Harry and Paulene Foster
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This trip came about because after meeting my future bride Paulene in Sydney Australia in 1965, then working our way around the world to Canada and getting married in 1967, I had yet to meet her family. We both had good jobs in Ottawa but decided to go to NZ for a year or two before coming back to Canada, settling down and perhaps starting a family. We didn't even have bicycles at the time we came up with this crazy idea, but rented a couple one day and rode from Ottawa to Manotick and back and thought 'ok we can do this'. Three weeks later we were on our way. We did not get a shot of us as we left Ottawa, so the first shot of us on our bikes was taken in the States
Sept 14, 1970 Day one of our bicycle trip from Ottawa to Mexico. What a fabulous day for our departure from Ottawa, the morning donned bright, clear and cool. After a few tears were shed saying goodby to my family we departed at 7:30 AM, down Kent St from McLaren to Wellington then left to the beautiful scenic Ottawa River Parkway. We no sooner got on the parkway when Paulene in tears, signalled me to pull over. She said the bike felt weird and she could not control it, nor feel comfortable riding it. I must have looked a tad grey at this stage not 30 minutes into our 7 week trip. I redistributed the weight on her bike putting more forward and this solved the problem. Here is our original map of our route in Ontario We took the parkway to the western end of Ottawa then on to Carling ave and then to Highway #7. We had a real good day of cycling considering it was our first, and covered 116 kilometres. This took us to the Silver Lake provincial park. We set up our tent right down at the water’s edge, nestled in amongst a group of trees. This little tent was ordered from the Eaton's Catalogue and only cost $32.00. It lasted for this trip of 7 weeks, all our tramping trips during 3 and a half years in New Zealand (we did add a fly in NZ) and our 7 week canoe trip on the way back to Ottawa. No trouble with the bikes today but Paulene had a sore knee, so we taped it up and she used my shoulder to get about the site. The next morning she still could not walk comfortably but was ok on the bike peddling. :-) A couple of things we found out today was that dogs took a great interest in us, often chasing out after us or barking themselves silly. The other thing was buses. On a two lane highway like this, when they went by at speed we would almost get blown off the road, the big transport trucks been almost as bad. So now when I see one of these vehicles in my mirrors, I would signal Paulene and we would pull over to the shoulder taking us a bit further away from them. At the campsite there was an English couple on a new BSA Lightning motorcycle. Their plans were to travel all over the continent for 3 years without working. Somewhere along the way they picked up a little dog who is now riding with them and keeping the girl warm. Our expenses today consisted of the following, $1.00 for 2 milkshakes and two chocolate bars, .30 cents for a Coke and 2 peaches, $3.60 for our supper and breakfast groceries. $4.93 or less than our allotted budget of $10.00 per day. The odd time we will go over when we stay in a motel sometimes. Our little Swedish camp stove is the best bargain of all, so quick and efficient, even running on ordinary gasoline.
Sept 15, 1970 Woke up this morning to the sound of rain on our tent, a beautiful sound but not too good for cycling. It soon let up and we were able to start the day. A big hearty breakfast of cereal, eggs, toast and coffee and we were on the road at 10:30. It rained lightly for a couple of hours before the sun broke through. We did not get as far today as Paulene’s knee was quite sore. If we were walking we would not have gone a mile, but it did not bother her nearly as much when riding. Later on the rain came down heavier so we stopped and donned our ponchos which looked rather funny but would keep us dry. We sat in the rain for a bit and then continued riding, ponchos and all. Paulene being still sore and the thought of setting up and taking down a wet camp we decided to stop at a motel. It was just west of the Skootamatta River, the Motel now called the Unconventional Moose. We rented a little cottage for $10.00. We had a big supper at the nearby Two bears restaurant for $3.30. It was called that, as for years there were a couple of bears in a cage beside the restaurant. Buses that travelled between Ottawa and Toronto always used to stop here. Changing mores over the years dictated that was just not acceptable anymore. Our only other expenditures were .30 cents for 4 chocolate bars and two milkshakes at .35 cents each, bringing our total for the day to $14.85. Our average now being $9.89 per day. Our mileage today was 74km, making our daily average now 95km. Sept 16, 1970 Awoke this morning after a good nights sleep. A cup of tea and a piece of toast to get us on our way. What a day it was too, no rain but a 40 kph wind right into our faces, and those hills, the endless hills in this area. Some we even had to dismount and push our bikes up. Paulene taking a break here, upside down in a ditch, must ask her if she remembers why she did this? Paulene’s knee is feeling better with the elastic bandage in place, but one just becomes physically exhausted fighting the elements, hard to even talk to each other over the wind while riding. We can’t get over the dogs. The farmhouse can be fully a kilometre back from the road and still the dogs will see or hear us and kick up a hell of a racket. We stopped at a little grocery store in the afternoon to get our food for the night and breakfast for the following morning. An old timer came out of the store to talk with us, he seeming most interested in what we were doing. After talking for 10 minutes or so, he asked us if we would like a couple of fresh rolls that he had made this afternoon. Of course we answered in the affirmative, so out he came with these beautiful rolls heaped with butter. A friendly old chap which was a taste of things to come regarding people as we travelled. Quite a few of the truck drivers wave or just give us a friendly blast on their horns, some in cars wave also. We always greet the survey crews and Hydro gangs, who are all very friendly. We stopped and made camp at a little Indian River campsite campsite just east of Peterborough and a nice little place it is too. (Now it is larger scale RV park.) When first we arrived, the owners son of about 11 rode over on his bike and proceeded to ask us about a million questions. He could not get over how light everything was. He even came back later when we were cooking supper and could not believe that little stove of ours would really work. Today we travelled 74 km, so our average is 90km per day. Our expenditures were a bit higher today because of Paulene’s bandage, total $10.90 so our average is now $10.23 per day. Sept 17, 1970 Today dawned a beautiful day, cloudy bright, perfect for riding. We broke camp at 9:10am, the owner’s wife came over and said she hoped we would come back and see them on our return from New Zealand. Paulene is getting a lot stronger, he knees and shoulders don’t bother her so much. She decided today to count the number of dogs that barked at us, the number totalled 29. One place we passed there was a little puppy in the driveway wagging his tail, while an older dog tied up started barking. The little dog looked at him, then turned back towards us and started yapping too. Another time we stopped in this little country town of Leskard where we would get some fresh fruit. While Paulene went into the store I rode her bike down a side street checking out a noise. I have just got 100 meters down the street when this great big husky type dog saw me. By the look in his eye I thought for sure he had me in mind for his next meal. He did not bite me but he kept up a torrent of fierce barking right beside me as I rode carefully back to the store. I got off the bike and he immediately shut up. I no sooner sat down on the steps of the store with Paulene and this dog with tail wagging came up and proceeded to lick our hands and faces. About 10 minutes later we mounted up and proceeded to leave town. You guessed it, the dog came too. He ran ahead of us on both sides of the road, in and out of the ditches having a great time, us thinking any moment he would turn for home. After a mile or more I had to literally chase him home, even throwing small stones his way. I’m sure he would be still with us if we didn’t chase him back. It was a good day for cycling though, except for lots of hills about 7 that we have to push our bikes up. A few friendly people today again those who wave and those who were interested in what we were doing. In late afternoon we arrived in Port Perry on the shores of Lake Scugog. After asking someone where we might put up our tent, he said follow me and he took us to a place where he thought we might be allowed to. However it turned out the park was closed. we were just deciding what to do when the rain started to come down quite heavily, and that sort of put a damper on the tent idea. Someone else directed us to some little cabins and that's where we stayed for 8 bucks. These little cabins made our daily expenditures go way up. Today it was $13.99, our average is now $10.99 per day. Our mileage metre finally gave up the ghost, and I'm sort of glad as well. Now we enjoy it a lot more and don't worry if we have gone as far as yesterday. Now we just cycle all day and look for a place to make camp at around 4 p.m. Sept 18,1970 Well we had a relaxing day today as our ride from Port Perry to Newmarket wasn't too long, we stopped often to relax and take photos, arriving in Newmarket around 2:30 p.m.in the rain. We have good friends in Newmarket that we were going to stay with for a couple of days. When I was a young lad of 18 living in Richmond Hill, I worked at a Texaco gas station part time. Another of the part timers was a fellow named Jim Barnett. He was like a mentor and second dad to me. After some time he suggested I apply for a job where he worked full time, a place called Vickers Sperry Rand, an English company making hydraulic power plants to do everything from operating lift bridges to stamping machines in the auto industry. I got the job in December of 1962 and, and stayed there until 1965 when I sold everything and headed off to work my way around the world. The job was great at Vickers and I learned skills that would stand me in good stead all my life. Trouble was they tested me 6 ways to Sunday and had my career path all planned out. I was not ready for that just yet. Here are a few photos of Jim from later in life. Paulene and I were best of friends with Jim and his wife as long as they lived, living the last 25 years or so in Huntsville, Ontario.
