Caught in the Thunderstorms!!

 

OK, so it’s been a couple of days since we’ve done the blog but we have our final rest day today in Niagara so I thought we’d get everyone caught up. On Saturday we biked 64 miles from London to Brantford, Ontario and we ended up dodging thunderstorms the entire day. At about mile 20 we noticed the weather starting to darken around us, then the route directed us to turn right where the sky was completely black. The route leader stopped us to tell us that people were starting to look for barns to take cover in. So, before we took the turn we found a farmer and a large barn to camp out in and within less than 2 minutes of being in the barn the downpour started. There were about 15 of us there to wait out the first thunderstorm.

 

 

After the first storm subsided we hopped on the bikes again and hoped for the best. At about mile 54 another storm started rolling in so we found a gas station to take cover in. Again, we got in just in time before the next storm hit. We sat at a picnic table underneath an awning and watched. This one was right on top of us with lightning striking all around us. Just when we thought everything was over Nathan stood up, looked up at the sky, turned to the other riders and said ‘Well, it looks like the storm has passed’ and not a millisecond after saying that a loud crack snapped right above us and lightning struck the store. I was inside the store at the time and saw a bright flash inside and watched the store computer blow out. Nathan said he could feel the static electricity and had to check himself to make sure that he hadn’t been electrocuted. 

 

 

We ended up having to wait at that gas station for about two hours. Storms kept rolling in and just when we thought it was clearing up another one would roll in. Nathan was getting antsy with all the waiting so he left with George during a small clearing despite Mike the tour leader’s recommendation to wait another 15 minutes. It ended up being a good choice though since he missed the terrential downpour that I encountered for the last quarter of the mile coming into the hotel. But we both made it!

Semper Fidelis! 

O Canada!

 

We crossed into Canada which meant completing another state and adding a country to the list of boundaries crossed along our tour.  If you can believe it they actually closed the bridge to Canada so that we could ride across.  Everything went really smooth until we got into Canada.  Some riders started to question the directions and some other riders (Kelli and I) followed the questioning riders.  This meant standing in a parking lot for a couple of minutes before getting back on the road only to ride in a big U causing us to end up where we started.  We got through the trouble spots and ended up riding through some amazing landscapes.  The land actually looked similar to Michigan but there was a flare of European influence.  I stopped for lunch in a cute little town and had an amazing lunch with a small group of riders.  We sat there for about 2 hours just enjoying the food and conversation.  When we got back on the road we realized that we sat for far too long as our legs had already given up for the day. 

 

 

We made it into London Ontario just after 1500 to find the streets really busy.  After making it to the hotel someone mentioned that there was a bike shop just down the street and I immediately thought it would be neat for Kelli and I to get matching Canada jerseys.  I got back on my bike and ended up finding two jerseys that I thought would make great mementos for our journey into Canada.  After leaving the bike shop I met up with a couple of riders to ride back to the hotel.  Unfortunately, while crossing the street one of the riders turned in front of me causing my tire to hit their back tire.  I soon found myself lying on the pavement with a bunch of cars coming right at me going 60 mph!  I was still clipped into my pedals and couldn’t get out when the traffic caught up to where we were.  Luckily the pick-up closest to me stopped and nobody hit him from behind because if they would have I would be posting this from the hospital.  I made it up and across with only a scrape on my elbow.  I’m just happy to make it out without serious injury.  Just another adventure on this fantastic journey.

 

 

Semper Fidelis.