The end, for now

Right. So she came back. She now says (literally just now) "So the whole biking thing feels like it was kind of a dream." Well, it wasn't. Totally real. Proof: her legs are aching to bike. They don't know what's going on-- why aren't they pedaling?





All told, she rode 1,893 miles. Not too shabby, eh? She was tempted to mosey around Chicago for a while yesterday afternoon to make it an even 1,900, but resisted. Seriously, 1,893 miles is more than the distance across Mongolia the long way (west to east) or across the Sahara or Australia the short way (north to south) or from Juneau to the middle of Hudson Bay; or from San Salvador, El Salvador to Martinique; or from Los Angeles to New Orleans; or from Beijing to Kathmandu; or from Peoria to the Pacific; or from Paris to Moscow. As the crow flies, obviously, as I just used a bit of paper and a wall map (but I did take the Mercator Projection into careful consideration). At any rate, far.





One thing Priscilla said she learned was that she's very proud of being independant, but that you can't really live that way-- that you need to depend on God and that he's going to make you dependant on people, and even if he can drop things from the sky if he wants, usually he uses people. And here are some of the ones he used this time, in order of appearance where convenient:




Ben: bicycle purchaser
Emily: Mrs. bicycle purchaser
Sarah: the helpful sidekick
James: the good buddy
Steven: Mr. helpful sidekick
Mr. Alvarez: hardware hero
Amy: chauffeur #1 & t-shirt designer extraordinaire
Joe: Mr. t-shirt designer extraordinaire
Oscar: t-shirt design muse
Rachel: chauffeur #2
Art: medical advisor
Kathy Forbes: Boston connection
Jamie & David & Elijah Voss: host #1
Paul: host #2
Portland Park District: host #3 (unbeknownst to them)
fox: fodder for a story for future generations, whomever's loins they may spring from
Eddie & Lisa Comeau: host #4
Jennie & Kenny Wade: host #5 and local color
Janet & Gary Ness: host #6
the flatness of Nova Scotia: smooth, easy riding
Mary Comeau & Colin, Nicholas & Lilly MacDonald: host #7
Mervin & Theresa Mooney: host #8
Herb & Myrna: host #9
Lindsay Dickieson: trans-PEI driver
Mrs. Frances Leary: host #10
bridge shuttle driver: comic relief
David, Johnny, Martin, Charles, & Frazer of Sackville: host #11
Harold: friendly fellow biker
Kathy: friendly fellow biker
Donna & David Watson: host #12
Mike & Sue Watson: host #13
Steven, Melissa, Sarah, Kendra, Jake, & Kimberly Thompson: host #14
Beth & Lexie: host #15
Pam, Sharon, Joe & Edith Manley: host #16
Gail Raye: friendly bakery cashier
Mr. Rolf Schmalzer: host #17
Therese, Marcel & Catherine Turgeon: host #18
Claire & Lucien Bolduc: host #19
Isabelle, husband, Raphael, Zacharie & Emeryc Therriens: host #20
Catherine, husband & Maxime Dumouchel: host #21
Jean-Francois: another friendly biker and fountain of information
Julie, Stephane, Olivier & Loic Lemieux-Crete: host #22
John Scorgie: kindly pastor
Joyce & David Lindsay: host #23
lady at info center: provider of hot coffee
bookshop girl: provider of directions to Salvation Army
Linda & Kenny Cassell: host #24
Tim Horton's: delicous muffin dealer
horse arena people: host #25
Chris, Candice, Mackenzie & Madison Walter: host #26
Padraic & Fez: host #27
Neil de Toronto: provider of directions
Millie & John Sauve: host #28
Jojo Chintoh: knight in shining armor
Mark, Lori, Colin & Kathryn Driscoll: host #29 & ride across the border & beloved family...
All the Hicks in Hicksville: host #30
Kandice, Tammy & Jim: host #31
Jon & Paul: Merrillville connection
Angie: host #32
Roxanne: warm welcome home
me: trusty assistant & narrator

She's back!

