Day 76 - Chalk River

Gidget, my road buddy, is starting to break down. I'm afraid she's not going to make it much further and I'm going to need to replace her. The bearings on the wheels are wearing.

I bought Gidget at Ski Wolf in Fredericton N.B. to take the weight off my back. She's really just a baby stroller and the miles are starting to take its toll. I still carry my back pack so if she breaks down in the middle of no where I can transfer all my stuff back to my back pack. My cousin Andre is trying to find another one somewhere but has had no luck so far.

In the morning Andre took me back to the highway and would pick me up later in Chalk River. He left me his cell phone so I could call him if I needed to. Isn't he the best cousin in the world?

Shortly after Andre left Cecil pulled up with coffee and muffins. She was able to follow me for awhile in the morning. That was a nice surprise and gave me some modivation for the day.

I started running with a bit of an aggrivated groin. That happened to me once before early in Newfoundland and I was able to run through it so I would just take it easy and not push it.

I went a few miles and Anthony from the Pembroke Observer stopped to take some pictures and do an interview. He was alot of fun.

We stopped at the Big Stop and Cecil had to get going. After a few phone calls I kept going. There was alot more traffic today because of the long weekend. Lots of people honked and waved. The shoulders on the highway were softer along this stretch and it made pushing Gidget a little tougher and slower. As I was going through the Petawawa area a vehicle honked and pulled over. It was some good friends of mine from Ottawa France and Carol. I babysit their cats Frosty and Sprite some times for them. They were on their way canoeing for the weekend. They had just restored an older canoe and going to try it out. We laughed about how neither of them knew how to paddle a canoe. They had to go but I knew I would see them again.

About 10 miles before Chalk River Cecil returned. She was concerned cause of the groin problem I was having earlier and wanted to check in on me again. She brought a couple of Mountain Dew drinks. What a sweetie she is. It was getting late and I still had a ways to go so we put Gidget in her car and all my stuff. This made running a whole lot easier. We reached the 26 mile mark and stopped just this side of Chalk River. Cecil drove me back to my cousin's store and I would stay another night at his place. When we got to the store a nice surprise was waiting for me. My other cousin Marcel and his son Joel were waiting there. I hadn't seen him in many, many years and I had never met his son who is now 14 yrs old. Andre gave me a tour of his rental store which he and his Dad had built from scratch and then we left. We had dinner and some great conversations. It was a nice smalll reunion. Tomorrow Andre would drop me off in Chalk River where I would head for Mackey.