Terrace Bay

First off, please allow me to express my apologies for my neglect of the internet and this blog.  It isn’t entirely my fault though – Manitoba and northern Ontario are almost entirely uncivilized, or at least opposed to the idea of publicly available computers.  I also have to announce that it seems I’ll have to put the Maritimes on hold until next year – I’m a bit too short on cash to be able to comfortably do that leg of the trip and there’s been no news of my Employment Insurance cheques coming in, meaning I’ll have to work for my money, which would be a difficult task on the road.

I’ve got at least five fairly interesting posts composed in my head, but since it’s still early in the day I’m going to keep this as a short status update and post them all later (possibly not until after the trip itself is done…. not my first choice, but I was hoping to find places to update much more regularly than I actually have.)

Some people have asked about the photos – I’ve been taking plenty, much more in northern Ontario than most of the rest of the trip, party because I have trouble forcing myself to stop for anything (food, water, photography, etc.) and partly because there is such an abundance of natural beauty here that I cannot help myself.  I do however have some fairly excellent photos from all the legs of my trip, which will also be posted once I’m home and can properly sort through them all.

As for myself, I’m doing okay – cycling 8 hours a day every day is getting wearisome now that I’ve been at it for almost a month, and I feel as though I’m dragging a low pressure system behind me along with my trailer since no matter which direction the road turns it seems the wind is in my face.  Still, I have in my estimation only about 10 days to go until I get home, so I have no intention of giving up or letting my flagging feelings slow me down.  Conversely, it’s an entirely intruiging sensation to feel yourself develop perceptibly.  At the beginning of my trip an 80km ride had me feeling burned out, now I often do 100km or more before stopping for lunch, and then continue on from there.  It hasn’t been a sudden change, like the blossoming of a flower but rather the steady strengthening of a sapling becoming a tree, and I know that I’m not at my peak yet.  I sometimes wonder what heights I’ll be able to achieve, and the stories of unencumbered tour bikers averaging 300km a day no longer seem entirely fictitious to me.  I alternate between cheerful exuberance and fatigued depression quite often now, but on the whole I think most of the negative side is coming from all the new projects I’ve envisioned for myself and my eagerness to get started on them.

Before I go, here’s once again the route so far. I meant to give thanks and props to all the people I’ve met and visited along the way in this post, but that will have to wait until next time since I really do need to get on the road if I want to get anywhere today.  Thanks everyone for all the encoruagement you’ve given me in the comments on my previous entries – I definitely enjoy seeing that my friends and family care for me and are cheering me on.

Still cycling,

Paul