Rain overhead, clearing in the distance
Rain woke me up at midnight and, since I got up two or three times to pee in bare feet on soggy ground, I can tell you it was cold rain with a north wind.
I can also tell you that a critter climbed up the saddlebags on my bike and feasted. I heard it scurry away during one of my standing-there-and-getting-rained-on moments. It left empty bags strewn on the ground, after eating the two pieces of chicken and half a bag of walnuts in the front pannier, and the two wrapped pieces of ham and six of my nine apricots in the rear bag.
I took the tent down in the rain and ate canned kippers and cottage cheese in the shower building.
Algoma beach with boardwalk
Then it was a road day, and I was under rain for over three hours until noon, and riding into an 11 – 30 km/h headwind for 4:44 hrs, 37 miles. I had planned to go further, but was done for the day in Algoma, where I got a motel and am drying all my stuff.
Murals tell you the town is dead without tourists
Rail fan mural
The route passed through farm country, with frequent views of the lake, which would have been a light gray sky over a dark gray lake, with greenish gray shrubs and brown dirt fields, all washed in a gray drizzle— had it not been too wet to take pictures.
Algoma harbor lighthouse, in the sun, finally
The sun is now out, but it’s only 7 C, with the promise of a sunny 14 C and the same headwind tomorrow.
I had a delicious supper of fajitas, but then again, who knows, because everything tastes good when you’re this hungry. Biking does that. It also makes for great sleep.
Which I suppose helps answer the question I had early on in the day — “What am I doing on this dumb ass trip, anyway?”
Addendum, the next morning . . .
And it’s bright and sunny this morning!
“Mother, father, kindly disregard this letter!”
