A French Lesson and a Few Pictures

It’s 7:15 a.m. on Saturday morning of Week 8.  The sun rose about an hour ago and I’m sitting in the shade of an evergreen tree to minimize the glare on my computer screen.   Many riders have already made their way down the curved lane to the road where today’s route will take us to Montreal.  We had a brief French lesson in Peleton last night to help prepare us for the French-speaking province of Quebec.  Bonjour!  Je ne parl pa Francoise.  Parle' vioux Engles?  Merci.  Hello!  I do not speak French.  Can you speak English?  Thank you.  (If you know French, please pardon these spellings!!!!)  It's so hard to believe that we have only one week left of this crazy adventure.

We have had many warm welcomes by CRC churches here in Canada.  Yesterday, some people drove an hour from a church north of us to be at one of our SAG stops with cookies.  Apart from visiting Rudy’s home church in Chilliwack, British Columbia, I’ve never heard so many people speaking with Dutch accents!  There seems to be a deep sense of camaraderie amongst the people and churches; however, there might be a little competition between them as well. J  We surmise that the comradeship exists because so many of the people emigrated from the Netherlands after World War II.  There is a bond amongst them that most of us have never known; the bond of sticking together in a foreign country in order to make life work.  The people who greet us are, more often than not, the older people of the congregation.  We, the younger generation(s) forget our grandparents’ struggles, bravery and sacrifice to settle in a new country, and we tend to be more independent.

In spite of the warm welcome we have received from the CRC churches here in Canada, as we head further northeast we seem to experience more road rage against bikers.  One rider had a plate of food thrown at her group from a passing vehicle.  Other riders reported having stones spit at them by a pickup purposelly driving on the shoulder of the road and spinning out on the shoulder of the road.

We’ve ridden through some beautiful country along the north shore of Lake Ontario and up the St. Lawrence River.  The region is thick with history, which, as a non-history fan, I may or may not care to dwell on.  The mismatched, cut limestones fit together like a pre-made puzzle, forming the walls on buildings from small houses to large churches.  Interestingly, the stones' arrangements remind me of the adobe buildings we saw in Zuni, New Mexico.

St. Lawrence River

We road a ferry which was part of the Ontario highway system.  There was no other way to get across the waterway and no fee!

Niagra Falls (from last weekend)--Rudy has some better pictures on his camera, but it's on the road with him on his bike right now.

I have ridden my bike the last three days—12, 16 and 22 miles, respectively!  There is another rider who has been riding partial days because of her sore achilles tendons.  She bikes the first part of the route while I drive our van and when she is ready to stop, we switch places.  Having our van with us allows us more freedom to go to the store or Laundromat when we need to, but it also means that I can’t bike unless someone is available to drive our van.  This arrangement has worked out well so far.  I hope we can find a way for someone to drive our van into New York City on the last day so I can bike to the tire dipping!  I’ve chosen not to bike today for several reasons.  1) By the time I would ride, we’ll be in heavier traffic nearing Montreal.  2) I don’t want to overdue the use of my leg.  3) I get to drive our van into Montreal.

I feel a sense of freedom when I get on my bike for part of the day’s route.  My mind wonders wherever it wants and I lose track of time.  The scenery this week has been so, so beautiful.  I haven’t taken that many pictures but I’ve post a few here.  If you want to see more pictures, you can go to the Sea to Sea Facebook page or follow the link to other peoples’ blogs at www.seatosea.org .

 

I have moved into the recreation center where we camped last night in order to access the Internet and post this blog entry.  In the auditorium down the hall I hear a vocalist rehearsing and they are church songs--Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee and Great is Thy Faithfulness.  Time seems to pause as Sarah, a young woman with Downs Syndrome who is helping in the kitchen for the last two weeks of the ride, leans up against the white brick wall and sings along for a verse. 

 

Thanks for riding vicariously with us!