She is indeed, standing in the living room as I type this. But we stayed up way too late talking, and now I'm too tired to post. So I'll do it tomorrow, but be assured she is back in Chicago.



C'est vrai, elle est la devant moi, je la vois avec mes propres yeux. Mais c'est deja tard (on a bcp discute la), et je suis trop fatigue. Alors, je raconterai aujourd'hui demain, mais t'inquiete, elle est bien rentree.

The Fantastic Four Riding Bikes

So early today Priscilla, Sarah, Steven & James set out on their respective bicycles and pedaled merrily for eighty-some miles! Yowza! And particularly impressive as this was the most Sarah had ever biked in one day, maybe Steven, too. Afterwards Sarah's knees started complaining, so she's been having to shush them now and then-- "Seriously, knees, if I hear another word out of you two..."



And all four of them are pretty pooped (imagine that!), but are happily benefiting from the hospitality of Angie in Merrillville. She isn't actually home yet, but she's still letting them in the house completely unsupervised. Hm. Of this we can be sure: if there were any dirty dishes lying around, they're gone now. Or at least washed.


Oh! Priscilla actually fell today, twice. All those hundreds of miles she had biked, over rivers and through woods, with no falls at all. Then she hits the indifferent landscapes of rural Indiana, and splat! Fortunately she was not injured either time, and Woodrow is fine as well. Priscilla also said it was rather strange to be biking with other people after so long alone, but seems to have handled the shock of it well.



Ce matin Priscilla, Sarah, Steven, et James ont monte leurs velos et sont partis. Ils ont couvert 80 miles, ce qui n'est pas mal, quand meme. Surtout vu que Sarah (et peut-etre Steven aussi) n'a jamais pedale autant pendant une seule journee avant cela. Ce soir les genoux de Sarah ont commence se plaindre, et elle les ont parle fermement: "Mais, arretez-ca, les genoux! C'est du chi-chi et compagnie! J'en ai un peu marre..."


Les quatre sont tous un peu fatigue (ils m'etonnent), mais heureusement ce soir ils profitent de l'hospitalite de Angie de Merrillville. Elle n'est pas encore chez elle, mais elle les a permit de faire comme chez eux quand meme. Courageuse quoi, les laisser sans surveillant. S'il y avait de la vaisselle a faire quand ils sont arrives, on peut etre sur qu'elle sera fait quand Angie arrive. Eh oui, ces types font la vaisselle sans meme demander permission.


Oh! Priscilla est tombee aujourd'hui, deux fois. Choque, non? Centaines de miles a travers collines, ponts, forets, provinces & etats entiers, aucune probleme. Le rien du tout, tout plat, tout vide qui est Indiana, et elle est par terre. Heureusement elle ne s'est pas mal, et Woodrow non plus. Priscilla dit que ca fait un peu bizarre de rouler avec d'autres apres tous ces semaines toute seule, mais elle s'habitue (et c'est pas a cause de ca qu'elle est tombee).

Karaoke & Pie

Alright, so last night Priscilla et al. went and picked up Sarah (i.e. her helpful sidekick) and Steven, thus doubling the et al. that is Priscilla's entourage. They were hungry and ready for some fun so they went to that pinnacle of tasty & riotous happiness that is Bennigans on karaoke night. Oh, yeah! Bring it on! Our friends did not actually karaoke their eyes out, at least that they're admitting.



Today, as you might have guessed from that picture over there, they are baking. As of around lunchtime they had already whipped up a swell batch of pumpkin spice muffins (inspired by Tim Horton's, perhaps?) and Priscilla was working on some pie crust. Just look at her hands go, a blur of culinary deftness! The crust is for apple & pumpkin pies (that is, apple pies & pumpkin pies, I believe-- apple & pumpkin together might be a little alarming... or it might be a new taste sensation poised to sweep the nation and so on... you never can tell).



And then this evening they're off to dinner with Kandice and her family, and a game or two (or ten) of Bang!, the murderous card game housed in an authentic giant bullet. Thanks to Bang!, they will all be riding their bikes back to Chicago over the next two days, instead of flying as originally planned. Because really, who's gonna let them on a plane with a huge bullet?


