(expanded upon from barely decipherable notebook scribbles)
It's amazing how a small brush with a mother bear and her cubs can make you forget about trivial things like headwinds. That said, I "awoke" this morning, still clutching my can of bugspray and well aware that once again, I would be battling my old friend Mr. Wind.
Still, I wasn't going to let it ruin my day. I had the fortune to travel through one of the most scenic places in all of Canada, Lake Superior park, and I was going to enjoy it!! Between stints of pressing my nose against the handle bars to hide from the wind, I managed a few glances along the coast to see some of the most beautiful views one could imagine, and slowly made my way through the park.
Near the end of the day, I hit the infamous Montreal River hill, which I had been anticipating for the whole trip, as it was likely the steepest hill I was to face on the entire thing. At a 7% grade, I was really hoping to top my old speed record as well, but with the wind, I barely made it over 55km/h.
When I was ready to settle down for the night, I picked a random dirt road and turned the corner. This was the choice which would make my day. I followed the road towards the lake and stumbled across a little slice of heaven. There was a small clearing with a few fire pits directly beside a beautiful pebble beach with a creek flowing into the bay. To add to everything, a small apple tree grew by the lake.
To make things even better, 3 motorcyclists from the US were there to greet me. Mike, Paul and Cody had been riding around the Superior and were fantastic to hang around for the night. We talked Canadian-US politics, muscle power vs motor power, and even the finer points of relieving one's self outdoors. Being on motorbikes, the guys had the luxury of carrying a lot more gear than I did, so we managed to start a fire and had a proper cook up with chicken, corn, soup and grilled apples.
Before the ride, I was really looking forward to lake Superior because it would afford me the opportunity to, at a moment's notice, hop off my bike and go for a swim. Sadly, with the weather as cold and wet as it had been, I'd yet to have a day to enjoy the lake. Fortunately, on one of my last days on the lake, the sun was shining, the water looked inviting, and I had 3 other people as crazy as I was. We jumped in the lake for a quick dip and then spent the evening shivvering and drying off by the fire.
I fell asleep to the sound of a babbling creek and soft waves lapping on the shore of lake Superior. This was the trip I had been waiting for. This was the adventure I wanted every single night.
This is living.
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