It's over!!

It' over!! Finished off in style. Great campsite at Lake Huron. A great supper with my little stove. 2L of Coke. Into the tent early. Thunderstorm at night. Perfect morning. Easy ride to London...120k. And...it's over.
And it all seems unreal. I was just out riding my bike and doing some camping. What do you mean I went a few thousand kilometers, through a bunch of states and provinces and have been gone for a month? Really....there is no sense of the big picture...just riding the bike and camping. No big deal.

But when I do think back...

Best part - probably all the family visiting I got in. In the initial plan there was the potential for no visiting. Ended up doing a lot in Halifax, Ottawa, Richmond Hill. And the family visits of sorts in Belgrave and Lucknow and Lanes.  Such a great change of plans!!!

First place I would go back to - Blomidon Provincial Park. Second choice might be Keji National Park in Nova Scotia with kayak and SUP in tow.

Best camp site - tough to beat Blomidon or any of the state, provincial or national parks. They all have nice private, treed sites. Blomidon wins because of the location, the views and some neat extras like a big welcome center with books and electricity and other stuff. Close behind were my free site at a lock in New York (in a big pavilion) and a little private place in Ontario...got there soaked and they set me up in their pavilion. And only $20. Cheap and awesome!!.....as for the worst camp sites...

Worst camp sites - I stayed at a Yogi Bear Jellystone Park in NS. Didn't mention it before in the blog because I was trying to forget about it. Unless you have about 6 kids with you, I'd stay away. Tent sites are around a big field with little separation between sites. The whole park is designed for kids...and lots of them. So if you have 6 kids or more...go...they'll have a blast. If you're a bike tourer...maybe not. I guess I should have figured that out from the name.....

Best food - every meal at my sister's. Dirk was creating the suppers. Lunches and breakfasts were served up by my sister.....I arrived the first time at their house at my lowest weight since grade 3. They fattened me up and I haven't returned to that weight. Finished the ride at 159.6...not bad. Three honourable mentions for food. The first was pizza in Ottawa...actually Stittsville. Corey and Erin sure know where to order from. Second is Wimpy's Diner in Richmond Hill. Haven't been to a little diner in a long time, but went there with my son and his wife and my daughter and her son. Good company. Lots of food. Got to finish off about 3 people's meals!!!! And they were all excellent. And third was my last camp supper. Finally learned the right mix of  'cup of soup' and dehydrated mash potato flakes. Plus my son's wife had given me some shaved, dried pork. Mixed all those together and I've got a new camp delicacy. Actually looking forward to making it again!! Just have to find out where you buy the pork!!

Best directions: Had to be the homeless guy on the bench, I think in Syracuse. Beat the guy hands down that was trying to show me with his cell phone. There were a lot of people that helped me out with directions. A lady gave me a great alternate route on my way to Blomidon. And the couple in Ontario that got me going west again when I was totally turned around were great....how they kept from laughing at me, I'll never know.

Worst directions: The guy somewhere in the states that just kind of brushed me off, so off I went right down the interstate. Kind of good I guess....created one of my memorable moments.

Worst day: that cold and wet day leaving Halifax for the first time on my little wandering loop of the province. An out and back of 70k to Peggy's Cove put me back to within about 10k of my sister's, totally soaked, cold and only a little over half way to my planned campsite. She just about had me back the same day I left. A little rehab at a McDonalds and I was able to continue.

Best day: Every last one of them...including the cold, wet one. No idea how a trip like this by someone like me, could be so perfect. Every day you learn something, see something, experience something....and that's always good.

...and I could probably come up with a million more "categories". But I'm going to leave it there.

A quick comment on my stuff..
Other than the basics, stuff I found really, really helpful:
- hydration pack with pockets for stuff like gels and bars and glasses and camera
- spibelt: little wee waist belt. Held my credit card and my ID and some cash. Never knew it was there.
- tarp - don't leave home without it.
- chair - probably my biggest "luxury" item and it got used a lot
- bungee cords - these were thrown in to use with the trailer. They got used with the tarp.
- cash - surprising how many places in the sticks only take cash or debit.

And the basics:
Tent - Spark 1 - a little breezy, but if you have the right sleeping bag you'll stay warm and dry. I spent a lot of time in that little space and was always comfortable and dry.
Sleeping Pad - Thermarest Z-Lite. Probably could have used a little more padding some of the time, but it worked well enough for me to get a great sleep every night. Light. Super easy to pack.
Sleeping bag - I've talked about this one before. Should have had a 0 degree bag for outdoor camping in Ontario or similar places. Got away with the really light bag, but a couple of times I had on all the clothes I had with me and would have put on more.
The Bike (MEC National) - a real touring bike makes all the difference. Tough. Lots of gears. Actually early in the Blog I lowered my rating on the bike a little because of 3 flats. Started thinking the flats might be a function of the tire quality. After another 3000km and no flats I think it was a function of just bad luck.

The trailer (BOB) - every once in a while you look a little clumsy as you try to park it or lean it and the bike up against something. But really that's me. The trailer....it was absolutely perfect. It just tags along behind the bike and doesn't say a word. I'm sure panniers are great for touring as well....just don't know how they could be any more perfect than this little trailer.

So it's over....or is it just beginning? Have a feeling I've only hit the pause button. And maybe by the time I hit the start button again, I'll have figured out how to put photos in the blog. Thanks to Louise for adding the professional touch to the blog and letting you see some of the stuff I was enjoying. Hope the blog entertained and maybe even motivated you a little. I had fun with it.

Bill