Wow tom,
I am NOT one of the people responsible for organizing the ride, so do not
take my comments to reflect official reaction of the OBC to your "comments",
which indeed, are worded more like "complaints".
Hey, if this is all you can find to complain about, it was a pretty damn
good tour.
Maps to just about anywhere are available on the web to anyone who has
access and the initiative. I see that you do. Try Mapquest or Mapblast. I
believe directions/address were provided.
Water is a resource these days. The 'free' stuff runs from taps that shop
keepers pay for, so hopefully you buy something else at the stop. Further,
it may not be of good quality, and you might not want to deal with that, er,
later. .Tough it out, buy some water. Split the cost of a big jug with your
peloton, if it is such a hardship.
Part of the cycle touring experience is to be resourceful and somewhat self
sufficient when necessary, even if it IS hosted by the best damn team of
volunteers and organization in the country. They won't/can't cover
everything exactly as you would wish. You can find an A&P or a grocery store
pretty quick in a big town like Kingston, with your wheels. There is a main
street in Kingston with any number of places to pick something up, and I
even noticed a little convenience store in the same building as the saturday
pub. I encountered a biker (Harley type) who was only too pleased to "watch
so nobody f@#$s wit yer bike, that's a nice one" while I was at the tim
Horton's, gettin' lunch for my group. Experiences like that are part of the
fun. I had a rider from Orillia follow me to the Tim's, and he was just so
happy to have done it. THEN, in conversation, it turned out they guy knew my
late step father, and his brothers, his restaurant in Orillia, as well as a
few of my step-siblings.
One trip to Tim's, and I score two cool experiences. A conversation about,
and (probably armed) guard for, my "new hog", and a link with my past and my
family.
Sorry tom, but your comments are a bit nit-picky to me. Biking involves a
little bit of roughin' it from time to time. Be resourceful. They carried
your bags, fed you a decent coupla meals (or more, depending on how you
count seconds), got you a decent room with a shower nearby, hopefully warm,
they had road support, several rest stops staffed by volunteers, many of
whom would be riding if not helping out. You got a T-shirt, met some people,
and for...80 to 100 bucks.
Canadian.
Your 'comments' approach the "complaints domain", since there is little
acknowledgement of anything positive except for the weather. Sorry you had
such a rotten time. Hey, I can understand if the bags were lost, or if the
food ran out, or if the beds were filthy, or if the ceiling was leaking, or
everybody you met were unfriendly pricks. I don't think much of that was
going on.
I had a great time, thanks to the volunteers, all of em'. Things were very
cool. You made my trip exactly what I wanted it to be, and when I needed to
change things up a bit, I just did it. Pretty simple, pretty satisfying,
pretty damn happy.
No thanks to the dork in oncoming traffic who threw a bottle from his/her
window, into our peloton. If the guy gets caught, my Lawyer should be able
to diagnose my injuries. Saturday was a wierd day in terms of irate drivers,
and it was totally different the next day. We had MORE guff from oncoming
traffic than from same-direction traffic. It might have had something to do
with a lung-association trek that appeared to be following some of "our"
roads in the opposite direction, and they may have been "pre-irritating" the
drivers. Ho hum.
Paul
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Monday, June 11, 2001 11:19 AM
Subject: [obc] RLCT reactions
Some comments on the RLCT.
Wow, what weather! Now if only all the winds could be tail winds, not
just on the way back. (tho that was the best time).
I do have some suggestions for the next RLCT:
For the Casual Route riders, how about an early map to the Perth
Curling Rink so we could find it to register?
Why can't all the official water stops have free water? The store at
Perth Road Village north of Inverary only had water for $$$, and it
was an Official Stop. Unofficial restaurants and gas stations along
the way were more accomodating than this profit-taker. At least he
didn't charge to use the porta-potties.
How about inviting a local store to have bananas, gatorade, etc. for
sale at Queen's Sunday morning? Or at least a mention of the 24-hour
A&P store on Princess St.?
Somehow, I missed the turn on to 36 from 10. Musta been blind. Turned
out shorter & flatter to Perth.
My 15-year old son was disappointed there were no kids his age. Is
there a youth section of the OBC?
Tom
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