very territorial geese along the way. And of course we had to ride down Sussex and wave to Stephen.

We made a side-trip to Dustbane, a company Bill once worked for and now has as a supplier for his business. We got to meet many of the staff, and thank them for their generous donation to the ride. It was just starting to rain as we arrived, so it was a well-timed break. It continued to rain, but it was refreshing after the hot day, and soon the sun broke out again.

Adam from Trip #2 to Kunstadts

I discovered that the strange squeak that popped up just before Ottawa was not resolved with my initial visit yesterday, so it was not the derailleur as I thought. Another trip to Kunstadt’s and the detective work of Adam determined it was nothing serious like a bearing, just squeaky pedals. Whew! Those guys were just so helpful and accommodating!

We cycled back to Nix and Mal’s place, and Mal had been busy preparing us another delicious dinner of salmon, rice, veggies and ice cream for dessert– how spoiled are we?!

And guess who was there to greet us? Our long (okay, not really that long) lost support driver, bookkeeper and photographer Al! I hardly recognized him now that he is clean shaven and neatly coiffed. Sounds like he enjoyed the wedding, but he missed not being part of the concert action while he was gone. Great to have you back Al!

Terry and I had to say our goodbyes tonight,

Bill with our wonderful hosts – Mal, Nix and Diane

as Al, Bill and the RV were coming to meet us at the hotel in the morning, since we were heading east from there first thing. I can’t tell you how great it’s been to meet all the people we have, and I don’t think I can ever thank everyone enough for their kind hospitality.

See more photos from day 49

Day 50 June 26 Wednesday

Ottawa to Joliette

We were up and at ‘em, fed and watered and ready to roll at 8:00 am when the Mothership arrived to rendezvous. Karen from National Hotel came out to meet everyone and wish us well on our journey. Thank you again to Karen, and to Anna, for arranging us to spend our Ottawa days in comfort.

With our revised plan, we cycled 122 km to la Chute from Ottawa, then shuttled the remaining distance to Joliette, which we had covered the day before in Ottawa. Soon after leaving, the further east we travelled, the more evident it became that we were heading into a predominantly French-speaking area. None of us speak French, besides whatever we remember from junior high school, but we are managing to piece together enough words to order food, and luckily we have met some English-speaking proprietors who have been able to converse with us.

This sign……

….lead to this friend

We had an impromptu conversation with Andre, who we met in the town of Alfred at our lunch stop, and Sylvie the owner. Andre spoke of a friend who had died of suicide, and how sometimes it is hard to understand why this happens when a person’s life looks really together from the outside. We never know the internal struggles that others deal with, and if they are fearful to share their challenges and keep it to themselves to avoid judgment or to maintain an image of “normalcy”, they can easily slip deeper into darkness and feel more and more isolated. We really need to make it okay to speak out about our internal pain and get the medical and other support we need, just as we would discuss and seek treatment for a broken leg. I know that sounds over-simplified, but I still believe it will one day be achievable on some level.

In the early afternoon, we crossed the Ottawa River once more and made our way into our sixth province, la belle Quebec (sorry if I’m butchering that translation).  It took us almost a month to get through Ontario, which is about half of the total distance we covered to date. So although we enjoyed the entire province, we are glad to have it under our belt.

Quebec has a series of biking trails called La Route Verte, which cover most parts of the province. Shortly after crossing the border, we took one of these routes. It started out as a quiet paved road, but we then ran across a gravel section for about 1.5 kms, which is not so easy to ride when you have skinny tires. So we’ll have to be careful about taking these trails until we get a map, which appears to be hard to come by in some of the info centres.

Upon arrival at our home for the night, we discovered that the fridge and freezer were not running too well, and we had a major thaw. So the first thing we did was clean out all the perishables, which meant we needed to eat out tonight, and opted for something close and accessible and an easy-to-order-from menu – McDonalds. I’ve discovered their new Vanilla Chai Latte Frappes, and I am hooked – I’m already starting to dream of them at the end of each ride. This could spell trouble for the rest of the summer, especially once I get home and am not burning off thousands of calories a day.

I spent the evening trying to catch up on the blog, especially since there was so much to share about all the concerts. I’m getting there, slowly but surely.

