Thoughts from a lazy blogger...

It's hard to believe that we're already 5 days into our 8 day adventure. All of the 100+km days are behind us, and I have kind of mixed feelings. We're both suffering a little bit of wear and tear (his & hers matching knee problems), so it'll be nice to back off and have some easier days, but I'm also a bit wistful because there's not feeling quite like really cranking on it and putting a bunch of miles behind you.

There's nothing insightful to share about what's been great about this trip so far and why I'm glad we've done it - we are meeting amazing people, we are seeing beautiful scenery, and we're spending a bunch of time riding our bikes, which we love to do. We're also on our first-ever camping trip together and finding that we enjoy that, too, and will probably do more of it. And of course, this is our first longer vacation away together since our honeymoon, and it's been wonderful having so much time together with so few distractions. It's a ton of fun to just transplant yourself into a different and more adventurous life for a week - I recommend it.

Here are a few thoughts from the "small world" file - I met the nephew of James Read, who was the principal of my first school and someone for whom I have always retained a great deal of respect and affection. And tonight at dinner I was seated immediately across from the son of the man who sold me my second bicycle. In Elmira, the only bike shop for 40 years was Central Cycle & Sports, and it was run by Lorne Martin. Tonight I had the pleasure of dining and reminiscing with Randy Martin, Lorne's son. He still has a tandem bike from the 60's that his parents used to ride in the Fall Fair parade - including with him on the back in a child seat.

To meet two people with these connections to my hometown, separated by so much time and space from events that have had such a lasting impact on me has been a really special and unexpected part of this whole experience.

And on the technical side... My cheapie no-name mail-order road bike is working just dandy. I'm really happy with it, despite the fact that it would have benefited from a bit more of a tune up before the trip. It needs the wheels trued up a bit better, and the brakes & derailleurs tuned, but that's not the bike's fault. It's handled everything I've thrown at it and I'm pleased at how it's holding up so far. With a bit of care invested in that bike it should offer many more miles of fun.


We've done what we can to keep in touch and update family and friends on our progress, but it's mostly been limited to a sentence and/or a photo here and there. We hope that you know that you're in our hearts and that we'll have plenty of stories and more photos to share once we're back. For now, we're kind of taking it all in and making the most of this week of adventure.