Alors, hier soir Priscilla et al. sont alles chercher Sarah et Steven, pour effectivement doubler le et al. Ils avaient faim, ils s'ennuiaient... donc entrer Bennigans, le super endroit pour s'amuser et bouffer, et en plus c'etait soiree karaoke! La chance! Ils n'ont pas avoue avoir fait du karaoke eux-memes, mais on leur connait...


Aujoud'hui, comme vous avez sans doute devine, ils font de la cuisine. Vers midi ils ont deja fait des muffins au citrouille, avec des projets tartes en vue. On voit Priscilla qui fait la pate a tarte dans le photo-- regarde combien vite elle le fasse! Incroyable! Donc, des tartes a la pomme et a la citrouille, mais pas les deux dans la meme tarte car ca, c'est berk et ce qui plus est, interdit par la loi.


Et puis ce soir ils vont tous diner chez Kandice et sa famille, suivit par un tournois de Bang!, jeu de cartes meurtrier et qui se porte dans une vraie balle gigantesque! Ca fait peur seulement la voir... et a cause de ca, demains ils partent tous en velo (ils auront deux jours de route), et pas en avion comme prevu, car qui leur permettrait de monter l'avion avec une telle balle? Ben, personne, bien sur! Alors, heureusement pour les velos, n'est-ce pas?

Today either

I mean, she didn't go biking today, either, at least not that I'm aware of. The plan was not to bike. I assume she stuck with the plan. Staying in Winona Lake with her friends.




Je veux dire, elle n'a pas fait du velo aujourd'hui non plus, au moins, pas a ma connaissance. L'idee, c'etait ne pas faire du velo aujourd'hui. Elle reste a Winona Lake avec ses amis.

No biking today

It's true-- today, as planned, Priscilla is not biking but rather is hanging out with friends in Indiana. She might still call to say exactly what they did, but I took Benadryl a little while ago, and am too groggy to write a coherent post much longer than this. Maybe I'll tell you about today tomorrow. If you're lucky.



C'est vrai, Priscilla ne fait pas de velo aujourd'hui. Elle s'amuse avec des amis Indianois, comme prevu. Ca se peut qu'elle m'appelera plus tard pour raconter tous ce qu'ils ont fait, mais j'ai pris du Benadryl se soir, et me trouve trop groggy (Tiens! On a ce mot en francais aussi, selon mon dico ang-fran! Trop sympa...) pour ecrire coherement. Peut-etre je vais raconter davantage demain. On verra.

Winona Lake Forever*

So, Priscilla's lone bicyclist days are over, at least for this trip. Today she overslept-- she'd been waking in the middle of the night throughout the trip thinking she'd overslept, but this was the first time she actually did it. Once she did deign to open her eyes and crawl out of the tent, she set off for Winona Lake, Indiana. And she made it there by afternoon, despite having been chased by a large dogs with ordinary-length legs (a German Shepherd, to be exact). She looked back and told it sternly, "No, go home!" and it did. You have to know how to talk to a dog, and she does.

So what else happened? She stopped at a bakery in Harlan, IN, which was chock full of donuts (not so nice), but also had apple fritters (niiiiice) and some very nice people (very nice, obviously, I mean, I just said so). It also had a post out in front of at least one of the parking spaces... for a horse and buggy to park! And one did so while she was there, and she saw it with her own two eyes! So exciting! Priscilla also rode in the rain for three hours and got thoroughly soaked (one last drenching for the last lone biking day). And a while later, well, she arrived safely in Winona Lake, that's what. And there she's staying with her friend Kandice for a few days, and I think maybe she's sleeping now.

*For those who don't know, Priscilla is a fan of Johnny Depp. He, of course, used to date Winona Ryder, got a "Winona Forever" tattoo and then they broke up (tattoos with names typically spell doom for relationships). He then had the "na" erased, which is supposed to be a painful & tedious process... would have made so much more sense to just throw in "Lake" and make all the inhabitants of that Indiana hamlet happy. Don't you think?