See more photos from day 50

Read the next post: Slogging along the Seaway ->

<- Read the previous post: It’s All Fun and Games Until Someone Loses a Chain

Day 45 June 21 Friday (Part 2) (Read Part 1)

Deseronto

I’ll continue on with Friday evening in Deseronto and the concert.

We were in another very unique venue – John McNeill’s Place.

Doug with John McNeil

It was a combination antique store, art shop and restaurant, all rolled into one. Everyone who bought a ticket was treated to John’s  special “summer solstice salad”, as it was the longest day of the year. The concert turned out to be a family affair. It started out with Roger Law, who is Doug’s brother, and his son Joe, both on guitar doing some wonderful cover tunes. Then it was the Werthmann’s turn, with Fred, who is Bill’s MUCH older brother, which Bill kept reminding him – I’m sure you all know how brothers tease each other.

Roger and Joe Law

Fred said he hadn’t played publicly for a long time, so we were being treated to a rare performance. He played “Moonshadow”, which he said was one of Hillary’s favourite songs. Then Bill performed, and turned the mike over to Kim Pollard, backed up by Roger. Kim had a CD release party the next night, so we were really fortunate to have her play for us. She has a very powerful stage presence, and we all got acquainted with another new artist that we hope to see again. Unfortunately, her CDs weren’t available for distribution yet, or I would have brought one home.

Fred Werthmann

Kim Pollard with oger

The charity we were supporting was the Mental Health Support Network. Their executive director, Garry Laws (no relation), spoke about their creative program , which addresses talking about the “elephant in the room”, which of course are mental health issues –our own and others.

Garry Laws

They work to empower individuals and companies to make it safe to talk about mental health issues, without fear of retribution and judgment.  It is a great program, and he gave us little blue elephants and t-shirts to help spread his message. It has grown beyond the region they are working in, and I look forward to bringing the concept back to Alberta with us.

I sat with Pam, Doug’s friendly wife, and her mother Mary, who was sharp as a tack. I had a great time getting to know them. Earlier I had met their two sons, Jake and Tom. I’m glad to report that Tom was doing fine after his trip to the hospital, and was very hungry, so that is always a good sign. I’ve been really fortunate to meet some really lovely families on our journey.

There was a bit of a get-together in the back yard at Doug and Pam’s after the concert, but I squirreled myself away in the house to make sure I got out a blog that night. Time is limited when we have evening concerts.

See more photos from day 45

Day 46 June 22 Saturday

Deseronto to Kingston (or Madoc to Perth)

We woke up to a great breakfast spread of eggs, bacon and hashbrown patties, whipped up by Pam and Doug – they look so cute in their aprons! They also gave us copies of an article about the ride that was in the Napanee weekly newspaper. We were going to shuttle out a ways, which was a change to what we originally had planned, which was to return to Madoc. But as we were leaving Deseronto, we saw the lovely shoulder and the quiet roads, and decided to leave from there instead, and shuttle later in the day. So essentially, we took a detour from our detour of our original route – capisce?

Pam and Doug

Anyway, as we travelled along, passing through Napanee and its heritage buildings, we decided to also go to through Kingston, as I had never been there, and Bill and Terry both thought it was worth another visit. So we re-detoured again (is that a word?) and headed towards the city that at one time was to be our nation’s capital – but it was within cannon-range of the US border, so they definitely rethought that idea.

We lucked out that it was a Saturday, as we got downtown in time to see the farmer’s market. We stopped and had a great lunch at the Pan Chancho Bakery Cafe, eating outside in the garden patio. It was almost too trendy for our sweaty lycra, but Bill held up his pinky as he drank his water, so we were able to fake some class for the day. And of course we couldn’t leave without taking some edible souvenirs.

Doesn’t Bill look refined?

Outside the bakery, we met Linda and Sue, who were pondering our decal on the RV. We had a chat about our ride and the purpose of it, and they were very engaged with the idea.

We shuttled north out of Kingston to start our ride up to McDonalds Corners. As we were preparing to get on our bikes and leave, Lorraine drove up in her truck, saying she had been looking for us. She said she was inspired by what we are doing, and that no parent should have to go through this, and that Hillary was smiling down on us.

Sue and Linda

She was a mental health professional, and gave us a donation. If we had taken a slightly different route, we likely would never have met her. We have had many such “lucky” meetings, especially with other cyclists, and I feel like the universe is making these magical moments happen.

