We departed Truro after doing some morning errands, including stopping at a bike store to get our tires pumped up and ask about which route to take. It was a great idea on both fronts: our tires were at about half pressure and the woman definitively told us that one route was flatter than the other.
The terrain was great! We didn't experience any climbs that weren't gradual and although it was sprinkling, we were making great time. We hit mile 500 and celebrated with some vegan herb cream cheese that we had found in the last grocery store (Laurel almost had a stroke when she discovered it). Just as we finished, the drizzle started again and so did we... until... Laurel got a flat tire! The first one of the trip! (Katharine is being blamed for jinxing the situation since she mentioned the good fortune of no flats the night before.)
It was the rear tire and it sure was a pain in the rear to fix. Luckily the rain stopped while we were doing our repairs, but after we got back on the road: WOW! Torrential downpour for the rest of the day!! Also, we discovered that when we flipped the bike to change the tire, the odometer stopped working, at a little over 500 miles. All mileage from here on out will have to be estimated...
We arrived in Pictou looking like drowned rats and not happy campers, LITERALLY. That night would be another hotel stay, unfortunately for our pocketbooks but fortunately for our chilled bodies.
On the way to the closest and cheapest motel, Katharine looked in her mirror and didn't see Laurel! Where was she? (Hopefully not at the last stop we had made 2 miles down the road, the last time Katharine checked her mirror...) Katharine waited awhile and then headed back to find Laurel pitifully pushing her bike up the road. After some words, Laurel informed Katharine that her tire was flat, again. We pumped it, hoping it would hold for 3 more miles and arrived at the hotel.
The owners were very sweet and even offered to drive us to a bike store. After showers and food, we changed the tire again on the motel bathroom floor, hopefully successfully this time. (It turns out that the last innertube got pinched when we changed it on the road.)
Mileage: 40ish miles
1 comment:
I hope you release an audio commentary to the blog at some point. Perhaps we'll learn what "some words" Laurel used...
And how can a city planner not know what makes a town?! Zoning ordinances of course!
Congrats on your destination arrival! Count those gables!
Post a Comment