This morning I woke up at 9 and michael at 10. I helped him get what he needed together to leave for his cycle. It felt weird having him leave because this is the first time we've been separated all trip! I was worried about him (and hoped he had enough time to get into Montreal before dark! Especially since he only left at noon and there was a headwind and there was a possibility for a broken spoke or flat tire or whatever). So all day I kept worrying a bit and all day it felt a little weird. But, the day went on!
After Michael left, I went with Julia to pick up my bike that was all better now, then we stopped off to get some beer (for tomorrow's barbeque) on the way home. It was a fairly uneventful day. Dana, Julia and I went to go grocery shopping and the rest of the time, pretty much stayed in and watched TV (comedy and Extras...which was sometimes too painfully awkward!).
In the evening, I had the place to myself. Julia went out with Joe (it was good to meet him!), and Dana went out with Dave while I stayed back and went for a run (which was quite difficult! ...or maybe it just felt slow compared to the biking speed I'm used to... not sure. I'll have to give it another go or else I'll just have to train back into running again!), made dinner, worked on the blog, and watched some TV (more Extras)! Around 11pm I called Michael to make sure he got in safely. He still hadn't hit Montreal (he was in Laval) since he took some random Green Route detour which took him WAY out of the way. When the other girls came back, we just chilled out for a bit then headed to bed.
Day 73
Today I slept in to about 9am (which is pretty early considering what time I went to bed). I went and dropped off my bike with Julia. They were super helpful and said my bike would be ready today! I gave them Julia's cell number and said I could come back today or tomorrow to get it.
When I got back to Julia's, the two were planning on going down to pick up their tickets for tonight at 4. Since there was some time to kill, Michael and I decided to go downtown to the Parliment and the Canal. We took the bus out and started walking around. The Parliment was really pretty, and while there we discovered they ran free tours. Although the tour might not allow us to get back to Julia's in time to pick up tickets early, we thought what the hell. The price was right! So, we signed up for the tour. We had just enough time to get some food and ate Shwarmas (apparently Ottawa is known for them? I had no idea until Michael told me). Then we had a tour. It was an alright tour. We saw quite a bit, and it was really pretty! It lasted about an hour, and just about everything I learned I will forget by tomorrow, I'm sure!
After the tour we went up the clock tower and saw a nice view of the city. Then, we walked down (past the fairmount, which we stopped inside to check out) to the canal. We took some pictures then jumped on a bus back to Julia's. We had the option of jumping off the bus a few stops early to get our tickets, but today was so hot and we were so worn from walking around in the sun all day that we just wanted to get back to Julia's!
When we got back, Julia had already started (and was just about finished) making pasta for dinner! It was so good! Then we all got ready and went to the concert. Michael and I had to lineup for tickets, but the line moved really quickly, which was great! Apparently Julia and Dana had to lineup for quite a while in the hot sun (I guess everyone had the same mentality of lining up early, and less people were last minute like us, or maybe they had more wickets open? I don't know). But we quickly got our tickets and met Julia and Dana inside. We went straight down to check out Rural Alberta Advantage. They were AMAZING!!! I'd highly recommend anyone to check them out! And all their between song banter was hilarious!
After the show was done, we lineup up for an autograph. I saw a booth nearby giving away blankets if you sign up for a mastercard. As I want a credit card, I figured what the hell. Might as well get a free blanket while I'm at it! Rural Alberta Advantage signed the blanket (and drew out the whole Alberta crest, which was wicked!). They were a lot of fun!
Next, we checked out Plants and Animals. Dana and Julia really liked them, but Michael and I were getting kinda bored after a few songs, so we went to check out Santana. That show was better because there was room at the back to sit (it was packed at the front though! There were tons of people at that concert!). We went back for the end of Plants and Animals to meet back up with Julia and Dana. Those two were staying around for autographs, and since Michael and I didn't really care for them, we headed back to Julia's place. Michael passed out immediately.
When back at Julia's, Dana's friend Dave came over and we all went for some Thai food. It was really good! I wasn't really hungry so just had a spring roll. But it was really good! Then we went back to bed!
When I got back to Julia's, the two were planning on going down to pick up their tickets for tonight at 4. Since there was some time to kill, Michael and I decided to go downtown to the Parliment and the Canal. We took the bus out and started walking around. The Parliment was really pretty, and while there we discovered they ran free tours. Although the tour might not allow us to get back to Julia's in time to pick up tickets early, we thought what the hell. The price was right! So, we signed up for the tour. We had just enough time to get some food and ate Shwarmas (apparently Ottawa is known for them? I had no idea until Michael told me). Then we had a tour. It was an alright tour. We saw quite a bit, and it was really pretty! It lasted about an hour, and just about everything I learned I will forget by tomorrow, I'm sure!
After the tour we went up the clock tower and saw a nice view of the city. Then, we walked down (past the fairmount, which we stopped inside to check out) to the canal. We took some pictures then jumped on a bus back to Julia's. We had the option of jumping off the bus a few stops early to get our tickets, but today was so hot and we were so worn from walking around in the sun all day that we just wanted to get back to Julia's!
When we got back, Julia had already started (and was just about finished) making pasta for dinner! It was so good! Then we all got ready and went to the concert. Michael and I had to lineup for tickets, but the line moved really quickly, which was great! Apparently Julia and Dana had to lineup for quite a while in the hot sun (I guess everyone had the same mentality of lining up early, and less people were last minute like us, or maybe they had more wickets open? I don't know). But we quickly got our tickets and met Julia and Dana inside. We went straight down to check out Rural Alberta Advantage. They were AMAZING!!! I'd highly recommend anyone to check them out! And all their between song banter was hilarious!
After the show was done, we lineup up for an autograph. I saw a booth nearby giving away blankets if you sign up for a mastercard. As I want a credit card, I figured what the hell. Might as well get a free blanket while I'm at it! Rural Alberta Advantage signed the blanket (and drew out the whole Alberta crest, which was wicked!). They were a lot of fun!
Next, we checked out Plants and Animals. Dana and Julia really liked them, but Michael and I were getting kinda bored after a few songs, so we went to check out Santana. That show was better because there was room at the back to sit (it was packed at the front though! There were tons of people at that concert!). We went back for the end of Plants and Animals to meet back up with Julia and Dana. Those two were staying around for autographs, and since Michael and I didn't really care for them, we headed back to Julia's place. Michael passed out immediately.
When back at Julia's, Dana's friend Dave came over and we all went for some Thai food. It was really good! I wasn't really hungry so just had a spring roll. But it was really good! Then we went back to bed!
Day 72
We woke up this morning and started getting our things together. Before everyone else woke up, Philippe and I went for a walk around Westmeath (I gave him a through tour of the massive metropolis (the metropolis of like 200 people). As fate would have it, there were two cars in the school parking lot. Philippe and I went to see if the school was open. We were debating whether or not to go back and get Katie and Stephanie and Michael but we weren't sure if a) it would be open or b) if it would be better if only two of us went in to get a tour and then get the others, so as not to be too intimidating with a group of us, or if we should just all go in. So we thought the two of us would go in and then go back for the others. Turns out there was someone working who showed us a tour!!! I've been waiting my whole life to see the inside of the school (it was built in 1906 and it's the school my grandma went to. We go up to Westmeath almost every summer, and since it's summer none of us have ever seen the inside!). The woman said she didn't have time to wait for us to get everyone so she could show just us or no one. So we took the tour. It was wicked!!! And the grade 1 class was wicked (it had like a platform with a ladder at the back of the class. It was so cool!). Then after the tour, we walked around the town a little longer. When we got back to the house, everyone else was up and jealous that we saw the school! Unfortunately it started raining pretty badly at one point. We figured we would get everything together then wait it out at least until lunch. We polished off all the leftovers (which was quite a bit actually) and saw the rain slowly pick up then die down. We ended up leaving Westmeath around 2:30-3pm. The rain had stopped already, but the clouds ahead were not promising. It was really sad to leave everyone behind because it was the first time we really felt like we were leaving home. When we flew out to Tofino, the whole trip, although exciting, didn't feel real, so leaving home didn't actually feel like leaving per se. But having the family connection part way through was really nice, but really sad to leave! It was so nice having those three visit and it was so nice staying in Westmeath! So, leaving was hard for me. Once we hit the Quebec/Ontario border, it was real again and I was ready for the next part of the trip.
We were making really good time until we crossed into Quebec. The start of the Quebec portion was full of construction with really bad roads. So we could only go so fast on them (and by so fast I mean somewhere between 10-15km/hr). Once we were out of the construction zone, we were flying again! We knew it was supposed to thunderstorm sometime this evening and we really wanted to hit Ottawa before that happened! Michael wanted to take the road through the Gatineau but I was a little hesitant. We didn't know how the roads would be, and I really didn't want to be caught out in the middle of nowhere in a storm. Michael ended up convincing me, and we compromised by taking the shorter route rather than the one that zig zagged all the way through the park. Unfortunately, the road we took seemed to just skirt around the outside perimeter of the park, without actually going into the park. However, it was a very nice, enjoyable ride with rolling hills (where before every up there was a down!). It seemed much quicker than the highway as well. I was really glad we took that route! At one point it was scary because the clouds started getting very grey, and then it started getting very dark very quick and the temperature just dropped from hot to a little chilly. Sure signs of the beginning of a storm. Somehow, however, that storm never came! We made it all the way into Ottawa, to Julia's house without a drop! It was wicked! And from the turnoff to the mountain road (along the Gatineau) all the way to her house was very nice and enjoyable!
When we got to Julia's (around 8:20), both Julia and Dana were still there! They were on their way out to see Arcade Fire. Michael and I went to shower before joining them (so they left early). When Michael and I were heading down, we had the option of taking the bus, but since it was only two stops away, we decided to walk it. The walk took a little longer than expected, but it was really enjoyable!
Unfortunately, when we got to the Bluesfest, the ticket booths were closed and no one at the door would let us pay there. Therefore, we were forced to freeload the show and watch from outside the gate. We could still see the screens, and being an outdoor concert, we could hear it perfectly well! Arcade Fire was soo good! It would probably have been better if we were there for the whole thing, or inside, but we can't complain with what we saw for free! I guess we could have not showered and just gone with Julia and Dana, but the last time we showered was at Julia's cottage (as there were no showers at either Algonquin or Westmeath, and although we did go swimming, it's not the same. And the last time we were in the water was the Ottawa River, which isn't known to be the cleanest). So, I'm glad we showered rather than caught the entire concert!
