Day21: A long day with an expensive ending

Friday July 5, 2019

Today's ride started and ended in less than optimum conditions, but most of the stuff in between was good.

I actually started riding by riding to a MCDs 15 minutes away, waiting 20 minutes to get my 'fast food' breakfast, riding on another 30 minutes to check out a Walmart and a Metro (big grocery store) and deciding there was no way I could safely leave my bike to shop at either. After that I finally got past the big streets and on to smaller streets which finally led to bike paths that led to the WT.

Very near where I got on the WT, it was blocked by a washout. But bikes were obviously going around the barrier and the washout. My worry was that there would be more serious blockages later on today's ride. There were a few places that I couldn't ride because of the high water levels and one place where I got my right food and pedal wet when I rode through several inch deep water on the path, but nothing more serious than that initial washout.

My night in Bowmansville was not what I had planned, but, other than being twice as expensive as last night, it was OK, and part of that was a weekend price hike. Despite the fact that I didn't get here till 7:30 PM and had ridden only 100 km, it was a better night. The motel I'd planned to stay at was full. They, unlike the place I did stay, were very helpful, and found this room for me, but getting here added about an hour to my already long day.

I'm in a situation now that I should have anticipated. This is a resort area along the lake on a summer weekend. Pretty much all the motel rooms were booked for last night and tonight at high prices - demand pricing,thank you Amazon! - so I just booked the last room next door - at the fancy Best Western Plus - for three times what I paid for night before last. The weather forecast today is hot and humid with PM thunderstorms. The weather forecast the following three or four days is much cooler and generally dry and rooms along my route should be much more available. With the long day yesterday and the possibility that I'd end up wild camping in the rain this evening, I wimped out.

I'm reluctant to camp because my back is not getting better. It is very painful for me to walk or stand in the morning although sleeping, sitting, or riding all day are not a problem. I've started considering going back to the States to get it checked out. I'm less than 300 km from Watertown, NY where my younger son-in-laws parents are from. Going through Watertown would only add a couple of hours of riding to my tour.My riding problem yesterday was that riding the WT is slow and it is was at least 20% longer than the direct route. Even with about half my route off the trail, my average speed today was less than 10 mph. The ride did not wear me out and the hours after 5 PM reminded me of how much I've always enjoyed riding after supper on pretty days.

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