yelled at 3 times in an hour

Great story.. Gives me the ambition to put my head down this weekend and see
how far I can go.

Heck, I should take a week off.

--


Paul Ricklefs
Check out: http://thehappyscrapbooker.com

"Barry Gaudet" wrote in message
...
Yup. I did a personal odyssey on Sunday and Monday. I made it to the
town of my teenage years almost 20 years ago.

It was a strange experience. Making the trip by bicycle made it a...
pilgrimage in the spiritual sense - a zen thing. A form of meditation

Fair warning: What follows is a long rambling recitation of my
experience. Read at your own risk.

Starting at 7:30 am I roll through the Southern Ontario towns, villages,
and hamlets between Guelph and Bolton.

The optimal route distance is 75 km [47 miles] but my route, avoiding
highways and detouring for points of interest makes it 95 km [57 miles].

I develop a rhythm. After the first two hours I pause every hour for 5 or
10 minutes to stretch, check the map, and hydrate.

I eat up the kilometers, averaging 20-25 kmh. The sky is a brilliant
crystaline blue. The smog advisories have eased but it's supposed to
quite warm, ~ 30 c.

As noon approaches, the heat builds. I can feel it radiating from the
asphalt itself. I imitate a camel and increase my liquid consumption. I
reapply sunblock as well. I'm thinking spf 30 doesn't cut for me. I'm
going
to have to increase the dosage. Maybe ask the r.b.m riders what they
use.

I'm almost to my goal. When I was last in Bolton 19 years ago it was
smallish town of 20-25,000 that, other than a smattering of commercial and
industrial concerns was mainly a suburbanoid bedroom community for the
Greater Toronto megopolis. Now it seems to have doubled in size at least.
The number of auto's, trebled. But maybe it's a fuzzy memory playing
tricks.

I enter the town from the west but to the south of the town proper,
through a commercial district that used to be farmland. On the other side
of highway 50 is the sprawl of a suburban development that didn't exist
either.

I expected growth I guess. It's both more and less jarring than I
thought it would be. I take to the highway to ride an overpass crossing
railroad tracks. The same way I first entered the town 2 decades ago by
auto. I recognize the odd old familiar haunt. An independent fast food
joint that survived the onslaught of the mega-franchises. A convenience
store peaking out from ever more strip plaza development.

I push onward to the town center in the Humber river valley.

*So many cars*

It's hollowed out a bit like small town centers all over, thanks to the
malls and plazas with ample auto parking on the outskirts.

I stop for lunch. The restauraunt under a different name but in the same
spot as the first meal I had in the town over 20 years ago. The waitress
who served me was probably busy being born when I was last here.

I follow the Humber river a bit. It seems noticeably lower. Drought? Or
over consumption by southern Ontario's thirsty millions? Or maybe it is
indeed faulty memory.

Then I climb the north side of the valley to the subdivision. The houses
were surprisingly the same, just more of them. I expected that. What I
didn't expect was the _trees_. They had grown, changing how it looked
from what I remembered. Subtly different but surreal in a way. Who would
have thought trees would grow so much in a mere 19 years? Many of the
homes have 4 and 5 vehicles. I dawdle along passing the high school I
went to, the parks I played in...

One can only take so much nostalgia. I take to the highway again heading
north. The cornfields where we had bush parties are gone. More houses.

My sojourn is only half over though. I have to get back home - my
current home, The plan was to take the Caledon Hills rail trail back to
Terra Cotta. It's a 50 km trail if you include the unoffical unimproved
bits on each end, generally sloping down from the north east end - which
is why I chose to take it from that direction. I make the trail at
Palgrave. First I replenish my liquid supplies.

The trail is quite nice, though a bit rough in spots. The shade of the
trees is a much welcomed relief after the heat of the pavement. The
scenery is pleasant taking in river valley, wetlands, farmlands, and the
Niagara escarpment. No radical climbs though - not that I'm up to the
effort by this time. As evening approaches more deer, rabbits and
chipmunks
make there appearance on the trail.

At the end of the trail I make for Georgetown. A large town or small
city, depending on one's POV. I make the decision to call it a day and
get a motel room. I've clocked a little over 100 miles and am exhausted.
I guess that makes it a century. It is a tough decision as rain and
thunderstorms are predicted for the next day. I'm tempted to push on but
I know I need to rest.

I sleep the sleep of the virtuous... ok, ok the sleep of the
damned-fool-who's-to-stubborn-for-his-own-good. I wake at 5 am to the
sound of thunder - not a good sign. turning over to sleep some more I
make ready to hit the road at 9:30 for the last push. A light rain that
tapers off greets me. My quads, calfs, and sit bones scream in protest
then give up complaining as the rhythm starts.

An hour in and I stop for my morning coffee. I indulge in a couple
cookies for that energy boost. Before I finish the rains starts picking
up. I turn on my blinkies and press on. No thunder but the rain turns
into a downpour. I am completely soaked. Head down I push on. What
choice is there? I actually appreciate the odd bow wave from large
trucks. It gives me a boost. I take all the assistance I can get.

Finally I enter the outskirts of Guelph. My odyssey is almost complete.
The rain has ended and it is turning into a beautiful day. Over the two
days
I made a 200 km loop and seemingly traveled 20 years in time.

I guess it was worth the aches and pains.

The getting yelled at I referred to in the title?

Within the city first two mental midgets in a penis extender muscle car
yell at me on a deserted straight highway. Before I make it home two more
vehicle's - both SUV's - occupants feel a similar need to try to cause an
accident by startling a cyclist. The last one I almost caught at the
light. Probably lucky I didn't. I would have done something foolish.

As I've said before , for all its' faults, Guelph is fairly lucky as far
as accomodating cyclists go. The people on the other hand.... I'm
thinking IQ varies inversely with vehicle size. Or maybe it's an example
of familiarity breeding contempt.

Anyways that my story of southern Ontario time travel.

--

'Ooh I will make you a believer'
-Sass Jordan

Barry Gaudet wrote:
(snip-a-lot)

The getting yelled at I referred to in the title?

Within the city first two mental midgets in a penis extender muscle car
yell at me on a deserted straight highway. Before I make it home two more
vehicle's - both SUV's - occupants feel a similar need to try to cause an
accident by startling a cyclist. The last one I almost caught at the
light. Probably lucky I didn't. I would have done something foolish.


As I ride in town, I get a lot of mouth- or facial expression-abuse from
auto passengers (teenagers mostly). Since I pass many of them at
traffic lights at least once, recently I've considered carrying a potato
or two to jam into the tailpipes (Auspuftanlage, whatever) of the worst
offenders. Only considered. But the first time one of those Ugly
Americans nudges me out of his/her way ....