Day 23: 1,000 Smiles

I’ve gotten over 1,000 miles into the trip! Lots of smiles along the way too.

I had originally planned to go 65-70 miles today, but the windmills were smiling upon me today (meaning tailwind), so I decided to take advantage and went a bit further.

In Port Burwell, I stopped for coffee and a small resupply at the convenience store. It was a very successful haul with coffee (only $1!), chocolate milk, garlic naan, and ranch chip nuts. I finally finished the trail mix I started out with in RI, so needed a new nutty snack.

Port Stanley was the stop for lunch. I found a cafe there with the fanciest French toast I’ve had all trip - it was topped with sautéed apples. I topped it off with a raspberry crumble bar for dessert. While I was there I was able to see the draw bridge raise and a sailboat go through, which was a new experience.

I biked by lots of farms today. Mostly corn, some peppers and apples as well. Some of them had these quilt squares painted on them - they were very pretty and all unique.

Much of the afternoon was on the straightest road I’ve ever biked on (though I hear there are many more of these coming as I head west). I could see for miles ahead!

The campground for tonight is mostly seasonal RVs, but with a tenting area. One of the resident RVers invited me to her campfire for the night. So I got to meet a few folks, sit by the fire (in a chair with a back!), sip a glass of wine, and toast marshmallows. Another touring cyclist headed the other way is also camping her tonight and was able to join the fire for a bit. It was fun trading notes on what’s ahead for each of us.