Reports from Jamie's latest tour

Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 Latest Next

day 85

taking time to smell the roses

Actual Date: 2007-07-28
Uploaded: sat, 28 jul 2007 19:18:23 -070
Distance: 104.00 km

McKerrow, Ontario

Every bicycle tourist has one question during any given tour that gives them pause. For me, on this tour, the question is "What's next?".

The first six times I was asked the question occured before I had even arrived at Lake Superior. Today I was asked for the forty-third time. At least today's question comes now that I've completed my circle around Lake Superior!

Many people incorrectly believe that I bicycle commute for environmental reasons. While I appreciate those benefits the true reason that I do so is to give my mind a chance to think in the period between work and home. This has resulted in startling breakthroughs to many difficult problems.

It's only natural then that a solo bicycle tour of this length has given me plenty of time for reflection during my first extended leave since I was twelve years old.

I think many people ask the question, What's next, because we as a society are too caught up in the next thing to really appreciate what we are experiencing right now.
I know that I've certainly been guilty of it. I recall my first job evaluation when I was 14. I received exceptional ratings for my work effort and ethics. The only perplexing comment for me was that it also said that sometimes I need to take time to smell the roses. I've forgotten the name of the manager but I understand now that he was trying to get me to realize that sometimes it's important not just to focus on the next thing but also to reflect on what's been achieved. So, after all these years the seed he set in my brain has finally come to fruition.

This new found knowledge will still allow many new endeavours but perhaps at a more reasonable pace that is a little less dramatic for those who surround me and ultimately better for everyone. My objective in the months ahead will be keeping this in my mind as I return to a job I love and a home life that I enjoy. Both are vibrant and interesting areas that are capable of inducing forgetfulness unless I make a strong effort to keep this firmly in my mind.

Today has been a very focused thinking day. All day I've been trying to determine if I go around Georgian Bay or cross Manitoulin Island. Indeed my final destination for today is actually at an intersection of two roads with one going to Georgian Bay and the other to the island. There have been great arguments on both sides of the debate but as I type this I've come to a decision especially in light of my earlier comments.

I've already achieved everything I hoped for on this tour with the exception of three goals. Of these goals the most important one is to return home and to be honest, as much as I love touring, I am looking forward to doing so.

Riding around Georgian Bay would add extra experiences and distance but potentially cause me problems achieving my last two goals and/or returning home on time. So as much as I love to stretch myself this time I am going for the more easily attainable option. Even with this option weather, strength and time could leave the two bonous goals out of reach. It's time to crank up the engines and go home. Tomorrow I head south rather then east. It will also be nice to eventually exit the main Cross Canada routes and return to the much less travelled paths. It has been a long, long time since I've been on quieter roads!

Yesterday I mentioned meeting two tourers but I neglected to discuss the second. He was doing a wandering circle tour from Pontiac Michigan with no real plan or objective in mind.

This second tourer was quite fascinated by my five year quest and as our conversation progressed I quickly came to appreciate why. He has also circled a body of water by bicycle. With the exception of Libya (hard to get a visa) he has circled the Mediterrean Sea! Conversing with him about his experiences in Spain, France, Syria, Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt was fascinating.

The sign I saw yesterday advertised water taxi services for bicycle tourists. They would take you across the north channel of Lake Huron from Blind River to Manitoulin Island. Since Gore Bay looks like the closest and most likely harbour this option would have allowed me to explore a huge chunk of the island on roads that I haven't experienced before so it was worth checking out. This is why I stopped last night at Blind River and delayed my departure this morning by three hours. The time unfortunately yielded nothing more then a few messages left on an answering machine so I couldn't say if it's still offered or how much it would cost. The new areas would have been fun and potentially worth it! With the majority of cyclists on the TransCan eastbound and skipping southern ontario I wonder how much it would be used anyway.

With my delayed departure I also received an unforecast easterly wind. Unless the weather is significantly different 600 km south then these eastern winds feel very strange. In London easterlies are generally only common when winter is turning into spring.

Time for some regenerative sleep. Tomorrow is another riding day.

BTW: I really have no idea what is next. For now I am focused on today. My next adventure will appear when the time is right!

~Jamie N

Interested in bicycle touring? www.bicycletouring101.com

------------------------------
Get your service for FREE when you refer friends and family to PocketMail!

Tour Statistics

(Based on riding days only)

Number of Riding Days: 34
Overall total so far: 3840.10 km
Daily Average: 112.94 km
Shortest: 53.00 km
Longest: 163.00 km

Click here to send me a fun, inspiring, motivational and private email!

Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 Latest Next

These daily log messages come from my latest bicycle touring adventure. I usually update new entries daily although in more remote areas the upload may not occur for a period of time. Rest assured that the missing entires will ultimately appear here.

Clicking on 'Latest' will always take you to the latest entry. To read from the beginning select the number one from the log entry list.

RSS Readers allow you to receive notification whenever a new log entry arrives. If you use a RSS Reader a RSS feed is available for this bicycle touring journal at http://www.bicycletouring101.com/RSS/BT101TourReports.xml. The FireFox web browser actually has the ability to provide live bookmarks from a RSS feed like this one. If you are using Firefox to view this page then single clicking on the small orange icon at the lower right corner of the browser will allow you to subscribe to the feed.