Day20 - Feelin' Groovy...

Slow down, you move too fast
You've got to make the moment last...

~Paul Simon, 59th Street Bridge~

I'm slowly learning how *not* to be a hammerhead.  It's funny, as I'm pretty sure that no-one who knows me would ever describe me as a typical "Type A" person - but apparently when I'm on the road, my natural inclination is to GET DOWN THE ROAD.  As far as possible, and in as little time as possible.  There's no prize to be won for shaving time, or any sort of meaningful reason as to why ending up in St John's in 7 weeks would be any better than 8.  In the beginning I wasn't totally certain that I'd make it all the way; so sure - there was a little bit of pressure to get some miles down.  But riding through BC was tough enough to make me pace the days, I had next to no fitness, and the scenery is sufficiently stunning so as to force me to stop from time to time.  With the exception of the fine city of Regina, there's pretty much nothing to see from Central AB to the Ontario border - so it makes sense to maximize the tailwind and hammer.  But now that I'm in rolling shield country, is there really any rush?  This is the question I find myself asking as I decide whether to push on (well) past a given day's predetermined goal simply because I've achieved the mileage quickly. 

I had a leisurely start to the day, getting out of bed after 08:00 and hitting the road at 10:05 after a brilliant breakfast at HoJoes - the coffee shop I'd visited the afternoon prior.  A solid cup of ambrosia and a made to order grilled panini with a delightfully fluffy egg, cheddar cheese, bacon and tomato.  Damn - if I could start every day like that (or with sausage rolls from the Crowsnest Bakery in Keremeos), I'd be flying.  Or weigh 300lbs.  Either way, I'd be plenty happy. 

The highway East out of Kenora is under significant construction.  I had to stop ~4x for alternating traffic, and there were at least half a dozen unpaved/gravel sections.  That made things fun and interesting because it wasn't the same type of gravel.  One needs to vary the technique used to ride across different types of terrain based on how it looks upon approach, and sometimes make changes mid-patch.  Some of the sections were rough, very hard, and deeply rutted.  You need to hit this stuff with speed, and then coast the bike as lightly as possible over it - sort of like how the one-day Classics racers approach pave (cobbles).  Other gravel is soft and sandy, with mostly little pieces and then the odd large chunk.  In this stuff one needs to maintain as close to constant wheel velocity as possible, and just keep rolling smoothly.  No changes in direction, speed, and for Shiva's sake don't stop!  Sometimes it's hard to tell as you approach and you guess wrong - then things start to wash out sideways and you get to test your balance (and counterbalance) skills.  And on a couple of occasions it was just large, loose chunky gravel going uphill - so you need to maintain a balance between "just enough" power to keep rolling through it and too much power - which will cause you to spin out (and potentially crash).  Okay - so riding through gravel in construction areas isn't anyone's idea of "ideal riding conditions" - but it keeps me engaged and entertained, and I'll take it over the crappy jackhammering pavement of MB any day. 

