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Week 1

The bear awakens hungry. Breaking camp at 7:00 am, I'm on the road after a protein bar and a pack of Gu. Between here and Terrace Bay 36 miles away there is nothing to eat except pine cones. I'm thinking that I can cover that ground in about 3 1/2 hours until I get to the first Hill.  HO LEE FUK (inside joke for the Tans') I might need ropes and pitons to get up this thing. I chug to the top, have a Cedar Point ride down the other side and am facing the same thing all over again. Ther was not a straight or flat stretch all the way to Terrace Bay. Adding to the burden is a rapidly developing head wind that ultimately reaches about 15 mph. A truck passing me hits a bird and it carroms off his wind shield to the road side. I give some thought to starting a fire and having roast quail.

Here's the thing about hills and wind - they slow you down. Yesterday I was making 10 mph and today I'm making 6. That doesn't sound like a big deal until you do some math. I did about 35 miles both days, but yesterday I was in the saddle 3 1/2 hours. The same ride today is 6 1/2 hours. This was not proofed by Nina the Michigan math major but my butt says it's accurate.

Arriving late afternoon in Terrace Bay I opt for a roof over camping. I'm tired, dirty and famished. iPhone and bike lights are dead due to two days without power. Tired and smelling like a goat, my priority is FOOD. The shower can wait. I polish off a Chinese lunch for two and head to the motel bloated like I swallowed a soccer ball. Three hours later I'm hungry again and have a massive salad bar with a walleye entree and all the sides. The bear goes into hibernation (carb coma).

Cast of Characters
My first week on the road introduced me to some really interesting souls:

Gordon - Scotland - see prior posts - Has a flight back to Edinburgh on September 5.
Eric - Nova Scotia - rides at blinding speed, destination Vancouvee
John (I think) - London - riding from Vancouver to Montreal. John rides in a French blue Oxford shirt. Pinstripe trousers and leather shoes. Always looks like he is off to dinner in Piccadilly Square.
Alan - London for (somewhere near Gatwick) crazybikeguy.com. Does this for a living.
Celine - France - con artist. Petite 20 something that never pays to stay anywhere. She sneaks into camp and sets up without registering. No one questions her because - in her words - "they all think I am a girl in trouble" Riding from Montreal to Vancouver.
Monty - Winnepeg - riding clockwise around Superior. We hope to run into each other somewhere in Michigab or Wisconsin. I'm riding counter clockwise.

Still no Americans



Comments

  1. xiaosquaredJuly 26, 2018 at 9:58 AM

    Fried quail is really good!!
    Carb up Jim this is hard work, you are representing Americans so can't let us down...and the Tan's don't approve swear words ha.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownJuly 26, 2018 at 3:02 PM


      Hi XX! The Tans receiving a shout-out are neighbors. Not your relatives. They do approve of swear words.

      Delete

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