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!

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!

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!

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.

Day 55

This morning we woke up and saw there was someone else who was thinking like us and camped out (in their camper van) in the back parking lot of the info center. They were up not long after us, and the woman (it was a husband and wife with two kids) came up to talk to us. She asked us in french if we were going across the country. We told her we were and told her a bit about our route. She told us the roads ahead would be brutally hilly. Everyone tells us that! But it was really nice to have a conversation in french (it's something I haven't done in a while!). And it's pretty rare for someone in Ontario to START the conversation in French, which is cool that she did! When we left the info center, we planned on having second breakfast in Kenora. The winds were less than ideal (ie cross head wind), but it was a nice day, and the roads were amazing! When we got into Kenora, we found a Tim Horton's and got some hot water (they charged us for a tea for the hot water, so we got some tea bags on the side for later). With the hot water, we made porridge. We stayed there for quite a bit, talked to some of the locals, then hit the road for a bit. The roads became less than favourable, and we had to cross a lot of construction zones. I had to pull over to fix my front panier at one point. While fixing it, randomly, one cyclist came in the other direction, and two in the direction Michael and I came from, and all happened to meet up in this one spot. We talked for a bit about our trips so far (the couple were riding a tandem across from Victoria to St. John's, while the single guy flew from Spain to New York and is cycling from New York then across Canada, heading west). They were very nice (all three of them) and we talked for a while. Then we went our ways. Michael and I talked about how difficult it might be on a tandem. We can't imagine it would be easier, but who knows. We've never done it! Not long after the random meeting, we had to stop again because Michael's wheel wasn't spinning. He fixed it, only to notice he needs a new wheel! The rim is bent at one point. To allow it to spin freely, he needed to release his rear brake completely. We continued cycling through the heat, until about 60km from Vermillion Bay. It was so hot, and Michael was so tired from the added friction all morning (until he took his brakes off that is) so we decided to take a nap for an hour! When we woke up and packed up, we saw the two girls from Trail again (we knew we would see them somewhere around the Manitoba/Ontario border, but that's probably the last time we see them). Then we went straight into Vermillion Bay. We didn't think we would make it all the way to Dryden today (especially after the several bike fixes, the long second breakfast, and the nap). We were about 20km from Vermillion Bay when it started raining. It wasn't hard, but we had two options. Either we try to make it into town, or we set up camp now, and not get wet before bed. We decided on the latter, but couldn't find a good place to camp for the next 10km! By that time, the rain stopped and we were only 10km from town, that we decided to at least go that far, if not further (not much further, maybe 5km as it was going to be around 7:30 when we got into town and I don't like cycling past 8pm for safety reasons). When we got into Vermillion Bay, we stopped off at “Bobby's Sport Store” to use the washrooms. We talked to someone outside and he told us we should just camp over to the side of the parking lot on the other side of the giant Inukshuk statue they had there. We said we might get in trouble and he told us he owns the place so it's not a problem. Since his place was open from 6am-10pm we thought that would be a good idea! That way, we could use proper washrooms before bed and when we woke up! Also, since we had a hard time finding somewhere safe to camp before the city, we didn't know what to expect after. And the giant statue was good protection from cars! So that's what we did! Right when we were in the tent and ready for bed, the rain started up again. It started slow, then downpoured! It did not sound pleasant at all outside! We figured we would see what happens tomorrow and decide from there if we cycle, or stay here another night.

Siesta in Northern Ontario

We woke up next to a camper van who was doing the same thing as us - trying to sleep for free at the Info Centre. They were from Quebec, and we were speaking to each other in French. They’re going across Canada too, but east to west, and they warned us of the hills that are coming up.

We stopped in Kenora at a Tim Hortons, and ordered an xl tea so we could use the hot water for our porridge for second breakfast. There was construction on the road in town on our way out, and as we were biking along gravel I noticed that my back wheel was rubbing on the brake. My rim was cracked. Earlier in the day, it felt a bit hard to bike, but i just attributed it to the headwind. I sure hope that it doesn’t break on me for the next 500 km to Thunder Bay!

The roads along this route were very pretty with rock face cliffs on either side at points and lakes all around. The sun was very hot all day, and we were both tired, so we stopped at one of the many lakes, found some shade, laid out a tarp, blew up our sleeping mats and took a 1 hour nap. We felt very rejuvenated from it and pedalled to Vermillion Bay. It started to rain about 15 km out of town, so we were looking for a spot to camp at the side of the road. There are always places to camp, but for some reason, not in this stretch! The rain went away before we could find an appropriate place, so we just went into town.

We stopped at the shell gas station with Bobby’s Sports Store and we talked with them for a bit. They were very friendly, and they let us camp by the Inuksuk at the end of their parking lot. We were lucky because It started to rain just after we set up camp.

