Day 1 - finally some riding from Sarnia to London and meeting up with good friends!

miles today: 76 total miles: 76
km today: 122 total km: 122

We slept hard last night after a day of logistics and transition, so the phone alarm woke us up. After coffee and a quick breakfast at the hotel, we set up the boxes with labels for shipping, assembled the panniers and trailer on the tandem, and jumped on the bike!

There have been so many times we have been on a hike and had a hard time finding the start of the trail in the parking lot. There was a little of that as we got on a bike path that sent us on a short loop around a small park, but then found the roads we had set out for. After a couple wobbles and getting the hang of the routefinding, we made our way along the south shore of Lake Huron with a little tailwind and some gorgeous paved bike lanes and paths. In the forst 20 km we saw a coffee sign and had to stop at Anita’s coffee stand. To be honest, it was the best cup of coffee I’ve had in weeks!

There was a family there who kindly welcomed us to Canada and we had a nice chat before they took off on their bikes. Alas, an advantage to the GPS based directions is the ability to find lots of small roads and avoid the busy highways. The disadvantage is, we went the next 100 km without finding even a place for water. There were farms and houses and, if we got desperate, we could have knocked on a door, but we pushed through. While we technically were going uphill most of the day, it was a mellow ride on nice quiet roads and only one “road closed” section on a gravel road but we were able to ride around the washout and the signs.



In the interest of a shakedown day, we discovered an annoying squeek somewhere in the back of the bike or the trailer. We also got our first flat of the trip (pinch flat) so had to pull everything apart to deal.

As I tried to pump up the new tube, I found the pump was not pushing air. It wasd kind of funny because I had just been telling Chandra about how I was happy that pump was still with us after I bought it bike touring in New Zealand many years ago. Anyway, I took it apart and saw that the O-ring was looking a little loose. I think I might have a replacement in the stove repair kit, but before trying to dig that out, I hit it with a little lube and *poof*, worked like a champ! This also gave us the chance to inspect the drum brake and the rear hub, both of which look good, and we rode a bit without the load and no squeak. So that narrows down the sqeaking to the trailer or the panniers. Good news, because that’s all easier to fix than the rear wheel. It was also a relieve to not have to call Jason and Jovo (our friends outside of London) to come rescue us on day 1!

With the pump fixed and the tire having a fresh tube full of air, we made our way the last 30 km wishing we had some more water, but feeling good. It was great to arrive and see Jason at their house and Jovo soon to return. We feasted on salmon with pesto and a big salad and then took a little cruise around the lake on their pontoon boat.


Jason and Jovo were on the Grand Canyon rafting trip we had the opportunity to join last year and it was super great to catch up with these high quality super fun people! We were so stoked to reconnect that we scheduled a rest day right off to get a day with them tomorrow.

Our legs are good, the bike is looking good, and we are enjoying settling into the rhythm of this kind of journey. It’s awesome to meet lovely strangers, see friends, and explore a country we’ve collectively not spent much time in. More to come, but now comfortable rest!