29 August - Singing in the rain

Marathon to White River 101km (4390km total).

We had a slow start as Barb and Joe offered us waffles and fruit salad for  breakfast!! We knew we only had 100km to White River so we ate and chatted, then walked down to the beach. It was probably 11am when we said our goodbyes. We stopped for groceries and then spotted a touring bike in town so doubled back to say hi. Marie is riding solo and started in Newfoundland. We exchanged email addresses and some route advice etc. Now it was almost 12noon as we climbed the hill out of Marathon and back to the highway.

Joe and Barb's cycling gnome.

Pebble Beach, Marathon.

Blair and Marie in Marathon.

It was pretty cloudy and windy, it is becoming harder to dress so you are not too cold or too hot (especially when you throw hills into that too). We knew there would not be too much to see today as we headed inland. The rain eventually caught up with us, just drizzle initially then it got heavier. After 60km we pulled into White Lake Provincial Park hoping for a covered spot for lunch. After a few km's there was a kiosk, it was pouring rain and we were obviously wet but the lady was pretty unhelpful when I asked about a covered picnic spot plus the main part of the park was a further 3km off the highway. There was a maintenance guy standing in the corner and he asked how much room we needed, I stood close to him and held my hands to my mouth as if eating a sandwich and said this much!! He suggested we use the woodshed by the kiosk which was perfect but the lady looked at me suspiciously as if I might leave with a few unpaid bundles of firewood!! 

After a quick lunch we still had about 40km to go. I told Blair to go for it, he is faster than me and only has a lightweight cycling jacket, no booties or waterproof pants, no fenders on his bike and no body fat!! He somewhat reluctantly went on, I knew White River was a small place and I would find him. So a wet few hours followed, the trucks made a lot of spray and at times the rain was so heavy I could barely see properly. I was pretty sure Blair would find a motel as this rain is forecast to continue all night and into tomorrow so I sang to myself as I rode. Some of the drivers must have thought I was crazy smiling and singing but what else is there to do!! 

I found Blair in a motel and we decided to find dinner in a small restaurant that was attached to the motel because we were both tired and hungry. It was pretty pricey but filling and then we found a laundry at the truck stop and dryed all our wet stuff. Finally we made the bathroom in our room into a drying room for our bike shoes by cranking up the heater and shutting the door. Our stuff should all be dry and ready to go for the morning but currently there are rainfall warnings out for here to Wawa!!