Sydenham

Ontario .... 8 times larger than England, or larger than France and Spain combined if you prefer a European perspective...either way...pretty big. However big it was, today's destination - Sydenham - was lacking in campsites and WS hosts, and so another hobonight was on the cards.

It had been an easy 60mile ride from Marc's, although the trail was rather scraggy in places., and I got to the local "Foodland" to stock up. Made the mistake of quietly whispering to the checkout girl if she could direct me to the local fire station or park so that I could stealth camp, and she immediately shouted over to the other checkout peeps for their input...in front of the queues of people. I tried to look small, innocent and less trampy than normal as the directions came in and the Sydenhamites eyed me up and down suspiciously.

I had no need of the fire station in the end as I'd quickly found the perfect spot behind the library with relaxed outside chairs on a small patio to which the library's free WiFi even reached - bonus! All I had to do was wait till dusk, pitch and sleep. Well, that was the plan, until at the stroke of 8pm the library's automatic outdoor floodlights kicked in, making me instantly very visible to anyone driving by or taking an evening stroll. Bugger. I circled round the village, but it was now dark and difficult to find a good spot. By the time I found somewhere next to a running track it was pitch black. I couldn't tell which way up, or which way round, the fly sheet was. I discovered that the makeshift tent pole fix didn't live up to its name, meaning the tent looked drunk and slumped to one side. As my frustration and paranoia about being spotted grew I kept dodging behind the tent when a car passed and their lights swept over me. I tried a volley of exasperated expletives under my breath...but that didn't help.

This.
Wasn't.
Fun.

...

I think I got about 4 hours sleep in the end... In my half asleep head I'd decided I was on a school running track and if anybody reported a grumpy tramp swearing to himself on school grounds, I was likely to be pitchforked by an angry PTA mob.
Que 5am wake up, quick decamp and morning bath in Sydenham lake.

The swim helped relieve my foul mood. I'd found a public toilet block nearby, annoyingly locked for another 2 hours, but amazingly with a live outdoor plug. Whilst kit was charging I set about repairing my tent pole for the second time, (this time using the correct parts I'd bought exiting Ottawa) and munched on two left over squashed blueberry muffins. Until I heard a large truck roaring towards me at speed..... What in hobohell now?

A young couple jumped out and headed rapidly for me....they didn't look the PTA type.

False alarm. They were just the toilet block unlockers and cleaners. Fhew. We said Good Mornings and they set about mopping inside while I finished repairs outside.

After a while the sound of rhythmic and accelerating creaking coming from the cleaning cupboard told me they'd found something more fun to occupy themselves and I took that as my que to leave.

Note to self: nobody rushes to clean toilets.Read more