Hot & Cold... with talking cows.

Friday evening Julie said I had a fever & perhaps I should reconsider my trip... but she left the decision up to me & would support me either way. I loaded up on pills and cough syrup before going to bed, hoping I would wake up miraculously healed.
The next morning I felt... sort of kinda better. (not really... but I wanted this last trip)
The forecast called for rain in the afternoon and a high of 15c.

-I believed I could get to Granby before the rain started.
-I believed the daytime cold medicine would work.
-I believed that 110km would be a piece of cake.

I also now believe that cold medicine can make you believe in just about anything.

I left at 7:00 am and for the first 55 km everything seemed to work in my favor. (the weather & the pills) Sometime after that however I began to sweat... allot. I was drenched and felt dizzy. I emptied my gatorade and popped some more pills. For a time everything seemed to fall back into place.
Then I stopped to take a picture of some cows by the side of the path, most of them where lying down (that means rain). I also believe that some of them where trying to speak to me. (that means fever) A slight drizzle began & I was now getting cold. I figured if I rode harder for a bit it would warm me up. The drizzle became rain, steady non relenting rain. I now know that it is possible to sweat & freeze all at once. I discovered that Granby was 10km further than my original estimate & the fine town of Farnham decided to encourage cycling tourism by laying down new gravel on their bike paths... 4 inches thick of the stuff. The tears on my face were kinda warm. When I arrived at Granby, I put on a (fake) smile & asked a woman wearing a poncho walking her dog for directions to the hotel. " OH!?... that's way on the other side of town... no where near the bike path... you could take a taxi?" An ambulance was more my train of thought. I rode another 6km to the hotel. (126km total) After a bath, some beer , a nap & Julie's arrival... things seemed better. Sometime later that evening at the Cage aux Sports, after the Canadiens loss in overtime... I decided to return home with Julie the following day. The Scrambler (who's performance was beyond reproach) safely tucked in the back of the minivan.

I did however go apple picking the next day...