We agree – they are bike friendly!!

Our afternoon had a lot different terrain compared to our morning. Although the countryside was beautiful, just full of lakes with people fishing wherever they could access the water, it was also extremely hilly. Non-stop ups and downs. As we neared our destination, we even took a road called Old Mountain Road, which was a steep uphill (hmmm…what was our first clue?), and it never did drop down the rest of the day, so we didn’t get to enjoy a downhill at the end of all our work.

But we soon arrived at David and Beth’s house in Elphin. They were so welcoming, along with their house guests Laura, Sara, Steve and Geoff. We got a tour of the garden and the Koi fish pond, and it is obvious that Beth has a more than just a green thumb – maybe a whole green arm!!

Oh Boy – Koi!

While Geoff and David went to do sound check for the evening’s concert, the rest of us had a lovely dinner made by Beth. We all made our way to Mera, a cool old renovated school house for the sold-out concert. I was so thrilled to have my friends from Mississauga, Dan and Robbie, meet us there. They had tried to intercept us on the road, but our numerous detours made that pretty difficult – whoops! It was very special to have them there, like a little piece of home.

The concert was incredible and thoroughly enjoyable, as David Francey is one of my favourite singer-songwriters, and he was joined by several talented musicians – Geoff Somers plus Terry Tufts and Catherine Briggs. David told the stories behind his songs, and I love how it makes them come alive, like you are getting to know a good friend that much more intimately. The other musicians also did some of their own songs too, so I got treated to some wonderful new music, at least new to me!

After the show, we didn’t have far to go to as we stayed in the RV in the school parking lot. I ended up having a very enlightening discussion with “W”, who told me about the struggles his wife had with depression many years ago. She was having problems finding a medication that worked for her, without devastating side effects. During this time, she had six suicide attempts, which was extremely difficult on him as she would disappear and he would have to search to find her. However, with courage they persevered and found treatments that worked for her, and she has been doing well for many years now. I hope this brings hope to others who struggle to find what works for them individually – it can take time, which can be so difficult when you feel hopeless, but know that a full and satisfying life can be possible.

See more photos from day 46

Day 47 June 23 Sunday

Perth to Ottawa

We returned to David and Beth’s place in the morning, as they invited us for breakfast, and we NEVER turn down a breakfast – it’s the most important meal of the day, and doubly so when you are cycling all day. Yummy french toast, eggs, bacon and all the fixin’s, and some of Laura’s specialty teas.

Mera School

Brekkie Anyone?

We didn’t get away until late, as we were having such a great visit that we didn’t really want to leave. Beth helped us map out a nice flat, quiet route into Ottawa, starting from Perth.  Perth also has a lot of beautiful old stone buildings, as well as all the red brick houses we have been seeing since we have gotten into southern Ontario. It was an easy ride in since there was not much wind.

David, Sue and Beth, hamming it up

We made our way south to the home of Nix, Mal and Diane, who are long-time friends of Bill’s family. Mal cooked us a fabulous meal of barbecued ribs, which she knew was one of Bill’s favourite meals. And after dinner we had fascinating discussion about folk music performers. Or, should I say they talked and I listened, as they are all incredibly knowledgable about that genre, and I just sat in amazement and tried to soak it all in. Bill stayed at their place, while Terry and I went to the National Hotel and Suites, as they had generously donated a two-bedroom suite for us for the 3 days we were in Ottawa. What a treat, having my own king-sized bed and TV to catch up on some news! I was really looking forward to our day off tomorrow, to rest and get ready for our blockbuster of a concert!

And one last note – we are just catching up on the photos of the flooding in Alberta. Our hearts and thoughts are with our fellow Albertans who are dealing with the aftermath. Stay strong, we’re sending you courage through the airwaves.

Read the next post: The “Hill” is Alive With the Sound of Music ->

<- Read the previous post: Making our Way South

Day 43 June 19 Wednesday

Owen Sound to Orillia

Bob and Brian left us this morning, so it was hugs all around. I’m sure Bob was the most reluctant to see us go, as we had been carrying a lot of his gear for him the last few weeks, so he would now be travelling with a full load again. But he would be meeting up with his son in Ottawa in about a week, so that was spurring him on I’m sure. I think I’ll be going through Brob withdrawl for a few days.

