Water, mud, rocks and sand. All in a days riding in Ontario.

Since we left Ottawa on 13 July we have found lots of technical trails and lots of great people.

That day we had a very hot ride and during roadside rest a couple of guys pulled up in their car asked us what we were doing.  I replied having a rest and they then said would we like to go back to their house and rest over a beer.  Our reply was 'is the pope a Catholic?'  We were fed and watered and then taken back to Ottawa so we could go to the Ottawa Blues Festival.  Mike and Leon were both paramedics and proved to be really great people.  We were given breakfast after a good night sleep on their sofas.

The following day involved even more difficult riding and I managed to drop the bike in a water crossing.  Fortunately I was able to stop the engine before the bike submerged and also lucky that I was through the deepest of the water and on the way out.  Alex the wonder boy was able to get Marigold started after we had drained the engine by standing the her on the rear wheel.  In the late afternoon we saw a quadbiker who we thought was having engine difficulties so we asked if he was OK.  Richard said that he was simply cleaning mud out of his radiator and that he was camping with his family and friends just up the trail.  He offered us to camp at one of sites that he had booked and was not using.  Not only did he offer that but he also fed us that night and the following morning.  Richard, Bonnie, Victoria, Eric, Jennifer, Abi and Evan you all have our thanks.

Yesterday was basically the same as the previous day with lots of water so we were looking forward to a nice campsite.  We ended up with one that had loads of potential but was extremely dog eared.  We were told that the toilets were closed daily between 1030 and 1130 for cleaning.  That must have applied in the last century since they could not have been cleaned since then.

And so to today.  I am now getting better at this technical stuff since I am listening to Alex's call for 'more power'.  The weather is still stifling hot but this this view of a lily covered lake and and good food and a chat with Victoria and the team at the Magpie Cafe helped relief the constant sweating.  So tonight we are in a motel in Sudbury which looks really bad from the outside but the rooms are nice and I even managed to keep up the trend of getting discounts.