The BLO+E: Week 3 Day 4

I'm surprised I biked the 57.8 miles today from Kingston to Belleville, ONT. I .got on my bike early, but I went back to the Starbucks I found yesterday and, being such a beautiful morning, tarried there far too long.

Starbucks: Princess and Wellington, Kingston, ONT

I'm also surprised because the headwinds were strong. It seemed I was barely moving forward and my legs were working much too hard, I probably got some windburn, my lips feel chapped. Once last summer on the BALM, there were similar but rainy winds that forced an early stop. I wanted to stop today: I'm surprised I kept going. Maybe I continued on because in Loyalist I saw this sign. It was funny and energetic. It was refreshing.

Hey, NSA, from Loyalist, ONT, Long live the Queen!

I'm surprised I covered the distance because I stopped to work for a couple of Hours at a Tim Hortons office in a small town somewhere in Canada. I had discussions to read, journals to grade, email to answer. The great thing about technology is that it enables work on a trek like this. And sometimes work can take your mind off the grind of pedaling into the wind. Stopping to work can also slow you down!

At work: Tim Hortons

I was surprised today that HWY 2 is a lousy road. No shoulder. Busy traffic. Cracks. Potholes. There's a lot of discussion about bad roads in the States, but I think HWY 2 today is the worst road I've ever biked on, and I've been on a lot of roads all over the States. And Canada! Today, I would have preferred the worst washed-out section of the Katy Trail. So I was surprised when I topped a hill and rounded a curve and saw a First Nations stop.

First Nations Stop on HWY 2 between Kingston and Belleville, ONT

I love waterfalls. Not big ones, necessarily, like Niagara Falls, but little ones on creeks and streams. Waterfalls where you can walk across them or sit in them and let the water fall over or flow by you. Waterfalls that are for summer play. Today I hadn't seen water (that's a surprise) for some miles, so I was surprised when, nearing Belleville, I came upon this waterfall. It was peaceful and quite. It was summer and I was like a barefoot boy.

Waterfall off old HWY 2 west of Belleville, ONT

A bike ride is full of daily surprises. Are they good? Bad? Is the wind today a bad surprise? Should I be surprised that I worked hard on my bike, worked in my office(s), was lazy? Had doubts? Perhaps. But every day on a bike is a surprise.

Lodging for the night, Belleville, ONT

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