The Long Ride East

Day five started out pretty well – I woke up early and with lots of energy. So much energy, in fact, that I took down my tent, then helped other teammates pack up their things. By the time I’d finished that the day took a turn south. I grabbed my plate, cup, and fork and headed for the food tent only to find that it was completely finished. The food was packed away, the coffee poured out, and everyone was preparing to leave for the first break. I began to curse myself for not quitting coffee before I left as I had originally intended. Food wasn’t hard to come by – I had a few energy bars and other teammates gave me a couple as well so while I didn’t have my usual hearty breakfast of oatmeal, baked beans, and a scone, I had something to power my legs. But there would be nothing else for another 30 KM.

I headed out feeling pretty sorry for myself. And it went downhill from there. I was tired and not really enjoying a breakfast essentially made up of candy bars. After a short time a headwind compounded my grumpiness. By the time I was 10 KM from the first break I was in a lovely headspace. “This is it!” I thought. “I’m going to finish this stupid ride and then I’m going to go home and put the bike on craigslist. I hate riding a bike, I hate this ride, and I don’t even think I want to ride when I get home. It’ll be transit for me from now on. I can’t wait until I get back home and can trade this bike in for a transit pass. A transit pass to put me on a lovely air conditioned subway, book in one hand, coffee in the other. Mmmmm…What a nice picture that is…” And this is the internal dialog I got to listen to for over 30 minutes. But I was good – I didn’t get any of that on anyone else. As people passed and said their good mornings, I put on a cheerful face and greeted them right back. And eventually I got to the break where I looked at the water, ate a few snacks, and then headed back out – not much happier than when I arrived. But hey, I only had another 600 KM to go before I could find a lovely new home for this bike with someone who loved it.

I pulled out of the break and started heading east. Less than a KM later I saw a welcome sign: “Tim Hortons”. There was no time for a second thought – I turned in to the parking lot and ran inside. I didn’t have time for a leisurely hot coffee and breakfast sandwich so I did the next best thing: a large iced coffee and a couple of bagels for the road.

It’s a little embarrassing to say just how much of a transformation that created. By the time half of my coffee was gone I was no longer writing the craigslist ad for my bike in my head. And by the time I had finished my coffee I remembered that Day 5 is my absolute favourite day of the ride.

The best thing about Day 5′s ride is that much of it is on the bike paths near Cornwall. They start out winding through the trees near the main road but then before long you end up along the canals for what is, in my opinion, the most beautiful scenery of the Bike Rally. Further wonderful is that you don’t have to share the road with other cars. By the time I got to this point, my caffeine-withdrawal-fueled dreams of never riding a bike again had completely evaporated.

Eventually, though, the lovely ride along the water had to end and we turned north and sadly, into the wind. The temperature heated up to the point where despite the wind, the air felt hot and the heat radiating upward from the road made it feel even worse. This, plus the fact that I had to pedal even going downhill should have lead to another draft of my imaginary craigslist post. Instead, though, I knew that it wouldn’t be long before I reached the next goal for the day – Dairy Queen.

The Lancaster Dairy Queen has been a big supporter of the Bike Rally for some time and has become a traditional stop near the end of Day 5. By the time I got there the parking lot was filled with cyclists enjoying treats. The management of the Dairy Queen reacted to our frequent patronage by offering to donate $0.50 per Blizzard or Royal Treat sold to the Toronto People with AIDS Foundation. After a long hot ride from the cool edge of the river, I was very happy to have a sugar-filled treat.

One of the best things about that stop, though, is that it’s less than 3.5 km to our campground. So running on a sugar high, I headed east and came across this sign just a couple KM from the Dairy Queen.