It was a perfect riding day.  Cool (21-ish), sunny with a few clouds, and classic Northern Ontario terrain.  I LOVE  Ontario terrain.  It suits my riding style perfectly, which makes a lot of sense as Ontario is where I made the transition from "a kid on a bike" to "a cyclist".  My folks moved the family from Vancouver to ON the summer before I turned 9, and at around 13 I bought my first road bike from the father of one of the guys in my cycling club - a club I had joined because there were people available to give rides to the trails.  I was primarily a mountain biker at the time, and the rides through the club opened up terrain options that were otherwise inaccessible (too far).  There in the club a few of the Masters racers were kind enough to take me under their wing and teach me how to ride - how to be a roadie.  Jim Adams, Leon Hawes, Jay, Joe (unfortunately I can't remember everyone's full name) and a few others took a kid with a bike and turned him into a cyclist.  They taught me race tactics, riding technique, fueling, how to interpret wind and weather conditions, how to drink deeply from the well and embrace the pain... everything.  And for that I am forever in their debt.  The roads in Ontario are twisty and ever changing.  They roll constantly - not gradually like in SK, nor do they rise up massively like in BC - they're pumpy, often steep, and relentless.  It's pure power riding.  Wind direction becomes esentially irrelevant.  I could spend the entire day standing if I wasn't certain that it would cause my feet to come totally unglued.  Not that standing, stomping out massive amounts of power is the fastest or most optimal way to ride these conditions - if I were racing here I'd ride very differently.  But this sort of terrain allows me to ride with massive power spikes, eschewing finesse and optimal efficiency.  There are enough descents to recover from the muscular effort and there are no points or positions on the line.  It's pure joyous riding - Khai style.  I blasted along, thoroughly enjoying being in my element and was making good time.  I stopped at a little after 2hrs for fuel, and then again for lunch at ~4:30 when I came across "Buster's Barbecue" in Vermillion Bay.  This is the sort of thing that more or less arrests me in my tracks, and forces a stop.  I had <50k to Dryden (the day's end goal) and even if a pain-filled post lunch roll took 3.5hrs rather than the ~2 it ought to take, I still had plenty of time.  I stopped and went in. 

Looking at the menu, I sensed trouble.  It all sounded really good...  Pulled pork?  Brisket?  Ribs?  Wings?  This could be a bad idea.  Those of you who knew Simon know what comes next: "How bad could it be?"  I ordered the 1/2 rack of ribs and 1/4 chicken combo, which comes with three sides, and a Coke.  Luckily, it wasn't a MidWestern portion.  :p  Still, it was plenty huge and I attacked it with gusto.  The chicken was moist, tender, and succulent.  The ribs, very, very good.  The baked beans were among the best I've had anywhere.  It was awesome.  And the sauce...  They've won numerous prizes for their homemade blueberry barbecue sauce.  It's the sort of thing that wouldn't normally occur to me, but it was incredible.  Discretion being the better part of valour, I didn't kill myself to finish it - I still had to ride.  So I cheated, got a takeout box, and packed up a few ribs for dinner.  :)

I was actually really surprised that I was able to ride after that lunch.  I wasn't riding like a demon posessed, off the front and attacking at every opportunity - but I was able to ride.  As I approached within 20km of Dryden I noted that it wasn't even yet 16:00.  "Hmmmm... If push it I could make another 100k, maybe 120.  That would mean that I could make Thunder Bay tomorrow with another big (~260k) day".  Then: "Hold on - what the hell...  I'm trying to relax and not hammer here.  Why thrash myself to get to T-Bay a day early?  Would that undo all the rehab I've been doing?  My body's barely holding together here with bailing wire and duct tape and now you want to crush out huge back-to-backs just because?"  Apparently, this lesson isn't going to come easily.  I pulled the plug in Dryden and rolled around the town for a good 20min looking for a decent option.  I could have sworn Ying said that she liked this town, but I can't for the life of me see why.  I must be missing the good part.  I tried to call her but I wasn't getting any cell coverage.  Eventually I settled for another Best Western where I discovered that having signed up for their club in Kenora and matching status does indeed make a difference.  Nice.

I should also pass on this tip that I've discovered: every hotel that I've encountered during this trip has a "government rate", which is better than any other discounted rate commonly available (corporate/CAA/AAA, etc).  If you ask for it, they'll generally give it to you.  Today the gal asked if I had my government ID with me (first time I've been asked) and I told her "no, not on me". She just said "ok" and gave me the rate anyway.

I'm looking at ~350km to T-Bay from here, so 2 days of riding.  Tomorrow I'll go until I find a nice place to stop after the tripmeter rolls over 160 or better, and then then I'll make it the rest of the way on Saturday.  I'd still like to see if I can find a place to watch the game on Sunday, too.  Hmmm.....


Stats:

Total Elapsed Time: 7:15
Total Ride Time 5:43
Total Mileage: 144.1
Avg Speed: 25.1
Max Speed: 57.1


Breakfast of Champions...

Chicken

Ribs

Beans