Day 119- COLD and WINDY and Tourers from England

Day 119 Saturday, September 4, 2010 Distance 49. 13 km. Time 2 hr. 59 min. Total so far 8192.58 km. When we looked out the window of the Vance Motel in Spanish it was raining as it had also been doing all night. Dave looked on the computer and saw that in Sault Ste. Marie and Elliot Lake it was supposed to clear up at the end of the morning. The winds were going to be strong and the temperatures have plunged. I finished a blog and then we packed slowly. I was apprehensive about going on Hwy. 17 again and told Dave that I wouldn’t go on it in the rain. All the rooms in this motel are full today for a wedding so we couldn’t stay here anyway. We thought maybe that if we had to stay we could go under the canopy across the street but a farmer’s market was setting up there this morning. A little after 9 it stopped raining so we headed out. I found out very quickly that Silver was only going to function in the middle front ring today. It was COLD and WINDY!!! Dave was very patient staying near me at first to see how the bicycle was functioning. Luckily the hills were manageable without needing to shift down and the wind was strong enough to not have to shift up. The traffic was lighter at first because it was early and the edge was a little better in this section. I was glad for the first break but we didn’t stop long due to the cold. Later we met Chris and Debbie who were flying with the wind on their back on the other side. They are our first tourers from Europe. They hail from London, England and are cycling from Vancouver to Halifax. They hope to make Sudbury today. Chris is 28 and Debbie is 32. They quit their jobs as travel agents and are taking a year off before starting new jobs. Chris is riding a Specialized and Debbie is on a British bike called Ridgeback. She has had various problems with it and in Sault Ste. Marie at Velorution, she needed a new back wheel.. They were also both all decked out in their warm rain clothes. I hope it warms up for them. After our little meeting we went on to the Elliot Lake turnoff information building and had a short break there. They have several nice wooden deer sculptures there. Another hour of pushing into the wind brought us to Blind River. The sun peeked out a few times during that time and it felt good. We were blessed that it didn’t rain because it is prime hypothermia weather. Dave wanted to quit in Blind River so we decided to motel again if the price was right. The first Auberge Eldo Inn was too expensive but the Wayside Motel farther along was reasonable. We have a very large room with a gigantic bed. Dave went off to the grocery store and I slipped under the bedspread with all my duds on and fell asleep for an hour and a half. We are both TIRED. It has been a long trip. I emailed my children and good friends, Cecil and Julia in Bruce Mines which we hope to reach tomorrow. The weather report for tomorrow is rain and wind but a little warmer in the afternoon.