Miles to date: 3,080.1
I’m not going to complain about the wind today. I’ve been saying, “If it was easy, we wouldn’t be doing it.” And, “We need a challenge.” But I did some research: The dominant wind direction in Ontario is from the west; Ontario winds blow from the east 10-12% of the time. The average wind speed in Ontario is 6-12 MPH. Today we saw 15 MPH most of the day with gusts in the 20’s.
I’ve observed that when the wind is nearly comical in its abuse, I smile wide and shake my head in disbelief. Geeto on the other hand nods his head and smirks with a wink of his left eye. This has been a consistent behavior across many windy days, and it was exhibited often today. Geeto told me that his thought in these moments is, “Okay God, I know you’re testing me; I’m not in control.”
Today was probably the worst day of wind we’ve experienced. We use our “granny gear” (the lowest gear on the bike) to climb the steepest hills. Today, we were on flat terrain and I nearly switched to my granny gear just to drive forward against the wind; out of the 21 gears on my bike, I was in granny gear minus 2. It was memorable, comical, humbling and, I guess, everything we could ask for.
After the first 20 miles today which were not too abusive, we crossed the River Thames and passed the turn off to Pain Court. I thought at the time, “This hasn’t been too painful, and I’m not sure what kind of litigation I could reasonably expect for and current or future pain. Let’s not go out of our way to Pain Court.” I learned later that in French “pain” is bread and butter”court” is short… maybe I should’ve gone out of my way for French short bread?
I don’t have a lot of video and few photos from the ride today. Most of the time I was in wind-strain mode, which was an equal blend of “head down and do your work at the front” and “ keep on Geeto’s wheel so the wind doesn’t disconnect you at the back.” But overall, we felt we accomplished something today, though through the day the only people we significantly encountered were at the grocery in Chatham.
We passed through Chatham in the late morning where we stopped at a grocery for lunch provisions. This was the only town we saw today, and the only time we saw places where we could turn electronic credit card cash into consumables. The remainder of the day was farmland. We stopped to eat at a sheltered property on the edge of someone’s farm, where we could enjoy our provisions in the sun and out of the wind.
We had one exciting moment in the afternoon when Geeto’s front tire started to spray tubeless sealant on his face. He’s riding a “gravel bike” with brand new “gravel tires”, so of course he gets a puncture/flat. Whereas I’m riding a “road bike” with “road tires”, and I get my flats on the road. Go figure.
We ended our day at the Natterjack Brewery in Eagle Ontario (it’s a few miles south of the big city: West Lorne). Immediately upon arriving, we felt at home at Natterjack Brewery. It was all guys there and I realized later that everyone there had facial hair; I forget how I look but when I saw my homeless visage in the mirror I thought, “Ah yes; these scraggly gentlemen know a friendly grizzled vet when they see one.” I suppose I look more like the “good ‘ol boy” type that I would like to be than the retired professional engineer that I feel I typically convey. It’s interesting how we all judge human books by their cover, and how I am happy to be judged when I look like I’m homeless.
I learned more about the history of Natterjack from Peter, who operated the bar all night. The dream for this brewery came from Matt Soos; Matt was a college graduate then went on to get his master brewer’s license, and he got a job at large beer nearby brewery. When Matt was 18 he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. He was defiant to this condition: he used this as extra motivation to maintain his fitness and pursue dreams like whitewater rafting and skydiving. At age 26, Matt had been feeling a little off for a few days. Ultimately he went into urgent care to get checked; within 36 hours of that, he passed away. He had some sort of virus that affected Type 1 diabetics in the area, many survived and some didn’t. A few years later, father Peter (operating the bar tonight) and his other son Dan built Natterjack and started brewing.
Natterjack is named after the Natterjack Toad that is indigenous to Ireland. Matt Soos was pack packing in Ireland and as he tried to sleep in his tent one night, he noticed that Natterjack toads get louder as the night goes on; similarly Natterjack beer drinkers get louder as the night goes on. Peter said they put a little toad in every brew, but they slice them so thin you don’t even taste them (he was kidding; no toads are harmed in the brewing of Natterjack beer). If I didn’t have to carry the extra weight on the bike, I would bring some of this beer home, it’s very good.
I was amazed that the small town of Eagle could support this type of operation: 3 miles south of West Lorne and a long way from any sizeable city. But Peter and Dan seem to know what they’re doing. They have a variety of events and parties that bring people in. Tonight there was a painting party with 12 women making art in the brewery. Tomorrow a family is bringing an aging horse in for his final beer before he gets put down at the by the vet up the road. “That’s different, ay?” said Peter in his uniquely Canadian accent.
We talked a lot about the history of the area: We rode a good portion of the day on the Tecumseh Parkway, named after the Native American Shawnee chief who led resistance to the American expansion. We learned the brewery is on the site of an old hotel where Fenian Raiders (Irish Americans) tried to forcibly capture British North American lands to hostage for the establishment of an independent Ireland. slept on this lot and lost coins from their pockets as they slept in the barn. And we compared the hardships of our biking adventure to those of the early Canadian settlers who were eating rabbit droppings in the winter for lack of food.
We had a wonderful evening with wonderful Canadians; it was the perfect tonic for a challenging day on the roads. Peter effectively pressed a rest button for us to begin tomorrow with positive energy.
Tomorrow we plan to ride to and camp at another brewery: Ramblin’ Road in Norfolk. The route is shorter (68 miles) and the wind forecast is more favorable (5 MPH headwinds), but a little more hilly than today. Day 43: Natterjack to Ramblin’ Road
Given my renewed appreciation for all things Canada, I need to add some Canadian artists to the Pedaling Pilgrims! playlist. First – Tomorrow rain or shine, the beat goes on; and when the wind finally dies down we’ll be switching to glide: The Beat Goes On/Switching to Glide (1980 hit by Canadian artists The Kings).
As we left Chatham today, we rode past the secondary school where it seemed some of the teens were out for lunch break. I saw a long-haired youth that looked like a young Geddy Lee, and I thought I should put in a Rush tune (for you Bill Rohde). But I could also throw in some Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, Barenaked Ladies, Loverboy, BTO, Joni Mitchell…there’s a lot of great Canadian rock music out there! In light of our history and brief political conversations tonight at the Natterjack, I’m also going to include a 1970 Guess Who hit: Share the Land
With the close quarters of our camping to neighbor Doug (former PI who may or may not own a Beretta), and the 45 degree weather that will encourage me to avoid unnecessary trips outside the tent, I’m employing a new tool for the first time tonight!
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