May 08, 2004

Today I traced a finger on the map to see how I’m getting to Sarnia — I’m biking there in July to get cancer. This gives me two months to get both myself and my bike into shape by taking smaller trips to nearby cities. A week from now I’ll go on a 90km ride to Stratford and back, and last evening I biked down to Cambridge to take a few photos of the city.

Getting there was harder than I expected. I managed to lose myself in the Homer Watson Park, eventually ending up at the sewage treatment plant. Even though the air smelled foul, the scene before me was surprisingly idyllic: the fields of shit were tranquil beneath the setting sun, and a little turret in the distance made everything surreal, beautiful. No, I wouldn’t mind being a Poopsmith at all, I thought as I checked my map and got back on my bike.

It was cold and windy by the time I found Cambridge and the streets were nearly deserted except for the few bums and kids walking along the promenade. Trees were blooming on sidewalks. I walked around for an hour before I couldn’t endure the cold anymore and biked home. The ride back took an hour and a half, and I was exhausted by the time I got back to Kitchener. But nothing was hurting this morning except my head, which means that I can make it a lot further.