We walked back and beat Julia and Dana home. They felt bad because Dana didn't have Michael's number, and I didn't have hers, and Julia forgot her phone at home. We really weren't bothered because we couldn't get in anyways. But they didn't know we couldn't get in so assumed we were looking for them the whole time. So, they waited around the concert for a bit, seeing if they could find us (they didn't get the text we sent after not being able to get in saying we can't get in, so it's probably easiest to just meet back at Julia's). So, alas, we were all back! Michael was exhausted so passed out, and I stayed up with Julia and Dana for a bit, catching up. It was a really nice night!
We were making really good time until we crossed into Quebec. The start of the Quebec portion was full of construction with really bad roads. So we could only go so fast on them (and by so fast I mean somewhere between 10-15km/hr). Once we were out of the construction zone, we were flying again! We knew it was supposed to thunderstorm sometime this evening and we really wanted to hit Ottawa before that happened! Michael wanted to take the road through the Gatineau but I was a little hesitant. We didn't know how the roads would be, and I really didn't want to be caught out in the middle of nowhere in a storm. Michael ended up convincing me, and we compromised by taking the shorter route rather than the one that zig zagged all the way through the park. Unfortunately, the road we took seemed to just skirt around the outside perimeter of the park, without actually going into the park. However, it was a very nice, enjoyable ride with rolling hills (where before every up there was a down!). It seemed much quicker than the highway as well. I was really glad we took that route! At one point it was scary because the clouds started getting very grey, and then it started getting very dark very quick and the temperature just dropped from hot to a little chilly. Sure signs of the beginning of a storm. Somehow, however, that storm never came! We made it all the way into Ottawa, to Julia's house without a drop! It was wicked! And from the turnoff to the mountain road (along the Gatineau) all the way to her house was very nice and enjoyable!
When we got to Julia's (around 8:20), both Julia and Dana were still there! They were on their way out to see Arcade Fire. Michael and I went to shower before joining them (so they left early). When Michael and I were heading down, we had the option of taking the bus, but since it was only two stops away, we decided to walk it. The walk took a little longer than expected, but it was really enjoyable!
Unfortunately, when we got to the Bluesfest, the ticket booths were closed and no one at the door would let us pay there. Therefore, we were forced to freeload the show and watch from outside the gate. We could still see the screens, and being an outdoor concert, we could hear it perfectly well! Arcade Fire was soo good! It would probably have been better if we were there for the whole thing, or inside, but we can't complain with what we saw for free! I guess we could have not showered and just gone with Julia and Dana, but the last time we showered was at Julia's cottage (as there were no showers at either Algonquin or Westmeath, and although we did go swimming, it's not the same. And the last time we were in the water was the Ottawa River, which isn't known to be the cleanest). So, I'm glad we showered rather than caught the entire concert!
We walked back and beat Julia and Dana home. They felt bad because Dana didn't have Michael's number, and I didn't have hers, and Julia forgot her phone at home. We really weren't bothered because we couldn't get in anyways. But they didn't know we couldn't get in so assumed we were looking for them the whole time. So, they waited around the concert for a bit, seeing if they could find us (they didn't get the text we sent after not being able to get in saying we can't get in, so it's probably easiest to just meet back at Julia's). So, alas, we were all back! Michael was exhausted so passed out, and I stayed up with Julia and Dana for a bit, catching up. It was a really nice night!
Day 71
We all woke up really early so we could make it on time to White Water Rafting. We didn't want to lose our deposit. Jimi didn't join us White Water Rafting and decided to go straight to Ottawa instead. The rest of us drove down, and made it with plenty of time to sign in. Our biggest issue was the shoe situation. They wouldn't let us participate without shoes, and they wouldn't let us use flip flops because they would fall off. They recommended we use an old pair of running shoes. When we told them we were cycling across Canada so didn't have any extras, and weren't going to get our only pair soaking wet (especially since they would stink up our paniers as we didn't have anywhere to dry them out!), they recommended we buy a new pair from their store. I was not about to pay $200 for a new pair of shoes I don't need, and didn't have room to carry along. So finally, the unsympathetic staff showed us to the lost and found to get a pair for free that we had to return when we're done. We were a little nervous because the staff working behind the desk at owl were a little unfriendly, in general. We were hoping we didn't pay so much money for a lousy experience. But, when we met the camera guy, Travis, things started looking up. He was so fun and quirky, it was great!
They brought us to the start of the route along the river (via school bus). There, we met our guide Juraj (I think that was how you spell it... it's pronounced Yuri). He had a wicked mullet, which he cut for an 80s party a week or two back, and, as he put it, it just never seemed to go away. He said it's been so long since he has had buzzed hair (which is what he would have to do to get rid of the mullet) that he was a ibt scared. So I guess he secretly liked the style and then decided to keep rocking the mullet!
The first rapid we went down was called Phil's hole. Stephanie was very nervous, and Juray let her (and I) come down and have a look at the rapid from below before we went down (he had to set up a safety for the other boats that went down first. Then they would do the same from the bottom as we went down). Stephanie was less nervous after seeing that. So, then we went down. It was a class 4, which would be the highest class rapid we would be going down today. Both Michael and Philippe flipped out of the boat. I pulled Philippe back in (which means I saved his life and he owes me! I'll save anyone's life for a favour! Kidding obviously!). And Katie pulled Michael in. The next thing we did was really cool. We went right into a standing wave/whirlpool type thing. Philippe and I were in the front, and Stephanie said from the back it looked like we just disappeared. We dipped the nose of the boat into the water, essentially. I was the only one in the front who didn't flip out. Michael, Katie, and Philippe all fell out. I saved Philippe again. After that, there were no more people falling out of our boat!
We kept going down some more rapids until we got to the place where we could jump off a cliff (small cliff, but a decent height!). Stephanie was too scared to jump, but the rest of us did. It was so much fun! I lost my borrowed shoe down the rapid though, when swimming back to shore. When we were all done, eating a snack, it started to rain and thunderstorm. It went from being super hot to really cold! Not cool! According to one of the unfriendly ladies working behind the desk from this morning, the thunderstorms in this area don't last long because they follow the river. I've never heard such nonsense. It's not like there are mountains or anything affecting the weather. It was clearly her way of making sure we didn't pull out of the trip this morning (I wasn't going to argue with her, and I wasn't going to not go because of the weather forecast, but I didn't like her answer none the less). Either way, the storm didn't just blow down the river. It lasted for quite a while! When the thunder and lightning (which at some points came ridiculously close) subsided, we headed back to our boats, in the rain, to continue down. We had to pull back onto shore again because the thunder and lightning started again. Finally, it subsided enough for us to reach the tugboat which was to take us to the pontoon. There were some activities that we didn't have a chance to do (Juray told us) such as piling all the rafts on top of each other and making a big platform to jump off of, and other small games. But we still had a really good time! And you can't control the weather! So, we got tugged to the pontoon where a big buffet of pasta/lettuce salad and saussages was waiting for us. Just as we got under cover, the rain started again and it was worse than before. It came POURING down! But we were covered (more or less. The canvas roof was leaking in places, and the rain still came through the open sides).
When we made it back to shore, we returned all our gear, saw the video Travis made (and bought the video), said thank you (and unfortunately, we couldn't take advantage of the free kayaking lesson because of the rain) and headed back to Westmeath for the night.
We ate some more leftovers and played Trivial Pursuit well into the night. Some of those questions were hard because the game was outdated, and some were just hard. But it was a lot of fun and Katie and I beat Philippe and Stephanie (which we were pretty proud of!). Then, we called it a night and went to bed!
They brought us to the start of the route along the river (via school bus). There, we met our guide Juraj (I think that was how you spell it... it's pronounced Yuri). He had a wicked mullet, which he cut for an 80s party a week or two back, and, as he put it, it just never seemed to go away. He said it's been so long since he has had buzzed hair (which is what he would have to do to get rid of the mullet) that he was a ibt scared. So I guess he secretly liked the style and then decided to keep rocking the mullet!
The first rapid we went down was called Phil's hole. Stephanie was very nervous, and Juray let her (and I) come down and have a look at the rapid from below before we went down (he had to set up a safety for the other boats that went down first. Then they would do the same from the bottom as we went down). Stephanie was less nervous after seeing that. So, then we went down. It was a class 4, which would be the highest class rapid we would be going down today. Both Michael and Philippe flipped out of the boat. I pulled Philippe back in (which means I saved his life and he owes me! I'll save anyone's life for a favour! Kidding obviously!). And Katie pulled Michael in. The next thing we did was really cool. We went right into a standing wave/whirlpool type thing. Philippe and I were in the front, and Stephanie said from the back it looked like we just disappeared. We dipped the nose of the boat into the water, essentially. I was the only one in the front who didn't flip out. Michael, Katie, and Philippe all fell out. I saved Philippe again. After that, there were no more people falling out of our boat!
We kept going down some more rapids until we got to the place where we could jump off a cliff (small cliff, but a decent height!). Stephanie was too scared to jump, but the rest of us did. It was so much fun! I lost my borrowed shoe down the rapid though, when swimming back to shore. When we were all done, eating a snack, it started to rain and thunderstorm. It went from being super hot to really cold! Not cool! According to one of the unfriendly ladies working behind the desk from this morning, the thunderstorms in this area don't last long because they follow the river. I've never heard such nonsense. It's not like there are mountains or anything affecting the weather. It was clearly her way of making sure we didn't pull out of the trip this morning (I wasn't going to argue with her, and I wasn't going to not go because of the weather forecast, but I didn't like her answer none the less). Either way, the storm didn't just blow down the river. It lasted for quite a while! When the thunder and lightning (which at some points came ridiculously close) subsided, we headed back to our boats, in the rain, to continue down. We had to pull back onto shore again because the thunder and lightning started again. Finally, it subsided enough for us to reach the tugboat which was to take us to the pontoon. There were some activities that we didn't have a chance to do (Juray told us) such as piling all the rafts on top of each other and making a big platform to jump off of, and other small games. But we still had a really good time! And you can't control the weather! So, we got tugged to the pontoon where a big buffet of pasta/lettuce salad and saussages was waiting for us. Just as we got under cover, the rain started again and it was worse than before. It came POURING down! But we were covered (more or less. The canvas roof was leaking in places, and the rain still came through the open sides).
