Day #29

Greetings,

If, after looking at the attached picture, you need me to tell you where I am, you`re in trouble.

I left Sault Ste. Marie head first into a strong and fierce wind from the East. Later, I learnt that the only time such a wind blows is during or preceding fowl weather. Low and behold, the next morning, I awoke to the sound of raindrops on my tent. I rode the first few hours of the day against the same wind, now accompanied by pouring rain. As though the draft from passing logging trucks wasn`t bad enough on it`s own, when it rains, the draft carries a tidal wave with it. Nonetheless, I survived to tell the tale.

It took me until well after dark to get to Sudbury. Fortunately, the weather had calmed significantly by dusk. I stayed at the downtown Days Inn to facilitate a total dehydration of my gear.

I rode an easy 130km (I can`t believe I`m saying that) to North Bay the next day. I was met by a dear friend with whom I spent the proceeding 24 hours. It was a necessary recharge.

A 5pm start from North Bay brought me slightly beyond Mattawa to a rest area where I made camp. The ride was nearly as hilly as some parts of Lake Superior, but the wind was finally at my back.

With an early start, I made a long comfortable day out of 200km to Renfrew where I camped behind an abandoned Canadian Tire building. I stopped in several small, delightful towns along the Ottawa River. This was one of the prettiest regions I`ve traversed thus far.

I arrived at my mom`s cousin`s house in Ottawa around 12:30 on Tuesday. An early arrival made for a leisurely tour of our nation`s capital; something I very much enjoyed. Seeing the heart of our Country after travelling across so much of it proved to be an emotional experience.
I`m shooting for Montreal tomorrow, but apparently there are notorious, prevailing winds through the rest of the Ottawa Valley. We`ll see how it goes.

Until next time,

-Dan

"If you think things can't get worse it's probably only because you lack sufficient imagination."