The rest of the day did not go at all as planned.  I was up late last night, almost to midnight, trying to get my blog posted, but was having numerous technical difficulties. So I decided to work on it in the morning until I could get it posted, as it was long overdue because of bad internet connections and really long cycle days.

Just as I finished, and Al and I were getting ready to go, we got a call from Terry. He had gotten his chain jammed between the big back gear and his spokes. Although he got it out with 2 screwdrivers courtesy of the resident whose driveway he was stopped on, it bent his derailleur. We picked him up and then shuttled to Meaford, where Bill was as he kept cycling forward. After a few phone calls, and trying to find the new bike shop that was maybe supposed to be open in Meaford  (which we never did find), Al and Terry went back to Owen Sound, and Bill and I carried onward, stocked up with plenty of food and water. They took his bike to Jolley’s, in Owen Sound. Thanks to Shane for squeezing Terry’s bike in, and fixing his derailleur lickety-split.

Iohan

Bill and I met up with a young cyclist, Iohan, who is planning to cycle across Canada in August. He was asking us all kinds of questions which were really well thought out and pertinent, so you could tell he was serious and knew what he was getting into. He was uber-fit and planning to do long distances each day– if anyone could do it, he could. He had had a crash just weeks earlier, where he broke his collarbone, and he was already out on his bike again. Iohan, we wish you lots of luck, and have fun!

We stopped to have lunch in Collingwood, the best mac and cheese I’ve had in a long time, and tried not get too far ahead of the RV. Terry and Al caught up with us in no time, and we were all on the road again.

We ran into some really bad roads with narrow, broken up shoulders, it was getting prepped for resurfacing, so I guess we were one summer too early.

We were greeted by Tom Carney, a friend of Cheryl Ann’s, out on the highway. I saw Bill pull over and shake his hand, but I was a bit confused and not sure who he was. He said something to me as I cycled past, but I didn’t quite catch what he was saying, so I missed talking to him personally, which is a shame. Thanks for stopping to welcome us Tom – what a neat surprise!

Bike flower power

The next glitch we ran into was finding a quieter road to cycle into Orillia. Did you know that google maps are not the same between iPhones and Microsoft? Bill and I were getting different information, listing different roads and directions for the same route. We finally took our chances and went to see which route was correct – iphone won. It took us on a hilly residential street, and then a back road, the Old Barrie Hwy. It was again very beautiful and peaceful, so much better than the main highways.

On that road, both Terry and I fell over in the gravel taking pictures of each other. This coincidentally happened at the exact same time, so neither of us saw the other fall, and we were so busy checking to make sure no one saw our “klutz attack” that we didn’t realize the other had fallen too. That is, until we discussed it at the end of the day, and had a good laugh.

Tonight we got a very special treat in Orillia. Anne and Charlie Cole own and operate Cranberry B&B, fabulous lodging that Bill and Betty jo discovered when they attended the Mariposa Folk Festival years ago. They graciously provided accommodations for the night, and I was especially thrilled, as I got my own bathroom and bedroom, and even had my first bath, a bubble bath no less, in months!

Anne and Charlie

What a treat!  They treated us royally.

They made excellent dinner recommendations to Brewery Bay pub, then we walked down to the marina for a look around, and then Charlie came and picked us up so we wouldn’t have to walk back. Amazing hospitality, we were spoiled rotten!

Marina in Orillia

They even had wine and cookies waiting for us when we got home, but that bathtub was calling my name…….

See more photos from day 43

Day 44 June 20 Thursday

Orillia to Peterborough

Anne and Charlie were up at the crack of dawn to make us a hearty and wonderfully presented breakfast at 6:45 am. It was really hard for me to get out of the comfy bed, knowing I would not be getting back into it tonight.

We started out on Hwy 12, which Charlie warned us would be busy with gravel trucks and other work vehicles, and he was sooooo right. We had no shoulder again, and we were anxious to stay safe as they weren’t moving over very much, so we decided to take a detour. We ended up on County Road 8 – a more northern route – and went through Fenelon Falls, where we stopped for lunch.

Al’s beard is so soft!

