Quilting Clubs and Giant Gnomes

Day 5: Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park to Ladysmith

Today's Distance: 38 miles

Total Distance: 194 miles

I was so exhausted last night that I actually got a pretty decent sleep, until about 5 or 6am when I woke up freezing.  When I'm in my sleeping bag I'm either too hot or too cold. Regardless, I got up and tried making oatmeal until I got impatient and just decided to pack up and find a spot to eat on the way.  I could already tell my knee was hurting just as bad as it was yesterday so I took an Ibuprofen and stopped in at a Serious Coffee nearby.  There was a quilting club meeting and I noticed every single one of the ladies had the exact same hairstyle; a short, gray bob...kinda funny.  Got a cup of coffee and a breakfast bagel and caught up on emails, made some phone calls, played around on social media, and just chilled for a little.  I started getting unexpected encouragement from friends and fam all around the same time, which was more helpful and appreciated than they probably know.  You guys know who you are and thank you again :)

Quilting Club in the background

I ended up taking a longer breakfast/lunch than I probably should have but the good news was that my knee wasn't bothering me anymore!  I was on my way feeling good and now the only thing making it hard to cycle was the distraction from all the catcalls I was getting from these Canadian women. I can't help looking good in these bike shorts...animals!  I also forgot to mention this yesterday but I realized I have a really weird inner soundtrack. Songs kept getting stuck in my head for various reasons and I would find myself singing or whistling the tune.  The only way I can explain it is random.  The tracklist is as follows: 

•Kokomo by The Beach Boys

•DuckTales Theme Song

•We Three Kings

•(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding

Seriously.  Anyways, the music in my head started getting weird again and there was a lot of climbing coming up so I decided to put my headphones in (just one ear, so I could still be aware of my surroundings).  I got an instant boost of energy from the music, I've seriously never been more thankful for DJ Ghost.  I think it was just nice to have a break from listening to myself breathe and all the speeding cars.  I learned that certain Death Cab songs make for good climbing music (take note spin instructors).  For a lot of the ride I was on the 4-lane Highway 19. It's been the busiest section of this trip and the first time I ever rode on a busy highway like that.  The shoulder was pretty comfortable for the most part but it's hard not to think about the fact that a semi-truck is only inches away from really jacking me up. Sidenote: apparently Toys R Us and A&W are still thriving up here.  And check out this super authentic Canadian/Japanese eatery:

Sushi Eh

Eventually I was able to get off the busy highway and take a super pleasant ride down a bike path.  I saw a one-armed cyclist which I thought was impressive.  And eventually I met a lady named Carol who was out excercising on her fold up bike (which looks funny but allows for a more straight up posture).  She saw me stopped and trying to stretch out my shoulder blades that were burning and sore. She gave me some good advice on how to stretch it and that eventually led to great conversation. I told her what I was trying to do and why and she told me how back in the day she toured around Canada and did a 3-month trip biking all over Europe!  It really brightened my day to have some company.  Danne' and Hardy if you're reading this, when you were on your trips did you ever catch yourself talking to yourself a lot?  Or maybe I'm just crazy...

Bike Path ran parallel to railroad tracks

I reached Nanaimo and realized that I'm way behind schedule. I kept needing to stop to look at my directions and had to tighten my brakes which ate up a lot of time. Eventually I had to jump onto an even busier Trans-Canada Highway 1.  The sun was about 45 mins from setting and I had another 15 miles or so to get to the ferry in Crofton. I was on the verge of making another bad decision but there was no way I was going to be on the 1 in the dark.  I  swallowed my pride and had to backtrack about 2.5 miles to Ladysmith. That's where I called it a night.

Entrance to Nanaimo

Gigantic gnome in the distance

What did I learn today?

•Don't ride with your mouth open.