Blue Skies

Catching up again

August 22, 2008 on 11:39 am | In On Tour |

Ok, ok Jim, you’re right… I haven’t posted in a bit.

It seems like there’s been less free time ever since we hit Madison. It could be that there is actually less free time, but its more likely the realization at that point that there is only a short time left before the trip is over, leading me to try to do more things while I can.

The past week has been a time of adjusting to a new type of tour - I no longer no everyone’s name in camp. Sixty new cyclists have joined, and although I’ve got about 10 new names down its not going to be possible to really get to know everyone before the tour is done. Especially since we’re almost down to one week left now. New people has been good for us, however, since they come at the tour with fresh eyes and new energy and excitement.

I’ve had some decently long days recently, even though the distances through this part of the country are shorter than those we dealt with coming out of the plains. The day out of Grand Rapids I didn’t end up getting in to camp until 6:30 PM, since it was our turn to sweep and a cyclist had a few technical issues in the morning that slowed him down.

The crossing into Canada on Wednesday was pretty stellar. We took a ferry from Marine City, Michigan to Sombra, Ontario. We first assembled in a small park on the American side, a half block away from the ferry. At about 9:45 AM, once all cyclists and staff had checked in as present, the cyclists moved en mass to the docks where they proceeded to fill the next two and a half ferry trips.

I was driving the van again, and we managed to squeeze on the third ferry crossing over. On the Canadian side, everyone was rapidly being processed (we had been pre-approved to enter). Driving a vehicle, I got to skip past a whole bunch of cyclists. There was a welcoming crowd at the dock exit, and a small field there was covered with people, pavilions, white and red balloons, and lots of food and Tim Hortens coffee. Chathem treated us very well, and the following day cyclists got what is likely the flatest ride of the tour.

Today I’m sitting at home in Hamilton. I took the day of from being support and got a ride home with my sisters who had driven out to London to visit. Marika had actually told me earlier that they were coming, but I had completely forgotten, so it was a pleasant surprise. Tomorrow is a easy, and beautiful ride to St. Catherines.

It’s unlikely that I’ll manage to get back to daily posts, but I’ll try not let it be a whole week before I post again. =P