Why do dogs not like cyclists? Every time I pass a dog on my bike they bark at me. I’m not doing anything to them. If they’re chained up, they sprint out and almost do back flips when the chain pulls tight. And the times they aren’t chained up, they sprint out barking (this is when they know they can’t catch me) or they sprint out silently and then start barking when they’re 5 metres away, scaring me half to death (the drivers behind me as well because they see me swerve onto the road) and try to either bite my legs or my bike! When it’s raining and that happens, I would ask that owners keep their dogs inside. It’s ridiculous enough that I’m bicycling in the rain, let alone needing to fend off fearsome canines.

I like rain on hot days. The smell it brings. The way the asphalt smells, and sometimes steams. The cool refreshment it brings as it soaks my overheated body. This doesn’t happen when it’s cold.

I like taking hot showers when it’s cold and raining. But I dread the part where you go from finding the right temperature in the bath tap to switching it over to the shower. Usually there is enough of a delay to jump as far as I can away from the frigid water left in the pipe to cool from the previous shower. However, some showers are too efficient and rain cold droplets on my back. This causes a quick fight or flight response in my body, but instead of fleeing or fighting I freeze (in more ways than one). Once I have returned to my senses, I stare at the shower head, wanting to wring its scrawny pipe neck.

I can appreciate the way nature looks blanketed in a soft grey shroud. It reminds me of what I always imagined Scotland and Ireland to look all year round. I know it’s not true, but sometimes I get carried away with my romantic ideals.

The geologic borders in this country are a lot more immediate than I thought they would be. I was expecting things to change gradually, but more times than I expected it was almost immediate. The Badlands in Alberta come out of nowhere. The Canadian Shield starts east of Winnipeg.

Fellowship with other Christians lifts me up. Whether it’s attending a Sunday morning service and having cake afterward like in Medicine Hat, having a home opened like in Mission and Grenfell, or meeting for a meal like I did in St. Andrew’s Ottawa; each time I have been blessed and inspired to continue my journey.

Cycling with a song I don’t like being stuck in my head is annoying.

All the dirt and wind and rain going into my eyes causes them to become bloodshot. This makes it difficult to open them in the morning because they don’t want to. I wonder if people are curious as to why my eyes are bloodshot.

Little kids are hilarious and see the world in amazing ways.

I get comfortable very easily. If I’m staying in someone’s home, I could easily stay for days, even weeks on end if it weren’t for the fact I wouldn’t get anywhere.

Cows in eastern Canada aren’t as curious as the ones out west. People in eastern Canada make up for it.

I like my eyebrows and eye lashes. They do a great job of keeping sweat and rain from getting to my eyes. Little groups of hair that make seeing that much easier; have you ever really thought about it? I knew a guy in university who shaved off his eyebrows. He said the sweat stung his eyes when he exercised. Fortunately, they grew back. Eyelashes also warn of when kamikaze bugs are about to attack. They provide enough warning to allow the eyelids to do their job and close before bug juice is mixed with eye juice. Thanks random hair around my eyes!

There should be a machine that cleans the shoulder of the road. Why do cars and trucks get the nice clean road and cyclists have to deal with the cracks, bumps, dirt, and stones cars and trucks leave on the shoulder?

Cow moose are apparently better to eat than bull moose. Stephen thinks it’s prejudiced. I agree. But maybe this is the male hunters’ way of getting back at women for getting the vote.

In Newfoundland, everyone is so friendly because you’re automatically “my buddy/boy/son”. If all Canadians considered everyone else to be a part of their family we really would be a great country.

Sometimes I wish I were a duck. More on that later.

Why do the elbows of my rain coat get wet but the rest of my arms don’t?

Low laying clouds make the air thick. Dense air is more difficult to go through than thin air. With that reasoning, does that mean I should bike through the mountains instead of low-lying foggy/misty areas?