21st
Day 9 June 21st: Pickering, ON to Belleville, ON
How our drivers managed it, I’ll never know, but they got lost in the Pickering Town Centre Parking lot, while trying to find where the Sears store was. After a phone call from the other RV driver (who was watching us circle the parking lot), we finally rolled into the place where we would sleep the night. We were once again on our own, the other two teams having gone to their respective start locations. We ate at East Side Mario’s where I ordered a large Caesar Salad and a cold pint of Kilkenny and I had my first full night sleep in the bunk truck since beginning this journey. Apparently we had a visitor in the middle of the night, a drunken vagabond looking for a party, but I was so tired I slept right through it.
We had a community breakfast and a ride along with local riders that was scheduled for 9:00am. The Sears store had prepared another warm breakfast for us and I ate bacon, pancakes, fresh fruit and a lot of maple syrup. There was no coffee however, as the coffee machine broke, so one of the ride along participants took pity on me and bought me a coffee from Starbucks. It was much appreciated!
We were provided with water hoses, soapy buckets of water and degreaser to wash the layers of filth and grit that accumulated on our bikes from riding in the rain the day before. Volunteers offered to clean and lube our bikes, but I politely refused as I like to use cleaning as a means to check for any damage or problems with my bike. I also enjoy the process of cleaning it.
Jamie let me borrow his wheels today. I had been using spare wheels that were non-compatible with my bike since about day four. We were riding through a section of road, scattered with debris that would ricochet off one bike and hit another bike. It was like playing a game of ping-pong with our bikes. Unfortunately, one of these large stones hit the spoke on my back wheel, making a loud bang as it made impact, breaking the spoke instantly. Greg, the mechanic, was unable to fix it because he didn’t have the tool required for Reynolds Wheels and he was unable to find one (remember, we were in the middle of nowhere). Another teammate lent me his wheel until I could borrow the spare wheel that was provided by Coast to Coast. That in itself wouldn’t have been an issue, but the wheels weren’t Campanello compatible, they were Shimano. Campi and Shimano do not get along! In fact, you could say they fight like cats and dogs. While I was riding they would show their displeasure at being forced to work together by occasionally locking, and I would be unable to turn the crank; and every time I would change gears they would whine and screech in protest. By day seven, I had to use the matching spare front wheel as mine was no longer “true” from riding on rough terrain. When Jamie offered to lend me his wheels I was ecstatic. And they were fast!
I had the pleasure of riding with Ron Mitchell and Anne Sauve for part of the distance. Our journey took us through Oshawa, New Castle, Coburg, and Brighton and to our final destination, Belleville. There was no sign of the downpour that nearly drowned us yesterday and the sun was shining brightly over us. We rode mostly on beautiful country roads, which also meant we had to deal with a lot of pollen. Ever since my asthma attack a few days back, I had been taking an antihistamine every morning along with my inhaler, so, thankfully that prevented any major issues.
Our rest stop snacks were far from nutritious today! They ranged from slushies and ice cream to an assortment of bakery items (butter tarts, brownies, cookies). All that careful consuming of only low glycemic foods didn`t seem to actually apply while on the tour! I remember prior to going on the ride I was a little worried about losing weight, but now I think we had to worry about gaining it!
The pace was fast (lucky I had Jamie’s wheels)—rolling about 40-45km/h. We had a lot of fresh legs from the ride along participants and they were in the mood to play. It was harder for the rest of us however, as we were 9 days into the ride and some were fighting injuries, and exhaustion. Eventually the pace slowed, and we arrived in Belleville feeling pretty good where we received an enthusiastic reception by Sears’s employees, friends, family and supporters of the cause. New York Fries provided a BBQ, while other volunteers prepared lasagne, an assortment of salads, fresh fruit and veggies. We also had ice cream and freezies. Speeches were made, cheques given away and ambassador child Hanna’s mom spoke of her fight with cancer.
We showered in the facilities provided and prepared for our long RV ride to Repentigny Quebec.
We cycled 188 km today.