When we made it back to shore, we returned all our gear, saw the video Travis made (and bought the video), said thank you (and unfortunately, we couldn't take advantage of the free kayaking lesson because of the rain) and headed back to Westmeath for the night.
We ate some more leftovers and played Trivial Pursuit well into the night. Some of those questions were hard because the game was outdated, and some were just hard. But it was a lot of fun and Katie and I beat Philippe and Stephanie (which we were pretty proud of!). Then, we called it a night and went to bed!
Day 70
We woke up early to ensure that Jimi could make church in Mattawa. We didn't know what time church would start in a small town (as they may only have one service on Sundays). So, we woke up at 6 and aimed for 9. We arrived with plenty of time, only to realize that mass started at 11 (and now we had eons of time!). So, with that extra time to kill, we decided to get some food. We went to a small, family restaurant. It was really cute, and the food was ridiculously cheap! It was wonderful! We hung around there for a while, then dropped Jimi off at church while the rest of us went grocery shopping. It worked out perfectly because just as we finished, Jimi would have been done mass. So we went to the church, dropped off our bikes, then Philippe drove to Westmeath with Katie, Stephanie, and our gear. The plan was for him to drop everything off, then start cycling towards us, and then return the rest of the way to Westmeath with us.
We expected to fly without gear, but there were a few things holding us back. First of all, we had a headwind. Second, it was really hard to get used to no gear, so I found it very difficult to stand up on the bike when going uphill. Therefore, I sat for most of the hills (and there were tons of them!). Eventually I got used to them, but it was like learning to ride a bike all over again. I would stand for one stroke, then sit right back down (because the bike was so wobbly without all the gear). Then, when I was used to that, I would go two strokes, and so on and so on until I got the hang of it again. Thirdly, it was so brutally hot that we needed to fill our water bottles every 30km or so.
When we got into Deep River we took a food break at the Tim Horton's. Right inside was also a Cold Store. I've never heard of it before, and don't know if it's a separate company or in conjunction with Tim Hortons, but it's a place that sells ice cream! So we had Tim Hortons for dinner, then ice cream for desert! It was so good! Especially on such a hot day! The only problem was, when we stepped back outside on our bikes, it was as if we never had ice cream. It was still brutally hot and we were no longer refreshed!
We called Philippe and he was just outside of Chalk River. We met up in between Chalk and Deep River, then he continued back with us. I was impressed that he wasn't tired and was going pretty fast. Especially since he hasn't cycled this far before, he was doing really well! So the four of us cycled back to Westmeath (which was a really nice, pleasant cycle and the winds seemed to have changed from head to tail as philippe changed directions. maybe he should come along more often??). But it was really fun having Philippe along with us! Especially when we were cycling the smaller highways between Pembroke and Westmeath, where we could talk more.
We ended up in Westmeath around 8 and Stephanie and Katie were lovely and already prepared dinner for us! It was delicious stir fry! After diner we stayed up for a bit talking, then went to bed.
We expected to fly without gear, but there were a few things holding us back. First of all, we had a headwind. Second, it was really hard to get used to no gear, so I found it very difficult to stand up on the bike when going uphill. Therefore, I sat for most of the hills (and there were tons of them!). Eventually I got used to them, but it was like learning to ride a bike all over again. I would stand for one stroke, then sit right back down (because the bike was so wobbly without all the gear). Then, when I was used to that, I would go two strokes, and so on and so on until I got the hang of it again. Thirdly, it was so brutally hot that we needed to fill our water bottles every 30km or so.
When we got into Deep River we took a food break at the Tim Horton's. Right inside was also a Cold Store. I've never heard of it before, and don't know if it's a separate company or in conjunction with Tim Hortons, but it's a place that sells ice cream! So we had Tim Hortons for dinner, then ice cream for desert! It was so good! Especially on such a hot day! The only problem was, when we stepped back outside on our bikes, it was as if we never had ice cream. It was still brutally hot and we were no longer refreshed!
We called Philippe and he was just outside of Chalk River. We met up in between Chalk and Deep River, then he continued back with us. I was impressed that he wasn't tired and was going pretty fast. Especially since he hasn't cycled this far before, he was doing really well! So the four of us cycled back to Westmeath (which was a really nice, pleasant cycle and the winds seemed to have changed from head to tail as philippe changed directions. maybe he should come along more often??). But it was really fun having Philippe along with us! Especially when we were cycling the smaller highways between Pembroke and Westmeath, where we could talk more.
We ended up in Westmeath around 8 and Stephanie and Katie were lovely and already prepared dinner for us! It was delicious stir fry! After diner we stayed up for a bit talking, then went to bed.
Day 69
This morning everyone slept in, except me, who was awake at 6:30 (I have a hard time sleeping in!). I went to find out some canoe info, but they were closed, and I was really bored because everyone was asleep (and I'd feel too guilty waking them up!). So I went back to bed until 8:30-9. Everyone started trickling awake after that and we sorted out the canoe info. I called the place and they asked if I was just going to stay on the lake, or if I planned on doing a portage. Since we were only going to have the canoes for one day, I figured we would only be on the lake, which was wicked because then he offered me the cheaper canoes ($25/day). He said he had two down there already (as the shop was 40km from the campground). When I gave him my site info, he realized I was in Algonquin (and not Samuel de Champlain park), and so said he didn't actually have cheaper ones there, but said he'd give me the better canoes for the cheaper rate (how wicked is that?! I didn't even ask for anything, and was fully planning on, and assumed I would have to pay the higher rate!). So, we got two canoes which were suitable for a portage! Michael talked to the park ranger and we had a route! Michael, Katie, and Stephanie were in one boat, and Philippe, Jimi and I were in the other!
We paddled out on the lake right in front of our site. Our route took us through to Little Mink Lake, then to Mink Lake, and then back via Waterclear Lake and then Whitebirch Lake. The portage sections varied in length from about 340m up to just over 1,300m. I took two of the shorter portages, Jimi took some of the medium lengthed ones, and Philippe took the two longest stretches (the 900m and the 1300). I was struggling to do what I did, I don't know how Jimi did it, and I especially don't know how Philipped did it! And he didn't even take a break! I was so impressed! I was also super impressed with Katie (and in some ways more so because lifting is harder for girls than boys) who did the 900m stretch without a break! Stephanie and I had our limits with the shorter lengths! And those were a struggle! But each boat had their own rotating system, which worked. It was a really nice day, and we were glad we were able to do a portage! It was a beautiful day for it, and there weren't too many bugs! It was perfect!
When we were paddling back in (and super eager for a swim and some food!), we saw someone's camper van fairly deeply submerged in the water. We were too curious not to get a closer look! Turns out, when they were unloading their boat, the brakes failed and it just kept rolling back. When the tow truck arrived and pulled it out of the water, tons of water was pouring out of the back. It was too bad. There was definitely going to be some damage. It was good they had a sense of humour about it though!
We returned the boats and paddles, then went to make some dinner and go for a dip (which was lovely!). We had more leftover chili (which Katie made from scratch for us when Stephanie told her no hamburgers, which was lovely of her! We devoured a good chunk of it yesterday and finished it off today), and had hamburgers! (there was some technical difficulties with getting burgers. On the phone to Stephanie, while planning this trip, I told her to bring burgers, but to buy A LOT. None of this one burger each bullshit, but TONS of them! We are hungry and don't often get to eat meat or fruit and vegetables (depending on where we are). She misinterpreted that to mean we didn't want burgers. So, that was our main objective in the grocery stop over in North Bay). To test our four food group theory, we put peanut butter and cheese (along with all the other typical and essential condiments) on our burgers. Delicious! We also had some smores again for desert, and then went for a night swim! (ps. I didn't mention that both nights we had a bonfire because I felt it went without saying. But to clarify, we had two wicked bonfires!). Then we called it a night, ready for an early morning tomorrow!
We paddled out on the lake right in front of our site. Our route took us through to Little Mink Lake, then to Mink Lake, and then back via Waterclear Lake and then Whitebirch Lake. The portage sections varied in length from about 340m up to just over 1,300m. I took two of the shorter portages, Jimi took some of the medium lengthed ones, and Philippe took the two longest stretches (the 900m and the 1300). I was struggling to do what I did, I don't know how Jimi did it, and I especially don't know how Philipped did it! And he didn't even take a break! I was so impressed! I was also super impressed with Katie (and in some ways more so because lifting is harder for girls than boys) who did the 900m stretch without a break! Stephanie and I had our limits with the shorter lengths! And those were a struggle! But each boat had their own rotating system, which worked. It was a really nice day, and we were glad we were able to do a portage! It was a beautiful day for it, and there weren't too many bugs! It was perfect!
When we were paddling back in (and super eager for a swim and some food!), we saw someone's camper van fairly deeply submerged in the water. We were too curious not to get a closer look! Turns out, when they were unloading their boat, the brakes failed and it just kept rolling back. When the tow truck arrived and pulled it out of the water, tons of water was pouring out of the back. It was too bad. There was definitely going to be some damage. It was good they had a sense of humour about it though!
We returned the boats and paddles, then went to make some dinner and go for a dip (which was lovely!). We had more leftover chili (which Katie made from scratch for us when Stephanie told her no hamburgers, which was lovely of her! We devoured a good chunk of it yesterday and finished it off today), and had hamburgers! (there was some technical difficulties with getting burgers. On the phone to Stephanie, while planning this trip, I told her to bring burgers, but to buy A LOT. None of this one burger each bullshit, but TONS of them! We are hungry and don't often get to eat meat or fruit and vegetables (depending on where we are). She misinterpreted that to mean we didn't want burgers. So, that was our main objective in the grocery stop over in North Bay). To test our four food group theory, we put peanut butter and cheese (along with all the other typical and essential condiments) on our burgers. Delicious! We also had some smores again for desert, and then went for a night swim! (ps. I didn't mention that both nights we had a bonfire because I felt it went without saying. But to clarify, we had two wicked bonfires!). Then we called it a night, ready for an early morning tomorrow!
