Well, the beautiful easy ride (compared to yesterday!) was spoiled by my second crash of the Tour Du Canada. This one was much worse than the first as I hit the pavement going a little over 25 km/h. Myself and Iona were just cruising along and enjoying the morning when out of nowhere a RottWeiller came charging out of a house along the side of the road. It came right at my bike and I swerved to avoid it while climbing out of the saddle. I didn't make it, I turned too quickly and ditched the bike right there! I immediately thought that the massive dog would attack so I jumped up quickly, preparing to fight to the death with this damn thing! However, the dog backed off and returned to the house. I then examined the damage. I ripped up my right fore are really good and was bleeding a lot. My shoulder and upper back had a substantial amount of road rash. My knuckles were all skinned out and my hip was swollen but luckily that was the all of the damage. Just cuts and bruises, no broken bones and the bike was in pretty good shaped aside from a snapped pump, mirror, and chips from the shifters and frame.
After getting out of the Rottweiller area, Iona said that the crash looked much worse than what it was so I considered myself lucky however, I decided from that point forward, I would keep a 3.5 inch Gerber knife in the back of my cycling jersey. Not 5 km later, a husky/wolf dog charged the road with teeth snarling! We just missed it and it chased for a short distance before giving up! It turns out the dogs on Indian reserves do not really have owners and wander from house to house. Advice from the more experienced rides at camp convinced me that I should pick up pepper spray the next time I hit an outfitter store.
As side from that mishap, today was a joke of a ride. Only 65 kms from Spences Bridge, BC to Merritt, BC and we made to camp before noon. I just went for a dip in a swimming hole and I am now having a cold beer before supper. We rest here tomorrow and I am looking forward to it! Segment 1 of 13 complete! It was fun!
