Earlier today I attempted to find a bus to Hamilton from Guelph. Given that Hamilton is about 50 minutes away from Guelph – just down highway 6, and a grand total of 52 kilometres according to the all-knowing and all-powerful Google – I had figured that this task would be a simple one.
Was I ever wrong.
It’s not that bus routes between the cities don’t exist. They do. But to say they are ridiculous is an understatement. As evidence I offer you the following: Greyhound offers bus service between the two cities. However, the service either makes a milk run to Toronto, or a milk run to London. The result – what should be a 50 minute trip turns into a 4 hour trip (if you go through Toronto), or a 7 hour trip (if you go through London). Efficient – I’d suggest no.
Apparently Hamilton is some sort of geographical oddity. On paper – it’s 50 minutes away – but in reality it actually exists in some sort of spatial-temporal wormhole. It might as well be on the other side of the galaxy.
I investigated other bus lines, thanks to my friends on the Twitter. The best option ended up being a direct route from Kitchener to Hamilton. Of course, that meant I’d need to take a bus to Kitchener from Guelph – and that of course was easy. The combined trip worked out to be about 2.5 hours. A far better option than those offered by Greyhound.
But, dear readers, there is a point where cost and time intersect and the return on one is simply not worth the price of the other; at least, that’s my opinion. In this case, spending that many hours on a bus for a trip that was essentially right down the road seemed downright silly. The total cost roundtrip would have been about the same as getting a cab to Hamilton. So I hummed and I haaaa’ed.
And then almost out of nowhere, my friend Beth – who is running the 30K Around the Bay relay – sent me a message to tell me that she’d be able to give me a lift home after the run.
Decision made.
Since I wouldn’t need a round trip ticket, I figured I could use the full round trip fare and book a cab. Convenient. Simple. Private. AWESOME. So that is exactly what I did.
Anyway, I found my way to Hamilton earlier today so that I could pick up my race kit and get my chip for timing my run1. I wandered around the city a bit, and stopped in at the Farmer’s Market. A latte and a snack later, I ventured back to my hotel. I’m currently lounging about watching t.v., awaiting my friend Carolyn to arrive. Our plan for the eve: food, carbo-loading beer, and rest.
Because tomorrow is the big day.
30 kilometres.
And I’m stoked about it.
1 For those interested, I’ll be attempting to live stream my run tomorrow. Check out this link at 9:30 to follow my progress (if you are so inclined).
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consumedbywanderlust 
good luck sunshine.
Thanks 🙂
Thanks. FYI – I seem to be out of samosas. Weird. We should get together again real soon and address this issue.
Good luck! You got this 🙂
W00t!
You have *another* friend named Beth who is also a runner? I feel so un-special!
I do. And believe it or not – she’s doing a PhD (but a different flavour of PhD). Also, her last name is not Snow, it’s MacLeod – which is pronounced Mac Cloud. Both last names are weather related. Personally, I’m beginning to think you were twins separated at birth. Twins that were given the same name.
But never fear – you’re anything but un-special.
Oooh, what flavour is her PhD? Any possibility of a Snow-MacCloud collaboration? Perhaps we could study weather related-phenomena?
She studies linguistics (i.e., phonology, phonetics, second language acquisition, foreign accent).
So, she’s getting a PhD in awesomeness, is what you are saying, right?
Exactly.