Fun facts, stats and lessons learned

Distance travelled today: 147.19 km

Total distance travelled: 4173.3 km

Starting point: Info Centre just past the Ontario border

Our Route: Trans Canada (Highway 17) all day. The roads and shoulder were excelent for most parts, except going through Kenora with potholes and construction, and points where the shoulder got really narrow at points.

Ending point: Bobby’s Sports Store parking lot, Vermillion Bay

• We knew we weren’t the only ones cycling across Canada, but we encountered at least 6 others doing this sort of trip too today.
• Kenora is a town mostly for Manitobans as a cottage country location.
• Moose are dangerous at night because their eyes don’t reflect light the way other animals eyes do, and they’re so top heavy and tall that cars tend to take out their knees and the moose’s body goes through he windshield.

Day 54

This morning, we woke up and had a huge breakfast of crepes with frozen yoghurt and bananas, yoghurt, fruit, raisin bread, etc. It was amazing! His mom also prepared a massive lunch for us! Both his parents were so nice! We got everything packed up and then loaded our bikes and our gear into the van. Rather than cycling back around the lake, it was much quicker, and easier, and cooler, to row across, then cycle from the other side (Kirk's dad helps run the Pinawa rowing club). Kirk's mom rode the bikes to the other side in the minivan, while Kirk, his dad, Nicole, Michael and I rowed across. It was my first time in a scull. It was tons of fun, but I was really bad (Michael and Nicole said I was pretty good for a beginner, so I'd hate to imagine how frustrating it would be to run a learn to row program!). I'm glad we only did 4km though because I do not have the muscles required to row! It was tough! Good thing I was in a two man with Michael. He definitely did most of the rowing! But it was really fun to try something new and sculling is something I have always wanted to try! Nicole and Kirk's dad were in another double, and Kirk was in a single, but only rowed part way with us because he had to go back to work. When we got to Otter's Bay, we helped load the boats onto the van, and got all our gear together. Kirk's parents and Nicole saw us off as we hit the road! (and we realized how big the lunch was that Kirk's mom prepared for us! It was so generous of them! And it included home made cookies!!!). It's funny because Kirk's dad asked us how the bugs were, and so far we found that as long as we were moving, they didn't bother us. It was only when we stood still that they swarmed. How naïve! Today we found they were always bad! We were constantly surrounded by a cloud of horse flies! It was not pleasant at all and I got bit (which is rather painful!). There was no escaping them! It really made the ride unpleasant. Other than the bugs, it was a nice day (a little too hot, in all honesty), but really nice. And we cycled through Whiteshell Provincial Park, which was really scenic. We stopped off in West Hawk Lake (it was only there that the bugs stopped being so bad, and we weren't about to stop and be eaten alive any sooner!). Along the way we saw a few foxes and deer. For dinner we ate the rest of the lunch prepared for us, then continued to the Ontario border! We didn't want to stay on the roads too long because I was tired, and it's not safe to be on the roads around dusk, when all the wildlife is out. We ended up camping in the backyard of the Ontario info center (it's away from the highway traffic, well maintained lawns, and out of view. The info center said it would open tomorrow at 9am, so we would be out before anyone arrived. We hung our food in a tree, then went to bed! It's exciting being in Ontario because we're home! (Well, province-wise, we're home, but city-wise, we're not even close! We're actually closer to Calgary than Toronto!). But it feels very productive to be here already! We've crossed off B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Now we have thousands of kilometers before we're out of Ontario, but it feels nice to be here! And it's exciting to see parts of Ontario I've never seen before! I'm excited!

Row, row, row your boat...

We woke up today to an excellent feast of a breakfast prepared by Mr. and Mrs. Vilks. They made us pancakes with raisin bread, frozen yogurt, plums, bananas, and yogurt. To get back to the highway, instead of backtracking a good 30+ km, we went out to the Pinawa Rowing Club and took out some touring doubles and rowed across the Winnipeg River instead of having to backtrack and ride all around it. Nicole R had never rowed before, so the three of us were teaching her. I had a bit of fun yelling at her :).

The row was beautiful. Probably my favourite place that I’ve ever rowed. It was a river that seemed like a lake with little islands and trees all around. Nicole R & I were in one double and Mr. Vilks and Nicole B were in another, while Kirk was in a single. Kirk had to leave early to go to work, so he only joined us for about 15 minutes. We made it across to find Mrs. Vilks there with our stuff and she made us a lunch. We put our stuff on our bikes and hit the road. Going along the 307, I had never seen so many horse flies in my life. They were swarming around us even as we cycled. At least in Saskatchewan, the mosquitoes only hit when we stopped. But miraculously, we escaped with only a couple of bites. Maybe they just liked our company. I don’t blame them. We made it to the Ontario border and camped out just behind the Info Centre for the night.

