Total distance: 3051km
Average speed: 20.1km/h
Weather: light rain and overcast
If I thought yesterday couldn't have gotten better I was wrong. After the Bjorkmans arrived at the diner, I got a ride to their house in the woods on their Harley Davidsons! Then I got to play with the horses while Nikki fed them and let the stallion out for the night. We sat around eating nachos and talking at like 10pm and I didn't go to bed until almost 12. They were seriously the coolest people ever.
Today however is a bit of a different story. I was reluctant to leave their tranquility by the lake but alas Nikki brought me down back to the diner where I had left my bike (this time in the pickup) at 9:30. Carl had warned me that there was an easterly gust which blew at my face as soon as I started riding. Headwinds are my biggest weakness, and I had to stop 3 times in the first 50km. Hills that I was flying up and down yesterday I was crawling on, and the more I pedaled the more I realized I was probably not going to make it to Thunder Bay at a reasonable hour today. It was a relief when I finally convinced myself that because I stopped worrying about how slow I was going, nevermind that I had lost another hour according to my otherwise useless phone. The one bright spot came when I saw my first moose! Something was rustling in the woods and I turned and at first thought it was a horse! Then I saw the horns and it was gone before I could fully appreciate its immense size. I stopped at a pulp load check in slightly after the 60km mark, even though I had just stopped 20min ago for a snack, and tried to call my host in Thunder Bay after borrowing someone's cellphone. Nobody answered so I can only hope they are not too worried. Afterwards I ended up taking a nap because I was just so drained. Even though I have the wind as an excuse, this is something you should never do in the middle of biking because it is virtually impossible to get going again. And that's why when I rolled past the abandoned Kashabowie store and motel, 112km from Thunder Bay, I decided that I was done for the day. To my luck, the door of the first unit of the motel was unlocked, and there was even a mattress inside. Weather is the single most important factor that makes or breaks bike trips and I really hope Mother Nature throws something better at me tomorrow.
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