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day 92
connecting the tracks and closing the circle
Actual Date: 2007-08-04
Uploaded: sat, 4 aug 2007 20:44:26 -0700
Distance: 85.00 km
Port Burwell to London, Ontario.
Under the fading light from the setting sun I returned to my starting point in London and closed the circle. The dimming of the light made for a perfect ending to a quest that has occupied a significant amount of my touring time for the past five years.
By connecting the fading tire tracks from 37 days ago with the fresh tracks of today the Lake Superior segment of my quest completed after covering 3,677 km. Four of those days were rest days giving me an average distance per riding day of 111 km despite my deliberate decision to vacation from distance targets on the northern shore of the lake for just over a week.
By closing the circle I also completed my Five Year quest to circle each of the great lakes by bicycle. This 92 day journey covered 9,255 km and worked out to an average of 100 km per day (some rest days may be counted as riding days in the average, need to check).
To put that distance in perspective Neil Guntun, the original CrazyGuyOnABike, travelled 8,549 km when he crossed the US in 1998. Roger Mattingley covered 9,131 km in 2002 while riding across Canada. The Feldmann Family also crossed Canada (in 2005) covering 9,027 km.
These are all just hard numbers. They don't convey emotions. Every one of those kilometres has a story. A few stories were painful, many were great and a lot were incredible. There were also some life changing moments mixed in amongst plenty of learning opportunities.
The lakes have changed me as a person. When I first started riding around Lake Erie I remember thinking that I really was crazy and perhaps I had actually managed to take on a bit too much. I was wrong!
I came to Lake Erie poor but as I leave Lake Superior I am rich. The measurement isn't in material wealth but rather the increased knowledge and experience I now have of the world. I met many people, saw many sights and learned much about myself in the process.
Most importantly I've learned that within me there is a hard inner core that allows me to dream what seems to be impossible and have it turn into a positive reality. I truly believe that within all of us the same inner core exists if only we are willing to tap into it from time to time.
It's easy to use obligations, responsibilities and other excuses to stop us from reaching out to grab our dreams. Our primary responsibility to ourselves should be to make sure that we don't allow that to happen. You have only one life to live, use it wisely.
Another important discovery was that despite the constant barrage of negativity from the media, the world really is a great place and it's the people who inhabit that world who make it so. When you allow people to meet and connect with you, you also allow yourself to experience the greatness that's there to be discovered.
Leaving Port Burwell this morning was difficult as leaving always is when the next step changes the status of something special and meaningful. The challenge I have is to remember to carry forward what I've learned and not allow the quest to just become a fading memory.
In the days ahead I will be updating the journal with pictures from my journey. I will also add extra content below the emailed entries so please consider coming back and seeing more of the story unfold.
I will be providing a complete gear list and writing some technical equipment reviews as well. For the first time in many tours there will also be a page listing the mechanical problems experienced on this trip.
Before I become a bit more forgetful I will also write an interview answering questions asked of me on tour by fellow tourers and non-tourers alike. Some questions you will likely recognize from your tours but hopefully some you will not.
If I miss something or if you have a question please sign the guestbook so that I can fill in the blanks. (This also applies for people reading this long after the tour has ended).
There is more to be written but tonight is the time to savour the overall achievement and let my mind come to grips with the reality of it.
My sincerest thanks to all who have befriended me on the road, by all who have read my journal and by all who enriched my adventure by participating in the guestbook.
~Jamie N
Interested in bicycle touring? www.bicycletouring101.com
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Tour Statistics
(Based on riding days only)
Number of Riding Days: 34
Overall total so far: 3840.10 km
Daily Average: 112.94 km
Shortest: 53.00 km
Longest: 163.00 km
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