Oh Canada...

This morning we crossed the Blue Water bridge into Canada. We gathered in the parking lot at 6:20 am and road over the bridge in a procession with the support vans in the front and rear. They closed the bridge while we crossed so it was really fun and felt a bit like being in the Tour de France.

We spent the rest of the day cycling through Ontario on our way to London which was our destination for today. I spent the first 17 miles or so in the Team Turtle paceline and then peeled off to ride my own pace. Ontarion looks a lot like Ohio so I felt pretty much at home today. I did, however, notice one thing interesting.

Today's ride was 84 miles (short by our current standards) and the terrain was flat. It should have been an easy day but once again we were plagued by a pesky head wind. Several times throughout the day, the route called for us to make a turn that would give us a cross wind and a bit of a break from the head wind. I noticed that as soon as we made the turn into the cross wind the road became really bumpy or it was uphill!

Nothing out here is easy!!!

The ride is starting to take a toll on everyone in the group. It seems like we all have a nagging ache somewhere or a muscle strain that just won't go away. I remember when we were in Oregon, the physical effort required for each day's ride was exhausting but a few hours after you showered, you felt pretty close to normal. Now we do a ride on relatively flat land and I still feel tired and sore the next morning when I get on the bike to start the next ride. I think the body is just running out of reserve and therefore can't recover between rides like it did a month ago.

I also notice that I am almost always hungry. I can eat until I am painfully full and three hours later I am hungry to the point of distraction. We have all started squirrelling away food from the SAG stops to snack on in the room at night. At the same time, most food has lost its flavor. When you have to eat so much all the time, eating becomes another chore on the 'to do' list and you get tired of it.

We passed a nice bike shop just before we arrived at our hotel and many folks stopped in and bought new bike shorts. The padding in the shorts breaks down after a thousand miles and so that just adds to the ever present butt issues.

Please continue to pray for our safety and our sanity and bless us with a tail wind. We could use a little boost!!!

PS - I had a great conversation with Lynne and Joan while doing laundry tonight. We talked about what a privilege it is to do this trip and how grateful we are for the health and resources to participate in this incredible adveture. We also talked about strategies to incorporate what we have learned on this trip into our day to day lives when we get back home.

I truly am grateful for this experience and all that it has taught me.