Day 68
We woke up early today to hit the road and beat Philippe, Katie, and Stephanie to Algonquin (or at least North Bay). We were only slightly delayed by a phone call, and a few super minor technical difficulties, but didn't beat them in the end, unfortunately. It would have been a worse loss if they knew it was a race, but luckily they had no idea, so couldn't rub it in!
Only like 10-20km after hitting the road, we stopped off at a gas station to fill our water bottles (and buy chocolate milk if they had any, but they didn't). When we were there, Jimi and I went in the store while Michael watched the bikes. A mechanic stepped out of the garage to talk to Michael. He asked if Michael was going to be long, and Michael said no, but he could move the bikes if it was a problem. The guy said it wasn't a problem, (and keep in mind, there was A LOT of space for people to drive through beside the pumps), but in case a woman came in, you know how they drive (as he started dramatically flailing his arms back and forth, to mimic the giant swerves of a typical female driver). Michael said the guy acted serious too, which made it funnier (that he was actually for real!).
After leaving that gas station, we have few breaks. The roads were decent. They were REALLY nice yesterday, after leaving Sudbury, and were similar in some parts, but pretty rough in others. Our time and speed depended on how rough the roads were.
We were warned about some hills right before North Bay, but they weren't bad at all! It was really pleasant, in fact! When we got into North Bay, we met up with the other three, went grocery shopping, then joined them to Algonquin (we would have cycled if the bike shop in Sudbury wasn't useless and we could have hit the road immediately. But as we left so late and missed out on so much quality cycling, it would have been rude to invite Philippe, Katie and Stephanie up just to make them wait in Algonquin for us!).
When we got there, we were a little disappointed with the site! There was NO privacy! It was like camping at a trailer park. I expected more of Algonquin! Especially since they have so much land, and so much dense forest, it was clearly cleared on purpose (and who knows why!). But, that being said, we were right on the water, which was really nice, and the site was really big, so it fit all four tents! We started setting up our site, eating, and getting some information for the portage tomorrow! We also went for a swim (the water was really nice! It felt like bath water compared to Lake Superior!). We had the chili that Katie made for us from scratch! It was delicious! For desert we (obviously) had smores! And they were obviously delicious!
Before going to bed, we converted one of the tents into a theater and we all watch Jurassic Park on my laptop. It was wicked (as expected). All the girls stayed awake and the boys fell asleep (I was so proud of myself! I don't remember the last time I didn't fall asleep through a movie!). Then we all went to bed!
Only like 10-20km after hitting the road, we stopped off at a gas station to fill our water bottles (and buy chocolate milk if they had any, but they didn't). When we were there, Jimi and I went in the store while Michael watched the bikes. A mechanic stepped out of the garage to talk to Michael. He asked if Michael was going to be long, and Michael said no, but he could move the bikes if it was a problem. The guy said it wasn't a problem, (and keep in mind, there was A LOT of space for people to drive through beside the pumps), but in case a woman came in, you know how they drive (as he started dramatically flailing his arms back and forth, to mimic the giant swerves of a typical female driver). Michael said the guy acted serious too, which made it funnier (that he was actually for real!).
After leaving that gas station, we have few breaks. The roads were decent. They were REALLY nice yesterday, after leaving Sudbury, and were similar in some parts, but pretty rough in others. Our time and speed depended on how rough the roads were.
We were warned about some hills right before North Bay, but they weren't bad at all! It was really pleasant, in fact! When we got into North Bay, we met up with the other three, went grocery shopping, then joined them to Algonquin (we would have cycled if the bike shop in Sudbury wasn't useless and we could have hit the road immediately. But as we left so late and missed out on so much quality cycling, it would have been rude to invite Philippe, Katie and Stephanie up just to make them wait in Algonquin for us!).
When we got there, we were a little disappointed with the site! There was NO privacy! It was like camping at a trailer park. I expected more of Algonquin! Especially since they have so much land, and so much dense forest, it was clearly cleared on purpose (and who knows why!). But, that being said, we were right on the water, which was really nice, and the site was really big, so it fit all four tents! We started setting up our site, eating, and getting some information for the portage tomorrow! We also went for a swim (the water was really nice! It felt like bath water compared to Lake Superior!). We had the chili that Katie made for us from scratch! It was delicious! For desert we (obviously) had smores! And they were obviously delicious!
Before going to bed, we converted one of the tents into a theater and we all watch Jurassic Park on my laptop. It was wicked (as expected). All the girls stayed awake and the boys fell asleep (I was so proud of myself! I don't remember the last time I didn't fall asleep through a movie!). Then we all went to bed!
Day 67
This morning we slept in until around 9am. Jimi made an amazing breakfast for us (that him and Michael sorted at the grocery store yesterday). We had french toast and steak with maple syrup! It was unreal! We decided there are four food groups: peanut butter, cheese, chocolate milk, and maple. They are all you need to survive (and make up a HUGE percentage of our meals), and they EACH go with EVERYTHING (you can even mix them with any other above mentioned group and it's still amazing!)! If you don't believe me, try it! I dare you!
After the amazing meal, we did the laundry, packed our things, and cleaned up our mess then hit the road to Sudbury. They dropped me off at the bike shop while Michael and Jimi returned the car and picked up their bikes. When I walked into Pinnacle Sports, I saw the bike mechanic just sitting on one of the bikes in the shop, and he didn't acknowledge me. When I asked the guy working behind the desk if my bike was ready, he went to check, and as he did the bike mechanic told me he didn't do anything with the bike. I was not impressed! In fairness, he said the parts didn't arrive. If that's the case, I can understand that he didn't work on it. But, that being said, he knew I was on a tight deadline and he guaranteed that my bike would be done today. If he even thought there was a chance it wouldn't be done, he should have recommended going to another shop. But he didn't even call the delivery service to ask if it was coming the next day or anything. When I asked why, he said the manager did it instead. When I asked what the delivery guy told the manager, he said he didn't know, because apparently he didn't bother to go and find out! I was so mad. And I told him waiting another day wasn't an option (we are meeting Philippe, Katie and Stephanie tomorrow in Algonquin! We don't have time to waste!). Only then did he suggest giong across the street to the other shop (something he should have done on Tuesday!).
I went across the street to the Outside Store. I didn't think it was a bike shop, otherwise I might have gone there in the first place (as it was RIGHT across the street! I would have at least checked it out! But with a name like that, I just assumed it was like a camping store or something). They were incredibly helpful! They gave my bike top priority and finished fixing it (putting on a new rack, repacking the cones, replacing 6 spokes and truing the wheel) within an hour or two, and charged only a quarter of the price of the Calgary bike shop for doing more! It was wicked. They were amazing (both with the quality of work and with their customer relations!). I would highly recommend that store to anyone in/passing through Sudbury! They also let Michael use their internet so he could get some work done for his professor.
Although the guys at that shop were amazing and quick, the technical difficulties gave us a late start and we only left the shop and hit the road at 7:20. We had a wicked tail wind, so made some good distance considering the late start (50.2km)! We stopped off to camp out at a rest area. It was a sweet spot except for the house across the street. He was harmless, but was BLASTING his music! I don't know if I've ever heard or seen anyone sit so close to such LOUD music in my life! But, to be fair, if he likes being that loud, he picked a good house! Other than the rest area (which had a few picnic areas and two outhouses), there was NOTHING around, or no one he could disturb. I was afraid that he would blast the music all night, but he turned it down as we were falling asleep, which was convenient! Once our tents were up, we RUSHED into them to get away from the BRUTAL mosquitoes! Then we went to bed, ready for an early start tomorrow to beat Philippe, Stephanie, and Katie to North Bay, or even Algonquin!
After the amazing meal, we did the laundry, packed our things, and cleaned up our mess then hit the road to Sudbury. They dropped me off at the bike shop while Michael and Jimi returned the car and picked up their bikes. When I walked into Pinnacle Sports, I saw the bike mechanic just sitting on one of the bikes in the shop, and he didn't acknowledge me. When I asked the guy working behind the desk if my bike was ready, he went to check, and as he did the bike mechanic told me he didn't do anything with the bike. I was not impressed! In fairness, he said the parts didn't arrive. If that's the case, I can understand that he didn't work on it. But, that being said, he knew I was on a tight deadline and he guaranteed that my bike would be done today. If he even thought there was a chance it wouldn't be done, he should have recommended going to another shop. But he didn't even call the delivery service to ask if it was coming the next day or anything. When I asked why, he said the manager did it instead. When I asked what the delivery guy told the manager, he said he didn't know, because apparently he didn't bother to go and find out! I was so mad. And I told him waiting another day wasn't an option (we are meeting Philippe, Katie and Stephanie tomorrow in Algonquin! We don't have time to waste!). Only then did he suggest giong across the street to the other shop (something he should have done on Tuesday!).
I went across the street to the Outside Store. I didn't think it was a bike shop, otherwise I might have gone there in the first place (as it was RIGHT across the street! I would have at least checked it out! But with a name like that, I just assumed it was like a camping store or something). They were incredibly helpful! They gave my bike top priority and finished fixing it (putting on a new rack, repacking the cones, replacing 6 spokes and truing the wheel) within an hour or two, and charged only a quarter of the price of the Calgary bike shop for doing more! It was wicked. They were amazing (both with the quality of work and with their customer relations!). I would highly recommend that store to anyone in/passing through Sudbury! They also let Michael use their internet so he could get some work done for his professor.
Although the guys at that shop were amazing and quick, the technical difficulties gave us a late start and we only left the shop and hit the road at 7:20. We had a wicked tail wind, so made some good distance considering the late start (50.2km)! We stopped off to camp out at a rest area. It was a sweet spot except for the house across the street. He was harmless, but was BLASTING his music! I don't know if I've ever heard or seen anyone sit so close to such LOUD music in my life! But, to be fair, if he likes being that loud, he picked a good house! Other than the rest area (which had a few picnic areas and two outhouses), there was NOTHING around, or no one he could disturb. I was afraid that he would blast the music all night, but he turned it down as we were falling asleep, which was convenient! Once our tents were up, we RUSHED into them to get away from the BRUTAL mosquitoes! Then we went to bed, ready for an early start tomorrow to beat Philippe, Stephanie, and Katie to North Bay, or even Algonquin!
