I woke up at 0530, with the plan of going to Nipigon, but when I saw that it was 140 km, I rolled over and went back to sleep, deciding to go only to Thunder Bay today, and make the trip to Nipigon tomorrow a bit shorter.
I went and visited with my new friends….and we chatted till 1030, then we visited the falls again. Never have enough of watching waterfalls. Eventually I packed up and headed 1 km to a coffee shop where I sat and had breakfast while I charged up my devices.
Eventually I made it to Thunder Bay and Lorraine directed me to the bike shop…almost entirely on bike paths. They checked my chain, and adjusted my derailleur. I had a smoothie for lunch then headed off to see the Terry Fox memorial statue. It was 10 km, but when I was 1.5 km away, my chain broke. A guy came up - I was still in a residential area, offered for me to use his garage. I eventually repaired it, but I wasn’t sure I had done it properly, so his wife gave me a ride back to the shop. So kind…and she wouldn’t take any money! The best people!!! The hostel was only 4 blocks from the shop, so instead of going to see the memorial, I had her drop me off at the hostel. It was already 1800. I will try to get to the memorial tomorrow even though it’s a bit of a detour.
At the hostel I met up with Lucas, I last saw him in Creston, and Tim who is cycling west from Halifax to Vancouver. Nice to meet fellow bike packers.
Thanks for all the texts….I'm felling much better, ready to take those hills tomorrow and for the next 7 days.
2 comments:
I bet we were in that same coffee shop, and that bike shop. Ray and Lydia needed repairs so we stayed at the KOA which is very near the memorial of Terry Fox. Here’s the little poem I made up going up and down through your next stretch- from The Hobbit
Around the corner, there may wait
A new road, or secret gate
And though I oft have passed them by
There may come a day at last when I
Shall take the greyhound bus that runs
West of the Sault, and east of Nipigon!
The real last lines are:
Shall taken the hidden paths that run
West of the moon and East of the Sun.
Funny what you think of riding along.
I was away for a week and couldn't wait to check on you when I got back. Glad to see you are in Ontario . . .wow. . .so glad and not surprised you are meeting new friends along the way. Stay safe . .Claudia xox
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