Fun facts, stats and lessons learned

Distance travelled today: 99.19 km + 4km row

Total distance travelled: 4026.1 km

Starting point: Pinawa, at Kirk’s place

Our Route: We rowed across Winnipeg river until Otter Falls, and tok the Manitoba Highway 307 to the La Vérendrye Trail (Highway 44) until it met up with Highway 1 (Trans-Canada), which quickly turned into Highway 17 past the border. Highways 307 and 44 had small lanes and no shoulder with a bunch of cracks & potholes, but since there was little traffic, we were able to avoid the big ones. The Trans Canada had a good shoulder, and the road became excellently paved just at the Ontario border.

Ending point: Info Centre just past the Ontario border

• We couldn’t avoid seeing deer. They were everywhere.
• It’s amazing how much faster you go with nicely paved roads. The roads in Ontario are (so far) better than in Manitoba, and just crossing the border gave us a boost of about 2-3 km/hr.

Beausejour, Pinawa, and cycling with Kirk

We got all our stuff together and hit the road a bit late. Our bikes were so heavy from the food shopping, and we were all amazed that it all fit... well, sort of. Nicole was going to meet us in Pinawa with the rest of our food. We wanted to see the geographical centre of Canada, so we did a little detour. It felt like an accomplishment to see, but we knew our trip was far from over.

We headed to Beausejour to meet up with Steve, the chair of the Beausejour Bonspiel, of which I participated in January 2009. He invited his fiancé over and he took us to the Howland Hotel for some drinks and food. They were very kind and we had fun talking about the trip, their upcoming wedding and the bonspiel. I really want to do the Beausejour Bonspiel again next year! Also, the co-owner of the hotel, after hearing of our trip, left $20 on our table to cover our meal, and as we went to pay the tab, Steve said that he already took care of it and for us to keep the $20 for food later on. That was so nice of him and his fiancé!

Just as we were finishing up, Kirk came by with his bike, and he joined us for the rest of the trip to Pinawa. We put our gear into the back of Mr. Vilks’ vehicle, which made for quite an enjoyable ride with great company. This leg of the trip just flew by, and before we knew it, we were on the highway that led into Pinawa. Kirk was also being our tour guide, telling us “to the left you will see... bush. And to the right, you will see... bush.” Mrs. Vilks caught us just before town to take pictures of us riding along the way. We got in at 10:30pm, just before Nicole B and Mr. Vilks arrived, and we had a wonderful steak dinner. Both Kirk and Nicole’s families have been so kind and welcoming to us on our trip!

Fun facts, stats and lessons learned

Distance travelled today: 140.45

Total distance travelled: 3926.95 km

Starting point: Nicole’s place, in Winnipeg

Our Route: We took the Perimeter Highway (Highway 100) until the Trans Canada Highway (Highway 1). Both roads had a fair amount of traffic, but were decent and had good shoulders. We went North on Highway 206, East on Highway 15, North on Highway 302, and East again on Highway 44. We then followed it until Highway 11, and then finally took the highway that goes into Pinawa. All of these highways had either very little shoulder or no shoulder at all, but with less traffic it was easy to avoid the cars and the potholes.

Ending point: Kirk’s place, in Pinawa

• The geographical centre of Canada is just East of Winnipeg, close to Highway 206.
• We couldn’t avoid seeing deer. They were everywhere. Apparently Pinawa is known for that.

Day 53

We were woken up by Nicole this morning (as was the plan). We had breakfast with her (her dad made us Bacon and eggs, which was amazing!). Nicole's mom and sister were already gone by the time we got up (but her mom left us a really nice note saying have fun on our trip!), and Nicole and her dad left after breakfast for work. Michael and I spent the morning packing everything up and doing last minute bike repairs. We left Nicole's house just after noon and headed to the perimeter highway until the Trans Canada. We went that route so we could see the official halfway mark of Canada. We then went up north on highway 206, then zigzaged our way up to Beausejour where Michael and Rob went curling two years ago (they randomly went to a bonspeil in rural Manitoba). We met up with Steve, one of the organizers that Michael keeps in touch with. We met him at his work, then went to the local (Howland Hotel) for a drink and some food. The owner came out and Steve told him about what we were doing and he insisted (and said he would be honoured) to pay for our dinner. He put down $20 on the table for us (which was SO nice of him! Talk about friendly Manitoba!). We ended up having four rounds with both Steve and his fiance (they were both so lovely!), and pizza and wings. They paid for it (which we didn't expect at all! It was so nice of them!) and told us to pocket the $20 for later. We contacted Kirk to tell him we were having food in Beausejour. His dad went to Winnipeg to pick up Nicole for the weekend, and on the way, he dropped off Kirk in Beausejour so he could cycle the rest of the way to Pinawa with us (just over 50km away). He was a good tour guide, pointing out all the bush along the way. On highway 211 (the highway that only goes to, and ends in Pinawa), his mom met us in a car to take pictures of us along the way (it was really cute!). We got into Kirk's place at about 10pm, and Nicole and Kirk's dad showed up around 10:30. We showered, and then ate a feast his parents prepared! It was unreal! And there was so much food! It was wonderful! Then we went to bed!