The Barnett hospitality is something that has to be experienced to be believed. They put on so much food and such good wholesome food too. We stayed up swapping lies till about 1:30am before hitting the sack. Our total expenditures today were $2.00 for our lunch and a couple of cokes.This brings our average down to $9.34 per day. A great but busy day today. First the great big Barnett breakfast, then Jim and I went out in the truck to get a load of sand for a friend of his that does plaster work.. After that was finished, Jim worked on his truck & car most of the day and I worked on our bikes cleaning and oiling everything. I also got a basket for the front of Pauline's bike so that we might carry our groceries for the evening meal. This cost us .79 cents. Bought Jenny some hand cream and chocolates for $5.50 and a case of beer for Jim at $2.62 and some postcards for $1.00. total outlay today was $9.91. Daily average is now $9.43. This evening we had quite a get together with a couple of the fellows that Jim and I used to work with at Vickers, Al Jackson and Dave Lavery and his wife, as well as some other friends of Jim's. A real good time was had by all, finally wrapping things up around 2 am. Three more photos regarding our good friends for so many years. September 20th 1970 Up at 7:30am this morning, rather Dopey and tired as we didn't have much sleep. Left Jim and Jennie's at 10 a.m. in a head wind, so it was rather hard going for the first few hours but it finally eased and the sun came on beautifully in the afternoon. We didn't need to walk up too many hills today, but it is still certainly not rolling plaines. For lunch we stopped on the side of the road and made ourselves a couple of delicious tomato sandwiches with a Coke, finally reaching Georgetown around 5 p.m. We were quite tired and Paulene's knee was hurting quite a bit but it's the left one now. With a bandage on tomorrow should be fine. Inquired as to campgrounds and found ourselves 5 miles away from a rather good one although for $2.50 washing facilities poor. Paulene has been adopted by the camp mutts. One stole a plastic bag with the delicious home cured bacon a friend of Jim's gave us. Got that back in a hurry and had that for supper with wieners, peas, tomatoes and cucumbers. Very tasty. Our total expenditures today were $6.23 this brings our daily average down to $8.99 September 21st 1970 Got a late start this morning and didn't get rolling till 10 a.m. it was a bad day for cycling as the wind was right against us the whole day at 20 to 25 miles per hour and very hot at 85 degrees Fahrenheit, We made it to Kitchener however and are staying at a beautiful campsite. The Highlight or should I say low light of the day was when we stopped for a coke at a BP service station restaurant. We stayed about 15 minutes then we were away again, but I forgot our camera bag complete with $950 of camera equipment passports and visas etc. We got one and a half miles away when a fellow in a truck stopped me and told me I'd forgotten the bag. So off I headed at about 60 miles per hour and just as I was pulling into the lot the owner was pulling out, as he was going to start after us. This was so very kind of him. That was quite enough excitement for the day. All in all we are being received very well by people we meet along the way, they are all very Interested in what we are doing. Our expenditures today amounted to $6.54 plus $2 for the campsite total $8.54 our daily average is now $8.93.
Sept 22, 1970
We enjoyed a good day of cycling today even though like always (it seems) we were dealing with a headwind. The good thing though is we seem to have passed the real hilly country we had been going through. There were a few this morning but after Stratford it really levelled off nicely. We had to ride right through the heart of Kitchener this morning and found it a most interesting City, much more industrialized than I had imagined. But that didn't seem to take anything away from it, as it had a definite character all its own. We didn't really see enough of Stratford to say anything about it as the highway pretty well skirted it. After Stratford we just sailed along. We stopped though to make our lunch alongside the highway at some stage. This is a real treat that we look forward to all morning. We like to have a couple of tomatoes and cheese sandwiches and perhaps a cheese and jam one too.
At 3 p.m. we arrived at a fabulous looking park right near Saint Mary's Ontario, we still felt like riding but the park looked too inviting and it would give Pauline a chance to wash a few clothes as well. We set up our camp in a bit of a drizzle but the sun came out a little later and I took a bunch of pictures around the camp and down by the water. Later on while I started getting caught up on the diary, and Pauline was reading this morning's Global Mail, this old chap came up from the only other campsite in the park that was occupied. He stayed talking with us for about half an hour. He was Dutch and had been in Canada for quite a while but he still had a thick accent. He was a nice enough guy though, with some well thought-out ideas on life. Supper tonight is going to be a big stew with extra vegetables and some fresh tomatoes. Our food buying and meal preparation is working out well. We buy what we need for supper and breakfast in the late afternoon just before we make camp. Our expenditures today amount to only $6.50 as we didn't need to pay for the campsite, there was no one there to collect any money. Our daily average is now $8.66.
I mentioned the Dutch fellow earlier, well he came back as we were preparing supper and said he would try a little fishing off his boat. He only did that for about 20 minutes when he came back up, as his car was parked near our tent. He stopped to chat again and stayed on through our supper until just about dark telling us all about his family and just about anything he could think about. I thought he seemed a bit lonely. After he finally left to go back to his camper, darkness set in and we were all by ourselves. I was set for a real good sleep as the time was around 8 p.m. Then Pauline said she thought the place was spooky, I being surprised by that asked why, she said that man gave her the Spooks and and she figured he was a bit nutty and reckoned he would come back in the night and shoot us. Well this really threw a screw in the works as I thought he was an ok guy. I started racking my brain thinking about all we had talked about. Paulene reminded me about the movie that we saw not long before we left on our bicycle trip. The movie was called Easy Rider that featured a couple of Rednecks who had rifles in the back of their truck window and ended up killing two guys on a motorcycle. Paulene thought about that movie and how this guy also had rifles in the back window of his truck. So that sure put my plans for a good sleep on hold. Normally I would have been asleep by 8:30 but I arranged my sleeping bag so that my head was at the door and could better open the flaps if need be, and I lay on top of my bag and not in it, waiting for the boogie man to come back.
I listened to 1 3/4 baseball games on the radio until 1am and I could no longer stay awake. It was pouring with rain and the spiders were seeking refuge in our tent and I had finally had enough of trying to stay awake and so I closed up the tent and fell asleep. We both woke up at 7 a.m. Paulene said that she had a great sleep, mine not so much, it certainly was a night to remember! During the earlier part around 9 to 10p.m. we'd be lying there when all of a sudden Paulene would squeeze my leg and say there's something out there. She said this a few times and each time I would poke myself out of the tent, look all around and discover that the noise had been a leaf falling on the tent roof or some such silly thing.
Sept 23, 1970 10th day out
What a day today was, our best day of cycling regarding distance covered, travelling 137 km right to Sarnia. It was fantastic, the roads were flat, no wind but quite a bit of rain. We just sailed along mostly in 9th gear. We had a little break in a small town for an ice cream cone, then stopped for lunch at the 45 mile mark and did the last 40 miles straight into Sarnia. We were on the road from 9:20 am till 4:45pm averaging a shade over 19kph including stops. We arrived and followed signs to a KOA campsite, pulled in to find there was only one car and trailer there besides us. We set up our camp not far from them and weren’t even finished when a fellow came out the door and shouted for us to come over and join them for cocktails when we finished setting up. When I was in registering and talking with the owner of the campground, this fellow from the trailer came in to register also and we all had a good chat. After I have returned to our tent he came over and formally invited us to supper. We spent a fabulous evening with these people, a Mr and Mrs Paul Baker of Pensacola Florida. They were kind, friendly and such good fun to spend some time with. He is a retired Navy type, still quite young and just travelling all around the country. They wanted us to get in touch with them when we got to the Mexican border and they would meet us there and we could travel together while in Mexico. The campsite is quite nice, with the facilities the best we have seen yet. Tonight we did a huge wash of just about all our clothes. Our total expenditures today were $7.80, our average now $8.58 per day.
