From London to Hamilton - A weekend of friends, food, and real beds

Friday's bike ride took us into Breslau, ON. A bit of a longer ride of over 116km, we were all happy to finally make it into camp at Woodlands Christian School. As everyone set up tents I was able to organize my two laundry baskets that I had been living out of. I wasn't too worried about getting my tent up because I was going to be spoiled. That night, I would get to sleep in a real bed O_O!!!

My sister Melinda had a childhood best friend who was at our house so much she seemed like a sister. Despite the fact that they may have had a lot of fun at my expense from time to time, it was great to see her. Alesha and her husband Brad came to the school around dinner time and picked me up. Another plus was that we were going out for dinner in Kitchner, which meant I got to eat something new and different. Always exciting :)

We head to a place they liked called "The Works". It was an awesome burger joint that I had never been to prior to this, but was excited to try. The menu was overwhelming with hundreds of different combinations to be made. After much deliberation I finally made a decision and chose "The San Francisco Treat", a chicken burger on a whole wheat bun, topped with real kraft dinner and cheddar cheese. It sounds weird and initially I couldn't believe it would taste that great, but I decided to take the plunge anyways, assuming it was so bizarre that it had to be amazing. Well folks, let me tell you, it was. Simply amazing.

 

After dinner, compliments of Alesha and Brad, we head back to their place where I was reunited with Alesha's cat from her childhood, Skittles, and we played some games.

 

The best kind of hosts, she even made a great gluten free, vegan, banana bread :) So delicious!

 

After the most GLORIOUS sleep in a real bed, Alesha drove me back to the school where I met up with my riding buddies. Today was going to be a bit of a different day. Matt's brother, Cory, was joining us, and it didn't take long to pick him out of the crowd. Only a Hoogsteen would show up to bike 70km with a milk carton strapped to the back of his bike and an un-lubed chain :)

 

I was very blessed to have another friend to see that morning! Anthony Foster, a friend from way back when I was 16 lived in the area and we had arranged to meet for breakfast that morning. The place we originally were going to apparently wasn't open, so we meandered 5km off of the route to meet him at a great diner called Oscar's. Together our riding group and Anthony had a delicious breakfast, compliments of Anthony, and chatted the morning away. (apparently it was the week of free meals?!) Luckily it was a short riding day!

 

After goodbyes we set off on the road again, re-tracing our pedal strokes to get back to the marked route set out for us by the tour. We had debated for several minutes whether to take our own route, which would be shorter, or to follow the C's on the road and backtrack a bit. Ultimately it was decided to just use the route given. Funny how things turn out, because somewhere along the line we missed one of the lovely C's and realized we were lost, and ended up using the debated alternate route anyways!

 

Taking a shortcut down highway 8 we made great time. Matt was from the area and wanted to take us to his old workplace - A-1 Pizza where he hoped we could get some free pizza. We all agreed because everyone loves pizza, unaware that this was about 20km off of the route we had chosen to follow to Redeemer University. By the time we got there we were all eagerly awaiting the pizza, and were perhaps slightly disappointed when we got pops instead. BUT, we can't complain. Free is free.

 

By now we figured we were way off course and would have to do a lot of extra km's to get to Redeemer, but Matt said he knew a short way to get there. It was true! He did. But he failed to mention that this route included crazy climbs and descents of ridiculous grades. Without exaggeration, I can say that one of them must have been 14%. I was worried that if I stopped pedaling for a second, or leaned back to far I might go tumbling back down the hill! Regardless, it was a good workout :) And, Matt brought us to this beautiful waterfall :) 

 

Because we were feeling adventurous we decided to climb to the top. Our shoes got a bit wet, but that was okay by us. No worse than a rainy day!

 

After the waterfall adventure we made our way to Redeemer, which was only about 7km away! We were all shocked, especially because despite our detour to breakfast, Matt's Pizza place, and the waterfall, we had still done only 70kms! Amazing how that works! And, we got a great workout on the climbs :)

At Redeemer it was time to set up camp in the dorms, but also time to say goodbye to some riders. Our friend, Peter Wong, was leaving the tour, so we got a picture together before he head off. He was training for an Iron Man in a few weeks, so we wish him all the best and hope it doesn't rain on him!

 

Not only was it a weekend of free food, but a weekend of seeing old friends. Kat, whom I met in Washington 2 summers ago in a summer course through the Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies, drove 2.5 hours from Western New York to visit! She would be heading off to the Ukraine in a few days to teach English for a year, so our timing couldn't have been better for seeing one another. Also, she brought with her some Ukrainian chocolate. It didn't stick around for very long :) 

 

 

Surprises, surprises. Along the trip there are 4 mail stops where family, friends, etc. can send packages to the cyclists. I had never told any of my family or friends about these stops or when they occurred, so I never expected mail. Can you imagine my shock when I was informed that a package had arrived for me?! I didn't believe it, but sure enough my wonderful boyfriend, Todd, had sent me a package. I was very excited :)

 

The contents were 3 letters, and a wrapped boxy thing that I assumed to be a book, which it was :)

 

Inside the book were photos of him making funny faces and everything, and the "open first" envelope contained a letter/postcard. Unfortunately I have to wait until the 17th and 24th to open the other too, so I'm not sure what they contain, but I'm anxious to find out!

