Day 6 – Kawartha Lakes to Sandbanks PP
Day 6
I’m writing this post as I sit in the car on the way home on day 7. That means 21.5 hours have passed since we finished the longest day on the ride. And wow, what a day.
I mentioned yesterday that we had 160 k’s to bite off yesterday. Well, what no one had mentioned to me was a 15 k detour we took down into Peterborough where the OPS MNR family hosted a little event for us. Spokespeople from the United way were present as well as mnr executives to thank us and wish us well.
Back to the ride – so the 175k ride on day 6 was longer than expected. It was also way more hillier than expected. As a matter of fact, the hills from Peterborough to Brigjton have a higher total elevation than the hills from Owen Sound to Alliston. Who would have thunk it?
It was also 28 degrees. How you feelin? Hot, hot, hot?
So other than the ups and downs and the sweating profusely, there isn’t much to describe from the ride really. I spent a good chunk of the day with my eyes glued on the wheel in front of me – trying to stay as focussed as I could knowing how long of a haul it would be. Thanks a million to Allison for dragging me around!
So….. I’m proud of myself! I finished the ride in just over 7 hours of moving time. 9 hours total time.
What I wasn’t prepared for was the way my body reacted. I have never felt an exhaustion like that in my life, and I don’t hope to ever again. I went and laid down shortly after arriving at camp and spent the next few hours shivering and feeling nauseous. It was a pretty dark place to be, especially knowing that everyone else was fine. I pushed myself further than I ever have before and at least now I know what I can handle and how my body reacts. For whatever that’s worth.
A side note – we stayed at sandbanks provincial park which was stunning. I’ve made a note to go back at some point next year so I can truly enjoy its beauty – yesterday it just wasn’t happening.
I went to sleep hoping that I’d recover in the 12 hours between the end of day 6 and the start of day 7. I’ll let you know how that worked out for me in my next post.
– Corwin Troje