Sept 24, 1970 11th day out
Said good by to our new found friends and hit the road at about 10am.. Got straight on a four lane highway that led to the bridge that crosses to the States. We had to push our bikes over the bridge as they wouldn’t allow us to ride over. It is quite a large bridge and it took us 3/4 of an hour to get over. It was quite pretty from the top as one could see the vast expanse of Lake Huron and on the other side the chemical industries area of Sarnia, and the very blue waters of the St Clair river flowing beneath the bridge. One thing that I forgot to mention was that I had to dispose of some Hash that was given to us in Ottawa on leaving. Not really knowing how to use it, we never did and not wanting to be caught bringing it into the US, I flushed it down the toilet at the campground. We arrived a the US customs to be met by an extremely friendly customs man. We were through in a flash and good wishes from the customs officer. We rode through Port Huron and immediately noticed the difference between the States and Canada, even though there was not 1 mile separating the two. In the States almost all the houses were of a frame construction, while in Canada most houses are of brick. Besides the tangible differences there was just a very real feeling of difference. We finally got pointed in the right direction and headed west on a four lance decided highway that was to narrow down to a 2 land after 6 miles or so. The four lane was great as we could ride side by side on the paved shoulder/ Its really a shame that we can’t use these highways more often. We did not push ourselves today and did only about 38 miles taking us just past Imlay city. We were caught a couple of times in the rain and the last time was just 1 1/2 miles from where were were going to make camp. We took shelter under some trees but still managed to get fairly wet. Finally the rain subsided and we got on our bikes again and just started out again when the heavens opened up. We kept going though and finally arrived at our campsite, We decided to stay at a State roadside park not intended for overnight camping. There were beautiful big pine trees everywhere and we were the only ones there. It was a soggy camp as it rained some more during the night. We just wrapped all our wet clothes in a plastic bag and put them in a saddle bag so to dry another day. Paulene heard a few more people in the night stopping and every tine the wind blew an avalanche of water would come down from these stately old pines. The people we have met so far have been extremely friendly. People here seem very open and are always coming up and talking to us and wishing us well. One restaurant they even had a special guest book they asked us to sign. Our total expenditures today were $7.01, our average now $8.43 per day, with a total so far of $92.76
Sept 25, 1970 12th day out. Entry by Paulene
Today was a rather uneventful day except for the fact that we did 98 km. We headed west from Inlay City to Lapeer and then started south finally making camp at a State Park called Highland Park. Michigan State parks are much like our Provincial Parks. Just as we were trying to locate the camping area, we flagged down a car to ask directions. In the car were two drunk squirrel hunters with accents from the deep south and missing a number of teeth. They told us how to get there and parted saying they would see us later as they were staying there also. We did not need another night of me standing guard so we hid our camp in the bowls of the park where no one could find us. We did have a very persistent visitor during the night though and that was a Racoon. After supper we were playing cards at the picnic table by the light of our candle lantern when we heard a noise very close by. I grabbed a flash light and shined it in the direction of the noise and discovered the Racoon not 4ft away trying to get into one of our saddle bags. I chased him away in short order and shortly after went to bed. I was no sooner tucked into the sleeping bag when we heard a noise at our table. Quickly unzipped the door and shone the torch outside. There he was perched on top of our food cache preparing to dig in. I yelled and hissed at him but he just looked at me like I did not matter. So, I had to don clothes shoes etc and go after him. he wouldn’t leave the table until I belted him on the back three times. He got the message and left. No sooner than I was back in bed and the Racoon was down out of the tree and back at our table. This time however we fooled him as we took the food into the tent. We slept surrounded by yogurt, honey, butter, bread, bacon and eggs and we were quite cramped as you can imagine. Total expenditures today were $7.10, average now $8.32, and total spent so far is $99.86
Sept 26, 1970 13th day
Because today was a miserable look day and both of us feeling like a rest, we decided to have a short day and only go the the Pinknay Recreation area, a mere 25 miles away. The park is 11,000 acres and sits at an elevation of 922 feet. Our short day turned out to be a real dandy as the wind blew and the rains they came down and we didn’t get to the park until 5 o’clock, wet cold and miserable. We had a devil of a time finding the camping area and had to ride about 6 miles on wet gravel roads that played hell with the bikes. We finally made camp on the banks of Crooked Lake in a small lightly wooded campground overrun with young boy-scouts. Even saw two young bicyclists from Ann Arbour Michigan with full camping gear. As it was the weekend there were lots of visitors there and it seemed really homely. All during setting up camp and during supper it rained off and on, making life a tad miserable. We had a great sleep though as the temp went down 45 degrees and we woke with the sun. Total outlay today was $6.70 average daily now $8.20 and total so far is $106.56
Sept 27, 1970 14th day out Didn’t get away today till 10.30 as we are going to have a short day and stay in a motel. We woke up with a beautiful sun that dried things off in about 1.5 hours. A chilly night but we had one of the best sleeps of the trip so far. The highlight of today was just about an hour after we set off. We were still within the boundaries of the State Recreation area when we cam e upon as sign saying Louies Big Game Shooting Preserve. I could not believe my eyes but there was a lot of shooting coming from back in that property. Curiosity was driving me crazy so we stopped at the first gas station, and I went in and spoke to the owner, asking him what Louies Big Game preserve was all about and what kind of animals could you shoot? He said that first of all, it costs you $100 just to get in the gate, and your can shoot Buffalo, Elk, Moose Deer etc etc. He said it perhaps had some underworld connections but was not sure. To us this whole idea was seemed incredible, who would go and shoot some big game animals in a place like this, it would be like shooting fish in a barrel. Imagine shooting Buffalo, Elk or Moose 40 miles from Detroit. Going back a little though, as we were leaving camp and for that matter ever since we got up, we could hear gunfire from all directions. One fellow parked his car near our tent and got out with gun and strode off in the the fields. Now all through this Recreation area there are foot paths linking other lakes and points of interest. All kinds of people use them from Scout groups, families and young couples. There were also hunters carrying high powered rifles, shotguns and lord knows what else. We must have passed 20 cars parked in a area no more than 3 miles from our campground and also a picnic area at another lake. To top it all off we had to do a little pushing up steeper gravel hills to get out of the area. Hunters everywhere, gunfire everywhere. We felt lucky to get out of the area alive. We finally found a Motel at a place called Clinton, 38 miles south. We booked in at 3pm. First of all we did some laundry back in town then I did a half-pie clean up and re oiling of the bikes. We spent a relaxing evening watching TV and reading the newspaper. Our total outlay for the day was $21.50, bringing our average up to $9.14 per day and a total for 14 days of $128.06
Sept 28, 1970 15th day
We left Clinton at about 9am and headed south towards the Ohio border. A good day for being as the wind is from the north west and that makes life a lot easier. We got to within 6 miles of the Ohio border when Paulene got a flat. I too the wheel off and found a fair size gash in the tier. So, I put a boot in the tire as a safety measure and then a new tube. (will fix the other one later) I then pumped about 45 lbs in with the hand pump, enough to get us to a service station where I could bring it up to 60 lbs or so. We came to a station in a bout 1/2 mile and they had an air line but no gauge, just straight from the compressor. I found out later it was 120 lbs. I gave the tire a good shot and before I could even disconnect, the tub blew up “POW”. So 20 minutes later we were off again, having put another new tube in Paulene’s bike. We soon crossed the border and stopped to take a photo of the occasion. We liked Ohio from the start. Quite few cars in Michigan would honk at us and some drivers would yell at us to get off the road, which was most unnerving. Here in Ohio, folks would give us happy waves and when we stoped, people would come up to talk, really friendly and so noticeably different from Michigan. Perhaps this was because we are going further into the country and away from the built up areas around Detroit, it sure is nice though. As it was very cold and no suitable campgrounds around the town of Napoleon where we decided to stay, we booked into an inexpensive Motel. the gas heater was broken but finally a repairman came and got it going again at about 8.30 pm. We went into the town to have supper and buy a few things, everyone said hello and wanted to hear about our trip. The people of Ohio are the friendliest we have encountered since leaving Ottawa. Our outlay today was $14.50, our total now $142.56 and a per day average of $9.50.
Sept 29, 1970 16th day out.
