August 10, 2024 Cobourg to Oshawa, Ontario

    We started off on a fresh morning with sun and clouds, but also fresh in that it was windy.This wind was out of the west so it was in our face all day. We stayed more inland today, though occasionally would have views of the lake as usually we were on the closest road to the lake that went on through. We paralleled railroad tracks and saw lots of VIA trains, which are passenger trains. We were jealous of how many there were. We also crossed over the tracks several times, once on a bridge with wooden planks for the road surface and extending up and over the tracks in an arch.

  Taking a rest stop near the wooden bridge

    Jim‘s brakes didn’t feel right to him today so he looked for a bike ship a lot along the route, but went past the town where he had located one without realizing it. So near the end of the day, we tried to find one in Oshawa near where we were staying. There was one in biking range that closed at 5 o’clock, and we made it there at 4:45. They found out that Jim’s brake cable was loose and tightened it, and that helped made the brakes feel a lot better. He also asked offhand if they had size 50 bike shoes that would fit his big feet. A few days into the trip one of the soles had been separating from the shoe at the toe; he had been regularly applying duct tape to keep it together. He often has to special order big enough shoes. To his surprise, the guy said, ‘I think we have a pair of size 50 in stock.’ Jim, all eager, headed inside to try them on. They even had a pair of size 51! but the 50 seemed to fit well, so he didn’t even try the other pair.

    Since they had the shoes, he also asked if they had Sena helmets. For the past 2 1/2 years we have used a set of helmets with an intercom so that we can communicate as we ride. Since we have ridden a tandem for many years we were used to being able to communicate easily, and when we found out about these helmets, they were just the ticket. We have been very thankful to be able to warn each other easily about cars, point out birds, trees, and other objects of interest to each other and discuss things as we ride along. However, back in Quebec during an on-and-off rainy day, Kay’s helmet started “talking” to her, saying things like “configuration menu.” So she turned it off, then turned it back on again and it worked fine—for a while. Then it did the same thing. After this happened several times, it no longer would turn on. At the motel that night, when we plugged it in to recharge, nothing happened. It wouldn’t take a charger, wouldn’t turn on, even after leaving it plugged in all night. Jim even called the company to see if they could help, then tried to find out if there was anywhere he could get them in Canada. So since then, we have been living with helmets that can’t communicate. We’ve had to get used to loudly yelling “car back” instead of speaking in a normal voice!

    So after he was surprised by the availability of the shoes, Jim asked about the helmets. Sadly we struck out this time. 

   Then on to our warm shower hosts, where we had a pleasant dinner and shared about each other's lives. Then they asked about playing a game and suggested Wizard! (Jim is not much of a game person, but really enjoys playing Wizard)