July 15th: Sarina to Carmila – 65 km
Day 275
It was surprising that both of us got up early and felt like we were ready to peddle again today after the long trying day yesterday. We quickly packed, and thanks to the roof our tent stayed completely dry despite the rain. But we were doomed to have a late start today – Chopper’s back tire was completely flat. 40 minutes later, we were ready to go, yet still had grocery shopping to do. We decided to stay on the Bruce Highway. The back road is said to be scenic and quiet but it would be a long stretch without food and water so we braced ourselves for the killer highway.
We were indeed punished for the route choice. Crossing a narrow bridge, we had a 20 cm wide shoulder to ride on. We saw a big truck was going to pass us and a car coming in the other lane. Neither of the vehicles showed any sign of slowing down, so we tried our best to hug the wall. Chopper came too close that his quick release handle on the front wheel crashed into the concrete wall. I was anxiously watching the truck missing us by less than half meter in the rear view mirror, till I crashed into his rear at full speed. We came out in one piece, but nevertheless terrified. The quick release was reduced to the bolt in the middle, but luckily the wheel held up so we were able to ride on. We rode in and out of rain patches and eventually the sky cleared up. When we reached Carmila, even though it was just a short 65km day, we were exhausted.
