Day 3

Taking the ferry to Manatoulin Island was a great way to start the day. It left at about 11am and the two hour journey wasn’t ideal for making much of a dent in the km grand total. I wasn’t worried – it was a beautiful day and a nice journey. It was amusing, if only to myself that the last time I was on a ferry with my bike was traveling from Egypt to Sudan earlier this year. Bit different this time.

It was almost 2pm by the time I started to ride. The plan was to head to the town of Espanola about 110km down the road. After about 20km something wasn’t right. from seemingly out of nowhere this deep and severe pain invaded my left knee. At first I thought I was just stiff, but stretching did nothing and the pain only grew in severity and intensity. Every pedal stroke was agony. My heart sunk. There was no way I had 110km in me. Plan B was needed.

After 60km I rolled into Little Current and I was done. My knee felt like it might explode – the pain was severe enough that it left me feeling sick to my stomach. After I got settled into a hotel, I looked into the future of physiotherapy. Thanks to highspeed internet and Skype I had a chat to Louise Parker, my regular physio back in Queenstown. With a good description of what I was feeling plus some diagnostic tests relayed over the web – she diagnosed me with having irritated the bursa on my knee. It all stems from an injury I sustained in a fall in an adventure race about six weeks ago (click HERE for that story).

So what’s the result? Is the trip over? Is it time to give up and call it a day? Not a chance. Lou figures that with a couple of light days, it’ll come right. I’ve come too far and this adventure is too important to me to throw in the towel at the first challenge. Remember this is supposed to be hard – that’s the whole point.

Recap:
Distance – 62km
Location – Little Current
Accommodation – hotel
Beard status – slightly beyond five o’clock shadow
Song of the day – Nothing as it seems – Pearl Jam
Photo of the day – The Open Road