Yesterday afternoon we stopped next to a beautiful lake for a drink and some snacks before starting the last 150km over gravel tracks to the planned overnight stop at Timmins. As is now the routine I set off about 10 minutes before Alex and he would then ride fast to catch me and then wait another 10 minutes etc etc. The tracks of this stage were smooth and in good condition and I made good progress and was surprised that after 30 minutes Alex still had not caught me or had he passed me where I had taken an accidental short cut that was not part of the track. Anyway after a couple of hours I reached the pre arranged meeting place at Tim Hortons. As time progressed I became a little concerned and after 2 hours I headed for the Police Station. Just as I was explaining the situation to the police officer who was going to call the hospital I received 3 texts that Alex had sent via skype. The first was corrupted and the second said that he was staying elsewhere and he would text me when back on the road. I got a room at the Bon Air Motel. Not a good name and not a good hotel and it was not even cheap. I took myself off to the best pub in town that happened to be next door. I met Lelling (not sure if that is his name but the alternative that comes to mind is lemming and I was not going to call him that) told me that Timmins is about logging or mining and that there is money here but I am not sure where it is being hidden. Those born and bred here are desperate to get out but most get caught up in a dead end job, then 2 1/2 kids and then a life living in Timmins. Apparently Shania Twain managed to get out to become a really bad singer.
Today I washed the bike, fitted the tyre and went for a run. Finally got a mail from Alex. He had stripped some teeth off his front sprocket and it is coincidental that he was talking about the condition of this sprocket when I headed off. On the side of the road he could not get it off to fit a new one so he managed to get a lift in the back of a pickup and spent the night in a motel. He rode on today and is now at Marathon on the shores of Lake Superior. I will ride by road to the lake tomorrow which is about 550km and promises to be very wet as thunder storms are forecast to break this hot weather. It is raining outside now.
Dinner in the Bon Air Motel
Since there are very few pictures for this post here is an example of how to make an ad.
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