Priscilla ne roule plus toute seul, au moins pas pour ce voyage. Apres faisant la grasse matinee, elle est alle jusque Winona Lake, Indiana, ou elle reste pendant quelques jours chez une copine. Elle a ete poursuivi en route par un gros chien (un Alsatien) avec de jambes normales. Donc elle lui a regarde et dit "Non, tu rentre chez toi!" et il l'a fait. Faut savoir parler aux chiens, et Priscilla le sait.

Quoi d'autre? Ben, elle est arrive a Winona Lake belle et bien. Je crois qu'elle dort la, car de tout facon elle ne repond pas au telephone.

*Le titre fait reference a un tattouage de Johnny Depp, dont Priscilla est fan (de Johnny Depp, pas du tattouage). Mais il aurait du le transformer en "Winona Lake Forever" pour plaire aux habitants de cette jolie ville (ben, j'imagine, quoi, ne l'ayant jamais vue).

Priscilla in Hicksville

Yeah, I'm not kidding, Priscilla is totally in Hicksville tonight. She set out from Ann Arbor this morning, rode for about 11 hours (although she did stop a few times), and covered 104 stinkin' miles, bringing her to Hicksville, Ohio. She was chased by a dozen dogs with short legs (albeit not all at once-- that would have been a sight-- and one particular dog chased her on three separate occasions, thanks to a forgotten map), and finished up her ride under a huge orange moon like a wheel of Colby cheese, the man in the moon smiling ecstatically.

She set up camp in some kind Hicksville resident's back yard, and began preparing her dinner. First she walked over to a gas station to score some hot water (the quicker to cook her pasta) but only got very warm water from the bathroom sink. Back at the tent, she was joined by a small cat who was very curious about Priscilla's cooking. And it was some truly curious cooking! The grass nearly caught fire, the kitty's whiskers got singed and curled up, Priscilla's hair got a little singed as well... but eventually the pasta was cooked (with some foul yet protein rich Vienna sausages from a can) and the stove was blown out. The cat was shooed away to find its own dinner, and Priscilla ate hers, and prepared for bed. Tune in tomorrow for her trip to Indiana.

Eh oui, Priscilla reste a Hicksville, Ohio ce soir. Un drole de nom pour une drole de ville (ben, j'imagine). Elle a quitte Ann Arbor vers 8h15 ce matin, et est passe 11 heures sur la route, pendant lesquelles elle a couvert 104 miles (bien plus en kilometres). 12 chiens aux jambes courts l'ont poursuivi (pas tous a la fois, mais l'un d'eux la suivi sur 3 occasions differents). Elle a fini sous la lumiere d'une lune enorme et orange, style fromage Colby.

Elle fait du camping dans le jardin de gentils gens de Hicksville. Elle est alle au station service pour obtenir de l'eau chaud (pour un cuisson plus rapide des pates), mais n'a trouve que d'eau un tout petit peu chaud dans le WC. De retour au tente, elle a ete joint par un petit chat, qui regardait de tres pres ledit cuisson... et s'est fait brule les moustaches. Solidaire, Priscilla s'est brule un tout petit meche de cheveux et a failli brule un peu de l'herbe... mais enfin les pates etait cuits (avec de saucissons berk mais rempli de proteines), le four eteint, le chat mit dehors la tente et Priscilla dedans... elle a mange et puis s'est prepare a se coucher. Demain elle fait route vers l'Indiana!

Chez Mark

So, right according to plan, Priscilla spent the day with her brother, Mark, and his family. Not sure what all that entailed, but I know there was talk of cooking squash. She intends to set off again tomorrow. Woodrow took advantage of the time off to indulge in a bubble bath, a box of chocolates, and reruns of Ricki Lake.

Ben, comme prevu, Priscilla est passee la journee chez son frere, Mark, et sa famille. Pas sur de toutes les detailles, mais j'ai entendu parle de la cuisson de courge. Demain matin, normalement, elle reprend route. Woodrow a profite du temps libre pour chasser un peu dans le foret d'Ann Arbor avec le neveu de Priscilla. Ils sont rentre avec deux cerfs, un ours, et toute une famille de lapins.

