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| Day 29 - July 26 - Taylor's Cove to Quetico Park 155km |
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| As I lay in my sleeping bag with no desire to get up, my first sensation of the day is pure fatigue. Unfortunately, it sticks with me for the better part of the ride. Dave, Al, Spencer, David, Michelle and myself take off as a group and, believe it or not, finish the day's ride as a group. It is fairly uncommon for six people to ride at a similar pace for such a distance. In the case of today, the headwind requires us to form a single paceline the whole way along. |
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| As the distance adds up and the hills get worse, all I feel from my legs is weakness. I am definitely not 100% today. And it makes the day seem a lot longer if I'm not enjoying it. There are very few gas stations or stores on this route, approximately one every 60km. In between these places are trees. That's it, just trees. If anything serious went wrong with the bike I wouldn't know what to do. |
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| Eventually we see a tourist bureau where I get an orange juice and a chocolate bar to increase my calorie intake. We relax on the picnic tables outside, postponing our departure, and I fall asleep within minutes. |
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| We fight the wind a little longer until we come across another convenience store with a sign for ice cream in the window. To a tired cyclist, there is simply nothing like it. A sudden feeling of relief floods over me as I drag my weary self inside and take a seat at the table. Moments later I am fighting the urge to close my eyes once again as my chin rests ever so comfortably in the palm of my right hand. |
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| The only sign of wildlife today is just 10km from the end where there are two moose standing, simply staring as we pass by. The last 3km is a dirt road leading to the campground covered in large rocks and potholes. I skid my back tire on one of the rougher sections and take a spill. I manage to unclip both feet from the pedals as I'm going down so it doesn't hurt as much. |
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| Today was a tough one for me overall because physically I didn't feel up to covering such a distance with the wind in my face the whole way. I look forward to tomorrow with great anticipation. I have a good feeling that my competitive, give-it-all-I've-got attitude will return to help me get through this. I don't like having days like this one. If I could eliminate them completely I would, but they are guaranteed to pop up once in awhile. |
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