Moving Along

Neither I or my stuff was bothered by any creatures during the night, and I only woke up about half a dozen times trying to get comfortable in my hammock. Weirdly, it always seems that the easiest time to sleep is when it's time to get up, all warm in the rising sun and whimpering about facing the day. But I dragged myself up and at it. I packed quickly, negotiating back and forth between my fingers being useless sausages in my gloves, or too numb from cold to be much use either. Rolling out, the road to return to the highway felt much shorter than it had coming in at the end of a long day. It really wasn't far at all.

Then it was back on highway, and mostly back to the same old same old scenery. There wasn't much until White River, where I stopped for a veggie wrap and donuts at Robin's, as well as the use of some wifi from...somebody, somewhere. Apparently it was near White River that Winnie the black bear was captured, the one which Milne and his son went to see so often at the London Zoo, and for which Winnie the Pooh was named. I had been seeing signs for "White River: Where it all Began", with a picture of Pooh, forever and had wondered what it was about. It would seem that is the town's one claim to fame.
There wasn't much after that either, unti I hit the Half/Way Lodge, appropriately halfway between White River and Wawa. I got an ice cream cookie and a candy bar (because I eat healthy...), used the bathroom, chatted up the owners a bit (they're also from the states, Michigan, and have come up and run the place every Summer for the last 17 years I think they said), and got access to their wifi. With wifi I was able to contact my host in Wawa and let him know I was coming a day early and ask if it was alright. To my relief he said sure, but that he would be gone for the afternoon, so just come in when I got there. It was damn comforting knowing I had a place inside for the night. The wind fought me, but I made good time. I ran into another bike tourists on the way. He caught me at an awkward moment, picking a piece of food off my phone that ended up there somehow (because living on the road), but he didn't make any remark about it either way. We talked for a  He's coming from Toronto and doing the cross Canada thing. I informed him of Warmshowers, which he somehow didn't know about, and I consider that my good deed of the day. He told me I had some awfully big hills and a lot of nothing ahead, and I essentially told him he had the same to look forward to where I'd been too. I guess it's even more desolate coming up than it's already been.

At last, I made it into Wawa and to my stay. John, my host, came home just as I was starting to shower. He let me do laundry and allowed me some pasta (which I chose to see myself al dente). We talked about bike touring experiences, the three he's  done (the Pacific Coast much like I did, some southern desert, and a stretch along the Mississippi), and my own three, this current one being the third. And now...I'm exhausted and I need sleep.