Day 53 - Espanola, Ont. - REST DAY

July 5, 2026 (Sunday)

Start Time: N/A

Stop Time: N/A

KM Travelled: 0 on the Bike

Elevation: 0 on the Bike

Special Stuff: Rest days

I wake up today thinking that maybe I should have pressed on. Sitting with my computer this morning having my coffee, it feels really cold. It would have been a good day for riding, but I remind myself, rest days are important to prevent burnout. Getting up every biking day and doing the ride requires desire and drive (gumption)...it is the fuel that makes this possible. Nurturing this gumption involves taking care of my mind, body and spirit so that I can continue on into the long term.

Rest days are for reflection and to enjoy the peace and quiet. This morning I enjoy the cooing noises that the Canada geese make when they are floating together on the lake as a family. (I did not know that they make that noise...so sweet.)

Rest days also give me the chance to catch up on things that gnaw away in the background and really do need my attention - like doing laundry and paying bills. I always feel better when these things are attended to.

The campground we are staying at has both seasonal and overnight stay options. It is interesting to learn that some people keep their RVs here for years! It is like their little cabin in the woods. This site, on the waterfront, is pretty sweet - I understand why people travel 3 or 4 hours to enjoy their long weekends and summers here.

I meet a retired truck driver who is walking his dog - a rescue from a puppy mill. He's been married for 49 years and has endured all kinds of hardship, including losing his farm when interest rates skyrocketed in the '80s and having survived cancer four times! While we are talking, his dog has an 'episode' where it passes out (like a seizure, but with no shaking) - I get up readying myself to give the dog CPR! The man is so kind with his dog, speaking gently to her, rubbing her side and encouraging her to "hang on" - she eventually comes back to. "This happens sometimes", he says. The love, care and compassion that I see this man show for his rescue dog comes from a place of a person who has made peace with the curveballs that life has pitched in his own life.

I take some time to get ready for my early departure tomorrow. I tighten up some bike screws that have loosened on the gravel road, reinstall my bike bell and tidy up my panniers and bike bags.

Camp spots around Sudbury are difficult to secure on my 'flight path', so we decide that Brian will drive on to Sturgeon Falls while I stop over in Sudbury for the night. I'll catch up to him the following day.