Hamster Huey (I mean, Woodrow the bike) and the Gooey Kablooie

Priscilla was up with the roosters this morning (which really isn't that informative-- contrary to popular belief, chickens are wild partyers, and roosters in particular like to stay out late and crow at all hours of the night, then nap for a while, and then they crow in the daytime, too). Specifically, Priscilla left John & Millie's place at 7:30 this morning, and set out for a gas station they'd told her about, as it was reputed to serve excellent tea. The tea was indeed tasty, and the gas station itself was full of nice people. Priscilla was talking to one fellow patron about her trip and the gobs of ways God has provided for her through it, when another customer walked in, overheard, and was all "hey, the same thing keeps happening to me!" So that was cool.




Then Priscilla saddled up Woodrow (who had taken to neighing and rearing like a horse, inspired by his stablemates last night, I suppose), and took off. She pedaled for a mile, or maybe two, tops, when KABLOOIE! One of Woodrow's tires blew out! Not good. (Oh, and for those who, unlike me, know what beading is, she had totally checked it, so there.) There was nothing for it but to look for a ride to the nearest bike shop. And it took a little while, but not a dreadfully long while, and then along came Jojo. He works at a horse farm, and was delivering hay, and had just enough room for Woodrow in the back. So he kindly gave Priscilla a ride to Paris (not the Paris, obviously... ). They stopped at the farm to drop off the hay, and eventualloy arrived in Paris, where he let her out at a Canadian Tire store, as there were no bike shops to be had. Priscilla thanked him and said goodbye, and headed into the store. Canadian Tire is really geared more toward cars, but it did have a tire to fit Woodrow, so Priscilla bought it. She put the new tire on, pumped up both tires and... realized that she'd left a bag and her helmet and sunglasses in the back of Jojo's car! Without a helmet, she couldn't bike at all! (And if you're thinking, yes, you can bike without a helmet, you're wrong-- you can't. So don't try.) What could she do? She called Jojo's house, got the answering machine, and left a message. And five minutes later, Jojo himself arrived, in his car, Prisky's gear in tow. He gave it to her, she thanked him profusely, and at long last she was biking again.




She biked for the rest of the morning, stopping at Woodstock (not the Woodstock, either). There she sat down to wait for her brother, Mark. Six minutes later he drove up. He'd had computer problems and other snafus this morning and thus had arrived an hour late-- but of course Priscilla had arrived 54 minutes late, so it worked out pretty well. They loaded Woodrow into the trunk, made a small detour to Tim Horton's to stockpile some of the scrumptious muffins sold there, and headed to Mark's place in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Priscilla is spending the weekend with him and his family (and off to a nice start-- she was already baking an apple tart earlier this evening), and then continuing her trek on Monday.




Maintenant en francais:


Priscilla s'est reveille tres tot ce matin et elle est parti a 7h30. John et Millie l'avait parle d'une station service pas loin de chez eux ou on peut trouver du bon the. Elle s'y est rendu, et le the etait aussi delicieux que promis. Dans la station, elle a discute avec un mec qui etait la-- de son voyage, de la provision de Dieu tout au long de route-- quand une fille est entre, a entendu leurs propos, et a dit "moi aussi, il me provient tout ce dont j'ai besoin aussi, et parfaitement a l'heure!" Sympa, non?

