June 26, 2017, Day 36   Shabaqua to Thunder Bay, Ontario. 64 km

Terry Fox. 

Unquestionably, he was a real hero. I’m sure he never guessed the impact his commitment and endeavour would have on our nation and worldwide. Charlie remembers a Terry Fox run in Seol, Korea, and how thousands of people on the other side of the world, people too young to remember him, too far away to have ever met him, tied up their runners and ran to make money to conquer cancer. It brings tears to my eyes to think of how Terry Fox must have suffered as he ran those many kilometres along the highway and when I think of how he must have despaired when he had to quit. He fought hard. He did lose to cancer but he won as a person, as a man and as an inspiration to all of us.

It was, at last, lovely outside today. Rebecca, Willy, Charlie and I had breakfast in the RV and then Charlie and I resumed our eastward ride, enjoying the sunshine and happy that our shoes and clothing were drying out. We are enjoying these last few times we’ll have with Rebecca and Willy.      Tomorrow after lunch Charlie and I will once more, be on our own. It’s a long, long way from Thunder Bay to North Bay (1,106.8 km) and even then it will take us another 3 days to get to Ottawa and civilization. It’s beautiful. There is no doubt about that. And this is like nothing I’ve ever done before. Or ever will again, I’ll see to that! I’m loving it with a flip side of hating it. It’s a challenge and I’m always on the watch, usually wet, frequently cold and always covered in welts from bug bites. Physically I’m not exhausted. I’m tired at the end of the day but not so tired that I can’t go on. It’s the vastness that gets to me. Knowing that there are at least 9 days of cycling before we get to North Bay and then another 3 to get to Ottawa, (with a stop to see friends in Renfrew), seems daunting. Not impossible, not insurmountable, but definitely a test. 

Last night we carefully calculated our distances because we knew that we were very close to midway and we were excited to find that we were 38km from that point. It gave us an extra bit of kick as we rolled away from the RV. Rebecca and Willy met us there, which just happened to be at the entrance to the Thunder Bay, population 109,000 sign. Rebecca had prepared a celebration. She gave me a “bouquet” of wild roses and told me that I was beautiful and tough, like the wild roses.       Then she gave me a heart shaped piece of amesth that she had purchased at a gas station and she told me that the First Nations people believed that it offered protection and that they carried it with them on their travels. Rebecca also had a Bible verse especially for me.       Ezekiel 34:24-27, which speaks of God’s presence and protection in all circumstances, including protection against wild animals. I accept that. Then we went into the RV for the “reception” where she served her famous banana chocolate chip muffins and tea. It was all very meaningful and cute and made us feel very special. She and Willy have gone so out of their way to cater to us. We are so grateful.

After this little celebration of our half way achievement, Charlie and I rode through the city of Thunder Bay and outside it to the Terry Fox monument where we paid our respects.  Many other people were there as well, including an American couple who had eloped 2 days beforehand. Anna and Curtis both come from very large families. As she put it, “I have 71 first cousins. I couldn’t decide who not to invite out of all that.” 

Our bikes needed a bit of care. My front fender had snapped. Fortunately they had a set in stock and they have a lifetime warranty so they changed them for me and charged me labor costs only. They also tightened my cables. Charlie needed new brake pads and a new front tire. While they were working on our bikes, we did laundry and looked for waterproof gloves.

Did you know you can camp your RV outside a Walmart overnight? That’s where we are tonight. The Walmart parking lot in Thunder Bay.  Everybody’s sleeping except me, our bellies full of an Indonesian dish Rebecca loves to make, topped off by cheesecake. Mmmmmm……

Gulp……..tomorrow we will have to  part ways.  We will miss them!!!!!!