Saturday, January 25, 2014

Lower Barney’s River to Lake Ainslie, 167km: A day of immense generosity



The day was long as we had to cycle 167km. The wish was to get to camp at a reasonable hour because the campsite was hosting a potluck for us, which was amazing. Although the intent was to get to camp early a few distractions occurred during the day that slowed down the ride; however, each distraction was welcome.

The first distraction was in Antigonish. Myself and a few other riders decided it was time for a coffee break and so we stopped at Tim Hortons. After our break we cycled a few kilometers and then noticed a lemonade stand. A veteran of the tour told me that whenever I encountered a lemonade stand I should stop and buy some lemonade and so the group of us did just that. It must have been an awesome day for those kids because a chunk of our group bought lemonade at the stand.

As we were cycling along Route 4 we noticed a fundraiser barbeque was happening for a children’s hospital so we stopped and bought some sausages, which was significantly tastier than my peanut butter and jam sandwich :) Not soon after our lunch break we noticed a sign at a fire hall in Havre Boucher which said “TDC Bikers.” We would have cycled past had it not been for Gee, Larry and Rob. Inside the fire hall we were met with a great surprise. The sister of a cyclist who did the tour the previous year had rented the fire hall and put together some munchies for the group. It was incredibly generous. I was very glad Gee, Larry, and Rob had gotten us to stop. 



 
At this point I was getting a bit anxious because it was getting late and we still had 60km to go. Although we still had a chunk of the ride left, all the distractions which had occurred were well worth it.

We finally made it to Lake Ainslie and I just had time to change and off I went to the potluck. The potluck was amazing. The owners of the campground organized the potluck, asking campers to sign up and make a dish to share with us. The campers were an amazing group of people; it was a lovely and scrumptious meal. The entire day was full of so much generosity, I was really happy to be a part of it.

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