Ensuite Priscilla a pris Woodrow (le velo) et ils ont roule deux ou trois kilometres quand BLAM! Crevaison, mais pas un simple ou on peut le reparer. Le pneu etait carrement detruit-- rien a faire sauf trouve un magasin ou garage ou quoi qui s'occupe de velos. Mais pour y aller, il faut transporter le velo.... Heureusement, Jojo est bientot arrive. Il travaille avec les chevaux, et il avait pas mal de place dans son camion ou auto ou quoi. Il a mit Woodrow dedans, Priscilla aussi et ils sont partis... d'abord pour la ferme, ou ils ont depose du foin, et ensuite pour Paris (pas le Paris, evidemment) ou il a depose Priscilla et Woodrow a Canadian Tire. Priscilla a trouve et achete un pneu qui convient a Woodrow, elle l'a mit sur lui au lieu du pneu detruit, elle a mis un peu d'air dans les deux pneus.... et elle s'est rendu comte que sa casquette, ses lunettes de soleil (avec le retroviseur) et un de ses sacs etaient toujours dans la voiture de Jojo. Quelle catastrophe! Alors, elle a appele Jojo, laisse un message, et quelques moments plus tard Jojo est arrive. Il l'a passe ses affaires, elle lui a raconte sa reconnaissance, et il est parti de nouveau. Elle aussi, cette fois enfin sur Woodrow.


Elle a roule pendant le reste du matinee, et a arrete a Woodstock (mais pas le Woodstock non plus). La elle est descendu, et 6 minutes plus tard, son frere, Mark, est arrive. Car elle passe le weekend chez lui et sa famille a Ann Arbor, Michigan. Donc ils ont mit Woodrow dans sa voiture, et ils sont alle a la maison. Priscilla faisait deja une tarte aux pommes se soir, et lundi elle a l'intention de continuersa voyage.

Hooray for pit zippers, I guess.

This morning Priscilla did meet up with her good buddy in Toronto. A momentous occasion if you think about it-- the first time in a month that she encountered someone she'd met more than 24 hours before. With as social as Priscilla is, it says a lot for her mental stability that she didn't crack up in all that time. So anyway, fun was had by all, I'm sure, and then it was time for Priscilla to hit the road once more. First, though, her good buddy offered to loan her a truly rain-proof jacket with pit zippers. He'd suggested she borrow the very same jacket before she left, but "No!" she said, "I'll be fine! Keep your jacket! I really don't need it all." This time, however, she gratefully accepted the loan and joined him in enthusiastically praising the pit zippers (which is surprisingly not the name of any band as far as I know-- but it clearly ought to be. I can see it now "Friday night at some great venue, wrapping up their world tour, it's Merv Jacket and the Pit Zippers!").



The rest of the day was spent riding across more of Ontario, often in the rain, past Watersdown and Clappison's Corners and more. She eventually stopped somewhere ("Where are you?" I asked. "Um, I'm not really sure," she replied) and was welcomed by John and Millie. They plied her with roast beef sandwiches and meat juice for dipping, and offered her a place in their horse barn. Which is considerably more snug than you're probably imagining. She's actually staying in the viewing room in the upstairs of the barn, sleeping on a couch while her shoes dry on the heater nearby. There's a proper bathroom out there as well, and even country music playing to relax the horses (seriously, what other genre would horses listen to?). And all the while she's listening to the driving rain outside, which is absolutely cozy when you're not out in it.




Bon. Ce matin Priscilla a trouve son ami a Toronto, et ils ont passe la matinee a s'amuser et discuter. C'etait un peu bizarre pour Priscilla de voir un ami apres plus d'un mois entoure que par des etrangers (meme si quelques uns ne le sont plus). C'est impressionant qu'elle n'est pas devenue folle, sociable qu'elle est-- la route toute seule, le soir parmi des gens tres gentils, mais qu'elle vient toujours de rencontrer pour la premier fois. Mais bon. Les retrouvailles etaient sympa, et avant que Priscilla est partie, James l'a offert la pret d'un gilet impermeable. C'est marrant-- il l'a lui offert avant la voyage, mais Priscilla disait "mais non, je n'ai absolument pas besoin de ca... non merci!" Aujourd'hui, par contre, elle l'a accepte avec reconnaissance, et a loue avec James les fermetures eclairs sous les aisselles.


