Last night was not the most restful sleep. I guess I was a little pre-occupied with my bike. I knew that the temperature was hovering near 0C (32F) and I was a little concerned about my coolant or rather, lack of.

In preparation for the trip I had added coolant to my overflow container. I reasoned that each time that the temperature caused the radiator to overflow, it would mix water with coolant. When later contracting, it would bring this mixture back into the radiator. Simple enough, only, I wasn't sure that it had been hot enough to overflow since adding the coolant.

As far as I knew, the coolant might still be all in the overflow container. And of course, being out in a remote area like Wawa was no place to have water pumps and/or cylinder heads crack due to freezing.

It's now 3am. The best I can figure is that the temperature seems to be rising somewhat. And so I gradually drift off to sleep.

I awaken to heavy raindrops furiously pelting the window air conditioning unit. It's now 6am. I look outside and it's pouring, the street across from the parking lot some fifty feet away barely visible. I go back to bed thinking that I might as well give this some time to clear. Unfortunately, it turns out there is a system over the whole area and the forecast is for rain the next two days.

I'm in no hurry to leave this morning as I try to get the best weather approximation from various TV sources. Unfortunately, there is no Weather Channel.

I finally push off at 11:30am and stop by the general store in town. The heavy rain has not let up and people are huddling on the big porch seeking cover. I run in to pick up a few essential supplies. They have some delicious assortment of dehydrated fruit that they sell by the pound. I fill a decent-sized bag. This not only provides calories, keeps very well, and is great in an emergency, but is also nutritious to boot! I grab a big bottle of water and go back out on the porch.

Slowly sipping my water, I strike up conversations with local folk and passing tourists. This is a part of touring that I enjoy the most. As I finish my water I'm thinking that in retrospect, it actually turned out to be a good thing that no campground was available last night. I can just imagine the fun in packing up tent and gear this morning under strong wind and driving rain!

Finally, the time has come and, like Don Quixote, I stroll out to my faithful steed and I'm off. As I leave Wawa behind, I realize that this rain system will not exhaust itself anytime soon. The sky is heavy, the ceiling low, and humidity level very high.

Minutes out of Wawa I finally feel that sense of flow and well being that I had been waiting for. The one that tells me that this trip is exciting! All is now well!

Bruno
Montreal, Canada