Day 51 - Rest Day - Ottawa

A well deserved rest day and I have only been riding for 4 days! But a lot of distance covered in those four days and my legs were tired.  They feel not so bad now and we have another big day ahead of us tomorrow. Let's hope the winds are behind us?

A few days back, I directed you to Craig's blog in case mine did not get updated.  Craig and his wife Sheri (HI SHERI!!!)  read my blog last year and from the sounds of it, Craig has done quite a bit of research about the trip from reading past blogs.  It really is a great way to get information. However there were a couple of unanswered questions that he asked me about.

One was the FLENDER - well - the story there was even though I did buy fenders for my bike, I have never used them. I had a rack and I used the trunk on the rack. When it rained that trunk prevented the rain from spraying up my back - too bad for the guy behind me. Last year when I rode across Canada, I did NOT bring the trunk. That was because of Mike (and George) (from Tour Atlantic) who always teased me for carrying so much stuff. So last year - rack on the bike, but NO trunk. Shortly into the trip - I realized that I needed something to protect my butt from the rain. On the rest day in Merritt - I stopped in at the dollar store, found the best thing I could find for cheap which was the pair of yellow plastic flippers. A bit of black electrical tape and I was set. A FLENDER was born.

Now this year - I decided to ignore Mike and George and I was going to bring the trunk and the FLENDER.  However - the trunk came with me, but NO FLENDER.  It has been confirmed that it is safely residing in my garage where I forgot it!!!!   DUH!!!!!!   Oh well - so that is the story of the FLENDER.

Check out this link from last year to see the story. Hopefully I got it all right!!!!

http://crazyquilteronabike.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/day-six-merritt-to-kamloops-well-near.html

The second burning question was what happened to my cot.  I thought I would be smart and take a small cot to sleep on.  I remember the first day that it was very tough to put together. Spring like legs were tough to insert into the canvas cover.  While it was very comfy, it was a bit of a hassle to put together every day and take apart. Thank goodness I had taken my Thermarest (blow up air mattress) and at some point I started to use that. When I got close to home - I left the cot there. I also worried about the rounded legs digging through the tent bottom and causing issues with the integrity of the tent.  I think it would be great if you were camping in the same spot for a couple of days, but to put together and take apart each day was too much work.

http://crazyquilteronabike.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/day-three-mission-to-hope.html

(I can't get the link to work)   - Hey I got one to work.

So Sheri - there you have it - the answer to those two questions!

Anyway - so Craig read my blog and honestly - I think he knows (or at least remembers) way more about my trip than I do!!!   Several times - he has remembered stuff that I did not.  It is pretty funny and now when people ask me stuff - I just tell them to ask Craig!!!   One of the things that was not mentioned much on the blogs - was our accommodations at the universities. For the record - we are in suites at Carleton.  Some of us have our own rooms within the suite and some are doubles.

However I do have to mention the food at Carlton.  This has to be the BEST cafeteria in the world. I am surprised they continue to let us come year after year. There is a set price and it is all you can eat. Breakfast this morning was yummy - fresh omelet, chocolate milk. I was set for a long time.

For dinner a bunch of us went over and let's just say that I won't be hungry for a while.  I do hate to eat that much at once, but better to eat it tonight - we will need it all for tomorrow.  On these days of 160 KM - according to the bike computer - I am expending over 4000 calories.  That is no where near what I am eating. OK - maybe tonight - just kidding!!!!

Today - I thought I would just take the day off. Completely.  The week before I left was pretty stressful getting all those blogs together and there really wasn't a break before I left.  I literally shut down the computer, put my stuff in the car and left. So I really needed a down day and today was that day.   If you are a Facebook follower - then you now what I mean.  I spent the morning catching up on the blog posts, linking everything and generally just catching up.  It was awesome. Everyone had gone somewhere else - the dorm lounge (even now at 7:40 PM) is like a dead zone - just me. It is awesome.

I did go for a walk and picked up a yummy burrito for lunch. Read the newspaper and caught up on some news. I never read the paper, but it was sitting there. Back to the lounge where I vegged out even more.   Started a new book, napped for a bit and generally had a relaxing time.

After dinner - I did get everything packed up - checked the schedule for tomorrow - two quilt shops to stop at.  One of them is early in the day so that will slow me down a bit as I will have to wait for it to open. But wait I will.   And hey - I might have company on the Row by Row Experience by bike next year. She just bought a new bike and oh - just think of the fun we could have and how fit we would be.  Will have to take the Husqvarna Viking H|Class 100Q with us (definitely need the rack for that) so we can sew our quilts as we collect the rows. Wouldn't that be a hoot!!!!

I guess that pretty much sums it up for today.  I look forward to being back on the road.  I doubt we will get access to the internet until Quebec City in four days. We start off with a big day, but anything less than 160K is a bonus and the next three days (after tomorrow) are shorter!!!   Will seem like a walk in the park.

On that note - take care.  See you in four days.

Ciao!!!!