Highway of Horrorsl

1st Aug
Griffith to Arnprior, 80 km
Packed wet tent. No more long haul camping ever - remind me just in case I weaken one day. Dennis had made toast and tea in the kitchen which we appreciated so much. We have not lit the breakfast camping stove for quite some time now and it's good to get away from all that. We knew we would be joining Highway 17 again which is the horror of all horrors! There is next to no hard shoulder apart from a couple of nightmare feet. The traffic is constant and it was also the start of the holiday weekend and every living soul in Canada was on this road! I wasn't happy on this road to death highway and told Penny I was off the bike and walking. She said it was more dangerous to walk than cycle but I said the traffic could send the bike flying but at least I wouldn't be on it. I moved to the gravel area and felt safer. I had about 8kms to walk and Penny had gone - ZOOM! When we met at the entrance to Arnprior she had already booked us into a very upmarket motel. A feeling of giving it all up was beginning to settling in around me. Penny was working away and e-mailing via her Blackberry. We dried our tents and Penny went in to shower. I was unloading my bike when it fell over causing Penny's bike to fall to the ground. Her mirror, which she cannot do without, broke from the handlebars and lay shattered on the ground. I was distraught. I wanted to go home. I asked at the office if there was a bike shop in Arnprior. They told me there was a Canadian Tire and they did bike things. Penny emerged from the shower and I told her the bad news of the mirror. I also said I wanted to go home. "Don't worry" she said " it won't be long now" I cycled off to Candian Tire and bought a mirror which was the best they could do but substandard to the one I broke. Penny attached it to the bike and it seemed ok. We hit the town and had an excellent meal complete with customary vin blanc - maybe it all wasn't so bad after all and I was pleased at the thought of a nice warm bed to sleep in and not my wet tent. When we finally got to it the the room had a double bed and when Penny had booked in she asked for two single beds! They only had the one room with the double bed but said they would bring a "cot" The cot turned out to be a mattress on the floor which Penny insisted on sleeping on. I slept well - Penny did not. She would much rather have been in her tent.....