Day 66
We woke up really early this morning to give ourselves time to make the 8am ferry. It recommended arriving an hour early as well, so we had to wake up at like 5-5:30 just to ensure we had time to drive the hour ride to be early! Turns out, the ferry left just after 9, so we had a LOT of time to kill! The ferry was also RIDICULOUSLY expensive! It cost the three of us and the car $82 one way! And it was like a two hour boat ride (and it wasn't that far to go! There must be a speed restriction due to a lot of traffic or something?). But after all those previous technical difficulties, we finally made it! And although it was foggy, we knew it wouldn't rain and would clear (more or less, which it did) because the fates would be too cruel to finally arrange everything so we could go, just to have bad weather conditions!
When we got on the boat, we decided to have some breakfast. There was (what seemed) a wickedly priced meal where, the sign led us to believe, you could pick pancakes or eggs and it came with a lot of extra food (ie toast, sausage, bacon, etc). It was poorly advertised, because, only after ordering the pancake meal did we realize (ie we were told) the pancake meal doesn't come with all that. Just pancakes and two sausages. And the pancakes were a touch stale. But we did load up on tea!
Around 11am, we arrived in Tobemory! Our first stop was the information center, where we asked about hikes. They recommended going to Bruce Peninsula National Park to do the Bruce Trail. On our way over, there was some minor construction. The worker holding the stop/slow sign was really nice. He asked us to guess his age. We guessed too young. He looked really out of shape, so we obviously thought he was a younger guy who looks older. Turns out he was an older guy who looks like a younger guy who looks older. But it was a pleasant conversation, and then we were directed to the end of the construction zone. It was really funny because there was only one lane open for traffic, while they worked on the other lane. It was under 1km long, and it was a straight stretch (ie no turn-offs, no bends in the road, or anything!). However, there was a pick-up truck (which was driven by the boss's son the sign holder told us. Apparently the boss made up a position just to get his son a job! He probably gets paid more than other people too for his useless job) with a sign on it saying "follow." So, once the sign man gives the go-ahead, you are supposed to follow the truck, straight for the hundreds of meters, and then keep going after the truck pulls over to let you go ahead. Jimmy was so zoned following this guy (and so focused on listening to the sign) that when the boss' son pulled over to let us pass (yes, we were first in the line), Jimmy, without focusing, pulled over behind him. The two construction workers manning the stop/slow sign on the other end (yeah, there were two of them there), were irrationally mad at Jimmy and started waving their arms in the air and giving him dirty looks, etc. Jimmy quickly pulled back to the correct lane and we kept going until the national park, but it was so funny!
When we arrived in the park, it was a bit of a drive in. Finally we came to a house to pay for a day pass/parking pass. There was a semi ambiguous sign which said "National Parks Pass holders straight" and right underneath it said "Parking $11." So we kept going straight and hoped we didn't have to pay the $11. When we got to the parking lot, there was a woman in the Parks uniform sitting on a tractor of sorts. Jimmy pulled up to her and asked if she was waiting to give out tickets. She said maybe. Then Jimmy asked, in that case, what do we have to buy to not get a ticket. She looked at our Parks Pass and said we were good and didn't need to buy anything. Jimmy still made her promise to not ticket us. Then we parked and hit the trail!
where we saw the crystal turquoise blue colour of the Georgian Bay (it was unreal!), saw some caves, and some amazing look-outs, and then climbed down a hole in the ground to see a cool rock overhang. Then we went for a swim (it was FREEZING! But since it was so hot outside, it was really nice!!!). The water was really unreal! It was so nice!
When we were coming back into Tobemory, we were starving so decided to go to the place advertising all you can eat fish and chips for only $11.99! It was a pirate themed restaurant called "Shipwreck Lee's." It was wicked. The waiter's family owned the restaurant, so he was so relaxed and easy going, and hilarious! It was really good fish and chips too! We were so glad we ate there! And we tried some new beer called "Flying Monkey." The waiter described their different selections as "The one we have is the best, but they also have a darker beer which is even better, and then the *whatever* beer is the most amazing, etc (every beer had another "amazing" or "awesome" or "best" description"). And they had the MOST WICKED costumes (a GIANT skull necklace (as in the size of a typical clock you see in a classroom), plastic swords, toy monkeys, etc all hanging off them!). I would highly recommend that place! It was so much fun and worth every penny!
Because the ferries were few and far between, we missed the 3pm ferry because of lunch and so had to hit the 8pm ferry. We walked around town and were hoping to see some of the shipwrecks in the water. Since we didn't have scuba or snorkeling gear, we hoped to see it from the side of the road. Either the ships were too far off the shoreline or the sun was hitting the water just so we only saw the glare, but we didn't see any of them. But the water was still really nice! We went to the lighthouse and walked around that area a bit. Then we went to walk around the town a bit more, have ice cream, and bought groceries for breakfast.
The ferry ride was nice, and the sunset was really pretty!
When we arrived back at Julia's it was late, so we didn't get to try the ice cream place Julia recommended leaving Manatoulin Island. When we got back to her place, we popped on another James Bond film and passed out! It was an amazing day!
When we got on the boat, we decided to have some breakfast. There was (what seemed) a wickedly priced meal where, the sign led us to believe, you could pick pancakes or eggs and it came with a lot of extra food (ie toast, sausage, bacon, etc). It was poorly advertised, because, only after ordering the pancake meal did we realize (ie we were told) the pancake meal doesn't come with all that. Just pancakes and two sausages. And the pancakes were a touch stale. But we did load up on tea!
Around 11am, we arrived in Tobemory! Our first stop was the information center, where we asked about hikes. They recommended going to Bruce Peninsula National Park to do the Bruce Trail. On our way over, there was some minor construction. The worker holding the stop/slow sign was really nice. He asked us to guess his age. We guessed too young. He looked really out of shape, so we obviously thought he was a younger guy who looks older. Turns out he was an older guy who looks like a younger guy who looks older. But it was a pleasant conversation, and then we were directed to the end of the construction zone. It was really funny because there was only one lane open for traffic, while they worked on the other lane. It was under 1km long, and it was a straight stretch (ie no turn-offs, no bends in the road, or anything!). However, there was a pick-up truck (which was driven by the boss's son the sign holder told us. Apparently the boss made up a position just to get his son a job! He probably gets paid more than other people too for his useless job) with a sign on it saying "follow." So, once the sign man gives the go-ahead, you are supposed to follow the truck, straight for the hundreds of meters, and then keep going after the truck pulls over to let you go ahead. Jimmy was so zoned following this guy (and so focused on listening to the sign) that when the boss' son pulled over to let us pass (yes, we were first in the line), Jimmy, without focusing, pulled over behind him. The two construction workers manning the stop/slow sign on the other end (yeah, there were two of them there), were irrationally mad at Jimmy and started waving their arms in the air and giving him dirty looks, etc. Jimmy quickly pulled back to the correct lane and we kept going until the national park, but it was so funny!
When we arrived in the park, it was a bit of a drive in. Finally we came to a house to pay for a day pass/parking pass. There was a semi ambiguous sign which said "National Parks Pass holders straight" and right underneath it said "Parking $11." So we kept going straight and hoped we didn't have to pay the $11. When we got to the parking lot, there was a woman in the Parks uniform sitting on a tractor of sorts. Jimmy pulled up to her and asked if she was waiting to give out tickets. She said maybe. Then Jimmy asked, in that case, what do we have to buy to not get a ticket. She looked at our Parks Pass and said we were good and didn't need to buy anything. Jimmy still made her promise to not ticket us. Then we parked and hit the trail!
where we saw the crystal turquoise blue colour of the Georgian Bay (it was unreal!), saw some caves, and some amazing look-outs, and then climbed down a hole in the ground to see a cool rock overhang. Then we went for a swim (it was FREEZING! But since it was so hot outside, it was really nice!!!). The water was really unreal! It was so nice!
When we were coming back into Tobemory, we were starving so decided to go to the place advertising all you can eat fish and chips for only $11.99! It was a pirate themed restaurant called "Shipwreck Lee's." It was wicked. The waiter's family owned the restaurant, so he was so relaxed and easy going, and hilarious! It was really good fish and chips too! We were so glad we ate there! And we tried some new beer called "Flying Monkey." The waiter described their different selections as "The one we have is the best, but they also have a darker beer which is even better, and then the *whatever* beer is the most amazing, etc (every beer had another "amazing" or "awesome" or "best" description"). And they had the MOST WICKED costumes (a GIANT skull necklace (as in the size of a typical clock you see in a classroom), plastic swords, toy monkeys, etc all hanging off them!). I would highly recommend that place! It was so much fun and worth every penny!
Because the ferries were few and far between, we missed the 3pm ferry because of lunch and so had to hit the 8pm ferry. We walked around town and were hoping to see some of the shipwrecks in the water. Since we didn't have scuba or snorkeling gear, we hoped to see it from the side of the road. Either the ships were too far off the shoreline or the sun was hitting the water just so we only saw the glare, but we didn't see any of them. But the water was still really nice! We went to the lighthouse and walked around that area a bit. Then we went to walk around the town a bit more, have ice cream, and bought groceries for breakfast.
The ferry ride was nice, and the sunset was really pretty!
When we arrived back at Julia's it was late, so we didn't get to try the ice cream place Julia recommended leaving Manatoulin Island. When we got back to her place, we popped on another James Bond film and passed out! It was an amazing day!