We had to take Al to the bus station for 6:00 pm, to catch a bus to Toronto, as he is leaving us for 5 days to attend a family wedding back in Edmonton.

Even though it’s just a few days til he’s back, we will sure miss him! I had to get a picture of his beard and “mop top” before he went, because I’m sure it will be long gone before he gets back.

We went for dinner at our trip favourite, Boston Pizza, who never fail to give us a discount in support of the ride. When we arrived In the parking lot, two gals, Jenna and Mary, ran over and asked us to sit with them for a while at a local coffee shop. They had googled the website on the van, and had just had a lecture today at school about suicide and mental health, as they are both taking Child and Youth Care at Sir Sandford Fleming College in Peterborough.

Mary and Jenna

We had a great discussion about the importance of bringing awareness to these issues, and they had also had personal experiences with mental health challenges. We gave them a stack of bookmarks for their classmates and instructors. If they are representative of future youth workers, we’ll be in good hands.

After dinner, we checked out the locks in Peterborough, as they are a unique type that work on special hydraulics, one of only two of this type in Canada. We have seen all types of locks in many of the towns that we have passed through the last few days. Don’t see too many of those in Alberta, that’s for sure!

Just one of the locks we have seen

We got back to the RV site late, just enough time for a shower, and then off to bed. It’s almost the solstice, so we were in bed before the sun.

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Day 45 June 21 Friday

Peterborough to Madoc/Deseronto

Learning our lesson the days before, we took a country road first thing. It started out very hilly, I was worried it would continue, which would make for a hard, tiring day. Very shortly, we met John walking into Peterborough, as he is training to walk the Camino in Spain. If you have never heard of this “personal pilgrimage”, I suggest you look it up. After a good chat, he assured us that the steep hills were behind us. I’ll take hills and bumpy roads over no shoulders and near death traffic experiences any day.

This road was so beautiful, full of farms and acreages, and just lush. I had David Francey’s song about Peterborough County in my head all morning, and it was getting me primed for his concert coming tomorrow. We got to Hwy 7, the Trans Canada again, after about 32 km. We then had construction for 15 km – 13 km of it was prepped for resurfacing – which means it’s like a washboard and if there is anything loose on your bike, it will be gone in no time. The other 2 km was one lane traffic.

We’re finding as we get to more populated areas, the pace of life is picking up considerably, and it is most evident in the speed that the traffic moves. When your life consists of getting up and biking to your next location, you forget what a hurry everyone else is in, and the risks they are willing to take to save a few minutes. I wish I could say I won’t get sucked into that when I get home, but I know from experience that I’m easily pulled back to the dark side.

We got to our RV site west of Madoc, which we almost all missed because we thought it was east of Madoc. It was our shortest stay ever, because after emptying the black water tank, and having showers, we were shuttling to Deseronto for the concert. Doug Law, the MC for the evening and long time friend of Bill’s, invited us to park the RV at his place. So we packed up again and headed down the road, after ensuring Stephanie at the Quality RV Campground that we appreciated her hospitality too!

And speaking of RVs, we just got wonderful news from our friends at Fraser Way RV, who rented us “the Mothership” as we lovingly call it. They have generously allowed us to keep it at no extra cost until North Sydney, where we catch the ferry to Newfoundland, thus avoiding trying to find another support vehicle for the last few days in Nova Scotia. Mike Bowlen, Bill’s brother-in-law, has graciously agreed to accompany us from Halifax to the ferry, and drive the RV back to Halifax. Three cheers for all the businesses and wonderful people who continue to give us their full support!

We arrived in Deseronto to a warm welcome from Doug.

Doug and Bill

He showed us the venue for tonight – wait til you see the pictures – and then brought us to his home. He’s had a trying day, as his son is at the hospital with a high fever, and had a plumbing mishap this morning, but he was still smiling from ear to ear.

We’ll be pretty busy the next few days, as we have 3 concerts in 4 days. They make for long days, but they are also energizing, as we are enveloped in so much support and love from like-minded people. And of course there is the soulful music offered by all the wonderful artists. This is the whole reason we are here. In fact, as I write this, Doug and Bill are treating me to a private rehearsal/concert. How honoured I am to be a part of this – worth every aching muscle and steep hill, I assure you. I’ll report on the concerts as soon as I can in my next post.

See more photos from day 45

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