We left the Motel at 9.15 and headed wet along a scenic trail that would take us to Defiance Ohio 17 miles away. It was lovely ride, this Ohio farm country is something else, the land is flat and all you can see in some places from horizon to horizon is corn, the highest corn we have ever seen, much taller than I am. The houses too are all beautiful with the gardens so well kept. The impression is one of great prosperity. It was not the greatest day for cycling even though it was a beautiful day. The wind was co naming out of the south west, and we were heading south. We changed our tactics a bit today which makes it a lot easier for Paulene. I now ride in front and break the wind for her. She also feels less lonely there as she can see me where she could not before. We just kept going south all day along Route 127 and finally stopped in a town called Van Vert. We were staying at a lovely campsite about 2 miles out of town. While Paulene was in a grocery store, about 4 people came up to me for a chat, including a gentleman in a Lincoln Continental, who was most interested in our story and talked for about 14 minutes. Our outlay today was $6.11, our average now $9.21 and total $146.67. Our mileage to date is 757 miles. Something I did not mention was we are now using our stove in the day time also. Today we stopped in the morning and heated ups our Billy and made a cup of coffee and did the same at lunch time. It boils the water so quickly. All kinds of people wave and honk their horns as they see us by the side of the road eating and having our coffee.
Sept 30,1970 17th day
We didn’t get a very early start today s it was 10.15 before we headed out, but the wind was on our side for a change. We had as our goal a town called Portland which is in Indiana approximately 50 miles away. It was a real good day, having an enjoyable lunch by the side of the road after doing about 33 miles. We arrived in Portland about 3pm and went directly to the police station to ask them about camping facilities around Portland. We have found the Police to be most helpful and very receptive. They told us of a place about 8 miles out of town on highway 67. We had a hard time getting away as they wanted to talk, being very interested in our trip and insisted we send them a card at the completion of it. We headed south from Portland to where I thought the campsite was. It was a great highway and we just sailed along at a great old rate and it wasn’t before 14 miles had passed that we realized we had taken a wrong turn. What a spot to be in, nowhere to camp and the nearest town of any consequence being 15 miles away. So, off we headed, me with my tail between my legs for having made the mistake. This time the wind was against us and we also ran into the first hills we have had for 3 days. We finally arrived in Albany and a policeman directed us to a campsite 4 miles away. Some very nice people ran this campsite which was not the greatest, but we were happy. We set up quick as dark was setting in fast. There was a pile of wood nearby so we had a lovely fire for about 3 hours and this cheered us up a lot. Our outlay today was only$4.70 the lowest yet. total now $157.37 and an average of $9.02 per day. Our mileage today was 80 miles, so our total now is 837 miles. I did send the Portland Police Department an email today April 19, 2020, only 50 years late, but worth doing, if only for a chuckle.
Oct 1, 1970 18th day
We had a real good day today with very light winds from the east, then changing to the North as as we are heading west, this is alright. We went 80 miles today. We had planned to only go as far as a town called Tipton Indiana, but it was still relatively early when we arrived and we were a long way from being tired so we headed on to Frankfort where we planned to stay in a Motel. We arrived in Frankfort at 6:30 only to learn there was no accommodation left as there was an antiques show in town. One Motel owner gave us directions to a campsite 4 or 5 miles south, so we headed out there in a hurry. We went 10 miles and still hadn’t arrived when we are to a State roadside area with a grocery store across the road, so that is where we stayed. There was a house backing right on the park so we felt quite safe. Our lunch break today was at an A&W in Elwood. As we pulled in, a couple of college looking guys in a car collared out “where you headed?” I said New Zealand, he answered “that right?”. We made our order and sat down. About 10 minutes later these fellows came over for a chat. Apparently one of the fellows thought I was just being smart when I said New Zealand, the other thought it was possible, so they came over to find out for sure. They were great guys and we had an interesting conversation. They thought it funny that a couple going all the way from Ottawa Canada to New Zealand should happen to go through Elwood Indiana. Later on when we went through the town of Tipton, we had to stop for a red light. Some kids happened to be there, one yelling over “where have you come from”? I said Ottawa, Canada. One of them w as so surprised he said is that right, “I just can’t believe it” That was priceless. One thing I forgot to mention was our late start to the day, we did not get away until 11am, but still managed to do 80 miles by 7.30pm. Our total mileage now 917 miles. Our outlay today was $5.95, total now 159.32, average daily cost now$8.85. Send card to owner of campsite we stayed at last night Mr Russ Hunt River Bend Campsite, Albany Indiana.
Oct 2, 1970 19th day
Out on the road to day at 10.00 am. We had a real good sleep and everything remained dry which was a welcome relief. We headed for a town 28 miles away against a real stiff head wind. We just can’t say it enough but the people are just too friendly. One young and pretty women stopped us on the highway to ask us about our trip and to wish us well, and for the second day in a row an older fellow (different one each day) on a motorcycle has ridden along side just talking to us. Just after we passed though the town of Thornton a guy on the side of the road waved us over. He had a camera around his neck and waved us over and introduced himself as a reporter for the Indianapolis News newspaper. He was a nice guy and in a few seconds pulled out his notebook, wrote down the whole story then took a couple of photos of us riding by. We reached Crawfordsville at 2pm, bought a few things for lunch then headed out the other side of town. We went 3 miles and then had lunch, all the while realized the wind was getting stronger. We headed out anyway, the next town was 24 miles away but we thought there would be a Motel before then. We wanted a Motel because I hadn’t had a shower for 4 days. Anyway we travelled about 4 1/2 miles before realizing the if we went even 1/2 MPH slower, we would stop. We asked someone how far it was to a Motel and he said 16 miles. There was no way for that so we headed back to Crawfordsville. We had the wind behind and arrived very quickly. We booked into a Motel the was just perfect, right next to a big shopping mall where we could get some more essentials, sunscreen lotion and lipsol. Our faces and legs are getting brown as berries. Our mileage today was 42 miles, this brings our total to 959 miles.Our total outlay today was $18.13, total now is $177.45, and an average of $9.34
Oct 3, 1970 Day 20
Well today we will complete our first thousand miles. Before heading out today the sky was almost blackened by a flock of starlings that reminded me of living in Hudson Quebec when a young lad. It was a fabulous sight as the sun was just coming up and the birds calling out to each other. The sight and noise is something to behold. We got on the road at 8am and even that early we had a stiff headwind to ride against and as the day progressed, the wind got stronger and stronger. For sure the wind is our worst enemy. However, slow and steady wins the race on a day like today, and we just kept pedalling along. We reached Danville Illinois by 2.30 and the Kickaboo State Park 7 miles west by 4.30pm. This was not long after crossing the border between Indiana and Illinois. Paulene was saying earlier in the day how she was no longer scared of the dogs that ran out barking at us on occasion. And then…..a little black long haired rascal ran out and bit Paulene on the ankle. He broke the skin and Paulene thinks she will have a good bruise. In Perrysville, a very small town, we stopped to buy lunch at the general store, which in itself was so interesting as one could hardly move for all the stuff inside. It takes the record for sure. Our total smileage today was 52 miles, bringing our total to 1011. Costs were $5.60, total now $183.05, average $9.15
Oct 4, 1970 Day 21
Well, we had our first frost last night, but we still had a real comfortable sleep. We had on our snuggies on blue socks and a sweater on our feet and on top as well….besides our ski Jackets. One would think that with all this on we would be uncomfortable, but no, we slept like babies. There was a big family near us that were very friendly, and we talked with the father for quite awhile, trading lies. The sun came up big and warm and it wasn’t too long before things dried off. We finally got on the road at 10am and headed west again. This being Sunday and after our hard day yesterday, we decided to make this our day of rest and only go around 33 miles to Urbanna and booked into a Motel. Just as well too as we were both tired and couldn’t have gone much further. We arrived at 2pm and enjoyed a restful afternoon watching TV reading the Sunday papers and Eating. Our outlay today was $18.90, total now $201.95 or $9.57 per day. Total miles now 1044.
Oct 5, 1970 22 day out
Go an early start to the day. This is usually the case when we stay at a Motel. We rode right through Urbana and Champaign and liked what we saw, it seeming like a well integrated area. We saw whites and blacks together all over, kids included. It was the first time we saw school kids mixed. One young black boy rode up beside us on his bike and wanted to know all about us, where we were going and where did we come from. When I said we were from Ottawa, he said oh yea up in Canada. We felt this was pretty good coming from a 10 year old black kid, when half the older white people didn’t have a clue where New Zealand was. Then we got out into the country and headed west. Well, there was one heck of a wind from the south that made things just miserable. It must have been 20mph with gusts higher. Paulene really hates the wind and does not enjoy these days at all. It makes me sad when I look in the mirror and see that pained expression on her face. However, we just kept on going and found if we talked a lot, we sort of forgot the wind and the time went by quicker. We finally reached Lincoln by 4.15 and were lucky as there was a campsite on 1.5 miles from where we asked a garage owner if he knew of any. So, it was not a bad day in the end as we went 66 miles against that wind. Our total mileage is now 1110. Our expenditures today was exactly $10.00, total now $211.95 and an average of $9.63 per day.
