Manitoulin Cycling Odyssey – Travel day

David, Dayle, Wayne and I are cycling on Manitoulin Island this year. We did some tentative planning in August but decided, given the pandemic, to wait until the travel week to book the trip.

Sunday, we got together on a now ubiquitous Zoom call, and decided the trip was a go. Unfortunately, the two cottages we had identified had been booked and the Chi-Cheemaun Ferry, from Tobermory to South Baymouth, with capacity limited to due Covid19, was fully booked for Saturday morning.

Fortunately, we were able to find another cottage in Spring Bay and we drove the long way to the bridge to Little Current – 200km longer to drive, but about the same amount of time.

When I started packing Friday night I realized that all our suitcases are in Hamilton and Waterloo, used by my sons to move back to university a few weeks ago. I like to use one large wheeled suitcase rather than a lot of small bags. I’ve been mocked for this ever since I took a huge pink suitcase to Ottawa on our bike trip four years ago. So, this year, lots of small bags. I, on the other hand, only brought one bike. Wayne wanted options. I’d be lying if I said I had never considered this.

David and Dayle picked me up at 9am and we drove to Wayne’s place. He drove himself as he might have business up north at the end of our vacation.

We stopped for lunch near Parry Sound. There are very few cases of Covid19 up here, but everyone was wearing masks, nevertheless. Our next stop was in Espanola for gas and Tim’s, and then a stop at Willisville Outlook, in the LaCloche Mountains, for a 4km round trip hike to view the mountains and Killarney Park. The peak is 391m and the climb was very rocky.

Shortly after crossing the swing bridge at Little Current we stopped at a roadside fish and chip shop for dinner and ate at picnic tables outdoors, pandemic style, before continuing onto our cottage, Quintana’s Guesthouse, in Spring Bay.

After spending all day in the car, I jumped on my bike to ride it from the car to the cottage, across the grass, after David got it off the bike rack. As I neared the cottage I hit a hole in the grass, came to a sudden stop and fell to the left onto my outstretched hand. Ouch! No one had witnessed my humiliation so I got up and carried on. It was hurting a lot, but I thought (hoped) it might improve in a few minutes.

I went back to the car and carried all my other things, in my right hand, into the cottage. I unpacked my cooler and started icing my wrist. Half an hour later, or so, when the others also sat down, they noticed the ice pack and I had to admit, to myself as well as to them, that I had hurt my wrist and didn’t know if it was sprained or broken.

Dayle is one of the most prepared people I know, packing for all eventualities in a space efficient manner. She was able to provide me with a wrist brace that made it possible for me to unpack and put myself to bed.