Pendant la reste de la journee elle a continue son traversee d'Ontario, souvent sous la pluie, et a depasse Watersdown, Clappison's Corners, et bien d'autres villes. Elle a arrete enfin quelque part (elle ne rappelle plus ou, mais c'est une autre ville chaque soir-- ca se comprend qu'elle oublie les noms), et a ete accueillit par John et Millie. Ils l'ont offert des sandwiches de boeuf roti, avec le jus aussi, et l'ont permi de dormir dans la grange. Mais pas n'importe quelle grange! Celui ci a un etage avec une salle qui a une canape (ou elle dort actuellement) et du chauffage (ou elle fait secher ses chaussures) et une salle de bain... meme de la musique country pour les chevaux (c'est evident que les chevaux aimeraient le country). Et elle passe la nuit sous le bruit le plus cozy possible, celle de la pluie quand on est chaud et sec.

What happened on the crocodile day

This morning Priscilla set out with a motto: Toronto or bust! Luckily, she ended up with Toronto, and is in that fine city now. She had a pleasant and more or less uneventful ride. It sprinkled a little, but her shoes remained dry. The road was hillsome, but nonetheless enjoyable, and enjoy it she did. And after 112 kilometers of pedaling she arrived at Padraic's place, her Warm Showers host this evening. Padraic, hospitable and frank soul that he is, had warned her that his place was a little small. And it is-- a dorm apartment-- but his generosity is very appreciated, and Priscilla's pretty happy to be staying indoors tonight. She might even run into her good buddy James, as he's in Toronto for a few days (albeit bikeless, which is hard to imagine).



In the absence of grandiose events, Priscilla filled me in on random details from the past few days. And here are some of them: she got a flat tire back on the crocodile day ("the crocodile day" being an invention of my niece; it refers to any day prior to yesterday, but no more specific than that-- handy, right?), her only flat so far during the trip. Pretty impressive, huh? It probably helps that she's not riding on Chicago streets, and that her tires are partly made of... crud, I forgot what it's called. I want to say Teflon, but I don't think that's it. Some really amazingly durable stuff that you can have on a tire. Kryptonite? Vegemite? Goretex? No... The three-legged monkey question has been explained, but the explanation is pretty banal. And! Back on the day she went through Gananoque, when it was rainy and sunny and rainy and so on, she spent a fair amount of the afternoon pedaling furiously down the road and singing at the top of her lungs ("All Heavens Declare" and similar) and occasionally looking up at the rain-heavy clouds and saying "Bring it on!" Which is absolutely excellent, don't you think?




Ca y est, elle est arrivee a Toronto! Eh, oui, 112 kilometres ne l'ont pas pu interdire access a cette belle ville (ben, j'imagine-- je ne l'ai jamais vu, moi). Le trajet a ete paisible-- il y avait de la pluie hyper-legere, et ses chaussures sont reste secs. Et puis il y avait pas mal de collines, mais de belles et de facilement montees. Apres une promenade tres sympa, elle est tombee sur la maison de Padraic, un membre de Warm Showers chez lequel elle dort ce soir. Il est tres gentil, et accuiellant malgre la petitesse de sa chambrifime (dont il l'a prevenu, honnete homme qu'il est). C'est possible que Priscilla va voir son ami James ce soir, car il passe actuellement quelques jours a Toronto.



Car il n'y a pas grande chose a raconter d'aujourd'hui, on va raconter ce qui s'est passe le jour du crocodile (ca veut dire n'importe quel jour avant hier, selon ma niece qui l'a invente). Elle a eu une crevaison, mais qu'une seule, ce qui est vraiment impressionante vue toute la route qu'elle a couverte. C'est peut-etre en partie grace au fait qu'elle roule hors les rues de Chicago, et en partie grace au pneus fabuleux, fait avec une matiere extraordinaire dont j'ai completement oublie le nom, et en partie grace a Dieu. D'ailleurs, la question du singe n'etait rien-- il y avait enfin une explication nette mais peu interessante. Et puis, le jour ou elle a passe par Gananoque, elle a chante des cantiques a tue-tete dans la pluie et sous le soleil, lancant des "Vas-y, fait de ton mieux" aux nuages gris et lourds. Ce qui est vraiment excellente, n'est pas?