Past Pasadena = Pastadena - just can't leave.....

SNM Tour Day #70
I dreamed of  "Fiddler on the Roof" this morning.  Years ago, I was fortunate enough to play Tevye in this musical (probably the shortest, smallest Tevye ever cast on stage) and it was definitely one of the best roles I've ever had in my "illustrious" theatre career.  Perhaps the dream was my subconscious dealing with Eric leaving early this morning.  Where has the time gone?? "When did she grow to be a beauty, when did he get to be so tall....." I am not Jewish, but the experience of any parent seeing their kids become responsible and mature adults is universal.  Thanks again, Eric for jumping in with both feet and being an integral part of this tour.

Weather wise, we were a bit worried about what we would be getting into today given that they forecasted cool temperatures and rain showers. The good news was that we were a full day ahead of schedule and any mileage done today was a bonus.  When I started the run, there was actually a glimmer of blue sky, but at the halfway point it was raining quite hard. Despite this, I felt great as it had been a few days in a row of relatively short mileage and my legs were feeling quite fresh.  The rest of the day was similar, teasing us with short periods of sun and blue sky alternating with black skies and solid rain showers.  Joe was having trouble with a repeated slow leak on his back tire which caused a bit of grief and unfortunately a broken spoke ended his day of cycling and the end of his roadwork on the SAD no more Tour.  I finished off the day alone with a nice tail wind and it felt great to sail along on the wet highway.

Now a bit about Joe.  I first met him when he was an ENT (Ears Nose and Throat Specialist) resident and I was a family practice resident in Winnipeg.  We both seemed to have a similar warped sense of humour and a somewhat jaded view of things so we hit it off immediately.  We both went our separate ways, but eventually we reconnected when we mutually figured out a way to get him to do a visiting specialist clinic in Fort Frances Ont. where I worked for 12 years.  Joe eventually moved to Calgary and we lost track of each other until he eventually enticed me to move to Calgary when I was looking for a change and was considering a westernly relocation. To say Joe and Les (who accompanied us earlier in the tour) are great, great friends is an understatement.  In Calgary, our kids have grown up with their kids.  We have spent many trips together and our families commonly spend  special occasions and celebratory holidays all together.  To say these gatherings are quiet, sedate affairs would be an out right lie.  They are generally boisterous, raucous "events" where PLAY is not a bad four letter word, it is the only way! 




A bit more about Joe.  He is more than a friend, he is a colleague and more importantly one of the few mentors that I have.  He is the wise older brother that I've never had.  He is honest and frank, kind and generous to a fault.  He is able to praise and encourage when it is appropriate and be brutally critical and analytical when it's needed.  I always listen to his opinions carefully as they are generally very well thought out. He is worldly, well read and loves to enjoy life.  He can also be an outright pain in the arse (we're in NFLD so this is the only way to say this right now) and can drive you crazy at times. But Joe is Joe.  Who else would get up before dawn and cycle with me knowing that he'd be subject to wind and rain for hours on end with no reward? He is the real thing, always has been and always will be.  We love Joe (but don't tell him, it'll just go to his head and feed his big ego).  He doesn't read the blog, so he won't see this himself.  

Tomorrow we leave Joe and his brother's home in Pasadena.  A huge thanks to Noreen and Dave for being absolutely amazing hosts to all of us. They have gone the "extra mile" a few times every day we've been here and we have appreciated it immensely!!

Today's Tour Day Sponsor is Robert Hobbs...Thanks so much for your support once again.

Random Quote of the Day
The best mirror is an old friend.
George Herbert 


Question of the Day
Marc literally got "brownie points for life" today for a heroic act - what did he do??
Love to hear your ideas in the comments section - correct answer or most "interesting" answer WINS
(B+B - you may have an advantage on this from an RV event in the distant past)