Challenge #1 when bicycle touring: You are too busy biking, eating, sleeping, or otherwise living freely to hunker down and write on your blog.

And so, five days after my departure from Montreal, I am writing my first entry ‘from the road’. Let’s call this entry 1 of 3 since there’s no way these last four days could be compressed into a single post. FYI I am currently in Burlington, VT. But more on that later!

Check out my route so far here.

From the top: Leaving Montreal (July 7)

After staying an extra three days in Montreal trying to get my act together to leave, I was finally emotionally and materially prepared to go come Wednesday. It just so happened to be the peak of a heat wave and temperatures were getting into the 40C range. Despite the weather’s advisory to refrain from strenuous physical activity, I cruised ahead with lots of water and reckless abandon.

My new housemates in Montreal cooked me pancakes as a send off breakfast and rallied with hugs and photographs as I rolled off to an uncertain future. Despite the range of emotions I had experienced in the weeks leading up to this, the night before I left I was totally serene about the reality of what I was about to do. Maybe it was the calm before the storm because as soon as I rode away down the street, with a small crowd cheering me on behind me, I suddenly burst into tears. No one reason was responsible…it was a mixture of fear, excitement, joy, nostalgia…all emotions that I would individually cycle through as the ride progressed: I was beaming as I pedaled off the Montreal island, I was bored in the endless stretches of suburban streets that followed, and I was comforted when I befriended a Quebecois man on the bike path who’d just returned from a 6 week trip to the Maritimes and Northeast US (just like me!).

My new friend (I feel awful as I’ve forgotten his name) turned out to be a wealth of knowledge on bike touring/camping…information I was eager to soak up as it appealed to my insecure side on this trip. He warned me of the various ways my bike could break down in the mountains, told me I had way too much stuff, and gave me a tire patch kit because he thought mine wasn’t good enough.

We cycled together for 30km or so, stopping for snacks, a blissful splash around in a river, and a mid-day rest in Saint Richelieu where he bought me an orange juice and took a beer for himself. He reminded me a lot of my Dad…the same stature, age, and sparkle for adventure. He even loved to sail, and owned a boat in the Caribbean. Before we parted ways, he was sure to advise me against spending too much time blogging about my life instead of living it. And to be honest, without a computer and/or Internet connection at my hip, this nugget of wisdom is easy to heed.

After setting off alone again, emotions and uncertainty returned. I plodded along, slower now after the morning’s 60km started to wear on my legs. “Where to sleep?” was now the big question.

I hoped for a river with a secluded forest in which to secretly camp. After the busyness of Montreal, I yearned for some solitude and quiet that night. I was trying to manifest that vision but perhaps it wasn’t meant to be, since the river on my map that I was hoping to call home ended up being too murky and was otherwise surrounded by homes.

Now, feeling very tired, my right knee hurting, and getting anxious about where to pitch a tent, I decided to give up my dream for a riverside site and just do the random “can I camp on your lawn?” request.

In the best French I could muster, I asked an older couple who were enjoying the evening sun on the front. While they were undoubtedly surprised at my request, they graciously agreed and even let me take a shower. (Thank goodness, because I think my own stench would have kept me awake that night). Showers, by the way, after a long day of sweating in a heat wave, are a deeply transformative experience…as are the other cycling essentials: food, sleep, and stretching.

FPDs (Favourite Parts of the Day):

1. Dunking my head in a river at high noon
2. Showering
3. Really Doin’ It
4. Loving my bike!

Challenge of the day:

Figuring out how to use my camping stove (it currently makes bigger than usual flames and leaves soot everywhere. Any ideas?)

Wisdom of the day:

Rather than worry about an unknown future, revel in it.