We met so many people today on our journey, and we needed it. They were all very helpful and friendly, and also curious about our tour.
The scenery was much more diverse today – less marshy, more countryside, fewer flies, only sunshine! We went through two beautiful towns along the rivers (one where we stopped for lunch). There was so much lush green forest! Even though the trails were flat the whole way through, they wound around so many rolling hills, with huge boulders scattered across the fresh light-green spring grass – vastly different from the countryside in southern Ontario.
A friendly group of bikers stopped to chat and told us about “Warm Showers,” a friendly network of people who open their homes for traveling cyclists. Not too long after, we had been traveling slow on a very rough gravel path and were taking yet another break, when another group of bikers caught up with us. They also mentioned Warm Showers, and empathized with use about the rough trail. They wished us the best and moved on, but we ended up passing them again, at a good rate too. A few minutes later one of the guys from the group caught up again and asked if they could put us in and article they are publishing for something (I can’t remember what). They took our picture and did a quick interview. That was kinda neat.
The rest of the ride was a breeze and we were beginning to really reach a good pace closer to our destination, when I swerved on the loose gravel coming over a hill, and I couldn’t regain my balance due to the heavy paniers. I crashed hard on the gravel and got scraped up pretty good. I picked up the bike as quick as I could though, since dad didn’t seem to notice I was no longer behind him. I caught up with him after a few clicks, and we reached the campsite in good time to clean up the wounds and cook dinner. This morning (May 20) my shoulder is in a lot of pain and the palms of my hands are tender. I hope we can get a move on fast, since we will have to travel 129k.
Great write-up Katie!