We started today in a bit of a daze, all of us still reeling from the incredible events of the day before. Tweed wasn’t finished yet though and while we ate breakfast, even more locals came by to shake our hands and wish us well for the rest of the ride. The remarkable Chris Lindsay also tracked us down to hand over some more donations and ice cream money collected by his children and their friends, as well as some gifts for Max, and more motivational posters made by Tweed Elementary. Astounding.
Andrew and Max also had company on the ride out of town today. Tweed resident Will was geared up and waiting for us when we hit our departure point, and it was there that we had the opportunity to chat to even more well-wishers as folks came over to donate money, give gifts and wish us the best of luck. We also had a tweet from local craft brewery, Church Key, inviting Andrew to stop by on his way past – so it was with some pep in his pedal that he set off on day five.
The support team took a wander around Tweed, the town we’ll never forget, and after stocking up on Tweed mugs, Tweed beer glasses and a few books from the thrift store that we really don’t have room for, we coordinated maps and set off for an intersection in Springbrook, which was to be our lunch spot for today.
A few kilometers down the road Grandpa waved me down to point out that I was actually driving towards Belleville – a town in the completely wrong direction. You’ve gotta love Google Maps, but sometimes the old fashioned paper ones have their place.
The boys made good time and had good conditions for the morning leg. We all had a quick bite to eat at a quiet intersection on the road, received a few more donations from local passersby, and then set off again for Campbellford, our final stop for the day. Deer on the trail and lots of chatter and questions from Max along the way kept Andrew entertained.
I followed Max and Andrew in the van for a short while as they rode along the highway, and the sight of Andrew pushing Max up a hill in the bike – even though I’d seen it a million times before – made me feel quite emotional. They looked so small, and their job was so big, and Andrew was working so hard, and Max was cheerfully oblivious in the front bucket; it was kind of representative of our lives since Max’s diagnosis two years ago.
Our arrival in Campbellford was slightly less grand than the previous day’s (and let’s face it, there would have had to have been a flyover by the Snowbirds and Michael Buble warbling us in to top that), but we still had a few locals and some media come along to say hello, wish us well and pop some money in our buckets. After packing up the van – something that is getting easier each time now – we hotfooted it back to our hotel for a swim, some dinner and an early night before our next big day.