Bicycle Trip Part 3.....Digging Deep

     After my accident on the bike I was in a state of emotional confusion......great combination with all that pain. I could not imagine going back to Squamish after only making it to Grenfell, Saskatchewan. The 14th of July came early after not much sleep, I was to wake Darren and Pierre up before I left (they did not hit the road early) and they were to catch up after packing and eating breakfast, I never saw those two guys again. I awoke at about 3 am because my shoulder was very painful...sooooo, there was nothing to do but pack and leave. With my left arm in a sling I rode the first 100 kms in three and a half hours; I used the moonlight to see my route. There is always positive that can come from negative, that being cool temperatures and very little traffic. That first day I would lift my left arm up with the right and rest it on the handlebar or ride one handed. By days end I had rode 225 kms; I was very happy with the mileage, despite the one handed riding and the sun.
   Jumping ahead......I had a particularly tiring day around Upsala, Ontario. After 12 hours of riding I covered just over 200 kms.; the highway had taken over as the worst with the twisting/turning, bumps, holes, and trucks; 4 times I got forced into the gravel. I made it in one piece to Thunder Bay after 18 days of riding; it is here that I took a day off to visit friends. I did meet an array of people on this rather isolated bicycle trip: there was the policeman who was one of 8 running from Montreal-Vancouver, he had so many escorts and a couple of campers following him. I spent the part of a day with a guy named Andy who was slowing me down; he finally decided he did not want to go further so I moved on. A couple of days later I saw Andy waving and yelling out a pick-up truck window; he had told me that he would never take a ride.
   Thunder Bay was good for me (not just for the very supportive company) but because the night prior to arriving it had poured rain and ALL of my belongings were soaked. I left there all clean and dry which gave me new found determination. I will finish this part 3 with two chronological events that illustrate just how unpredictable travel can be, by any means.
  I was up on a ridge overlooking Nipigon Bay at the end of my day and wondering where I could pitch my tent when an older couple approached me, I thought to ask directions. They asked me where I was staying and when I said nowhere in particular they invited me to stay at their place.These people had a small cottage on their property at Kama Point that I could use for the night. The lady (Eileen) worried whether I would be comfortable enough. I was frustrated the next morning, I awoke and looked at the clock, IT WAS 10:15. I quickly wrote a thank you note and was just about to get on my bike when Eileen said "Oh Ian, you are going to stay for breakfast aren't you?" At 11:40 I finally got rolling and hit the big hill that awaited me. I pedaled until about 9 pm so that I could make up for lost time. Beautiful scenery along Lake Superior, and an incredibly nice couple.
   The next day I was up early and cycled many kms. to the nearest town to eat...this is what I generally did. I got a sandwich and drink from a shop and rode to the east of town where I found a park and recreation area. There was a school bus there with some young people around, I found a bleacher by the baseball diamond where I ate my food. I watched about 6 or 7 of these youths as they siphoned gas from the bus and were inhaling the fumes using bags. A couple of clean cut guys came over to ask me typical questions and they told me that they were berry pickers and the driver went down the street to use the phone; I guess since it was overcast they may not pick if the farmer said no. The behaviour of these gas sniffers got more ridiculous as they started to kick out the walls of the dug outs and light gas that after they poured it on the roof of the arena. It was time for me to get out of there but as I was leaving I saw 2 older men sitting in the bus. I rode over to the windows and asked them if they were used to this behaviour. I straddled the bike as we chatted and I noticed a couple of stones started bouncing off the bus and landing by my feet, then one hit my leg.
    I turned to the one young guy and said "if one of those stones hits me again I'll get off this bike and give you a shot in the head". Instantly all the high gas sniffers swarmed around and I got the sense quickly that I needed to get out of there. This was just in time, I peddled as quick as I could while they hurled rocks and yelled insults. These were good size rocks so I stood a good chance to get hurt badly, thank goodness I realized the danger. Some 15 minutes later I could hear yelling as the bus approached from behind, I tried to dodge all the spit and containers that flew out of the window. There was a celebratory roar as they passed, I stopped and wiped the phlegm off that made contact with me.