Introduction – 2002


Williamston, Michigan USA to Picton, Ontario, Canada



At the end of May, 2002, I set out to ride my Trek R200 recumbent bicycle solo and self-contained from Williamston, Michigan to Ottawa, Ontario to attend my daughter's masters degree convocation at Carleton University.

Emergency Call
Eight days and five hundred ten miles from home, I was whistling a happy tune on my bicycle when my cell phone rang. Pulling off the road into a nearby farm drive, I received a message to call my wife at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Michigan. Connected to her in the Emergency Room, she explained tearfully that her mother had just passed away unexpectedly from a massive heart attack. I told my wife that I would come right home and called my daughter to tell her that her Grandmother had died.

Even though I was having one of the most enjoyable rides of my life, I had to abandon my solo bicycle tour and head home as soon as possible to console and assist my wife in dealing with her mother's death.

I was in Prince Edward County, Ontario, along Lake Ontario, a day’s ride away from Kingston and three days from Ottawa, my destination. Riding on the Loyalist Parkway toward Picton, I had no idea how to get home from there.

Not knowing whether I was closest to Trenton, the town behind me, Picton, the town ahead, or some other town, and not even knowing where I was on the map of the rural county, I pedaled ahead a couple of miles to the nearest marked intersection. Signs at the intersection showed that it was about twenty kilometers – an hour by bicycle – to any of three towns: Trenton, Picton and Belleville. But, I had no idea which of the three would best offer me a way of getting home.

Standing astride my bicycle looking at a map, I saw a van pull into the parking area of a closed bakery across the intersection. Needing help, I approached the couple who had stopped to walk their dog. After meeting Dave and Fran, tears welled up as I told them that my mother-in-law had passed away and that I had no idea how to get home from where I was. Dave and Fran promptly suggested that I put my bicycle in their van, that they would drive me to their house, where they would contact VIA Rail Canada about the next train from Belleville.

We removed my panniers and loaded them and my bicycle into the back of the Dave and Fran's brand-new mini-van. A drive of about fifteen minutes got us to their house, where Dave called VIA Rail and I made arrangements to depart to Toronto on an 8:00 train and from Toronto to East Lansing on a 6:30 train the following morning.

Fran handed me a towel and suggested that I take a shower while she made dinner. After I changed into my street clothes, we discussed how to handle my bicycle. They agreed to store the bike and panniers until I could retrieve them, presumably the following week when I would be driving to Ottawa to attend my daughter’s masters degree convocation. I repacked my essentials into one pannier that I would take with me on the train, then stowed all my remaining gear with my bicycle in the front hallway. After an enjoyable dinner, followed by some scotch to settle my nerves, the Dave and Fran drove me to the train station in Belleville.

I made it to Toronto and checked into the Royal York Hotel, directly above the main railroad station, at around 11:00. At 6:30 am, I departed on "The International" to East Lansing, arriving home that afternoon.

The following week, after funeral arrangements were complete, and we were on our way to Ottawa for the graduation ceremony, my wife, daughter and I drove to Picton and retrieved my bicycle and gear from the Larkins. No mere gift could properly reward the Dave and Fran for their generosity, but in appreciation, I did give Dave a bottle of aged single malt scotch.

Posted: Sun - June 22, 2003 at 07:02 PM      

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