Today was one of those days that you remember forever. We had an early start (6am) as the sky was threatening to open up and pour down on us. We cycled in silence... almost holding our breath, thoughts, and words to ensure we stayed ahead of the rain. It took us much longer then normal to cycle the 30km to the Marathon turn off as the wind was strong, persistent, and not in our favour. We stopped at what we thought was a restaurant on the highway to get some breakfast... but the lady told us that we would have to travel into Marathon (5km off the highway) or our next town (90km on HWY 17) to find any form of food. 10km off route didn't seem so bad considering we were hungry and wanted to find some shelter! The decend into Marathon is wonderful... straight down... but we would also have to climb back out which made the down less "wonderful". We got to our breakfast destination and didn't want to leave! It was dry, warm, and tastey... we sat right in front of the big screen and had them play the Olympics for us! We sat there for... well far too long and began to joke about all the ways we could get back up to HWY 17 without peddling... hitch-hiking, taking a new truck for a "test drive", riding a moose... even simply walking our bikes seemed like a better idea... I think we were getting really tired of head wind. We decided to post-pone the hill a little longer and we went to the grocery store to load up on some fresh fruit, veggies, choc. milk, crackers, hummus, etc. When we returned to the cold, damp windy outdoors we figured it be best to find somewhere to pump up our tires... procrastination? I think so (considering we have a tire pump we carry with us). In doing so we managed to put a hole near the valve of a perfectly good tube and had to replace the tube... I think maybe Carlin did it on purpose. On our way out of town I spotted... A THEATER! Going out to see a movie has been our way of "treating ourselves". When you think of being outside in the elements working hard against heat, cold, wind, rain, hills, etc. you can amagine how majical a theatre is - cushioned seats, not having to move for approx. 2 hours, a cool dark room, bottomless sugary cold beverages and salty popcorn - what isn't there to love!? I laughed out loud as I pointed and immidiently pulled in to check what was playing and the time. I looked back to see Carlin follow with a huge smile on his face... I knew he liked what I was thinking. The movie was Spiderman! (YES one we haven't seen yet!).... and the time... 7:30pm... now this is where Carlin was either in or our... the price... it was CHEAP NIGHT $4.60! Looks like we are spending the night in Marathon! It was still early afternoon so we had to fill some time. We when to the library to post some new blogs and then we headed to the hospital... I was dreading this... but I guess it was time I got my achilles tendon checked out (it has been painful, swollen, and recently vibrating and poping when I point and straighten my toe). The doctor had two medical students with him and when he felt my tendon he was thrilled to share his "experience" with the young boys from Lakehead. "I've never felt anything like this before!" He exclaimed as he motioned for the boys to have a feel. "Do you know what this is??" He said excitedly. "This is achilles tendinitis - and a severe case!" he continued to explain to all of us how my ankle soarness was actually a chronic problem that is characterized by microscopic tears of the Achilles tendon and how the swellon of the tendon causes friction with the outer sheth and can result in the achiles rupturing. AHHHHHH.... I thought. The doctor was equally as pumped about getting a change to witness my injury and that we were biking across Canada he didn't encourage me to stop the ride at all. "Take 4-6 IB a day to keep the swelling down and dont make any sudden movements... you should be alright" Well... doctors orders! ha ha. Now I didn't feel guilty at all about having a super short day and hanging out in Marathon! We headed to the local (healthy) Pizza place for some dinner and ran into Jenny (a cyclist we had rode with before Thudner Bay)! The three of us got some pizza and some snacks and headed to the movie! Spiderman was AWESOME a perfect ending to a perfect day! |