KRAC Tour!: Day19 - Exploring Kenora on my 2nd full rest day

I woke up at 05:30, which is somewhat unusual for a hotel - especially one as comfortable as this one. When I checked in the hotel was pretty full and my room had a really loud air duct - so they moved me into a "Business Suite" at no charge. I rolled over and went back to bed after fully closing the blinds. I awoke again about an hour later, rolled over once more, and then the phone rang at 06:42. It was Vince, who is driving across to Ottawa. His phone hasn't worked since early SK, (great work there, Telus) so we missed connecting last night - but I had sent him a message about breakfast. We made plans to meet at a local bakery I had looked up that appeared promising. I had been lying in bed wondering if I should roll on to Dreyden (a relatively easy day at ~150km) or take a day off to rest and recuperate. I figured I still had lots of time to decide with an 08:00 breakfast and an 11:00 checkout. Funny how one's perspective changes - now a hilly 150km day is considered "easy". :p

Kenora apparently has North and South versions of several streets, and the bakery website didn't specify which one - so I ended up walking 2-3km too far as I went to the wrong 2nd Street. :p That would later come back to bite me in the ass as I ended up getting a blister from my flip flops (perhaps not the best choice of footwear either). Finally I found the right place and met up with Vince for breakfast - which sadly, was not very good. The company was, however, and we had an enjoyable catch-up. Vince was kind enough to swing by the hotel to lend me his floor pump, which was great because I had been a little concerned about my tyre pressure - especially over those really rough MB roads. My frame pump is decent enough to get me going if I need to change a flat, but it's hard to get a nice high(ish) pressure with a mini pump. My rear was almost down to 70PSI, so it's a good thing I was able to air up properly. I've managed to avoid tyre trouble thus far, and would like the keep it that way. Vince hit the road and I made the decision to stick around and chill out for the day. I was feeling relatively good, but still very tired.

I called several massage places and discovered that there are only 5 RMTs in this town. One appeared to be on vacation and the others were either all booked up or not answering. Oh well - I guess an easy day of relaxing, football watching and ice therapy will have to do. Per Lu's instruction, I got some quality stretching in as well. Watched Germany fall to Spain, and then went out for a brief turn about town.

Kenora is a lovely old town with some beautiful buildings, ideally situated on a very nice lake. Unfortunately like many older small towns, the industry of its origins have ceased to be relevant and it's struggling somewhat. Still, there are some nice little businesse and they're trying hard to become a tourist destination.

I came back and prepared another ice bath - the main reason for my being in a hotel. I decided that since my forearms had been complaining earlier yesterday that I ought to ice them as well. This turned out to be an interesting decision, and not something that I'll do again - at least simultaneously with the legs. I was fine in the bath itself, but then spent the next 25min completely incapacitated - shivering uncontrollably wrapped in a robe and blankets. Once the shivering stopped it still took another 35min to get most of my body functioning properly again - with my hands still frozen and stiff. It seems that the combination of all four limbs was a little too much. Oh well - this is how you learn stuff, right? :p

Bedtime soon, and back on the road tomorrow. Hopefully the effects of the rest, stretching, and ice therapy will have me in better form come the morn. Just as side note, the distance between towns can get pretty significant in Northern ON, so the blog updates might be fewer and farther between. Dryden's not too far, but then it's 2 days to Thunder Bay and then 3 or 4 to the Sault...

Local Coffee Shop