djb

Hey, I worked editing photos for decades, I notice stuff.
couldn't resist trying to come up with some sort of lame ass joke.
My apologies for maligning Nova Scotia with outrageous claims, I'm sure they won't mind, they're so damn polite.

Unca_Sam

Fun fact: the Rideau canal system from the St. Lawrence River to Ottawa was plagued (heh) with malaria outbreaks. Apparently Canada had an endemic species of plasmodium, P Vivax. Ontario, however, is not NS.

Tourist in MSN

I was a high school newspaper photographer, I notice stuff too. You did not want to publish a photo that had some other story in it that would detract. But this is bike forums, mosquitos are often part of the story. Like the herd of mosquitos (these were in PEI) that were waiting for breakfast when I unzipped my tent door in the morning.




And once again I apologize for being off topic.

KPREN

I ride an e bike on tour. Let's see, I spend a great deal of time massaging sore muscles trying to prevent leg cramps. Then its sore hip joints that don't want to move. How could one get bored doing that? I set up camp and cook a meal, I might plan out the next day but that is a long time in the future after a days ride. I hydrate, eat a lot of salt, work on the bike and enjoy the sounds of the great out doors. I can hurt at home or on a bike tour. My choice is to hurt on tour.

djb

I remember that from history class now that you bring it up.

djb

yup , mozzies sure are part of the reality sometimes of outdoor activities. Luckily on my bike trips they haven't been a terrible nuisance, not like hiking or canoeing.
I just found it funny that in those few seconds when you took the photo, one took advantage right away.

Tourist in MSN

I met a trail crew in PEI doing bike trail maintenance. I was curious what bug repellant they used, I assumed that all had compared notes on what was the right one to buy. I asked and was surprised to learn that they all had different brands.

And again, sorry for being off topic.

djb

Ya, I'm not too keen on using the stuff, unless its really really necessary. Generally go the "long baggy pants and long sleeve shirt, plus sun hat" route to cut down on the vast majority of biteable areas, and it has to be bad for me to put some on my socks or back of hands, just cuz I'm not crazy about having the stuff on my skin when I'm going to get into a sleeping bag etc.
I think the last time we experienced lot of mosquitoes on a bike trip was oddly enough in France, a campground near a river that was bad around dusk-unusual for France in my experience.

imi

The Camargue? French mozzies love it there

fishboat

...downtime while touring..what downtime while touring?

djb

no recollection, somewhere along the EV6 route. I just remember meeting a really cool family with two kids on bikes who were French, but had just been back from biking in South America for a really long time, had a cool tandem thing where the person in front sits below the rear driver. It was cute because I started speaking to the kids in Spanish for fun and they just kept speaking in Spanish with me, as they had been doing it for so long....they had only been back in France for a short time (days) and were riding home or to grandparents or something.

Wilfred Laurier

My experience has been that riding + stopping for food or breaks + general tomfoolery takes up so much of the day that it is almost always near or after dark by the time I roll into a campsite. If there is still a lot of day left by the time you get to your stopping point, you may have missed some things you could have seen or done or tasted along the way.


A McNap somewhere in Eastern Canada

Pic from 2018. We had a ways to go before our planned stop for the night, but it was quite hot so we stopped in a town, goofed around, ate, did some shopping, etc, and my chum took a nap in the grass beside the McParking Lot. We got back on the road after it cooled down a bit in the evening.

I generally enjoy riding alone, but touring with friends gives you company to prevent boredom.

Also, drinking a whole bottle of wine to yourself feels much less responsible than sharing four bottles of wine among four people 😁

bbbean 

Check out the local scene! Go to a cafe, drink a beer, visit whatever there is to visit locally. Talk to the locals. Ask them what's unusual or unique about their town. If you're in the sticks, hike, swim, check out the local wildlife, or whatever you'd do on your day off.

J.Higgins 

This pretty much sums it up for my routine as well. When I was a heavy drinker, I'd fill in any empty spots with copious amounts of beer and booze. Now that I'm sober, I do fall into a state of boredom much easier than before, so I've been looking into different things to occupy my mind. I like your idea of a fire. Its the television of primal man. Staring into the flames is a good way to pass the time. Its balm for a tired soul.

Otherwise, I always have a book or two available on my phone, and lately I've been getting into meditation and exercising the parts that get less-used while riding. Yoga has always been considered as a sissy activity if you are a real man, but swallow your pride like I did and give it a go. Worth it. Yoga is also a very portable activity!