Manitoulin, Last Day Off For a While

Here is a picture of us with Ed, a man who's been riding for over 60 years and is heading East from Vancouver Island. We crossed paths just outside of Sudbury, and he has only taken three rest days since he left the Pacific! That is madness.

This is our last day of beautiful cloudless weather on Manitoulin Island before we head off for the remainder of Ontario. Our next expected stop is in Blind River.

But to continue with the story, Christine's cottage was immaculately designed, with a sprawling deck and open living space and kitchen. Our room had four single beds, feeling very much like a camp cabin. We swam in the lake (albeit briefly, a bit chilly), had some beers, watched movies, and mostly enjoyed each other's company and conversation. The Anawati family, including Christine's parents and sister, are all fantastic people and were anxious to learn of our trip, as well as providing their own life stories which we were eager to hear. And the food...Mrs. Anawati made us a great roast, tortellini, salads, burgers, eggs, in quantities even four starving bikers couldn't finish easily. All things said we had a great time in Sturgeon and Field, and so it was onto Espanola via Sudbury.

The first leg of the day was beautiful, with a bit of headwind but nothing difficult. I had the pleasure of leading the draft for the first half hour, and felt great riding at a fast clip on flat farmland highway. As the day went on though I began experiencing increasingly sharper discomfort, then pain, in my left knee, which wasn't unbearable but was still a nuisance because I knew I wasn't riding at my fullest capabilities. Also, knowing Mike had knee trouble earlier in our adventure, those worries began creeping in. By the time we reached Sudbury I couldn't ride uphill very well, one-legging most of the work. By the time we met Ed, in the picture above, just outside Sudbury, I knew I couldn't make it the extra 66 or so kilometers past the city to Espanola with the guys. Luckily, Adrian's mom generously drove up to the big nickel, our lunch stop, and picked me up in the van, which I drove with her to Espanola to wait for the gang. It was disappointing, but probably the right choice. Once the guys arrived in Espanola, we drove to a Murray family friend's home, where our bikes are now stored. From there we enjoyed a scenic drive to Manitoulin Island in the dying light of dusk. The country up here is something else.

Adrian's father Jim was awake and waiting for us when we arrived, and we had our first of many, and I mean many, great conversations about topics ranging from philosophy to women to architecture, music, politics, and the corporatocracy of the world. He has magnified and dissected many of our remarks and fashioned them into colourful, sporadic discussions of anything and everything concerning our lives and life in a broader sense, and most importantly has taught us the importance of appreciating this particular moment in our lives. After listening to him speak, I found that yesterday when the four of us were sailing on the water, that focusing on specific worries and future concerns isn't as pertinent a task as I sometimes treat it. Appreciating the immediate, tangible and intangible things in which we're currently involved, can often bring a lot more happiness than you'd first expect. I guess from our stay here I've really begun to embrace the journey and place less importance on the destination.

I wish I had more pictures of the house and cottage here, and the growing forests surrounding both. It's a very relaxing environment and I'm glad to be here with good friends and a warm, accepting family. The Murrays lead what city-goers would describe as an alternative lifestyle, living off the grid, sharing in community agriculture, and absorbing the world through intelligent literature and provocative music rather than mundane, televised feed. This is one of the places I'll remember most about this whole trip. Like I said before, I don't have pictures, but please check the other blogs listed on the right column for pictures and videos. Mike's camera is our vessel for sharing our trip visually, so check his blog for that sort of media.

Cheers everybody, hopefully tomorrow's bike doesn't bring more leg troubles. I had terrible cramps yesterday but the knee was better, and today both of those problems are pretty much gone. I'm optimistic about the biking to come, and the people we're set to meet along the way.