travel notes: day 1

adventure to Squirreltown & beyond

not even 10 mins off the Chi-Cheemaun, we were in the middle of nowhere, heading north on hwy 6 (the Great Spirit Circle Highway). about 10 kms off the ferry, there was a billboard for a Timmy's.
"only 74 mins!" it beckoned...by car, of course. something to look forward to tomorrow morning. (only a few days later did we find out there are no franchises on the island, and that tim's was really in Espanola -ed.)
i picked up a hitchhiker...a green bug named Gerald--he rode shotgun on my handlebar bag for quite some time...even down two serious hills. he disappeared at Fossil Hill in Squirreltown.

so Beebs says "hey manny, you lead for a bit"...how excited i was, until i realized it was probably because the boys were already tired and wanted the 5'2", 120 lb girl to set the pace, without either of them backing down.
it wasn't because of my outstanding ability on a bicycle--no.
it was because i'm slow...er,
but how can i compete with this hairy beast of a machine? combined, it's like riding behind a 12 ft, 400 lb monster.
no matter how fast i pedal (on the downhill!), they cruise by letting their weight carry them.
until the uphill of course, when i motor past them screaming all the while "eat my dust pansies! muhahahaha!"
no...not really. that was a fantasy as i panted up the last hill of the day (don't ever let anyone tell you manitoulin island is flat)
riding really far behind leaves nobody to talk to. it's very conducive to fantasies.

day 1 stats
25˚ & sunny
total riding time: 4 hrs 4 mins
total distance: 65 km (avg: 16 km/hr)

food for thought: strange heaven by lynn coady