Day31 - Take THAT, Tonya!

I went to bed last night feeling like Nancy Kerrigan.  My knees were killing me and I wasn't sure if it was just the weird atmospheric pressure or if the cleat change I had made in an effort to alleviate my ankle pain somehow created or contributed to the knee problem.  I just can't see why moving my cleats back would cause knee pain; especially right on the top 3rd of the patella - but that's primarily where they hurt.  Further confusing matters is that this position is essentially where they were when started the tour, and I never had the slightest bit of knee pain until I hit AB - some 10 days in.  I also raised my saddle a touch, and it's higher than ever - but the backs of my knees (where I'd expect discomfort if the saddle was too high) feel great.  So weird...

The plan for today was to try to make North Bay for dinner.  Courtney had given me a tip on a restaurant (& dish) I simply mustn't miss, so that was the goal.  The backup plan if things went sideways was to get close, and roll in for lunch tomorrow.  Completely out of the blue, a guy from Slowtwitch emailed me saying that he had been following my GPS tracker and that he lived in Sudbury - and offered me a bed/shower.  Sudbury was about 1/2way to the goal and I hadn't planned on stopping there other than perhaps for lunch - but I figured I'd let my body decide.

When dawn broke my knees were no longer screaming.  They hurt, yes, but not to the point where I was about to give up the Caramilk secret.  I guess the combination of pulling the plug early yesterday, icing, and a healthy dose of vitamin I helped a fair bit.  Rolling by ~09:00, the day was grey, cloudy, and threatening to rain.  Again.  Very high humidity and weird wind from all directions.  The road wasn't kicking yet, but we both knew that the hills would come soon enough.  The first 50k to the Espanola turnoff went smoothly enough, though I started to think that with the hills (and wind) that were on their way, a stop in Sudbury (for the night) was probably the smarter plan for me.  Seb wasn't sure what he was going to do as his dad is in North Bay for work, and he wanted to see him.  We figured that we'd make the call a little later in the day.

We stopped for ice cream at this little stand and I was amazed by the incredible laziness and selfish attitude of some people.  A car pulled up and parked right beside the patio, in the middle of the thoroughfare (the actual parking stalls were ~10m away).  The family got out and waddled in for ice cream (okay - in fairness only the mother waddled - the father seemed to move okay and the kids were still pretty skinny).  I had noticed that there were no garbage cans outside, so I went inside to throw out our trash.  When I came back outside the elder of the two kids had finished his cone, and happily placed his used napkin on the table (with great flair) and wandered off.  Okay... maybe he's just waiting for the others.  I idly wondered if mom was going to tell him to throw it away properly before it blew away.  Then the mother finished and did the same.  Hmmmm - I guess not.  The younger child finished what he wanted, and looked around for a place to throw away the rest of his cone and napkin.  "just put it on the table" his brother told him.  So he did.  Then the family got up and waddled back to their car.  As they passed, I mentioned (rather loudly) "there's a garbage can right inside" but the mother ignored me and the kids weren't paying attention.  Into their car and away.  I'm pretty impressed with myself for not smacking anyone.  Seb was fixing a flat, so mumbling the Sonnenschein curse under my breath, I sighed, cleaned up their mess, and went inside - where I told the lady working that they needed a garbage can outside as I was having to clean up after lazy bastards.  She thanked me, and was gone.  Upon exiting the store I noticed a sign that explained the lack of garbge cans outside.  No, not bears.  Apparently the local dump closed because it was full; so the store is trying to "go green" and encourage people to create less waste by making it a pain in the ass to throw stuff away (my interpretation).  There's a Timmy's/Wendy's right across the parking lot, so they're asking people to throw Timmy's/Wendy's garbage away there, and saying that they will only accept their own garbage (spoons, cups, napkins, etc) inside.  Okay - I get it.  But a terrible plan/execution. 

Back on the bikes, we kept rolling.  It got hilly.  Then it got windy.  Then the road got rough.  Surprisingly, my knee wasn't feeling too bad - but 'm trying to be smart(er) here so I arranged to end my day in Sudbury anyway.  I've still got lots of time to make St John's, and this body needs all the help I can give it.  Seb pressed on to get closer to North Bay, with a plan of meeting his dad for an early lunch.  I'll try to catch him there.  If I'm feeling good, that shouldn't be too difficult.  He's a strong rider but my natural pace is slightly faster - and more importantly, a lot more consistent. 

I took a bit of a wrong turn entering Sudbury and tacked on another 20min and a little off-roading to my day before finally arriving at Mike's place.  Surprisingly, he was home (he had told me that he wouldn't be but to just make myself at home) and gave me the grand tour before taking off.  A shower, some laundry (yes, I just did laundry last night - but a "rule of the road" is to never turn down a good opportunity to do laundry), and ice time.  Ahhhh - ice time.  The bailing wire that, along with the duct tape that is ibuprofen, keeps this old and decrepit body together.


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I should also add a few notes from previous days when I was just too bagged to write any detail.  Northern Ontario is STUNNING.  I'd forgotten how much I really do like Northern Ontario (in the Summer).  One could easily spend a week just between Wawa and the Sault, stopping at different beaches to hang out, hike, etc.  If one were interested in a tour of "just the nice parts" of Canada I'd say to ride from Hope to Crow's Nest Pass (AB), and then skip on to Kenora and ride Kenora to the Sault.  From there one can skip on to somewhere between Ottawa and Quebec City, and continue East.  The's really nothing to see in the prairies (maybe stop in Regina for a day or two - but riding there sure isn't necessary) and the road past Sault isn't terribly scintillating. 

As for the group, I'm pretty sure that the girls and Guillome took a rest day in Sault.  Jamie probably hooked up with some of the French guys, whose touring style more closely matches his (up early and rolling, slower pace, stop early, no big days).  Seb and I should reconnect tomorrow in North Bay and then roll into Ottawa together.  He'll be done his tour there, and I'll press on solo. 



Stats:

Total Elapsed Time: 7.5 hrs
Actual Ride Time: 5:54
Total Distance: 122.39 km
Avg Speed: 20.7 kph
Max Speed: 54.9 kph



















































Random Scenery Shots...

Outside the Voyageur (redux) motel and restaurant in Batchawana Bay

This is how Seb gets all those awesome shots...

Perhaps the most interesting sign/building I've seen thus far...

Fuel for a cold, wet, and windy day...