" Look to my coming on the first light of the fifth day, at dawn look to the east." said Gandalf as he mounted his white stallion and rode off into the west.
So too did we look to the horizon at dawn on the 4th day of the onslaught of the evil storm. For the past 3 days the wind has battered us, the Mosquitos devoured us, the rain soaked us and the fog choked us within but an inch of death. But then, over the horizon appeared our saving grace, wings gleaming in the bright sunshine they brought with them at over 60 m/h. The whip of their wings mixing with the cool soft sound of a fair weather breeze that drove the demon storm into the east. With lighting speed, the dragon flies cut through scores of mosquitos assaulting out skin and within minutes, the battle was won! With joyful eyes we looked up to the blue sky and yelled at the top of our lungs " hip hip horay, we're almost halfway, tonight we will feast, in Thunderbay!!!"
And so we did, we cleaned our tools of battle, laying out damp sleeping bags, pads and tents to dry. Despite losing an hour due to crossing into Eastern Standard time we were out on the road by 10:45.
The rest of the day was a breeze, mostly downhill into Thunderbay. Even when the up hill did appear it rewarded us with a connivence store and a 1.5 L tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream at the top! Slurp slurp yum yum!
Finding a campground less that 20km from town proved difficult so we opted to stay at the travel lodge so we would be able to enjoy our day off. Besides, we are now officially half way across our vast, beautiful country and we deserve it!
Our bikes need some love, our clothes definitely need a good wash (if not bleach) , my beard needs a trim and our heads need to rest but our spirits are higher than ever!
Distance: 105.51 km
Time on bikes: 5:21:31
Average speed: 19.5 km/h
Distance from Vancouver: 3542 km
Start: 10:45 am
End: 6:45 pm
Wind: north-west (morning) (light tail) east (afternoon-head)
Conditions: Sunny!
Location:Thunderbay, Ontario
Or, Ev, you could just let it grow the whole time, dye it white and play Santa Claus this Christmas. You're well on your way!
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