Day Forty Two - Tobermory

Today was a short 60 km day plus a 1.75 hour ferry ride.  Sam and I started out together but he left me on the first big hill.  I rode most of the rest away solo. 

About 30 km in I ate a PBJ and as I finish James and Arlen passed me. I was at the crest of a hill and I caught up to them and then passed them shortly after. 

Soon after I spotted 4 Sandhill cranes in a field on the side of the road. I pulled over and spotted 17 more. Later I heard that 21 cranes in the same field is not a regular occurrence. As I was watching I witnessed some kind of courting activity as one of the cranes was spreading there wings and flapping them. 

At 53 km we arrived at South Baymouth and we looked for a place to hang out and wait for the ferry. We found a restaurant close by but had to wait until 11 until lunch was served. 

Most people ordered the whitefish that was from Lake Huron. Some people also enjoyed the strawberry and rhubarb pie before eating their fish. The restaurant had an adjoining gift shop where Matt purchased a bear that was carved out of onyx. 

The ferry that we boarded at 1 was quite a bit smaller than the ferry that runs between Victoria and Vancouver. Like BC ferries bicycles and motorcycles load first. There was other bicycles that also loaded with us. 

On the ferry a Manitoulin First Nation man gave a really nice presentation where he talked about drumming, singing, and dancing. He also talked a little about the different types of singing. I was glad that Matt was there to hear the singing. He had never heard it before. I really like the traditional singing where the men sing really high. 

The ferry ride was over quickly and once in Tobermoy we found a place to have a drink and spend some time waiting for dinner. Later on my father met me in town and treated me to a steak dinner. It was very good. Thanks Dad!

View of the water on Manatoulin Island

Chi-Cheemaun ferry arriving in South Baymouth, ON

Bicycles lined up to board to Chi-Cheemaun ferry in South Baymouth, ON

Day Forty One - Sheguindah

This morning I woke at 5:15 and got my tent packed up and ready to go before 6:15 when we started preparations for breakfast.  We made eggs and fried bread because we do not have a toaster.  The mosquitos were very very bad as soon as I left my tent but improved a little bit once there more people up and more bodies to bite.

Even though our crew had to cook and load the truck we were on the road by 8.  There terrain was rolling hills and not to tough.  In Massey Sam and I stopped at a convenience store for a drink and to eat a PBJ.  I found out others went further into Massey to visit a bakery.

The road from Massey to Espanola were country roads and the quality of the road surface varied quite a bit.  We stopped to change a slow leak in Sam's rear tire.  I found a very small piece of wire that was barely noticeable.  It had to be pulled out with my leather man pliers.  While there the group that was at the bakery passed by and asked if we needed assistance then continued on.

In Espanola we went to Timmy's for lunch for a "cheese toastie".  When we were getting off our bikes Arlen pulled up which surprised us because he was so far ahead of us.  It turns out that he made a wrong turn and added a couple of km's to his ride.

While is the Tim's we met Brad that was traveling on his Kona Sutra from Toronto to Sault Ste Marie.  A week earlier he and his friends had traveled the west coast of the US from Washington to California.  He said that he was using Hot Showers.  I was thinking we also take hot showers when we can too.  It turns out it is a website that enables people to stay at peoples houses for cheap.

After lunch we were back on the main road that was very busy and the terrain changed to steeper, longer hills.  About 10 km before the bridge to Manitoulan Island a head wind really started to pick up and it was really difficult to move forward.  On that same part of highway there was a system to detect dear crossing the road that would trigger lights to flash to warn drivers.

Like most of the riders, just on the other side of the bridge to Manitoulan Island we stopped for ice cream.  I hadn't eaten any food since lunch and was feeling a little calorie depleted. There wasn't too many kms to go and once in camp I felt much better.

Tomorrow is a short day at 60 km but we must get the ferry at 1pm.  Once we are in Tobermory it is a short ride to the campsite.

Little Current swing bridge to Manitoulin Island

A creek flowing down a rock face just before the campground.

Marsh adjacent to where the tents were set up

Day Forty - Spragge

This morning I wanted to leave early as it is a long day and I was on cooking duty with my group.  Sam and I managed to be the first to leave camp and quite a few others followed shortly after.  The first part of the ride avoided a major highway and took us through the back roads.  The roads were good but quite hilly.  The traffic was very light.

Once we were finished with the back roads we were on a major road that had a lot of car and truck traffic with limited shoulder.  We made really good time and decided to go into Thessalon to have a break and get something to eat.  Matt, John, and Sam joined me.

After lunch we had a killer tailwind and in some sections we were going 50 kms on the flats.  Overall for the day we averaged 29 kmph.  We made a quick stop in Blind River before getting to the campground some time around 4.

Dinner was pretty easy to prepare and it tasted quite good.  Vegetarian chili and a salad was served.

Today marks one month left until the tour is over.  September 4th will be our last day.

Day Thirty Nine - Rest Day Sault Ste Marie

Todays rest day started with me sleeping in until 8 which was nice.  A couple of guys rode there bikes to the Husky truck stop just a km or so away.  Later on in the day I planned to see the new Mission Impossible movie at the theatre downtown in the mall.

At around 10 John and I walked down to the bus stop 2.5 km away from the campsite.  We thought that we missed it but there was another one soon after that took us directly downtown across from the mall.  We walked over to the mall and had something to eat in the food court.  The subway had WIFI which John was looking for.  After lunch I headed to the movies.

In the movie I fell asleep four times but managed to catch most of it.  From what I could tell it is much like every Mission Impossible movie, forgettable.  I did however get to sit in an air conditioned room, in a nice chair, and with no mosquitos bothering me for 2 hours.  After the movie I picked up some AAA batteries that I had needed for a while for my bike rear lights.