Oct 6,1970 23rd day
Had a great sleep last night, but before going to bed we had a real good visit with another young couple. How it started was the owner of the campground found out we were going to New Zealand and had found out that the male half another young couple has been to NZ. He told the couple about us and we soon after got together and had a real enjoyable evening of coffee and wine, They were both teachers who were off to Costa Rica where they hoped to teach English for a year. They were travelling in a Volkswagen Bus that they had set up as a camper. A very nice couple who we wished the best in their adventure. For the first 40 or 45 miles of our run today we had a tail wind and was that nice. It’s so enjoyable as it does not feel like work at all and the miles keep rolling by. Just before lunch we came to a hill, the first in a long time. When we reached the top, we stopped and decided to have a coasting race and while we were racing down the hill, Paulene had a flat tire. We decided to have lunch then and there and while Paulene was fixing lunch, I was fixing the tire. Shortly after we headed due south we only had to go in that direction for 11 miles but it was the worst 11 miles of the whole trip. The wind was right on our nose and so strong and steady. Even I broke down and cursed the bloody wind today. But, we did this cursed 11 miles and then changed direction and did the final 11 miles into Beardstown. 73 miles today that brings our total to 1183. We stayed at a motel tonight as there are no campgrounds and it was not far off being dark when we arrived. Our cost today was 12.83, total $224,75 averaging $9.77 per day.
Oct 7, 1970 24th day
Got off to an early start today and we weren’t sorry to leave this Illinois River Valley area at all. The people were a little different, hard to explain but seemed to sometimes look right through you and less likely to engage with you. There seemed to be a palpable difference from the people we had met to so far on higher ground. As we climbed out of the valley and went a few miles, everything seemed to return to normal like this farm scene. We were lucky today as the wind was almost at our backs, sometimes on our side which made cycling a lot easier. we joked and laughed our way along and the miles just rolled by. By the time we stopped for lunch we had travelled 47 miles. People in cars trucks and tractors always wave and spur us on. We stopped in this one town just before lunch and Paulene went into a store to get some bread, when this real old pickup truck stopped directly behind us and an old and wiry fellow got out and said ‘can I come with you?’ I talked with him for awhile and Paulene came out and joined the conversation. He asked us where we were headed and we told him NZ. He was very surprised then asked us how far we had come? I said just over 1200 miles. That really knocked him over and he looked and said ‘that’s why Mom has such big muscles. That had to be the funniest remark of the trip so far. Another funny thing happened today, (funny now but embarrassing then). This happened around 12 noon. We came to a little town and as we were going through, Paulene noticed a Dairy Queen type store, so she said lets stop for an ice cream. We parked our bikes and got our cones and sat down in a couple of chairs. As it came up quite windy, it wasn’t long before the wind blew Paulene’s bike over with a big crash. I went over and picked it up again, and it wasn’t a minute later it blew over again. There were a few people parked around and 3 women in the store, so red faced I went over, piked it up and moved it to a different position. Then we just stood there finishing our ice cream cones and to be ready if her bike started to fall again. Would you believe it, but my bike got blown over and fell right through a 3 ft square window with a loud crash and tinkling of glass. I immediately went over and offered to pay for the window to be replaced. The girls working there would have none of that and said the insurance would pay for it. They turned out to be very friendly and kind and we enjoyed a few giggles about the situation. They then suggested it might not be a bad idea if we were on the road before the owner returned. :-) We finally arrived at Quincy on the banks of the mighty Mississippi river at 4pm and booked into a KOA campsite. Just after we finished putting up our tent, I went over to a nearby trailer to ask how far it was to the nearest grocery store. They said it was a fair distance away and offered to drive us. So Paulene and this kind lady took off to the store while I sat and had a beer with her husband Bob. This couple are entertainers who travel all over the country and usually spend 2 to 3 months in a town. She plays the piano and sings and Bob plays drums and sings too. Such friendly people, who invited us to supper (Paulene, Bob and Alma outside Trailer) and what a great visit we had. We talked about everything under the sun, much laughter and carrying on. They took a couple of pictures and gave us a polaroid pictures of our selves. They had to leave at 8pm as they work from 8:30 to 1am each day at a local night club. Their trailer is an Airstream, one of the streamlined ones that is built like an aircraft. It had all the luxuries of home and certainly was comfortable, every square inch of space is used for something. Our cost today was $11.30 as we bought enough groceries for tomorrow as well. We have not had to pay for the campsite yet, so that will go on tomorrow’s sheet. Our total now is $236.05, our average now is $9.84. Our mileage today was 64, our total now i s 1247, our average for riding days is 52 miles per.
Oct 8,1970 25th day
Had a good nights sleep and woke up about 9am. What a good feeling it is to wake up and know that we don’t have to peddle off. We just lazed around for the morning then Bob and Alma called us up to their place. They took us out and showed us all over town to all the points of interest. Being a river town, it has a very old history and some of the houses were majestic, so large and posh. They took us to the club where they were playing and introduced us to the boss and gave us a tour. They even played a couple of the numbers they perform and doing a super job. Their Poster These folk are just too much, we all getting on so well together. We had supper with them again and at 8.15pm they were off to the club, but said we would be more than welcome to stay and watch TV and make ourselves something to eat etc. As the weather was real stormy, they even insisted we sleep in the trailer tonight, they having a spare double bed that they folded out for us. Their engagement finishes at 1.00am and were home shortly after. When they arrived Alma made us some Tacos which are a Texas treat and so we enjoyed these no end and talked till 3am, we all folded. Never have we met such kind and generous people in our world travels. They sure made us extremely happy. Our total outlay today was $5.40, total now $241.45, daily average $9.66.
Oct 9,1970 26th day
We sure slept good in the trailer last night. We awoke at 9am and sneaked out so as not to wake Bob and Alma. We made breakfast and then went up to the KOA office to do some laundry. We met the manager and his wife for the first time and they too were so kind and friendly. They gave us a bunch of post cards that anywhere else would have cost us a dollar or more. They also said if the weather got mean again that we could sleep in the lodge. While Paulene was doing the laundry, I was writing post cards. While we were busy doing that, the managers wife called up the Quincy newspaper telling them about us. Pretty soon a reporter and photographer came out from town. They took some photos of us riding our bikes as well as a nice one with our bikes around the campsite, and got some details of our trip so far. This was all very exciting for us and we managed to get a plug in for Bob and Alma as well. We spent the rest of the day with Bob and Alma, just talking and talking. They wanted us to sleep in the trailer again but as the rain had passed we decided to sleep in the tent as we didn’t want to be getting too soft. We did spend the evening in the trailer watching TV again and taping the Tom Jones show for Bob. Bob and Alma came home early again, spent some time with them before retiring to our tent. We were only charged $2.50 for three days at the campsite instead of $3.00 per day as the owners admired what we were doing and just because they were too kind. Our total outlay today was $4.00, grand total so far is $245.45, average $9.44 Something I forgot was that Bob and Alma are picture takers, even taking one of us in bed.
