What I can say for certain is this: there are good people everywhere, you just have to open your eyes and your heart. I guess being a cycling bum is an ideal way to meet all these beautiful people, since wandering around with a touring bike and waving a BC flag gives people a pretty good reason to strike up a convo. Riding across the country with no planned route or guidebook also gives an excuse to talk to folks along the way. The most commonly asked questions revolve around sustenance and survival: "Can I fill up my water bottles here?" "Does this road have a decent shoulder?", "Can I use your washroom?", "Where can I find some good eats?". These questions lead to more questions, breaking down the barriers between us and opening doors and windows into a world of unknown possibilities and conversations. I love it :)
So Kevin, Toby and I pedaled from our camp spot out in front of the Webbly Motel in Webbwood through Espanola and down Manitoulin Island. Cruising along Lake Huron, seeing all the little bays and farms and paint peeling from the wooden farm houses made for a nice days ride. Kevin pulled over off the highway to pick wild raspberries from the crevices of the rock cuts, where the juicy red berries were dangling temptingly in front of us. We ate banana sundaes, took a series of photographs in front of a tee pee, and Kevin flew a spider man kite which he purchased at Giant Tiger off the back of his bike.
That night we stayed with a woman named Rachel who we bumped into at the swing bridge around Little Current. Rachel, her husband Todd, and their two boys welcomed us into their home for the night, made us dinner, invited us to sleep in the rec room, and encouraged us to leap off their dock which rolled out into the cool waters of Manitowaning Bay. It was a pretty cool experience to once again receive such awesome hospitality from complete strangers :) As well, Rachel and Todd live on Wikwemikong Unceded Reserve, home to Eastern Canada's largest powow (which was coming up in just a few weeks). After taking a dip in the lake, the three of us piling into their pick-up truck with Todd and rolled into town for a grand tour of th
e reserve."Have you guys ever heard Pow Wow music before?" said Todd, as we drove towards the setting sun. We shook our heads.
"Ok, well I've got some here for you then" he said as he changed tunes on his car stereo. "This is Cree...and you've got to listen to it loud".
So he cranked up the volume and the three of us cyclists sat smiling silently as the powerful drumbeats and whooping shouts rumbled through the speakers and into our eardrums. T
odd tapped out a beat on the steering wheel as I let myself be carried away by the music, imaging that I could see the dancers moving to the music. On our way back to Rachel and Todd's place we stopped in at the local convenience store for some delicious flat bread, "We call it crackbread" said Rachel, "because once you open it, you just can't put it down!". And it proved to be true; we didn't make it halfway back to their place before we cracked it open and began to devour the delicious crackery, bready, craisony goodness.
The next morning we took the ferry to Tobermory and pedaled down the shoulder les
s road along the Bruce Peninsula. and back to the mainland around Georgian Bay. More swimming and ice cream followed today, as well as wicked PB, nutella, and banana tacos. We spent a night with some friends of friends of a relative of Kevin's (or something like that) in the gorgeous Owen Sound. Our hosts Andrea and Matt were awesome! They have three kids under five, so we all had a good time playing with train set and reading books and goofing around in the backyard. Matt and Andrea fired up the BBQ, plied us with beer, put together some salads, and thus we ate and chatted late into the night. We left their home the next morning with our hearts warmed and bellies full :)
s road along the Bruce Peninsula. and back to the mainland around Georgian Bay. More swimming and ice cream followed today, as well as wicked PB, nutella, and banana tacos. We spent a night with some friends of friends of a relative of Kevin's (or something like that) in the gorgeous Owen Sound. Our hosts Andrea and Matt were awesome! They have three kids under five, so we all had a good time playing with train set and reading books and goofing around in the backyard. Matt and Andrea fired up the BBQ, plied us with beer, put together some salads, and thus we ate and chatted late into the night. We left their home the next morning with our hearts warmed and bellies full :)Kevin split off from Toby and I, heading down the 6 through Guelph and towards Lake Earie. Toby and I rolled on to Toronto, and spent the last week staying with various members of his family and bombing around the city on our bikes. More details on this later.
peace!
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