 

That evening we all went out to downtown Hamilton and spent the evening talking and laughing, sad that the tour was coming to an end shortly but happy that we still had 2 weeks together. Resolved to make the most of the remaining days, we had a drink and enjoyed the night.

 

 

Another evening where we could sleep in real beds was so fantastic. Again, dorm room beds are the dread of every student moving away from home, but to us, they felt like heaven :)

 

Sunday was an interesting day. Waking up just before 9 (the latest we've ever slept on the trip), we head to breakfast and quickly found out that a shuttle to Niagara Falls was leaving in a few minutes. Although I had been before, I wanted to go again since the last time I saw the Falls I was probably 5 years old and most definitely on a leash so I wouldn't run away and get lost in the crowd, or go for a spill over a railing. I thought that hitting up the falls "leash-free" would be a good experience, so I scarfed down my food and head to the car. Laura joined since she had never seen the falls before, and we head out.

 

The vehicle was being driven by Esko, a former cyclist on the 2013 tour who had been injured and left the tour. He was from the area and gave a great tour as we head to the falls.

 

After a quick McDonald's/Tim Horton's run, we eventually made it there. We were all a bit squished in the SUV, so we were glad to get out and walk around.

 

The falls were gorgeous and mind-blowing. Way better than I remember from my leash days.

 

Getting a photo was more than a challenge. So many people were hanging over the edges, so as soon as a spot opened up you had to jump on it! Very few people were courteous enough to stay out of your pictures, so it might have taken a few tries before I was able to get a shot of me by the falls without a random tourist joining me.

 

I also had recently begun using the panorama setting on my camera, and thought that this was the perfect location to get some practice in with it :)

 

The girls from the group got a picture together. We thought we looked pretty stellar :)

 

And of course Laura and I had to get one together - representing Zach's Angel's at the falls!

 

After wandering around the falls, gift shops, and convincing ourselves to not buy food there (we are almost always hungry...) we head out to see some other sights. Esko brought us to the gorge where everyone eagerly listened to his talk and leaned over the railing to get a better look.

After the gorge, we went and saw the dam. Also very Impressive!

 

 

By the time we had seen all of these things, remembering we had got out for Tim Horton's before arriving at the falls, we were all pretty sick of trying to squeeze in and out of the vehicle. So by the time we got to the flower clock, we opted for a view from the car and pictures out the windows. We can bike across the continent, but getting in and out of a car more than 6 times in a day was too much.

 

By the time we got back to Redeemer, and after torturing the Americans with songs by the Arrogant worms, a Canadian group who makes a lot of Canadian jokes, and or makes fun of Americans, my phone was dead. This was unfortunate because I was unable to take any pictures of the celebration service we had, which was amazing. By far, the best we've had. Since I have no pictures, I'll try to paint one for you with my words. It was a large auditorium with a stage up front, and 2 decks of seating. As we entered the room everyone was on their feet, shouting, clapping and cheering us in. The entire room was packed, and the applause went on for what seemed like ages! It was an amazing welcome.

 

After the service we had a small reception with a lot of cookies and coffee, and even more mingling with people you had never met, but loved the tour and hence, loved you. It's always great to feel appreciated!

 

Supper was compliments of the local churches who put on a "lunch-box social" for us. We all quickly swarmed to try and grab the best looking lunch. They were great, filling, and nutritious, and some came with notes or words of encouragement. Kind of like a "I love you, sweetie" note that mom's send in kids lunchboxes. Very sweet gestures :) Plus, we love a little deviation from the norm, and it was so well executed :)

 






Later that evening, as I was packing up my belongings and bringing them back to the gear truck, I found a red tu-tu on my shelf. If you remember, this is the same tu-tu worn by Malori on Independence day. I was a bit puzzled, and while I was asking about it, I heard someone (not sure who) say that I had to wear it if I found it on my shelf. It seemed like a good rule to me, so I put it on and wore it proudly :)

 

I decided that the tu-tu was great fun, and everyone who saw me got a good laugh out of it, so I decided to make a little game out of the event. When the tu-tu is given to you, you must wear it for 1 hour before you can pass it on to whomever you like, granted they had not worn it yet. Everyone who heard the idea liked it, so we'll see how it goes. I'll keep you posted on it's progress :)

 

 

Anyways, here is my daily blog. 4 days in a row! (thanks to Gregg's persistence and the fact that I'm a bit behind). Stay tuned for tomorrow's update on Monday, the 12th as we head into Ajax, ON!