Oct 10,1970 27th day Paulene writing. I had a nice sleep in this morning, the sun was up and Harry was up pottering around. After breakfast around 9.30 Alma and Bob came down and watched us packing the bikes. We then had coffee with them and after lots more picture taking we very sadly farewelled each other. We were all so happy together, and seems sad we won’t be able to visit with them for so long. Finally left at 12 noon, our latest start yet. 20 mile trip to Hannibal just across the Missouri border. We crossed the Mississippi River, which true to form was muddy. Hannibal is famous for being the boyhood home of Mark Twain, which we went and visited. (photos of fence and Office)The most interesting place was the Museum, which we would have liked to spend more time as it was packed with fascinating things to read about. Before leaving Hannibal, we stopped at a restaurant and had the worst hamburger I have ever tasted. Yuk! We left for Monroe city 19 miles west. It was getting rather late but we made great time and arrived with plenty to spare before dark. We stayed at the BelAir Motel. Did some shopping for tomorrow and had super in a restaurant as there was a no cooking sign in the Motel. Cost for t he day was $22.70, total now $268.15, average $9.93. Mileage 41 miles, total 1288
Oct 11,1970 28th day Paulene writing, My favourite kind of day as there was no wind. The sky was clear and blue and the ride effortless, up until Macon anyway. But after Macon, hills, not too steep though. But, Sunday drivers that is another issue. We will be glad to have our truck drivers and regular highway travellers back tomorrow. We had our lunch in a lovely spot next to a stream complete with a little boy fishing for catfish. We even rode our bikes through the stream as it was only about an inch deep. We finally arrived at Brookfield at 5pm and decided to take a motel as the days are short now we don’t have as much time to make camp. Tomorrow we shall leave early as there is a State Park 63 miles from here. The folk at the motel are very kind and let us cook supper on their picnic table. They even did us a fresh pot of coffee. Our costs today were $12.75, total now $280.90 average now $10.03. Mileage today was 75 miles total now 1363.
Oct 12, 1970 29th day We kind of crawled out of bed this morning as we felt all nice and cosy. but there was a campground just past Cameron 71 miles away which we wanted to get to, so we had to get cracking. With a friendly wave from the Motel owners and a farewell bark from their dog, we were on the road at 9am. All day the road was like a giant roller coaster. We shot down one side and got halfway up the other before having to peddle. Photo of Paulene taking break. However, we both started to get a few aches and pains in the knees as we had been having nothing but flat roads lately, so not used to these hills. Surprise surprise, we actually bumped into someone we knew. About 10 miles west of Brookfield with much waving and honking of horns, a Lincoln and Airstream trailer pulled along beside us. It was some folk who had camped near us at the Quincy KOA. They stopped and we had a chat for a time. They are going the same general direction as us, so we might just meet them again. We had lunch with a couple of Wasps at a roadside table and even met a man who had been to New Zealand. Instead of staying at eh State Park we found a private campground 7 miles south and 1 mile west of Cameron. It was a nice park but will be very nice when the mud dries up. There is a little lake that is filled with some sort of fish that make one hell of a splash when jumping. We had supper and sat around a nice campfire during the evening. Our costs today were $11.05, total now $291.95, average $10.07. Mileage today was 71 miles so total now is 1434.
Oct 13, 1970 30th day Well we really like our campsite and in a year or two when they get all the grass going, it will be really nice. They have the lake stocked with Carp and Catfish, the largest catfish caught so far is 42 pounds. Our ride today was difficult as again, it was like a roller coaster all the way. We had hoped to get to the other side of Kansas City but we decided we would get tied up in rush hour traffic so we thought we we would stay in a Motel. As we were headed through the Northern Part of the City, we stumbled across a campground. We couldn’t believe our good fortune as who would expect a campground right in a city. We are really noticing all kinds of changes as we go further west. One just needs to go into a supermarket and see all the different foods, strongly influenced by Mexico. The peoples accents too are really beginning to sound great. As always the people are real friendly to us and can’t believe it when we tell them how far we have come, they just stand with the mouths and eyes wide open. One thing that I forgot to mention was it snowed 3 days ago where we camped last night. A real storm that lasted for about an hour. Our costs today amounted to $11.02, total now $302.97, average $10.10 per day and our mileage today was 49 miles, total now 1483
Oct14, 1970 31st day Paulene writing We are now in Pleasanton Kansas, a long way from Ottawa now. We left Kansas city Missouri campground at 9.45 and then put in the hairiest 2 hours of the whole trip so far, it sure was for me anyway. We travelled through Kansas City on the express-ways and Turnpikes where the traffic was so fast and thick. So many roads weaving in and out and around. From one side of the city to the other was 22 miles and we were really travelling fast. The road easy in the day was hilly but we had a good tail wind and after lunch it flattened out a bit. Paulene on the open road. Later in the day the countryside became very green with rolling hills and little lakes. Pleasanton is very rundown and looks like in another 2 years it will be a ghost town. Our costs today were $13.20 total now $316.17, average now $10.19. Todays mileage was 77 miles bringing total to 1560
Oct15, 1970 32nd day Didn't get on the road till 10am as we are just having a short day. The idea is to just go to Fort Scott where there is a KOA campground. There I will clean and re oil the bikes etc. It was a real great ride of 26 miles all said and done. Fort Scott is an old town with a lot of history. The name of the town is from a fort that was built in 1842 when they were having trouble with the Indians. It was used a little later when the Civil War came along. The town itself has a lot of old buildings and half the streets are still of cobblestone.
Oct 16, 1970 33rd day Happy Birthday to Paulene today!!! We both woke up this morning with cold feet. What a night, it must have gone down to the high 20's as there was an extremely heavy frost, everything covered in furry white. I took some photos both in color and B/W while Paulene peered out from the depths of her sleeping bag. We wouldn't have been cold at all but we forgot to put sweaters on our feet….so they got cold.
Oct 17, 1970 34th day On the road t his morning at 8.30. It was a good day for riding as the wind was very light. We covered the first 20 miles in record time. As a matter of fact we got to Coffeeville by 11.45 and that was the 35 mile mark. Coffeeville is one of the most famous Western towns in America. This was where 4 members of the Dalton gang and 4 civilians met their fate back in 1892, when the Daltons rode into town and robbed 2 banks. The two banks are still standing in fact and the alleyway where the famous gun battle took place has been restored to exactly how it was. There is also a Museum there with all kinds of artifacts belonging to the Daltons and also artifacts of the day. A most interesting museum, which we spent about 1.5 hours exploring. On the road again and crossed into Oklahoma 3 miles from Coffeevile, stopped to take a couple of photos and had lunch shortly after. It was only 23 miles tot he next town of any consequence but a long way to the next, so we stopped at a town called Nowata, an Indian town and there were sure a lot of Indians about. Just as we pulled into the Motel a girl went by on a horse and it just looked like this is the way she went everywhere. Our costs today were $15.45, total now $357.20, average $10.51. Mileage today was 58, total now 1711.
Oct 18, 1970 35th day Paulene writing We had a good start today and were away at 8.30. Four hours later were were at Tulsa, covering 50 miles, our best time I think. The road was not flat either but we had a bit of a tail wind and lots of good spirit. We passed through Will Rogers hometown of Oologah he being famous as a Cowboy, philosopher, and humorist. We are definitely in Cowboy country, lots of cattle in the fields and it looks like we have left the corn behind. Not as many places for me to pee without that corn. Riding through Tulsa was another repeat of Kansas City, riding the freeways. The minimum speed is supposed to be 40mph, so we don't need to worry as we almost reach 50mph ;-) I think we are just so anxious to get it over with and escape from the traffic. I was a very warm day as well. Tulsa is very modern with lots of hotels, restaurants and modern apartment buildings and obviously very prosperous. Well, we go through alright then rode on to the next town, Salpulpa where we stopped at a handy motel. Well, what a dump, so cold and smelly, no TV and Sunday afternoon is Harry's footie game time. Well, it was only $5.00 so we spent quite a lot on food to restock our larder. In the evening we walked to the local movie house to see the "Savage Wild" set in the Yukon, quite good. Sad to read in the local paper that the FLQ had murdered Pierre Laporte in Quebec. Would love to get hold of a Canadian Newspaper. Costs today were $13.39, total now $370.59, average 10.38. Mileage 68 miles, total now 1779
Oct 19,1970 36th day On the road today at 8.45. The country side was really reminding us of Australia, the earth being reddish and the trees almost looking like gum trees. Almost everywhere were oil rigs and their see-saw style pumps. File Photos Not sure why I did not take photos of these. The pumps come in all shapes and sizes, some powered electrically and some by gas or diesel engines with one cylinder that operated so slowly that one thought it would surely stop. The roads today were all hilly, but as there was no wind, they did not slow us down too much, only a couple that we had to walk up.
Oct 20, 1970 37th day On the road today at 8.45 and right away we realized it would be a hard day. There was a head wind with gusts up to 20mph and hills almost all the way to the town of Sulpher, where we were headed. We just kept plugging away however, talked and teased each other and the miles rolled by. We arrived in Sulpher at 5.15 and saw a Motel Hotel advertising hot mineral baths. We figured this is just what our tired bodies needed so decided to book in regardless of the cost. Well, the baths were out of commission but the room was luxurious and the bed super comfortable and the TV worked good, so it was all worth it. Our costs today were $19.70, total now $407.91 and an average of $10.94. Mileage today was 62, total now 1918 miles.