Day 65
We set the alarm for 5, but woke up at 5:30 this morning. Michael (and Jimmy) kept talking about a "miracle" that was going to happen to let us get into Sudbury today and have time to see both Dynamic Earth and Science North. That miracle (although neither of them like to admit it) is waking up early! We got into Sudbury around noon. It was brutally hot! And it was just getting hotter! It was a good thing we woke up so early, if for no other reason, to avoid the heat. For the last 30km coming into Sudbury, we were looking for a gas station or grocery store where we could cool off and get some chocolate milk. Unfortunately there were none to be found. Gutted. So we made it all the way to Dynamic Earth (in good time, without chocolate milk). When we cycled into the parking lot, we were stopped by the parking attendant. She wanted to charge us for parking (that's right, charge us for cycling in and leaning our bikes against a wall). She then had to radio her supervisor and ask how much to charge us. We heard the conversation and the supervisor was like "motorcycles?" and when the reply was "no, bicycles" the supervisor sounded confused it was even a question and just said "it's free. they're not taking up a parking space." So we were let in. We did the guided tour of the mine, which was pretty cool to see. They also had a fake explosion, which was kindof lame (they could have made it more real, or even better, really set of some dynamite! (kidding, partially)). But it was fun! We walked around the rest of the museum a bit, but not too long because we had to go, rent a car, drop off my bike, and then hit up Science North all before 6pm. Luckily we found a rental place near Science North and near a bike shop (my rack broke, so I needed a new one, and I needed to true my wheel). Michael and Jimmy went to rent the car, while I went to Pinnacle Sports. I was told that my bike would be ready for Thursday morning, but it all depends on the rack (they had to order in a new rack for me, but they assured me it would be in on Thursday). So after insisting several times that I needed to have my bike ready early on Thursday, I was picked up by Michael and Jimmy in a sweet rental. It was a really fancy looking car, and in the two minute ride over they managed to get a compliment on their nice rims. Chrome? Steel? Other? They didn't know, but still took the compliment. The people at Thrifty were nice and let Michael and Jimmy leave their bikes there, so we just had our car and our stuff in the trunk. It was a nice change for a bit! So we drove to Science North to do some learning! We were so keen to fill our brains with knowledge that we didn't have time to change out of our biking gear! So, in spandex, we went to increase our knowledge base! Our first stop was in the dinosaur exhibit. Then we walked around the other exhibits a bit until a 4-D movie started (it was a 3-D movie where the seats also moved...that's how they advertised it). It was a movie about a bush plane through Norhtern Ontario. It was a cute little film, where not only did the seats move, but the front seat actually sprayed water at you at times. After the movie we headed straight up to the top floor where the body section was held. It was tons of fun to play around in all the interactive displays. We epically learned! We also figured out our percent body fat, and also watched a movie on Black Matter. We unfortunately learned that they got rid of their gyrosphere (which was wicked fun to do!) because it broke and it cost too much to fix it. Lame! Maybe next time I'm in Sudbury they'll learn it's worth the money to fix! But we had a great time none the less! And on the way out, Jimmy walked into a glass wall (he stepped out of the revolving door just a little too early). I couldn't stop laughing (horrible, I know). Then we headed straight to the keg. We had an amazing dinner! (But how could you not at the keg?). And the miracle happened! By doing both Science North and Dynamic Earth today, we freed up a day, which will allow us to see Tobemory tomorrow! Julia and hr parents were amazing and let us stay at their cottage, roughly half way between Tobemory and Sudbury. It was so nice of them and so convenient for us! The place was amazing and had a wicked view of the lake (their cottage was right on the water!). As TV is such a novelty for us on this trip, we put on a Bond movie, and passed out through it. It was still incredibly hot, but we were all so tired, it was easy to fall asleep!
Day 64
Since we were told it was supposed to rain last night, we camped under the overhang of Velorution. It was a ridiculously hot night last night (I had troubles sleeping), and it was probably made worse by the fact that the three of us shared one tent. We woke up at 8 so we had enough time to pack everything up before the store opened at 10. When the owner(?) (or maybe just a worker) came to open the store about a quarter to 10, I asked if he could quickly look over my bike and fix the back tire (that we put on, but that had a bulge in it), and look at my gears (they were stiff). He was very nice and replaced the cables and fixed the tire (all before the store even opened!) for only $10! And this is after letting us camp out for free! This store is awesome!!! Michael also had him take a quick look at his bike to see if he'd last until Sudbury/Ottawa/Montreal (ie as long as possible). We didn't end up leaving until the afternoon because Michael had to send some emails to his professor and do some work. But he couldn't wait any longer because we were missing some key tail wind time! So we hit the road. We figured the rest of the "family" would be well ahead, and we probably won't bump into them again. We had a wicked tail wind, and the roads were pretty sweet (for the most part). We stopped every 70km or so, then at our last stop of the night, we had Tim Horton's for dinner. We had about an hour (or an hour and a half at the most) to cover as much distance as possible. We gunned it, with a tail wind, and finished our day at 200km. Right when we crossed the 200 mark, we found the perfect spot to pitch our tent at ths side of the road! It was fate! So we set up camp and quickly got ready and rushed into our tents because we were being eaten alive by mosquitos!!! But if we left earlier, we may have even been able to make it all the way to Sudbury in a day! But, we'll just have to wake up early tomorrow to get there at a decent hour!
Day 63
This morning we woke up, super keen and ready to rent a car to go down and see Manatoulin and Tobemory. We just finished 2/3rds of Ontario, and we figured it would be nice to break it up with a day off! Last night we looked it up online and found that Discount was open at 8am. We got there just after 8 to rent a car. Turns out, they aren't open AT ALL on Sundays! Not cool! So, we went across the street to a motel to ask the front desk if they knew the best place to rent a car (being in tourism, we figured they would know the score). He was very nice and called around for us. Turns out we were S.O.L. Apparently the Soo shuts down on a Sunday. We finally found out that the car rental place at the airport was open on Sundays so Michael and Jimmy took a cab out there to get us a car! Unfortuantely, they came back empty handed. The fates were against us! Jimmy had some credit card technical difficulties and they wouldn't take Michael's card because he wasn't the driver. So, we had two options: we could either take the day off in the Soo still (which didn't sound appealing. We didn't want to just take a day off for no reason!), or we could cover some ground (which also didn't seem very appealing because it was SO hot! It was supposed to feel like 38!). So I talked to Kerry about our options and she said that Ian wasn't supposed to be working today, and she was mad he was because she wanted to go to the beach (Ian has his own company designing and building bikes and so he works a lot and so Keryy and him don't get to spend much quality time together). So, she said she still wants to go to the beach anyways and asked if we wanted to come. Our answer was OBVIOUSLY yes! We bought some fruit and juice and hit the road for Pancake Bay! As we were leaving the parking lot, a guy (Doug) pulled up beside us on his bike. He was the Warm Showers that Peter and Mary were staying with. He came to invite us to dinner tonight. We were definitely keen and excited that today is turning out to be a great day after all (esp after all the technical difficulties in the morning!). It was SOO nice to be on the beach on such a hot day! Lake Superior was cold, but it was SO nice to cool us down! We spent the entire afternoon either swimming or sleeping on the beach! Kerry was meditating most of the time, then went for a swim as we packed everything up. We stopped off at the "Canadian Carver" store, where there were a bunch of cool wood sculptures and ice cream. We didn't buy ice cream though because we were hungry and looking forward to something savoury from the Warm Showers! We headed back into the Soo and quickly changed out of our bathing suits then Kerry was super nice and dropped us off at Bruce's. Peter and Mary, along with another guy (cycling alone from Victoria, where he went to university, to Peterborough, where he's from). It was a really fun night with TONS of food! We had both Venison and Moose, a bean salad, green salad, corn on the cobb, baked potatoes, ice cream, need I say more? And it was tons of fun having so many touring cyclists talking about their adventures! Doug didn't complete the cycle across Canada when he set out to do it because he was badly injured when he was hit by a truck in Manitoba. He ended up breaking his back (and was hit so hard he was thrown into the air). But, as we saw today, it didn't keep him off his bike for good, which is good! But both him and his wife were very nice and fun, as were all the other cyclists present! When we were leaving, he gave us a big block of cheese and some boiled eggs for the road.
Day 62
Today is a big day. Exactly two months ago we left home and arrived in Tofino! It's also the day we get into the Soo, which is the end of 2/3 of Ontario! (We mentally split up Ontario into 3 sections: border to Thunder Bay, Thunder Bay to the Soo, then the Soo to Ottawa). Neither Jimmy or Michael ever seem keen to wake up early. But I won the debate and we woke up at 6am and hit the road at 8. At around 7:30am, a truck pulled into the parking lot. I don't know how, but somehow the front cab fit a whole family, because they all jumped out with their swimsuits on and went swimming. They were BRAVE. Lake Superior is FREEZING, and it was really early still, so the water hasn't warmed up yet, and it wasn't even warm outside yet! But to each their own! It was a more pleasant day today than yesterday for sure! The winds were not as bad at all! Around Montreal River we bumped into Anne and Mary and Peter. It was a big reunion again. It's funny how all 6 of us keep bumping into each other and seem to see each other daily. It's our own little cycling community in Northern Ontario. And each person has a name/role, Michael and I are “the brother and sister”, Peter and Mary are “the tandem couple”, Anne is “the nurse”, and to us, Jimmy is “Travis' replacement”. We made a stop at the Montreal River, where we had a quick food break with Anne. The hill down into Montreal River was amazing! It was a nice downhill. We were warned about the hills to come (as we were warned about all the hills up until this point), and let me just clarify, they really aren't bad! I've really enjoyed Northern Ontario a LOT! The scenery is gorgeous, and the hills are a really nice, welcome change to the prairies! No hills are bad enough to write home about, and they are satisfying to summit (both physically and visually). We continued on (with a slight headwind), and despite the conditions, we were making good time! We definitely thought we would make it into Sault Ste. Marie with plenty of time to get our bikes tuned and so we can sort out the rest of our trip! We had our second break at a “historical plaque” that they had advertised at Chipewa Falls. Turns out, the plaque was gone (it was only when we got into the Soo that we found out the plaque was supposed to say that that point was the halfway point of the Trans Canada Highway). Not long after that break, I ran over a nail and we had to stop for a long and difficult bike maintenance. I changed my back tire (my other tire was worn so it was time). That was difficult (the new tire was HARD to get on!). There seemed to be a kink or something in the tire too because I kept feeling a bump with every revolution of the tire (not cool!),. Also, my rack decided to act up. It kept slanting over to my right side and the rack itself kept rubbing against my tire (again, not cool!). So I kept having to stop every 10km or so just to bend it back so it doesn't rub! Although it was make-shift, it brought us into the Soo! We unfortunately arrived too late for the bike repairs, or to rent a car for tomorrow. Since this is the end of the second 1/3 section of Ontario, we felt it was fitting to go to Manatoulin tomorrow to celebrate/have a day off! We found car rental places that are open at 8am tomorrow, so we plan on waking up early to hit the road ASAP! We went straight to Velorution. It's a bike shop that lets us camp for free (it's touring cyclist friendly), and we can shower and use their bbq for free too! It's wonderful! I met Kerry and Ian. They live next door and are in charge of the campground and Ian works in the shop. They were so friendly! Ian will look at our bikes tomorrow, which is amazing so we don't lose a day because of repairs! So we loaded up on groceries and essentials from WalMart next door, then ate and went to bed for a big day tomorrow! Also, I would like to note that Kerry practices Falun Dafa (a Chines practice that is being heavily restricted in China, and for which a lot of been killed). If anyone wants to check it out, the website is www.falundafa.org. I'll be honest, I haven't had the chance to check it out yet, but I will. Kerry seems very passionate about it, so I thought I would pass the information along to help her out!
