Travel agendas are set largely on a day by day basis depending on the weather and terrain mostly.
While we regularly look over what the Adventure Cycling maps have to tell us about amenities and distances, we have to come to some conclusions about the day's destination goal. Since not much else was readily available in the way of camping between here and there, Port Stanley it is! Oh wait. That's 85 or 90 miles away. Long day in the saddle no matter how you slice it. Off we go, but we keep in mind that goals are somewhat flexible.
Our first stop was Port Dover. The approach roads were horrible. It was a heavy industrial area that looked like a refinery. I was thrilled to escape those trashed roads. We found a library to use wifi so we could check the weather. Saw that the forecast was terrible, heavy rains(@50 mm!) and winds. Shelter in Port Stanley was less of an option with that outlook. Off we go. No time to waste after coffee and breakfast. Tom Horton's is a good place for food and coffee.
Conditions ended up being very favorable. Flat terrain and a strong wind at our backs!! One road was straight as an arrow for 20+ miles! Perfect situation for covering big miles.
We did find one little store for a kind of lunch stop. It had fireworks, too. I was considering a jet propulsion of some type, then I thought of the bang at the end. Jus peddle. I didn't eat just sucked down a diet coke. Mistake. I had to stop 10 miles down the road and snarf down a Cliff bar. I was fighting off a big bonk. A while later down the road, I felt a ton better. Whew.
There were a few little hills around the waterways but nothing serious. On one of the early hills, as usual, my strategy for getting up the next rise is to haul ass down the hill to gather momentum for the climb. That works beautifully on tandems and loaded bikes as you can shift up and down gears like a big old 18 wheeler, unless your cleat comes out of the pedal, which is exactly what happened, as it ended up, on more than one occasion. The left cleat that attaches my shoe to my pedal is done. Something I lived in mortal fear for earlier in the trip. I saw a set of cleats at a bike shop in Henrietta , NY and I got them! The crazy thing is the cleats were Kevlar so I figured they'd last. Wrong! To my biking readers, I used the Look style pedals because of the shoes I wear. I have yet to find a pair of spd compatible shoes that I can use for touring. It's my quirky feet. Sigh. I use cleat covers when I can but cleats don't hold up to rigors of toe grinding stops and starts on a day to day basis.
We did meet one bike tourist headed east. He was from NH and was aware of the challenges ahead. Poor bastard. He was in a very similar situation as myself. Had 6 weeks to ride last summer and 6 weeks to finish this year. He's a HS teacher. Fun to talk to others along the way and briefly compare notes.
As the day toils on, we get nearer to Port Stanley. Let me tell you, Fred can crank out some mileage. I think I'm pretty solid in the mileage department. Compared to Fred, I'm a rookie. That man is the Energizer Bunny personified. He has one speed, all out. Sometimes I like to ease back, but that will just make Fred wait a bit longer. I have a GoPro camera mounted on my bike s I can capture images without stopping. That, too, is a work in progress.
We reached Port Stanley about 4, plenty of time to find a place to stay. No calling ahead since I don't have an international plan. The first place we saw, Kettle Creek Inn, was too pricey as we noted on line earlier, but the woman there was immensely helpful . She put us onto a man that gave us access to his "patch of grass" located next to the local marina (with showers) to ouch our tents. He had friends over so we couldn't stay at his place. It could not have worked out any better. After we set camp and cleaned up, Fred dove into his tent by 7:30 his usual. Since we were in a tourist town, I decided to go have a beer.. I found a place with entertainment and enjoyed my one pale ale. Ah. A toast to my family and friends! Ching Ching. Camp was 3 short blocks away.
Rode 85 miles
Total @945 mile along the route
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