Day Twenty Eight - Caliper Lake

This morning my galley crew and I created the most delicious pancakes.  Well really it was just the no name pancake mix but we had left over raspberries from a desert from a couple of meals ago, some chocolate chips, powdered sugar, and maple syrup (really Aunt Jemima).  The same pancakes in a posh restaurant would be $30.  We did it for pennies and it tasted very very good.

Today’s ride was126 km and was supposed to get easier the farther along we got but it didn’t seem that way for most of us.  Our first stop was for lunch at 75 km into the ride as we didn’t see any other option but some found some ice-cream sandwiches at 25 km.  Before we stopped for lunch we crossed a bridge that once used to be the longest single-span wooden bridge in North America.  The new bridge that opened in 2007 re-used some of the timber from the old.

The temperature today peaked at 35 and the head wind was a factor in our slower pace.  We are still in the Canadian shield here and it is rocky and hilly.  The route is way more interesting than the prairies but today our elevation gain was about 600 metres so we aren’t in the flat land anymore.

We stopped a couple of times to cool ourselves in the shade and to eat.  In the pic below John is eating a sausage his wife’s cousin the butcher made.

About 20 km from the campground I spotted a boat launch adjacent to the road we were on and I took the opportunity to cool my feet for a couple of minutes.  The rest of our riding group caught up and Ken was the only other one to cool his feet and more.  Ken took off his socks and shoe and wadded in and then laid down on his back.  He said it was the best thing that he did all day.  See pic below.

Once I got to camp I set up my tent to dry and air it out.  Most mornings we don't have a chance to do this so it is the first thing I do when we get to camp.  After my tent was set up I head to the lake for a cool swim.  The water had a lot of silt in it but the temperature was nice and it cooled me off.  Dinner followed soon after.

Tomorrow we will be very close to a city in the US called International Falls.  Some people are considering going over to the US for lunch.  International Falls is close to Fort Francis.  I hope to meet a college roommate to see if he would like to get some lunch tomorrow as we will be there at that time.

John with his wife's cousins sausage

Taken from the bridge made of reclaimed wood from the previous bridge at Souix Narrows

Ken cooling off on a hot day near Caliper Lake ON