54 km, 4 hours ride time.
It was hot and humid day. We had a late start which is not too surprising given how late we got in last night. It was nice to have a brief visit with Ron and Wendy at breakfast.
Throughout our ride today we were both tired. I think it was a combination of not enough sleep and all the work necessary to pack up the house. The heat certainly did not help. Fortunately my neckband is working like a charm. It makes a significant difference, such that I’m not overheating anymore.
We decided to take a “shorter route” that involved less traffic, rather than following the documented “cycle route”. The advantage was the shorter distance, the disadvantage was gravel roads, more hills, and no services. We went 40 km without so much as a corner store.
Lunch break.
The post-lunch hills!
When we rolled into Plantagenet, I saw an ice cream / dairy bar, so we stopped and shared a banana split (our first of the trip). It felt so good to have something cold in the heat of the afternoon.
We then stopped by the depanneur(corner store) for some gatorade. When I asked about washrooms, the girl behind the counter mentioned that their might be some at the motel just down the road (before the highway). We didn’t know there was a motel in Plantagenet and thought we’d have to go to Alfred another 10 km away, so it was very fortunate. We likely wouldn’t have seen the hotel otherwise – it was behind a restaurant, and all the signs were pointed away from the road we were on.
Not 5 minutes after we were settled in our hotel room, we heard the crashes of thunder and the skies released sheets of rain. Seems we just missed another storm!
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What is this neckband of which you speak?
You can see a picture of it around Becky’s neck. She got it as a gift, so I’m not sure where to suggest buying one, but they’re pretty easy to make. Search for “cooling neck wrap” or “cooling neck wrap pattern”.
Examples: