Day 35 - Dryden, Ont. (Rest Day)

Day 35 – Dryden, Ont. – Rest Day

June 17, 2026

Start Time: N/A

Stop Time: N/A

KM Travelled: 0 on the Bike

Elevation: 0 on the Bike

Special Stuff: Free will to do what I want when I want!

Today is an unplanned rest day. I’ve been feeling nervous about the stretch of road between here and Thunder Bay. It has very little in the way of resources and I don’t feel I’ve done enough to prepare myself.

It shows because my alarm wakes me up this morning at 4:00 am. Normally, I’m up waiting for it to go off. I press snooze. I have no zest to get to the next town. This is a warning flag that I pay attention to. I reflect on my feelings and then go down to reception at 5:00 am and ask to extend my stay.

When researching and interviewing cross-Canada and long-distance bikers to prepare for this trip, I learned that every person does it in their own unique way. Some bike every single day. Some bike 3 days, then take a rest day. Other riders bike for a while then stop to visit people and places of interest. Yet others do different sections each year until they are all done. I never got to a place to decide how I want to do this thing, so I’m just kindof going with what feels good day-by-day. So far, so good.

The only thing I do today is lay around, read, write, repair a few things, eat and drink (water – lots and lots of water). No naps because I need to stay on a good sleep cycle. I research the next 4 days, book places to stay for the next 4 nights and now I feel ready to take it on.

So really, not much to update, except that I had an amazingly lazy day – AND how awesome is that?!?!

It was such a lazy day, I don’t even take any pictures .

Here’s a pic of my bike with the new black tires - took a bit, but I’m used to the new look. BTW, my bike is designed to be front-loaded - to have 60% of the weight up front. I did not know there was a thing, but there is, and it seems to work.