180k - Sometimes dangerous women turn into beautiful angels

Bonjour,

If I were to describe today in a word it would be amazing. I woke up feeling groggy and tired but eventually got it together and ate a large breakfast. I dressed for the expected thunder storm and we all piled into the car after some rearranging because mom went food shopping. We headed to Terry's memorial and Michael and I prepared for the day. It was already starting to spit and since we headed off at 10:10am I knew it was going to be a long long day. As Michael and I put in the early kilometers it started to pour down. This was not the rain that I am used to....I thought it was hail. I was soaked in 20 seconds and soon the winds picked up. Michael called the massive dark clouds over head CB clouds. It stands for Cessana Busters...it basically destroys airplanes. Suddenly the rain stopped and it was smooth sailing again. I knew something was wrong though because the sky was going yellow... we were heading into a raging dangerous women..(thunder storm). Normally when someone has to bike through hail and rain with wind while lightening rips the sky apart over head they get scared. I got really pumped up haha I think terrible weather makes me stronger and taps into my mystic man abilities. Canada has been my play ground for the last 20 days and I am used to a little weather, this however was a whole new ball game. Our parents met up with us for the usual food and water and I put on a better rain jacket. Mom was scared and tried to pull us into the car. I never get in the car and drive, she always forgets this. So the 2 brothers headed into the wild women and wondered what they would meet on the other side. Just 5km in the cars stopped driving, the temp dropped 10 degrees and the world went very very dark. Lightening ripped across the sky illuminating the stratosphere, I smiled and sped up, chasing the thunder as it rolled across the forests. Another huge 3 prong bolt exploded to our right and the roar of Thor was heard shortly after (not my quad)  we were like 2 kids excited for Christmas. Lightening blew up right in front of us thousands of feet in the air, it was incredible. Than the rain started to pelt down with a vengeance. Puddles covered the road and as the lighting moved away to our right the rain thickened. My new MEC jacket is awesome and protected me from the downpour. Michael was wearing my MEC windbreaker and getting soaked. It wasn't too cold anymore and he was fine. The clouds eventually shifted and the sun came out. It was 10 degrees warmer in 5 minutes haha We biked and biked while joking around and recalling hilarious stories. We met mom and dad at a Husky at 97km in and Michael was done  for the day. I set off down the highway with my moms ipod jamming to criminal by Beadoin Sound Clash (thanks Celina). After 10km I started to climb up a steep accent, the song switched to Eddie Vedders Into the Wild mix and it was about at this point were I realized how much I love my life. Its hard for me to explain and I thought about it for a while but what I am doing right now is probably the best thing that has ever happened to me. I am in the best shape of my life, I have incredible experiences every day and work really hard at my summer job (raising money for cancer research). There is so much pain and suffering in this trip as I have written about but if you can look past that this trip is my idea of bliss. As I charged up the extreamly large hills (800 ft at least) I was rewareded with spectalular views of Lake Superior. I would peddle and push my legs at 85 percent of an hour while cars would stare and wondered how I got there (these hills are really steep). Near the third hill I was at the 9km of climbing straight and my legs really started to burn. The old me would have probably gotten off the bike and walked...The new me sucked up the terrible pain and pushed my self up that mountain.  The road from Thunder Bay to Rossport is so great, even to drive I am sure you will be in awe at the views you will see. As I flew down the mountain at 60km an hour I could not stop smiling, I kept on thinking about how much I love this ride and even though it is so so hard I have gotten to the point where my body just starts pushing back and withstands the stress. I chose the do this trip at probably the best time in my life, right at the critical point where one finds his or her identity in the adult world. The systems that kept us in line are now a thing of the past (high school) I go forth stronger than I could have expected and with a new confidence. I finished the day at 180km and went for a dip in the fridged yet crystal clear waters. I have destroyed the 160km a day mark and now only have to do 120km to reach Queens on the 4th. I won't slow down though, I perfer to finnish early and have a couple rest days before Frosh week begins... When I have more time and not 2 percent battery I will explain how my life would be completely different without my mom, I have 2 heroes, Terry Fox and my Mom. Both individuals are so selfless. People tell me how this is the most selfless act but in truth this ride is the most selfish thing I have done. I think  about it all the time and feel actually really bad about how much my whole family had to give to make this happen but I just tell myself that we are raising around 35 thousand dollars for cancer reaserch depending on how donations and media go,. anyways I will get into that later. Good night for now.

Rainbow Falls Prov Pk