Louise, Erik and I headed out of Thunder Bay together as we
wanted to see the Terry Fox monument. The Terry Fox monument is inaccessible by
pedestrians and cyclists because it is located on Route 11/17 which is a
freeway. It was odd that only vehicles could access the monument when Terry was
running across the country for cancer awareness. Despite the fact cyclists were
banned from the freeway the three of us went on it anyway.
The monument was incredible. It marked the end of Terry’s
run as cancer inhibited him from completing his goal. This monument also made
me think of how he seemed to be following us throughout our cross Canada
journey.
Once we left the monument we began our trek to Nipigon. To
get to Nipigon we followed the portion of Route 11/17 which permitted cyclists.
It was quite a windy day so it was going to be a challenge to get to camp. As
well, Route 11/17 is the only road to get to Nipigon and there were sections of
road where a paved shoulder was non-existent. We had to be cautious as we
shared the road with vehicles and trucks. To avoid a portion of Route 11/17 we
took a detour along Mackenzie Beach Road. It was a small yet nice detour. The
road followed the shore of Lake Superior and there were some nice cottages. It
was peaceful, a nice break from Route 11/17.
We took a lunch break at an abandoned rest area and then off
we went again. I was having some trouble cycling against the wind. I felt like
a sloth and Erik and Louise kept fading away in the distance, but they would
always wait for me to catch up :) It also did not help that I had a slow leak out of
my back tire. This 109km ride was supposed to be quick and easy, but it was feeling
like the exact opposite. Oh well, I would get to Nipigon eventually :)
We took a break at a general store just outside the town of
Dorion. While we were there the owner received a phone call informing her that
Route 11/17 was closed near the town of Red River because two cyclists had been
struck by a vehicle. That got Erik, Louise and I anxious. There was another
group of cyclists, three boys, who were cycling on the road as well so we did
not know if the victims were from their group or ours. While at the general
store, Rob, Dan, Joyce, Bill, and Mike met up with us. The 8 of us left
together, cycling the 20km to get to Red River which turned out to be quite an
anxious and quiet 20km. There was a lot of traffic backed up as a result of the
accident. We cycled our way to the accident site. We saw Adam, our driver,
parked not too far from the site. Alain, Jacques, Fred, and Danny were at the
truck as well. We also saw the group of boys who had been cycling ahead of us.
Adam told us Bob and Irene had been hit and they were killed
instantly. I was shocked, stunned. You never really think about the possibility
that any one of us could be in an accident while on the tour, you always think,
“it won’t happen to me.”
Bob and Irene were beautiful people. They were part of my
cycling family. Reflecting after the accident I realized that although I had only
spent 30 odd days with members of the tour thus far I considered them family.
Every evening I would unknowingly make sure everyone was at camp. Every single
person had a unique quality which made them a piece in the Tour du Canada 2013
puzzle. The absence of Bob and Irene was as if two pieces of the puzzle were
missing and no matter how hard we looked we would never find them. Although Bob
and Irene were gone physically, they were still with us. Bob and Irene were
magnificent people and they will be remembered. They had so much love for each
other, it was incredible and inspiring. I could not be unhappy when I was
around them because they would either make me smile or I would try to bring a
smile to their faces. They taught me about generosity and kindness. They were
so giving, opening up their arms to strangers, and I feel incredibly lucky to
have met them.
As a result of the accident we could not get to camp. Victim
services met us and said the rest of our group was at the Husky Station
restaurant. Since the truck was stuck due to the accident we could not get to
them to set up camp. In response, victim services and the town of Nipigon
extended a hand to help us out by allowing us to sleep at the community centre.
A farmer said we could use a rough trail through his property to get around the
accident. The 12 of us took clothing for everyone to enable them to change out
of their cycling clothes and then off we went to meet up with the rest of our
group. Once we ate at the Husky Station we all cycled to the community centre
where we waited for Bud, the organizer of the Tour, to figure out our next
steps.
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