Day 61
Needless to say, we slept in this morning! I kept waking up every half hour from about 6:30 onwards until our planned wake-up time of 9am. I kept forcing myself to get back to sleep though (we don't sleep in too often, so I try my hardest when we get the chance! I'm just not good at sleeping in!). We got up and hit the road just before noon. It's funny, last night we thought we had just enough, if not too little alcohol. This morning we definitely felt we had just enough, if not too much! But alas, we hit the road and the wind was BRUTAL! It was an intense headwind! We drafted the entire way to Wawa, and it just sucked! We NEEDED that break physically, and even more so mentally! It was a brutal way to start the day! Along the way, we saw the mustache man again with another man who was walking across Canada! He was taking a total of 8 months, split up into 4 years, where he would do a two month section every year. The man with the mustache (after realizing we were the “brother/sister” pair), said he was blown away with how fast we were busting up the hills the other day (which made us feel good!). He was talking to Michael as I talked to the walker, and I overheard the mustache man asking if he was on the national team for cycling (talk about an ego boost!). But in Wawa we essentially bought out the grocery store (especially of their produce section!). We FEASTED in the parking lot for a good hour or more. It was kinda stressful to check the time because we only started to head out and really hit the road again at like 4:30pm. The winds sucked, and there was another 227km to Sault Ste. Marie. Anything we couldn't complete would have to be done the next day (and according to info center in Wawa, the winds were supposed to be just as bad tomorrow). So, we hit the road and hoped to get as far as possible. According to the lonely planet, Katherine's cove was supposed to be spectacular (at first we thought there was a hike there, but it turns out it was the beachfront that was amazing! That worked out for us because it saved us a few hours to devote to a hike!). The winds didn't seem as bad in Lake Superior Provincial Park. Either that, or the scenery was just so stunning we didn't notice so much! But it was gorgeous! On lake after another. Lake Superior really is stunning! We made it all the way to Katherine's Cove and set up our tents right on the beach! We saw the sun set and it was so beautiful! Perfect spot to camp! And we covered enough distance to only have to do 160km tomorrow!
Day 60
Today is Canada day!!! Our priority for the day was to make it to a place where there would be a celebration! We didn't want to just go to Marathon, 27km away. We wanted to actually cover some distance! So we were aiming for Wawa, but if White River had better celebrations, we would just stay there and bust through tomorrow instead. We made our first stop in Marathon (after only hitting the road around 10am... we woke up early enough, but wanted a full night's rest, and a shower in the morning, so we didn't get out of the campgrounds for a little while). We were hoping to find some chocolate milk, maybe something substantial to eat (we are getting sick of the lack of fresh fruit and meat in Northern Ontario!), and fireworks (specifically sparklers because realistically, we don't expect to be anywhere that will let us set off proper fireworks tonight. Sparklers are fun and more acceptable, and essential for Canada Day!!!). Unfortunately, we found none of the above. So, we ate trail mix. But we did happen to find Anne. She didn't stay at Neys, but instead at Jackfish with Mary and Peter. They all had an early start (they hit the road at like 6am this morning...as per usual) so were were running into them. Anne took off before us from Marathon, but we passed her later down the road. It was a nice cycle, where the winds would change from a cross-tail to a cross-head wind. But we flew and were doing pretty well for time! Wawa was about 200km from where we left this morning, and although we knew we would probably get in a bit later, we really wanted to get there to see some fireworks! At the info center, they assumed Wawa was more likely to have a display than White River, but they weren't sure if either was even having anything. With those odds, we no longer even considered White River. Along the way we also passed a man with a wicked mustache (I'm a girl and even I was jealous!). He was cycling from Vancouver to Ottawa. He was very nice and friendly. Unfortunately we didn't catch his name though. We made only one other stop before White River, where we found sparklers! So now we were set! Sparklers, rye and coke. All you need for a make-shift Canada Day in the middle of nowhere! When we got into White River, there was a cyclist cycling towards us from the other direction. He crossed the road to talk, so Michael and I stopped. As we started talking, Mary and Peter came by as well. The other guy was Jimmy (Mary and Peter told us about him, but we didn't bump into him until now). Peter and Mary said they were going to stay there for the night. Michael and I said we would continue onward to try and hit Wawa. Jimmy, at first seemed like he was going to stay in White River until we said we were continuing on, then he decided to join us. It was good because he was roughly our pace and it was nice to have someone else to celebrate Canada Day with (the more the merrier!). He was also very nice and easy going. So, although it was like 4-5, we busted forth to potentially hit Wawa, 90km away. We were making good time, and we would have been able to get to Wawa tonight by 9pm, but we got to a provincial park about 50km from Wawa and we figured we would stay there. We thought that we could bust it to Wawa, and POTENTIALLY see fireworks, and only be able to enjoy them for a short while, or we could just head in now (around 6pm), have a bonfire, go for a swim, and have some drinks (Jimmy stopped off along the way to buy alcohol as well). So that's what we did, and we're glad we did! It was such a good Canada Day! The park wasn't busy so we had our pick of the best site (right on the water!). We went for a swim, did some laundry and showered, then started a bonfire! We had our music playing (with two radios and an am/fm transmitter so it was like surround sound... make-shift). We ended up staying up until 3am before we went to bed, but it was the best way possible to spend Canada Day!
Day 59
We woke up this morning and kept pressing snooze. Our original intent was to wake up at 5. We actually got out of bed around 6:40. When we were leaving the hotel, we bumped into Robert Tailleur again. We were glad we did because he never came by last night, and we didn't know where he was staying and didn't want to disturb him last night! He took our pictures, and we got a group shot, then exchanged email addresses and we gave him our blog address. We are really glad we went to eat at Husky's last night! Meeting Mr. Tailleur was definitely one of the highlights of our trip! We hit the road and had pretty good wind! It was a really nice day, and the scenery was beautiful! Just like Agnes said, every time you cycle up a hill you're met with amazing scenery! It's almost like it doesn't belong in Canada, but rather somewhere south or tropical. Lake Superior's water is such a surreal, lighter blue (lighter than the royal blue of most of the lakes in Ontario). It was such a great day to cycle! Initially, we lucked out as well because it seemed that at every uphill there was a tail wind! The winds only seemed to change going downhill. That didn't last the entire day, unfortunately. All along, people have been warning us about the hills in northern Ontario. In Manitoba, people said the hills will start once you cross the border. Then people started saying it's pretty flat until Thunder Bay, and then the hillls just hit you. Then it got pushed back to after Nipigon, then just before Rossport. Let me clarify. There are decent rolling hills coming into Ontario, then the closer you get to Thunder Bay, the more it levels out. Then it's really decent all the way until just before Rossport. The two hills just before Rossport, contrary to what everyone says, really aren't that bad! Maybe it's another “Malahat” where, because we were so intensely warned, it didn't seem bad at all. Or, maybe the winds helped a lot, who knows. Either way, we definitely expected worse! We made our first stop at Rossport. Several different sources said it's a really cute town, and highly recommended seeing it. It has a lot of history as an old fishing town. We made the detour into town and had lunch. We sat on the dock and ate our bars (we found out our bagels were mouldy and there wasn't anywhere to buy new ones in Rossport). There was a local waiting at the dock for gas, and while he waited for the marina to open, he talked to us while we were eating. He was very friendly and told us a bit about the town. He also told us an alternate way out so we didn't have to climb the hill we just came down (a flat way that met up with the highway!). As we were leaving town, we saw him again by a beach. We stopped off and got our feet wet in the gorgeous bay area of lake Superior. The water was really warm at first, then when it got a touch deeper and further from the shore, it was freezing! We didn't stay there too long before we took off again. Our second stop of the day was at Asomething Canyon, It was really pretty. Not quite as stunning as the Ouimet Canyon, but still really nice! We then continued all the way until Nays. It was an old POW camp for Germans. It is also a place where Lauren Harris came to paint. We opted to camp at the provincial park so we could have lake access. We spent some time on the beach, which was really nice! Then we went to bed! We didn't see the nurse we met yesterday, which is too bad. She said she was aiming for here as well. Maybe she stayed in the other campground in the area, or who knows. I hope she's enjoying herself more now that the winds changed a bit!!
