Carmel cooked up bacon and eggs and filled me full of tea before I left. She also packed me a lunch, I wish I could have spent a little longer with them but they also had to hit the road back to the city as Rod had to work. They gave me directions for a short cut back to the main road and recommended I check out the lift lock at Kirkfield.
Rod and Carmel at their cottage.
I hadn't even made it 1km before I saw an interesting vehicle on the road ahead. As I passed it I had to stop and say hi. Donna has been riding her 'bike' for 10yrs often with her husband or grand children, I loved it and asked if I could take her picture, but she got a bit camera shy and said I should be in it!! Then a guy driving by stopped and asked if I was the girl cycling across Canada!! Mike knew Carmel and Rod and apparently they had told a few people about me!!
It was a 3km detour to the Kirkfield Lift Lock but as a National Historic Site it was worth it. It is the highest point of the Trent Severn Waterway and quite a feat of engineering (Dad, you should google it!!).
Kirkfield Lift Lock.
I carried on cycling through cottage country. At one point every second car was an OPP cruiser, I was glad I had passed the headquarters in Orillia otherwise I would have wondered if I was in a really sketchy area or something was about to go down!! I saw this place on the side of the road which made me smile.
Unfortunately for most of the rest of the day I was not smiling. The day before I had started to notice a pain in my right ankle but I had forgotten about it in the evening as it didn't bother me off the bike. From the first pedal stroke today it was painful. I hadn't done anything to aggravate it and hoped it would wear off..... needless to say it didn't!! My Achilles was tender to touch and there was a noticeable lump but I couldn't seem to do anything to relieve it and the road was annoyingly rolling so I could not get into a smooth rhythm and climbing strained it further. I stopped more than usual but pushed on, and then of course it rained!! It was a long painful day but after 145km and close to 7 hours of riding I made it to Bay Lake, south of Bancroft.
I pretty much met Stella and Mollie, an adorable pair of Pudelpointers before Greg and Carolyn the warmshowers hosts who had agreed to have me for the night. They welcomed me in and it's amazing how quickly you can feel human again after a hot shower and good food. As we talked over dinner Greg told me about his cross Canada trip with his daughter and ride from Inuvik to Vancouver with his son. Somehow my ankle pain came up and it turns out they are both doctors and said they would take a look if I wanted. So after dinner Greg diagnosed Achilles tendinitis, I could feel the crepitus when I flexed my ankle but was stunned at how quickly it had developed. He explained he had suffered from it during his ride while Carolyn gathered up an ice pack, anti inflammatory cream and tensor bandages!! I couldn't believe how lucky I was to be staying with them. They said I was welcome to stay a day and rest and ice the ankle but I said I would wait to make a decision in the morning.
no worries! the title says it all ..ha
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