Oct 21,1970 38th day Paulene writing We slept in this morning consequently we were late leaving and had another strong head wind so did not go far anyway. During the night someone stole my blue turtleneck and Harry's blue and black turtlenecks. None of them at all valuable and we just thank our lucky stars there was nothing on the bikes really precious to us. I hope the thief makes good use of them as they were pretty well shot. Oct 22, 1970 39th day Had a good sleep in our tent last night and ion the morning I went in to do my ablutions. The lady at the desk called out and said we had a call from the Fort Worth Texas TV station WBAP NBC, but it was late at night and she figured rightly that we would be asleep, so they asked that we call them collect in the morning. I went back to tell Paulene with much interest. So, after we had finished breakfast and wrapping up our camp we went to the KOA Lodge and I phoned Ft Worth and talked to the newsroom. They want us to call them again when we reach the edge of town as they want to do a story about us. I told them we should be there tomorrow sometime and looked forward to seeing them. We got on the road at 9.45 and it was the hardest day of the trip, we were heading directly into a 20mph headwind and spent the whole day in our lowest gear. We were ready to call it quits after 35 miles but there was nowhere to stay, so we had to continue on for another 23 miles. I took a picture today that I hope to sell sometime. There was a sign in a field, a big sign saying Welcome Marietta, stop here and you'll stay. Right in front of the sign was a dead Hereford cow. I took both b/w and colour shots. Not long south of Marietta we came to the Texas border. This was very important to Paulene as Texas always seemed like somewhere from another planet for a girl from far off New Zealand. Our campsite was a bit barren and the wind continued. This photo shows how we coped with the wind, creating a baracade of picnic tables and putting our cooking stove into a trash can. Costs today were $11.83. Total now $426.04, average 10.92, mileage today 61, total now 2024. We are staying in the town of Dayton, the top of the golden triangle.
Oct 24,1970 40th day Started out late this morning as a bad thunder storm moved in and kept us at the Motel until noon. The rain came down like in Darwin Australia, and Paulene said she had never heard such loud thunder. When we go out of Denton we realized that the wind was almost as bad as yesterday. It was only going to be a short day as we are going to stay in FT Worth. On the way another of my spokes sprung and that brings to 3 that were broken in my rear wheel, so we had to find a bicycle repair shop. The people in Texas have been extremely friendly and open to us. Anyway, we went to the bike shop and it turned out it was called Foster's. It was run by an older chap and a very friendly fellow he was. He was not really equipped for our kind of bikes but he was most helpful and really wanted to somehow help, and could he ever talk. He called another shop and found they had what we wanted, so off we went for a couple of miles to this other shop. We just pulled in and the owner came out and said "bring your bikes right in". He had to make the spokes and he then replaced them and and gave us 4 spares. He even realigned my rear wheel and he would not take a cent from us. He just said "I'm glad to help you down the road".
Oct 24, 1970 41st day Paulene writing Well we would have had a good start this morning but after everything was packed and set to go, it was discovered my bike had a puncture. All the tools had to be unpacked and Harry fixed it. Everything packed up again, back on the bike and the tire was flat again. I must get a new mechanic. We finally left around 9.30. We had phoned the TV station to say we were leaving at 8.30 and would see them on the road somewhere. Well, with the late getaway we missed them. Rather sorrowful day for me as I had my hat down over my face too much and didn’t see Harry stop ahead of me. Crashed into his bike. I then had another puncture, in the front this time. By this time Harry was thoroughly cheesed off with our bad luck. We finally limped into Hillsboro around 3.30, my back tire flat again. I smelt moth balls as we entered the town. The highway is 2 miles from the town and it looks a little forgotten. The Motel is terrific though as we have a kitchen with fridge and stove and all for $6.00. Tacos for supper and Harry changed my tube and tire, so hopefully everything goes well tomorrow. Lots of black folk in this town and it seems very well integrated. We have been received by the blacks extremely well, from the start, they always having a wave and a big smile and are very eager to help. Costs today were $12.36, total now $455.60, average $11.09. Mileage today was 55, total now 2120.
Oct 25, 1970 42nd day Off again today into a wind but it’s only a short day to Waco Texas. We have to get Paulene’s rear wheel tuned up and a new tire fitted. Our day was only 35 miles long and we arrived before lunch and booked into a cheap motel and enjoyed an afternoon of football and relaxation. We didn’t even have a flat today. Our costs were $9.86, total now $465.46, average $11.08 Mileage not 2155
Oct 26, 1970 43rd day
Well today as far as riding is concerned had to be one of the worst. For a starter we had a head wind of at least 4 hundred miles an hour and the temperature was 85 and the humidity was unreal. Our day wasn’t particularly long ion terms of mileage but it sure was in other ways. We finally realized today that some of the things I said and did that I thought would encourage Paulene on down the road, had the opposite effect in fact and just upset her and made her go slower. One exciting thing that happened to day that could have been a real disaster but turned out ok, was as were riding along the shoulder of the IH35 there was a truck stop and restaurant ahead on a little grassy rise. As we approached, a big truck came down from the restaurant over the grass and jumped a 5” curb and then across the southbound lanes and across the median and came to a stop almost completely blocking the northbound lanes. It was only then that we realized that there was no driver in the truck and it was a runaway. A few minutes later the driver came out of the restaurant as there was one hell of a commotion. About 3/4 of an hour later the truck went by and the driver waved cheerfully. We arrived at the KOA at Belton at about 5pm, unrolled the tent and then realized that we had left our tent poles. Luckily this KOA had trailer tents for rent. So we got one of those for the night for a couple of extra bucks. There were quite a few people camping there and what a friendly bunch they were. Two of the people camping there had seen us at a rest area earlier in the day when we stopped for lunch. One of the men was born at Winchester Ontario and his wife was born in Australia. So there was much talking done with these and other people during the evening and we spent some time watching the best color TV we had seen, a Zenith. Costs today were $9.43, Total now $474.89, average $11.04, mileage today was 46, total now 2166.
Oct 27, 1970 44th day
Paulene writing Today was fantastic. We rode 110 miles and were still singing at the end of it. We left around 9am with a north wind blowing. We didn’t really believe it would last all day but it did and even got stronger and the day progressed. We stopped for lunch after about 50 miles and then decided to stop at San Marcos, but we were feeling so good, (Paulene biking along looking good) so decided to do over 100. So, here we are at New Braunfels, originally settled mostly by Germans in 1845. We had a great supper at a German restaurant and feel really happy tonight. We are only 30 smiles from San Antonio now. As we were preparing to leave the KOA this morning, Harry spoke to man who had seen us in Frankfort Indiana. It’s a small world. Costs today $18.88, total now $496.77, average $11.29. Mileage today 110 miles and our best yet. Total now 2276
Oct 28, 1970 45th day An easy day of riding today as we only had 36 miles to San Antonio. Everything started falling into place. A young Mexican gas station man put us on to a Motel just a 15 minute walk from downtown and at only $8.00 a night. It turned out to be the nicest Motel we had stayed in. It as color TV that really works well, a radio one the bed as well as controls over the bed to operate all the lights and air conditioner and heat. There is even a sunlamp on the ceiling of the bathroom. The motel people were extremely nice and helpful and even suggests we keep our bikes in the room. After a clean up, we headed downtown to take care of some business. First we went to a bank to get a draft we were carrying changed into Travellers checks and a cashiers check to cover our airfares to New Zealand. Well they wisked us through in a matter of minutes, everyone so friendly and helpful. Next we went upstairs in the same big building to a travel agent and in about 1/2 hour walked out with our plane ticket, just like that. We then wandered around for a little and I showed Paulene the Alamo. (I had seen it previously when a friend and I had hitchhiked right around America when we were 16 years old) but we were saving a visit there until tomorrow. We no sooner got back to our Motel than we had a phone call. One of the other guests of the Motel was a salesman for a big American bicycle company and wanted to talk to us. He came over and spent an hour or so shooting the breeze. A very nice guy who hails from Tennessee. Through contacts of his he arranged it so we could get two cartons that we could ship our bikes in from Laredo. Today’s costs were $20.30 Mileage 36 miles, total now 2312.
