30 days to a tough ass...

Sounds like a cool idea for an exercise video. How to put callouses on yer ass which a US Marine would envy. hmmm. On the up-side, no injection of humour here, my ass is next to normal and my day today went chaff-less. Oh lovely day!

Yes, I remind everyone, that today is my one-month anniversary of peddle-power for the greater good of occupation, and nothing more valuable than that. By the by, today represents my mmmm 43 year. Thinner, greyer, balder and full of ear-sprouts I must say that I survive well.

That is to say, however, that I have had a few melt-downs in the last two days. "What?", you say? Really, these last two days have been full of mental moments and there is some concern that it is nature rather than nurture... Meaning I wonder if "I" am escaping like a bad Russian novel. Too much solitary gulag?

For example, I passed Batchawana Bay park in a moment of indecision (aided by a slight downward grade and tailwind IF you can imagine!) thinking as I often do that maybe, just maybe there would be a better place to install my tent over the Lake Superior for a fitting pre-birthday night with laundry, bath, and Southern Comfort sunsets.... What is wrong with me, I ask which feels that a bird in the bush is better than one in the hand? In the end, I found no such wonder-spot and after a detour, a backtrack (a sworn enemy!) and an extra and useless 20 km I returned to my pre-designed spot ... and did enjoy the sunset a la nu avec le spirit.

Then the next day (July 19 - pleace consider the context as a prebirthday kind of thing) was rife with further frustration. More hills and more headwinds had me, for the first time truly down and frustrated. I couldn't take another hill. The mountains of BC were no match to the Canadian Shield. There is no engineering of the roads here, just up and over, Chinese style. It melted me into the kind of scream-into-the-wind frustration, when I wheeled into Sault Ste Marie and .... there it was the very motorcycle I had been dreaming of: a mid-80's cruiser complete with radio, saddlebags, monster engine and shaft-drive - that is to say a 1985 Yamaha Venture 1200cc. Oh my god. I made the call and the guy, Al, came right over and within minutes we had a deal...I gave him my bike and some money and I drove away with my new pleasure machine. The seat was wide and plush, the throaty burble from the pipes and the soft sweet purr of my ass made for heaven as we pealed out eastward.

I got the bike certified (as is the rule) by a mechanic. I made some inquiries for insurance (as is the rule) and prepared to register the bike. Speedbump: Not a Ontario resident. Can't get Ontario insurance. whoops. Hey wait a minute! I have owned and registered plenty of bikes in my lifetime (it is lengthening as you know) and never had a problem. Speedbump: not present in NB to get insurance there as well. Oh by the by, to get insurance for a motorcycle in NB, it seems it is custom to have a CAR registered too. Speedbump: can't even swap registration (without plating) without ONT residency (ie address).

There were a few angles worth exploring. But the one I chose was to cut and run. I hit the road without plates, insurance, registration but with a full tank. Thought I could outrun the bastards and make it safe behind the goal-line. But really, I am a honest guy and I came slinking back.

This morn, after a sleepless and fidgity night, I called my buddy Al back and gave him his bike back. I collected my money and my bicycle and by 1100 hrs, was back on the saddle. Now my ass is like concrete and there was not so much consternation from the cockpit, it was nevertheless a bit of a hard poke in the ass.

Live and learn; and the justifications come alive: the bike was not mechanically sound enuf, too much work, too big, too heavy, too loud, too fuel hungry, too.... yayayayaya. sure.

So why these crazy two moments in an otherwise serene trip? Maybe it is only a sign of being tired and needing a break. Not thinking correctly....

Ok I last left you on July 17 where the raging T-storms threw golf-ball sized hail on RV's and knocked out power from Mattawa to White River (of poo-bear fame).

It went like this:
Marithon-Wawa Wawa-Batchawana bay bridge
Batchawana bay- Sault Ste Marie (Then the SSM-Espanola-SSM via motorcycle circuit)
SSM-Blind River

July17 - Wawa (185 km)
Day of hell which ended godly. 0500 hr wakeup to T-storm show with a 0700 hr clearing followed by a 0830 hr deluge. Got wet for the first time of the trip. Wet shoe squelching wet. Rested during the rain with bfst of eggs and talk with local truckers ("are you out for biker chicken-sport?"). Just warming up, drying out and enjoying a tailwind and blew a tire 5 km from White River. Poo-bear sucks! Poweroutage and the town is shut tight. Flew the 91 km to Wawa with the gentle terrain and tailwind. Needed to buy new innertube and patchkit, but CDN tire is closed. Did email, slept under the goose.

July 18 - Batchawana Bay Bridge (164 km)
Most difficult day. Really. Hills and headwinds again and I am going crazy. Angry angry angry, screamed out loud (but only once). No radio reception to distract me. Cycled the 105 km thru the national park - no water and no food - growing more tired and exhausted, wrung-out due to the endless hills. Cleared the park boundary at 1500 hrs - makes it the longest 100 km yet, I think. Found a gas station restaurant at Montreal River but the restaurant closed at 1400hrs. Would somebody stick a knife in my eye??? Ate: one date square, one apple, one bag chips, one pepsi, one brick of fudge, one oatmeal bar. Afternoon much better with such nutrition. Crossed paths with the boys skateboarding for www.pushforthecure.com . Check it out, may see my bio and photo there. Shot by Batchawana bay park (loooong sandy beach on the shallow and warm side of Lake Superior) looking for perfect. Stick a knife in the other eye, as I peddled back the 10 km BACKTRACKING AGAINST THE WIND. A multi-infectious frustration. Set up camp under a nice cave of windswept pines, got tipsy, and had to put on my pants when the neighbours arrived for the sunset-over-the-lake. Canada is a land of emptiness and serenity - until the tourists arrive. Misplaced the dates and thought tomorrow was my birthday, so was disappointed when I had to move on ... NOT a day off yet.

July 19 Sault Ste Marie (66 km)
Toughed out "mile hill". YOU have heard enough of this glorious day. I am running out of eyes!

July 20 Blind River + (126km so far)
Returned to SSM by 0700 to return the bike. Al arrived at 1030 with the money and bicycle. Hit the road by 1100 hrs. Simple day, tailwind in morning changing to headwind (as is usual these last few days) by 1500 hrs. Rolling terrain with some views. Nice pics of decaying farmhouses. Listened to CBC and heard the interview with the 15 year old woman with Cerebral Palsy who swam Lake Ontario (First: female, handicapped swimmer) say "anything is possible" and wept like a baby. Loser. I sure hate it when the kids show me up.

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The Plan:
Should be on Manitoulin Island tomorrow. Thinking maybe cycling down Younge street, the whole length. May be cool, but hard to find sleeping quarters. Will see tourist guy.