On a warm and wet welcome in Guelph

Elin escorted me out of Meaford onto Route 12 which promised to be less hilly than other alternatives. It began with a predictable slog up the Niagra Escarpment before settling into gently rolling fields and headwinds. Generally headwinds except when I was in the lee of a forest.

It was a long slog of a day going through small towns with considerable long weekend traffic both four wheeled and two wheeled. Around four in the afternoon, it began to sprinkle as I came into Arthur with dark clouds getting very close. I made for a Union Burger restaurant and ordered a burger and a milkshake. The storm hit with intense rain, along with lightning and some wind. I phoned Quintin in Guelph to give him an update on my status, namely tired, behind schedule and sheltering from a storm.  He offered to pick me up if necessary. I gratefully declined though admitted I might take him up on the offer. The storm seemed to be settling down to just rain, so I donned my rain gear and set off again.

The wind had died with the storm so I was able to make much better progress. I passed through Fergus admiring the lovely 19th century stone buildings. The road to Guelph from there was familiar as I had ridden it several times when I had been working on a master's degree in Scottish history twenty years earlier. Unfortunately, Quintin and family live in a new development in the extreme Eastern edge of Guelph so I didn't see my old stomping grounds.

Quintin was waiting for me with the news that in addition to leaving the big bottle of detergent behind in Meaford (as planned) I had also left behind the Campsuds. Thankfully, a friend of Elin's Alexander had been going from Meaford to Guelph that day and had dropped it off chez Quintin and family.

After a supper of an assortment of barbecued chicken and spicy sausages, potato salad, green salad and corn on the cob, we were sitting around the table chewing the fat and looking out at a thunderstorm when the power failed. Thankfully, candles were already lit so we could find headlamps and the like. As it was getting late, we decided to call it a night anyway.