Oct 29, 1970 46th day
Paulene writing No riding today, just walking and that hurts a bit as our legs not used to it. Our first job was to go and collect a couple of enormous cartons to pack our bikes in at Laredo and take them to the bus depot. After this was completed we went to visit the Alamo. We both thoroughly enjoyed it being such an interesting piece of the American story. I can understand better why Texans think of Texas as more or less separate from America. Afterwards we visited the Hemisphere Tower which gave us a fantastic view of the city. The weather was perfect and we could see to the horizon. Looks like we will have a few hills tomorrow. Right through the city are deep canals, all tree lined and very pretty. We had lunch at an outdoor cafe next to the canal. We had tomatoes, tacos and enchiladas. Hot and yummy they were too. It was a really relaxing latin sort of atmosphere. We then wandered home to the Motel and supper, TV and writing post cards home. We should have had an early night but we waned to see Cassius Clay on the Tonight Show.
Oct 30, 1970 47th day
We left this morning at 9.30 as we did not want to get caught up in the rush hour traffic on the express ways. Har dee Har, I think they have a late rush hour in San Antonio. That was the most unnerving time of this trip, half of the time there was no shoulder to ride on so we had to share the road with one hell of a lot of fast moving trucks, cars and buses. We were both in a state of shock by the time we got through it all. I’m sure we will look back in a few years and say ‘we must have been absolutely nuts to travel through the cities on the expressways as we did. Now there are laws that prevent such activities. Anyway, it was truly a fantastic day with the sky as clear and blue as one can imagine. That is one thing we will surely remember about Texas, the clear sky. During the day we travelled through a few small and very western type towns, with almost all the men looking like cowboys (most probably were too). We stopped for lunch under a bridge so as to get some shade. While unpacking, a young guy came walking along and after he passed us, he turned back and said where did you all come from. I told him and he sat down as if to ponder all this just looking at the road and conversing no more. Finally after about 10 minutes he got up and said see you all later and ambled off. We finished our riding day at a town called Pearsall, so we had come 55 miles. The town was predominately Mexican as were most of the people we saw during the latter part of the day. We were lucky to get a Motel, as this is hunting season and this is the best part of Texas for hunting Turkey, Quail, and Deer. There were some hunters there at the Motel with special 4 wheel drive vehicles, behind their cars with special seats set high up from where to shoot. This seemed a bit unsporting to us, but certainly not surprising. Out total mileage now is 2367
Oct 31, 1970 48th day We did not get going early today as we only were going a short distance of 35 miles to Cotulla, the last stop before Laredo. When we packed up the bikes some Texas hunters came over to talk and introduced themselves. Great big characters all and very friendly. Nothing exciting during the ride today, more little wester towns, great evidence of hunters and quite a lot of traffic most likely heading for Laredo. Reached Cortulla at 1.00 pm and got a little cabin. Didn’t think we would get one because of all the hunters but we were lucky I guess. We walked into town and had a look around some of the stores. Went into one Western wear store and all around the top of the walls, there must have been 100 mule deer heads mounted. Up near the drug store an older man was just standing outside on the sidewalk dressed in typical western wear, but he packed revolver slung low on his hip at a jaunty angle just like the gunfighters in the movies, complete with bullets in his belt. At first I thought he was a Sheriff but he carried no badge. Mileage today 35 bringing our total to 2402
Nov 1, 1970 49th day
Paulene writing Well, we made it, 7 weeks to the day. We left Cortulla around 7.30 although we had to go back a mile to the motel as my bag was open and one of my moccasins had fallen out. Another head wind, ho hum, but although it was 67 miles, the fact that it was the last 67 miles was a big help. We passed through a couple of small towns before stopping for lunch. A lot of cactus dotting the countryside too. Sure wouldn't like to fall of our bikes into that.Two young brothers came to talk to us and told us about the huge ranch we were passing through. We fed the ants our crumbs and headed out again. It was very sunny and warm, very thirsty work. We were feeling particularly parched with only 7 miles to go when my back tire exploded, another puncture. Harry started changing the tube and tire when two customs men stopped and asked if they could help and offered water. I ran up and drained their canteen. They had big containers of water in the back of their truck. One does not realize how good water tastes until you are without it. With everything fixed we set off again. (on the whole trip I had 9 flat tires and Harry had none, we figured it was because often I was riding on the inside of Harry where there were greater chances of whatever on the road that could cause a puncture). We stopped a couple of times to take some last photos of us riding on this trip. A very important milestone was the sign saying we had arrived at Laredo, not long after we were stopped by a young newscaster from a local radio station. He did his interview, which was a tad nerve-racking. We soon founda a nice Motel but at $19.00 a night, a bit rich for our blood. We found a more convenient motel right downtown next door to the Greyhound Depot and not as expensive, so everything is working out fine. Phoned Ottawa and pleased to hear everyone is well. Here is a Google Map roughly showing the trip.
Nov 2, 1970 50th day
Today we relaxed and tried to do some shopping in Laredo. This wasn’t easy as there was a holiday in Mexico and consequently about a million people converged on the stores in Laredo. The quality of the merchandise is quite cheap and we had a hard time getting what we wanted. I was able to buy a pair of Cowboy boots, but Paulene couldn’t get her leather jacket. We plan on leaving tomorrow as our train leaves Nevo Laredo at 6.30 pm. In the evening we both took apart our bikes, that is we stripped off the saddlebags, but threw most of the other stuff away. Also today we phoned our bank in Canada and had them wire some more money to us.
Nov 3, 1970 51st day Today I bought two packs to put our gear in. It seemed seemed funny riding the bikes again with nothing on them. We left the Motel at about 2pm with our packs on our backs and rode off to Mexico. (except for riding a couple of miles to the train station we decided not to ride in Mexico on the advice of everyone from Mexicans themselves to American police.) it was only about 2 miles to the border from the Motel. The customs people shunted us off to a special area, we could not speak Spanish and they knew very little English. Finally after about 1.5 hours of sitting and being shunted from pillar to post, we got through. We did not know however that they had stamped Motorcycles across our tourist cards. This was to pose quite a problem when we left Mexico. Anyway, we were in Mexico and what a contrast there was between Mexico and the US. It was like night and day. The poverty was unreal. It seems to us there is something drastically wrong somewhere when there is such a difference across a 50 yard wide river. We had a 2 mile ride to the train station, where we had a 3.5 hour wait. Most of the time we just sat around and watched the people go by and tasted a few Mexican sweet breads etc. When it was time to buy the tickets there was a problem as the ticket man knew very little English and I wasn’t sure what we were getting into. We checked our bikes through the cargo area and boarded about 7.00pm. We had a hell of a time getting to our seats because of the language situation.(one should really learn to speak the language of the country one is travelling through). Finally we got settled in and found our positions and they were just as I hoped, a lower and an upper. We were seated for about 1/2 an hour when two Mexican boys sat down opposite us. Finally we started rolling and were under way. Not long after a guy came through riding a type of bell. I asked the Mexican boys if that was the dinner bell, not knowing if they spoke English or not, and they answered yes. We got talking and found out they had just been to Sherbrooke Quebec in Canada for a couple of months. We hit it off very well, even though their English was not the best (certainly a lot better than our Spanish). We really got stuck into the Mexican foods and loved it. The food on the train was so cheap too. One time we both had fillet steak with all the trimmings, desert and all, and it only cost us $3.60 for us both. One of the Mexican boys Tonio really wanted to extend some kindness to us as he had been show that when in Canada. When we got to the big station in Mexico City, he called his sister and told her about meeting this Canadian couple on the train and could we stay with her and her husband for a week while until our plane departed for New Zealand. She said yes and what ensued was very special indeed, Every morning for that week Tonio would come and pick us up and he would show us the sights of Mexico City and surrounding areas and each night we would have dinner out with all his family. Such fun we had and learned so much about Mexican history even the pyramids of Teotihuacan which reached its zenith between 100 B.C. and A.D. This was so interesting to us. So that ended this part of our trip back to New Zealand, and what an adventure it was. We flew from Mexico, had a fuel stop in Tahiti and then on to the islands of Fiji where we spent week having an amazing time travelling around the main island of Viti Levu before heading on to New Zealand, where we lived and worked for almost 4 years before returning to Canada. When we landed back in Canada, we wanted to have another adventure before settling into a life of working and hopefully having some family. If you wish to see that adventure follow this link.
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Created : April, 2020