Cold Touring

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So here I am, in Guelph, ON! Whopee!

I arrived in Bolton, ON, after 6 days of frosty biking, riding about 350km. Man, I must have been going slow.

Ive never been this cold, for so long, on a bike ride before. Definately puts a new.. spin, on touring.

But life is well. I've adapted to the cold, the first nights of my trip were hellish, but I quickly realized what a fun time I could have camping in this season. It gave me a new challenge, and made me appreciate hot meals over an open fire that much more.

In Bolton, my friends and I ran an awesome theatre workshop at a Peace Conference. From there, Anna (a tour member I rode with this summer) and I rode to Guelph, were Ive been staying in her wonderful apartment.

And from here, after doing some more part-time Willow Weaving(!!) through a friend of Anna's, Im going to be riding to Toronto, from where Ill be carpooling to Ottawa for a few days, for some Otesha Office funtimes!

The Training weekend Im putting on over Halloween is getting closer and closer. So much planning has gone into it, and Im super excited to see it happen!

But Im exausted. And I need to ride a fair distance tonight, to stay with my very temporary employer, whom Im going to be working with again tomorrow. Yipee!

Tyler

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Photos

Man, I want to be Christian..
Jeepers, nothing like a good ole' smack o the bibletalk to make you want to repent!

Magnetawan River Camp
Holy crap, a super-memorable night, my first night on the road! At a beautiful campsite, next to this beautiful river!! I even went swimming.

A Creative Cooking Operation
So, my wee Primus stove that I purchased last year has not served me so well (due to the abuse I put it through). I spent 45 minutes trying to boil water on it.. but finally, being frusturated, spent 15 minutes gathering wood and making a quick fire pit, and voila! I was eating dinner before I knew it.

Is that a horse?
Hard to tell what Im riding under all the gear.

Tom Hanks
Had a volleyball in Cast-Away. I have a rock. His name is Phillup.

Bike Lane?
The most beautiful section of road I travelled on during my entire trip. Saw 3 cars in 3 hours, and was travelling along this really beautiful flowy road through a rocky area called the Torrents Badlands.

Camping
The night before this photo was taken, I rode up to a beautiful farm house with a huge yard, to fill up my waterbottles. Upon noticing that there was 3 awesome little boys running around aswell, and that they had a huuuge feild, I asked if it would be alright if I put up my tent in their yard for the night. The wife said that would be fine, although she'd have to double check with her husband when he got home. And so I was handed a huge, fresh rice-crispy square, and ended up playing with the 3 little boys for an hour and a half, waiting for the husband to get home. I taught the boys some bike mechanics, like how to replace a chain, or repair one when its seized. And then the husband arrived, and told me to get off his property. So I left, and arrived here, in the dark, in the rain. Dispite being nervous about bears in the area, I had a cosy and awesome night, and learned to take my well-being into my own hands from then on.

Scott-John the Dragon
With a newly upgraded front rack. Notice the silver aluminum braces.. due to the weight of the food Ive been packing around, my front rack started to bend into my wheel.. so I had to fix it!

Drying
Me, trying to unthaw the ice on my tent and fly, after a frosty night. It was still about 0 degrees, but the sun did the job!

Sun
Dry.. pleeeease dry!

Weaving Willow
In Guelph, through Anna Ive been able to find a wee bit o part-time work!!!!!!! MAKING A FRICKING WILLOW FENCE, how cool is that?

Comments

[Hope]

Ach du lieber Gott!
Tyler!!! I'm soooo jealous that you're still touring - while I'm stuck here marking exams. Excellent - keep up the blogging, I'll be reading. Love from the West! Vegan pies and prairie skies, Keely