After the movie we met up with Kerry go to dinner.  As I might have mentioned before, no meals are prepared during the rest days.  We all enjoyed our dinner and we were back into camp before 8.  Tomorrow is going to be a long day at 172 kms.

John getting some well deserved sleep after eating a large breakfast on our rest day.

Canadian geese at the campground.  Across the water was the United States

Day Thirty Eight - Sault Ste Marie

Luckily today was an "easy" day because we only had to travel 87 kms. The fist 5 kms or so my legs feel like they will not make it. Then they warm up and suprise me most days on how they perform. The legs just have a mind of their on and peddling is a reaction to sitting on the saddle. 

In the morning at camp we ate pancakes as it was fitting because we were in Pancake Bay.  They were consumed quickly by most because their was no wind and the mosquitos were out in force.  Sam and I tried to leave camp quickly because it was forecasted to rain in the morning.  We did get a couple of drops on us but not too much despite there being dark rain clouds looming beside us for a couple of hours.  Arlen, John, and Kerry joined us on the road and we road together mostly.

Our first stop was in Havilland at about 50 km.  We saw an ice-cream sign and knew that even though it was 10 am Arlen would love to eat some.  He didn't though and people ordered their second breakfast.  Kerry found a butter tart to eat which was not his favourite of the trip.  Later I was glad we stopped there and not in Heyden a little bit down the road as I needed a little bit of time to digest the food before the Mile High Hill.

The Mile High Hill was not that bad.  But I did drop out of the pace line to remove extra clothing that I wore to keep warm in the cool morning air.  It had warmed up quite a bit since then and I didn't need to lose any extra water while climbing up this monster hill.

The rest of the ride was uneventful but I did notice quite a few of motels in disrepair on the approach to Sault Ste Marie.  Once in the town it looked like all others of that size.  We chose to bypass the city  and not follow the cue sheets.  We got to the campground in good time.

We spent some time to pitch our tents and I got a couple of hours sleep before dinner.

  

Day Thirty Seven - Pancake Bay

I got up late compared to most mornings at 6:30. Sam and I were riding together today and he was on cooking duty so I had a little more time.  Once I got my tent  down and ate four pieces of John's deep fried French toast I headed over to the laundry to dry my clothes that were soaked from the day before. 

At 50 km we skipped the suggested side trip to the Agawa Rock Pictographs. We did check out the view from the Agawa Bay Lookout and took a couple of pictures. 

At 57 km we stopped at the Visitor Information Centre where we filled up our water bottles. The lady in the gift store said the water was not drinkable but another lady took us into the office area and let us use their bottle water. 

Outside of the visitor centre we met a father and daughter that were cycling to Montreal from Vancouver.  In a couple of years previous the father had did the same trip with his son, now it was the daughters turn.  He was using a Yak trailer that held most of their gear and included a 4 litre bottle of water.  He said that they had run out of water and wasn't going to let that happen again.
 

We stopped for lunch in Montreal River. Arlen mentioned that four years ago he had lunch their and he recommended it. We arrived as "new" John and James were leaving. Arlen had been there for only 5 minutes. John arrived shortly after we arrived. Arlen ate and left before realizing that they sold ice cream in the store across from the restaurant. 

We finished the ride with only a couple more hills. For dinner the galley crew served stir fry which was enjoyed by all. Tomorrow we arrive in the Soo and next day is a rest day. 

The tailrace of an up river hydro generating plant in Montreal River ON

Shoreline in Lake Superior Provincial Park

High rock walls along the highway in Lake Superior Provincial Park

Day Thirty Six - Rabbit Blanket

Today started out pretty normal.  The sky was overcast and it wasn't raining yet. On my way out of the park it started to rain lightly and so I decided to take shelter at the guard house and wait for Sam to catch up. A little while latter the skies opened up and it poured. Sam joined me and we waited for it to stop but it never did. After waiting 15 minutes and seeing other riders pass by we decided that it wasn't going to stop and we were going to get wet.

The first part of the ride to Wawa was relatively flat with some rolling hills. At one point it started to rain so hard it felt like I was getting pelted with quarters on my back.

At 40 km we stopped to warm up at a Robbins Donuts. There were 5 riders there already and 5 more 15 minutes later. Duncan was shivering in his seat as he didn't bring has rain jacket.  He is also 120 lbs and the fastest of the group. When he left the shop he bought a jacket at a nearby store to prevent getting hypothermia.

As Sam and I approached Wawa we could see the fog ahead.  As we descended the temperature went from 15 to 8. We took a pic of the goose and then headed to a nearby Tim Hortons for a "cheese toasty".  I took off my shoes to warm my feet on the tile floor.

After leaving Timmy's a very cold headwind chilled us to the point of pain. I didn't want to ride in this for the next 30 kms. Only 5 km later I had to take layers off again as the sun was out and climbing hills in a rain jacket and another coat was too hot.

Once in Lake Superior Provincial Park the hills got more tough and much longer. As we approached Old Woman Bay we could see the beautiful beach and Lake Superior. I stopped half way down the hill on the approach to the bay to take a picture.

The last major hill of the day was a one km hill in length with a 100 metre elevation gain.  I was happy to get into camp just in time to setup my tent before dinner.

John, Kerry, and Sam prepared a delicious pork chop dinner with mashed potatoes, and vegetables. A very good way to end a day of variable weather conditions.

The big goose in very cold Wawa ON.

Just 15 minutes East of Wawa ON sunny warm weather at Old Woman Bay

Lake Superior is really big!

Panorama of Old Woman Bay ON