Thursday Aug 21 -- Chatham to London.

Stats: 125.3km, Average Speed 23.6km/h, Max 52.3km/h, Time 5:18
In camp around 3pm. (I don't always remember to note that time.)

Another day of ups and downs. The wind was another headwind, though it was sometimes a bit of a crosswind as it was sort of from the SE and we were sort of going a bit NE.

Left Chatham just a bit before 7am with Ralph and Albert. Our friend Albert DeVries came out the night before with his track bike and rode with us today.

As if 120+ kilometers wasn't enough to do, some riders organized an informal "time trial race" on the flat(ish) roads between Chatham and London. They marked out a course of about 40km. Each rider had to ride solo -- no drafting allowed -- and they were started at intervals. (I forget, every 3 minutes?) I knew that some of the group would be up for it, but I didn't realize how many! 28 riders signed up!! And no, they were not all just young guys. Several girls signed up, and Pieter got Ralph to sign up.

Pieter was signed up also, but he'd left so early that he zipped past the location of the start of the race before anyone was there (or something like that) and missed it. What a goof. The race didn't start right in Chatham, but rather about 40km along the road. It ended shortly before Mt Brydges, which was our Lunch stop.

Albert reported later, with some embarrassment, that three girls passed him. Yeah, age catches up with all of us. (Sorry, Albert, but you knew that I'd blog this!) The winner, so I've heard (not officially) was one Reuben Vyn, which was no surprise to anyone, as he rides for the University in Portland, Oregon.

I had some more mechanical issues (remember I said ups and downs?). In Thamesville, which was not that far from Chatham, my left foot started feeling quite wiggly after crossing some tracks. I stopped my bike and discovered, to my shock, that I couldn't get my foot out of the pedal! Good thing I normally unclip with my right foot first, since I now had at least one foot solid on the ground. I had to take off my left shoe to get out of the bike.

Ralph and Albert heard me say something about my clip, but didn't realize the seriousness of this and were soon out of yelling distance. They thought I'd quickly catch up... needles to say I didn't. I was trying not to feel down, as I thought that my riding for the day was done. Several riders soon stopped --- you ALWAYS ask another rider if they're okay when you pass them stopped on the side of the road. I soon got one rider who had both a cell phone, and the emergency numbers, and a SAG wagon was called.

Art Smit and Melissa soon showed up, and Melissa, who was battling a migraine, surprised us by being able to loosen enough bits to get my shoe loose. It turned out that one of the cleat screws had just come loose. None of the threads seemed broken or stripped, and the pedal still seemed okay as well. We got it all put back together, and I was soon on.

Well, for 100 meters. Then I stopped again to adjust it... you spend months fiddling with your cleat position on your shoe, and I had clearly not got it back quite the same way!

And so I rode solo for a while, passed some people who weren't at the right pace, was passed by some others, and eventually came to a SAG stop and again found myself joining a peloton -- this time with Chris (no relation) Mulder, Ralph DeBoer, Julia, Jonathan, Jeff, Kaitlyn, and Neil Jaspers. 8 people riding together, mostly two abreast on these quiet roads, again makes riding into a wind a LOT easier. It was still a struggle at times, because they're pushing me at the top of my ability. But the community was great as they willingly slowed it down a notch a couple times when I was struggling.

Around km 87 we turned off course into Mt Brydges where we were again feasted by the local community (I think the Strathroy churches helped also, but I'm not sure) to a beef-on-a-bun lunch with salad and all kinds of melon and so on. I was careful not to stuff myself, but I'm surprised at the number of calories I can now pack away. (aside: stepped on the scale tonight and I think I'm 5lbs down...)


(Sorry, Indoor shaky Shot! But you get the idea)

Actually on rides I also need to regularly stop to eat. I now really see the bonus to cycling jerseys that come with pockets on the back, as other riders will reach back into their pocket and snag a banana or granola bar and eat it while riding. In this way you don't stop the other riders who are on a roll, and you don't get left behind to stop on your own. It's NOT a good thing, so I'm told, to let yourself get to the point that your stomach starts growling. Bonking, (running out of energy rapidly) soon follows.

But the flat demons struck again. I came out of lunch and found my front tire flat. That's #4 for me. Ralph and I tackled it and I soon got it done. Let me tell you, that a shady bit of grass by a church parking lot, is a MUCH more pleasant place to change a tire than crouching in the gravel on the shoulder of a road while trucks roar by at 80 km/h.

Ralph and I were now paired off and both of us were eager to make it home to London to see our families. Let me tell you it was really a bit weird to find myself cycling into London. The hill down Byron Baseline road was a joy to zoom down (that was my max speed, noted above). All the houses and trees also block the headwind, which makes it very hot, but does make pedaling a bit easier. Ralph met his wife Cora in Springbank park, and I pressed on to the Fork of the Thames. Ralph soon caught up, Cora was going to meet him at camp later. And the last few km sped by until we turned onto the bridge over the Thames into the park where I found my wife. I didn't expect to get choked up, but I did.

It struck me that I had just done something (biking home from Grand Rapids) that I could never have imagined doing just 12 months ago. We greeted a few folks there, grabbed some ice, but did not stay long. We both had the itch to get to camp!!! Ralph did not relish the idea of cycling through downtown, so we left the official ride route, and instead headed off down the east section of the bike path. It was a nice quick ride, and no traffic or stoplights to deal with. Soon enough we were rolling into the parking lot at the London District Christian School.

Here we had another great, amazing reception. We were handed some ice cold chocolate milk -- wahoo! and then some ice cream as well. What could be better? Well, dinner might be, but I'll have to find that out tomorrow, as I went home to spend the night in a real bed...

Tomorrow it's on to Hamilton.