Middle of Week 7 Written

Here is a written description of the last few days…  I will also put up a post of pictures with captions.

Friday, August 9 – London to Breslau

Today was pretty much perfect!  The weather was great, the temperature was awesome, and the ride was short(ish)!  Many of the riders towards the tail end took the ride at a very relaxed pace and some of them even competed to be the last into camp.  Our only problem was forgetting how to ride up hills because Michigan is actually quite flat.  We had a traffic light and then a steep long hill that multiple people had to walk up after giving up on biking.  I think that today is the only day that Sherry and Larry have gotten into camp before I have!  But I had a great relaxing day so I didn't mind.  We also had amazing snacks when we got into camp (candy bars, brownies, bottercuk?(some Dutch name)…).  Then a great supper (with seconds if not thirds) and a small group challenge face off competition during peloton (which is just about to happen).

Thursday, August 8 – Sarnia to London

Today we left Sarnia Christian School with perfect weather and quite yet full tummies from last night!  We took a right out of the parking lot, a right onto the next street, and went straight for a full 47 miles.  As we came into London we merged onto a bike path and followed that for almost the rest of the ride.  Joel and Bonita missed a turn (along with other groups) and ended up doing about 8 miles extra today due to their accidental detour.  To make it worse we went past a waterpark full of people but didn’t have our swim suits with!  Larry’s shifting cable broke while riding on the bike path and so he found a bike shop downtown before finishing.  The rest of the day here has been relatively uneventful for us but full of visits for many of the Canadian bikers.  Tonight we will be sleeping inside the lobby of the London District Christian Secondary School which will hopefully be dark, quiet, and cool enough to sleep in!

Wednesday, August 7 – Imlay City to Sarnia – The Border Crossing!

Today we began our 75ish mile ride in the midst of a thunderstorm.  We were thoroughly drenched, soaked, worn out, and blown by the wind for the first 35 miles of the ride!  Not to mention counting seconds after each lightning strike until we heard the thunder!  Many of the riders stopped either at a McDonald’s early on (4-5 miles) or a café (8-9 miles) or blew straight by the left turn at the café so Joel, John, and Bonita were some of the front riders for a time (after starting around 7 in the middle of the pack and riding right on through the storm)!  Of course, our lead was short lived due to some faster riders but whatever!  For miles 43-55 we rode across the street from the river and the border and occasionally caught glimpses of it between houses, hills, and other such obstacles.  We reached the ferry in Marine City just as the semis were crossing right at 11 (which is when we were instructed to try and get there by) and then sat in a nearby restaurant for a second breakfast!  Can you believe this was only my 2^nd cinnamon roll of the entire trip!?  As we ate the rest of the riders showed up and we prepared to board around 12.  The crossing took 5 trips due to a 35 bike limit on the ferry and many of us trying to cross.  After getting through customs we had a short (.1 mile) ride through a cheering Canadian welcome party into a park for cookies and watermelon!  I ate 7 cookies!  As time went on riders began the last 15 mile stretch into Sarnia where we were greeted yet again (this time by cupcakes, cookies, chips, and brownies)!  For dinner the community served us grilled pork and some other tasty sides with yet another helping of sweets for a community dessert social!  Wow, have we been eating good!!  Being warned of expected storms that night many of the riders billeted (slept in a bed at a local’s house) or slept inside the school.  We slept in the library and I couldn’t help but look at the titles and see how many I could recognize…  which was a lot!

Monday stuff

I had posted the blog before my parents got in and then learned that Larry had blown out his tire today during the ride.  Not just the tube, but the tire as well!  Also, I learned that when one volunteers to help cook on the grill one also sacrifices getting chocolate milk and seconds!  What a mistake!  Although the ice cream social after supper helped fill my tummy which was greatly appreciated!