Day One Hundred Seventy-one, Date Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Time in Saddle: 7:36
Distance for the Day: 66.61 miles From Preston To Durham, Ont
Accumulated Trip Distance: 8125.3 miles
Altitudes: Starting/Ending 1028’/1339’, Highest: 1661’ Accumulated: 2251’
Speeds: Avg: 8.7 mph, Max: 27.8 mph
Weather: 70° mostly cloudy
Expenditures: $14C
I woke up at 5am, got up at in the pre-dawn dark at 5:18am, broke camp and was ready to roll by 5:45am. It was still dark, mostly overcast, and temperate. I stopped at a mini mart for some choco milk and a cheese Danish ($4C). I also had the slice of pound cake Laurie put in the care package she had prepared for me the previous day (thanks, Laurie!) and continued along my computer-generated route, until I hit a bit of a snag at 8:30am: a relatively short segment of the chosen route was along a road that prohibited cyclists. I found an alternate route easily enough, but had to pull my trike across a set of railroad
tracks. Other than that, it worked out well, and I was able to continue on without further complications. The quality of the roads for cyclists in Canada, thus far, have continued to be not so good. Occasionally, they’re great, but for the most part, the shoulder is either too small or missing altogether, and there’s a lot of big rigs and heavy equipment on every road I’ve been on. This resulted in my riding onto gravel shoulders to let them by, or if there was no such option, they just had to make their way around me as and when they could; rather unnerving, but we all managed tolerantly. I stopped at a Subway (yes, they have them here, too) for just a
drink while I charged my notebook, checked the map, and did some blogging. At least from this point for the next few days, the route will be simple, and I won’t need to spend much time navigating.
Time in Saddle: 7:36
Distance for the Day: 66.61 miles From Preston To Durham, Ont
Accumulated Trip Distance: 8125.3 miles
Altitudes: Starting/Ending 1028’/1339’, Highest: 1661’ Accumulated: 2251’
Speeds: Avg: 8.7 mph, Max: 27.8 mph
Weather: 70° mostly cloudy
Expenditures: $14C
I woke up at 5am, got up at in the pre-dawn dark at 5:18am, broke camp and was ready to roll by 5:45am. It was still dark, mostly overcast, and temperate. I stopped at a mini mart for some choco milk and a cheese Danish ($4C). I also had the slice of pound cake Laurie put in the care package she had prepared for me the previous day (thanks, Laurie!) and continued along my computer-generated route, until I hit a bit of a snag at 8:30am: a relatively short segment of the chosen route was along a road that prohibited cyclists. I found an alternate route easily enough, but had to pull my trike across a set of railroad
tracks. Other than that, it worked out well, and I was able to continue on without further complications. The quality of the roads for cyclists in Canada, thus far, have continued to be not so good. Occasionally, they’re great, but for the most part, the shoulder is either too small or missing altogether, and there’s a lot of big rigs and heavy equipment on every road I’ve been on. This resulted in my riding onto gravel shoulders to let them by, or if there was no such option, they just had to make their way around me as and when they could; rather unnerving, but we all managed tolerantly. I stopped at a Subway (yes, they have them here, too) for just a
drink while I charged my notebook, checked the map, and did some blogging. At least from this point for the next few days, the route will be simple, and I won’t need to spend much time navigating.Stopped for lunch from 11:30am – 12:15pm at Dairy Queen including my favorite drink (choco malted) ($6C). It started to lightly rain before I hit Mount Forest at 4:30pm where I stopped to get drinks ($4C). At 6:20pm I got more drinks in Durham ($4C). There was one section of a medium uphill road being worked on which narrowed to one lane, so I timed my entry onto the road and humped it over to the end of the construction zone, and just made it before cars showed up. The day turned beautiful, with cool temps, partly cloudy skies, and there was a Subway store in every town. I should’ve gone to Subway instead of DQ, but didn’t know about them until after I left Dairy Queen. That evening, I found a church in the town of Durham at 6:45pm (N44 10.815’ W80 49.092’). I knocked on its doors, but no one
answered, so I read my book until 8pm as part of the usual reconnoiter; the parking lot was a bit exposed, so I went around to the back of the church on a narrow bit of lawn to set up. This church had bats in the roof, and bees in its base – pretty cool! 
answered, so I read my book until 8pm as part of the usual reconnoiter; the parking lot was a bit exposed, so I went around to the back of the church on a narrow bit of lawn to set up. This church had bats in the roof, and bees in its base – pretty cool! 
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