Merrickville Ontario - Youneeditdone

I was awake at 4:00 AM so I took advantage of the time to type up some documents that needed attention. Then, about 6:30, I took to the sleepy streets of Merrickville and walked a block down to a little coffee shop called Brewed Awakenings. There, for $6.00 (taxes included), I had a breakfast of ham, eggs, toast and a fresh tomato. The tomato was in place of hash browns and I appreciated the choice.

Returning to the hotel, I discovered a problem. The Baldachin Inn doesn't have a full time front desk so they give you a key to your room and another to the outside door so you can get in when the place is locked up. To my horror, I found that the outside key didn't work. It was now after 7:00, I had to be at Paul's at 8:30 and I the front desk wasn't supposed to open until 11:00.

I walked back to the restaurant and gas station to see if anyone could tell me how to get in touch with the absentee owner or staff. No luck. Then I called the Ontario Provincial Police figuring they should have a contact number in case of burglary or fire. They checked and called me back. Again, no luck. I sat outside until 8:00 hoping that someone else would come out but I think I was the only guest.

Lucky for me that, while my jacket and other belongings were locked inside, I had the bike key and my helmet was in the trunk. I finally gave up, put on the helmet (it wasn't too cool this morning) and rode the short way to Spillway Farm's, Paul's home and the Youneeditdone shop.

Paul and his friend Cathie were just having coffee when I arrived. We got the bike up on the lift and Paul started on the rear suspension. Because of the monoshock design, this is a bear to get to but he got the shock out. Then a set screw stuck while trying to disassemble it and we had to take it to a nearby auto shop to get it out. Finally, with a new shock in the rear in place, he started to pull the front apart.

I spent some time talking to Cathie, who coincidentally had been to several Sudbury Freedom rallies with a mutual friend, Greg from Ottawa. She was planning a trip to North Carolina via the Blue Ridge Parkway so I shared some of my favourite roads and tips with her.

With the intense heat and humidity, Paul knocked off for the day about 6:30. The extra time with the set screw and drilling a bolt out of one fork leg had put things behind. In anticipation of potential problems, I had my room booked for a second night so Paul drove me back to town and would pick me up again tomorrow morning.

The lady on the desk at the Baldachin was very apologetic about the key. She said the fire department had her number in case of emergency and she lived a block away. Fire department! I should have tried that or maybe the OPP should have. Anyway, they are not geared up for customer service. I suggested that a number to call in case of emergency would be a good thing to put in the front window. The new outdoor key got checked several times.

I walked over to the Main Street Family Restaurant for supper and had a lasagna that included bacon and ham preceded by a Caesar salad. Following that, I returned to my room where I read for a while before going to sleep early.