Day 58
We kept pressing snooze this morning until we FINALLY woke up at about 6:30! It was such a comfortable sleep! Dave left for work before we headed out, and we got to say our goodbyes (we were so grateful that he let us stay and him and his family were so great to us!). We hit the road around 9am and went the route Dave recommended (the same route as the guys in the bike shop as well....those guys also warned us that the streets in Thunder Bay seem to change names often. They weren't kidding about that!). Our first stop was at the Terry Fox memorial (it's the spot where he was forced to abandon his Marathon of Hope because the cancer spread to his lungs). It was a really nice shrine dedicated to Terry Fox and his accomplishments. All through this trip, two things have been shown to us over and over again: the importance of the railway and the importance of Terry Fox. He really was amazing, and (I know a lot of people, specifically Canadians would say the same) if I were to chose an 'idol' it would have to be Terry Fox. He did so much at such a young age. It's amazing really. The monument also overlooked the Sleeping Giant, which was really nice to see! We stayed there for a bit then hit the road. It was such a nice day! Not too hot or cold, and really sunny! The winds, at first, were really good and we just flew! The roads were good, and contrary to what everyone told us, there weren't a lot of hills from Thunder Bay to Nipigon at all! Everyone also warned us about the horrible road conditions, but they were really good!... at least to start. Only about an hour into our cycle from the Terry Fox lookout, the winds changed and remained a headwind all day. The roads also got worse. There were pockets of construction, which sucked, but worst of all were the little shoulders. The shoulders would have been acceptable if trucks gave us our space. We had to cycle off the road three times to avoid being hit (they didn't give us ANY room! I didn't realize it was a competition of who could push who off the road. I thought it was obvious they would win every time!). What was almost worse than the trucks not moving over were the two separate occasions where cars traveling in the opposite direction decided to pass just as they were passing us (which is REALLY scary, when there is no shoulder so nowhere for us to go, and there is a car coming towards us in our lane). I don't know why they couldn't have waited the 5 seconds to pass AFTER they passed us, but it definitely made us nervous! We definitely used the "DITCH!" rule quite often! But other than the roads (which were mostly decent), and the headwind, the day was pleasant! We met up with the two on the tandem bike again, and met another woman (a nurse from Vancouver) cycling across as well. We took a second detour to see the Ouimet Canyon. We were torn weather or not to do the Eagle Canyon as well. The Ouimet Canyon was a provincial park, and a larger canyon, and more or less free (they asked for $2 donations to the park), but the eagle canyon has the largest suspension bridge in Canada (they claim), and a zipline, but the actual canyon is smaller, and it costs like $20 to walk on the bridge, and like $52 to do the zipline. We thought it would be cool to do the eagle canyon, but it was really expensive for what it was. That being said, that's the bridge that's on all the pictures in the "Ontario, Yours to discover" booklets. So, although the counter argument was "when in Rome," we decided to save our money and see the more stunning canyon. No one told us about the REALLY big, steep road to the canyon. It definitely gave us a sense of accomplishment when we finished that hill! It was 3km long, and before the hill there were about 3 signs warning people about how steep it is. They actually had a parking lot specifically for people's trailers because they wouldn't be able to handle the hill. I don't know what the grade was, but it was STEEP! The canyon was stunning! It was really cool to see! We were glad we went!!! And the ride back to the highway was really sweet! All downhill! But then, we were hit with the wind when we got back to the Courage Highway. It was a constant, brutal headwind all the way (the last 45kms) to Nipigon! The last (about) 11km were the worst! There was construction the whole way into town. The concrete was all grooved, so it was SUPER shaky and horrible to cycle on! It was slow going and uncomfortable and just horrible! The construction was bad enough, let alone the wind which just seemed to be getting worse! When we got into Nipigon, we went straight to the first place we found to fill up our water bottles and get food (being a Husky restaurant). We didn't initially plan on eating out, but we felt we needed a pick-me-up after that last little stretch (actually, all the headwind really, but ESPECIALLY the last little stretch). We happened to see the nurse there as well, and we sat with her while we ate. It was really nice to hang out with her. She seemed to be having a bit of a tough time at the moment with the trip (she's a little frustrated). But she's really nice! While we were sitting eating, a man (roughly my parent's age) came over and asked if those were our bikes outside. We told him yes and that we're cycling across Canada. He thought that was amazing and it's something he always wanted to do but it's too late. He used to do a LOT of cycling in the past (all through Europe) until he was hit by a car and had to stop for a year or so, then when he was visiting his parents in Florida (he's from Quebec) he decided to cycle back and was hit again, so he couldn't ever do Canada. But he asked if we knew where we were staying, and we said we were figuring it out. He said he would be honoured to pay for our motel room for the night. It was so nice of him! So now we're in the motel room, for free thanks to the wonderful man (whose name and info we got so we can later send him a thank you!). I can honestly say, Michael and I (and Travis back in the "mountain" chapter of this trip) have been really lucky! We've met so many amazing people and done some pretty cool things! Mr. Tailleur is the newest to be added to the list!
Day 57
We woke up this morning, fully rested, in the motel room. We got all our gear together, and hit the road sometime between 8:30 and 9am. We were pleased to see the weather turned around a full 180 from yesterday! It was a bit chilly, but other than that it was nice! The wind (although not ideal) was pretty good, the sun was shining, it was a nice day! We were flying, until we heard a noise. It sounded like Michael ran over a rock in a way that sent it flying, or maybe even gave him a flat. At this point we were only like 15km out of town. Michael stopped, and I figured it must have been a flat. Turns out I was wrong. He said after the sound, he thought it was a rock as well until he heard/felt "thump thump thump." His rim broke (the metal actually split and was jutting out!). It was gone! We had no other option but to hitch hike to Thunder Bay (Dryden didn't have a bike shop. The closest was in Thunder Bay). My bike was fine, so technically I could have kept cycling while Michael hitched, but it really wasn't safe (or at least I didn't feel safe doing that. I know there are a lot of people who tour on their own, and a lot of women do as well, but I would rather not). It's safer to hitch hike in pairs, and it's much safer to cycle in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE (there was NOTHING between Dryden and Thunder Bay) for two days with two people than on my own! So, while Michael was checking out his bike, I stuck my thumb out. A bunch of cars passed us by without stopping (obviously! We were hitchhiking, which can be sketchy as it is, but we also had 2 bikes loaded with gear! We would need a pickup truck or van or truck to realistically pick us up!). Before we got a ride, a cop car drove by without stopping. We were really surprised. We were far from anything, and CLEARLY were in some sort of trouble since we had BIKES and were trying to hitchhike (clearly there was something wrong with our transportation!). The cops didn't stop at all to make sure we were alright, maybe give us a taxi contact or SOMETHING. Not cool OPP! But we were picked up in the end by a really nice trucker! He was so nice to us and drove us all the way to Thunder Bay! It was only part way out that we found out he was a member of a Hell's Angels. At first it weirded us out, but he was so nice, and after dropping us off, he shook our hands and wished us all the best! We asked around and finally got directions to the nearest bike shop. Michael insisted we try and cycle because it's much quicker than walking. That didn't last long. We hard a loud pop, and his tire came off, and the inner tube was gone! So, we walked down to "Rolling Thunder." It was such a good bike shop! The three guys working there were very knowledgeable, very friendly, and didn't charge for anything that didn't need fixing (they quickly looked at and fixed up my bike and didn't charge me!). And they did a really good job! We bought everything we needed for the next leg of the journey (new chain, new tubes, new wheel for Michael, etc) except a new tire for me because they were out of stock of my sized tire! So I had to go to cyclepath. Cyclepath was also good, but not as good as Rolling Thunder. If anyone is touring and passing through Thunder Bay, I highly recommend that shop! But after finishing our errands, Michael called Dave (Steve's brother). When we were in Beausejour, Steve said to give his brother a call. We felt it would be imposing to call and ask if we could crash there, but since he does live in Thunder Bay, we figured he would be able to recommend somewhere. Turns out he offered us his garage, which was amazing! We didn't care where we crashed really! Before heading to his place, we went for dinner at Mad House, a place recommended by the guys working at Rolling Thunder. We ordered the burger (as was recommended). It was REALLY packed (esp for a monday night!), but the burger was really good! It took a while though because it was so busy, but we finally made it over to Dave's. We had this image of pitching our tent next to his parked car in his garage, but turns out, he had the most amazing, ideal-man garage! In the front was a lounge area (with a TV and beer fridge of course, and a bunch of really cool decor (ie. retro coke posters and products)), and in the back was a workshop. It was better than we could have imagined! Dave and his wife Cindy were lovely! They were both so nice (they let us shower and do laundry, and put us up last minute!). And Steve and Dave's dad was there as well, and he was so nice and funny (quirky...in a really good way! He was such a cute man!). But it was a really fun night and we had an amazing rest!
Day 56
This morning we didn't hear the alarm go off! We must have been so tired last night! (We also later found out the earphones were still in the ipod). Last night, I had a bit of a freak out. I had to go to the washroom in the middle of the night, and as a truck went past, I saw something shinning in the bushes. Nicole's dad told us a story before about how he saw a bunch of wolf eyes in the bushes in northern Ontario when he was on call one night, and my imagination was going wild! I rushed back into the tent as fast as I could, but was faced with a huge dilemma. I really had to use the washroom, but was really scared there were wolves in the bushes. I stuck my head out the tent to find out that the light was only a few fireflies. Talk about an overactive imagination! But this morning, we went back and forth about the plan for the day. Since Michael only had his front brakes, it's not safe cycling in the rain, so we considered not going. We mooched someone's unsecured wireless and checked the weather network. According to the website, it would be cloudy with showers all day, but only 1mm of rain. We figured that wouldn't be too bad, so we thought we should go to Dryden then re-evaluate. We got all packed up and hit the road. It wasn't too bad at the start, then the killer headwind and major downpour started! It was not safe to be on the roads! It was pouring down like crazy, and the visibility was poor, and so was the effeciency of the brakes! Unfortunately, there was NOWHERE to pull over! The closest place was in Dryden. The first place we came to (a motel) was closed on Sundays (random and strange for a motel!). The second place we came to was reasonably priced. It was more than we wanted to spend, but in the present conditions (we were soaked and freezing!) it was worth it! The owner was very nice and drove us to WalMart and the food store. He also talks a lot! It was funny! So thanks to the weather, today is a day off, and we're a little behind our ideal schedule. It's nice to veg out though. We watched the news for the first time in a while, and couldn't help but see what a mess Toronto is right now! Thank god we're not cycling through that! But we're using today as a relaxing day where we can update the blog and just enjoy not being outside!
Keeping dry in Dryden
Last night we were woken up with pouring rain from time to time, and we were a little reluctant to leave the tent. We slept through the alarm again, so we didn’t hit the road until 10 am. We had a big headwind and just 20 km out of Dryden, it started to pour, without back brakes, fogged up sunglasses and narrowing shoulders with transport trucks zooming by, we felt very unsafe so we went to the first open Motel we could find. The manager was very talkative, and although he couldn’t get us a deal, he let us air out our stuff and keep our bikes in his garage. He even drove us into town to do some grocery shopping. It was nice to lounge around indoors for a change.
Fun facts, stats and lessons learned
Distance travelled today: 44.5 km
Total distance travelled: 4217.8 km
Starting point: Bobby’s Sports Store parking lot, Vermillion Bay
Our Route: Trans Canada (Highway 17) all day. The roads and shoulder were pretty good all day, except the shoulder disappeared in Dryden.
Ending point: Dryden Motel & Suites, Dryden
- Whomever said that the prevailing winds are from the west was lying.
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