Day 32: July 30 Thunder Bay to Nipigon  67 miles (109 km)
Picture (upper center): Group photo at the halfway point
Picture (lower right): My new sandals.  No, those aren't white socks

As we rode out of Thunder Bay in the morning we saw the Sleeping Giant.  Looking out from downtown you can make out the profile of the giant (head, crossed arms, knees, and feet) in the peninsula to the east.  I didn't get a picture.  You'll have to trust me on this.

After that bit of excitement, we rode to the Terry Fox Memorial which was a short distance from town.  After losing a leg to cancer, Terry attempted to run across Canada with an artificial leg.  He began in 1981 on the east coast and ran 26 miles a day, covering 3,336 miles before cancer forced him to give up the run.  He died the following year.  Terry's goal was to raise awareness of cancer and spur contributions to research.  His story and courage swept the country and helped raise $24 million.  You couldn't help but feel the emotions from everyone in the group.

It was time for a party.  We celebrated the halfway point of the trip although I don't think it was halfway in kilometers or in days; it was early for both.  We enjoyed the party anyway.  The tradition is that the driver makes us lunch and serves ice cream.  Brook didn't let us down.  The best part of it wasn't the ice cream.  It was that lunch was NOT peanut butter and jelly (peanut butter and jam if you're Canadian).  We dined on lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and cheese sandwiches.  Quite a fancy lunch by biking standards.  We asked a nice man to take a group photo.  He didn't realize that saying yes meant that he'd be taking it 15 times with no 2 cameras alike.

After lunch I had a leisurely ride to camp.  It's amazing that we treated a 67 mile (109 km) ride as a short one.  It only took 3 1/2 hours to ride, hardly worth getting sweaty for.  The sandals worked well.  They were very comfortable.  I didn't try any sign sprints, so they're not fully tested yet.  The sunscreen on my feet worked perfectly -- no burns.

Day 33: July 31 Nipigon to Terrace Bay 69 miles (111 km)
Picture: Brook showing off her mascot, the Road Runner. She squeaks it when passing other truckers and road construction crews

The hills were a little longer today and the wind was in my face.  I worked harder but that was ok.  All of the bikers in Thunder Bay had warned us about the ride into and out of Nipigon.  It's funny but hills don't seem so bad any more.  (I still don't like going slower, though.)

The excitement for the day came when the right shifter, the one that controls the rear derailleur, stopped working.  It had started acting squirrely over the past few days.  Today it stopped working.  On these kinds of hills I usually shift a lot.  I thought the problem might be sweat and grit gunking it up.  When I arrived at camp I tried shooting it with lubricant to no avail.  The bike maintenance manual warned against opening it up.  Shimano doesn't sell component parts and it voids the warranty.  Replacing the shifter cable helped so I can shift most of the time again.  Goodales' Bike Shop in New Hampshire is going to send a replacement shifter to the next mail stop (thanks Craig!)

The weather has been great the past several days (I hope this doesn't jinx us).  It's been sunny and warm with moderate temperatures in the evenings.

Day 34: August 1 Terrace Bay to Hemlo Mine  74 miles (120 km)
Picture: Camping in the shadows of the Golden Giant Mine

The bugs have been bad the past few mornings.  The mosquitoes find us in the evenings then call their relatives while we sleep.  Breakfast is usually eaten in a rush so we can get on the road quickly.  Mosquitoes can't catch us when we ride;  horseflies can with a tailwind.

I left with Alan, Jules, John and Karin.  We rode out slowly to warm up.  John, Jules and I started to get that itch; the testosterone level went up.  We rode ahead looking for Nays Provincial Park, where we were supposed to be able to see some petroglyphs.  Dave and a bunch of the others were eating at the store across from the park entrance.  They'd already explored and couldn't find any.  We joined them for a snack. We're like lemmings, especially when we see someone eating.  We discussed whether we were eating our second breakfast or first lunch.  It was too early to decide, so we deferred the decision until later.

The next stop was a restaurant outside of Marathon.  Again, John, Jules and I charged the hills and raced down the other sides.  John played the "domestique" for me on a big downhill.  He pedaled as fast as he could, letting me draft behind him.  When he reached his maximum speed I was able to slingshot out in front of him.  I only hit 46 mph (74 kph), still shy of my record.

After an unexciting lunch at an overpriced restaurant (ice tea was $3.45/glass) we started on the last 25 miles (40 km).  Jules repeated his standard lines: "I'm not going to go that fast for the rest of the day.  You guys go on ahead."  I don't think that means what he thinks it means.  He rode fast with us the rest of the day.  John and I swapped the lead every few kilometers.  When the road turned flat we picked it up.  Jules hung on as we rode at 24-28 mph (38-45 kph) for about 12 miles (20 km).  Not a bad ride.  Jules is still smiling.

The campsite is a working gold mine.  The road in is named Yellow Brick Road.  We're camped in a field next to the plant.  The mines are about 5,000 feet below us and run for miles and miles.  We used their employee shower room, purportedly the best showers of the trip.  They use it to wash off the cyanide at the end of the shift.  They also gave us a tour of the place.  It takes 3,000 metric tons of ore to get 10 grams of gold.  It doesn't sound very efficient.

One more day of riding and we get another day off.

Sample set of directions for a day's ride:
    Terrace Bay to Hemlo
    Km    Directions
    0       Go right from campground on highway 17
    2       Terrace Bay
    80      Marathon
    87      Junction of highway 17 and 627
    117    Left on Yellow Brick Road to Golden Giant minesite
    118    Golden Giant minesite

    Note: The Mine Manager asks that we NOT be on the road to the mine site between 4 and 4:30pm.
    That's change of shift time and the road is narrow.

New Craig left us at the end of today's ride.  His wife and daughters came to pick him up.  They're heading back to Niagara Falls.  It's too early to think about going back to real life, so I put the thought out of my head.  Craig's daughters had read this journal and saw a few references to cinnamon buns so they baked a pan and left it for us.  Thanks, they were wonderful!!!

Day 35: August 2 Hemlo Mine to Wawa 90 miles (145 km)
Picture: Jon at the Winnie the Pooh monument in White River

Rain, rain, go away.  Come again another day.  It rained the entire way here.

I woke up at 12:30 a.m. with a nature call.  I didn't close up my tent and had about 30 mosquitoes in it when I returned.  It took a while to get them all, but I wasn't planning to give blood while I slept.  This was the worst night I've had so far, waking up every hour.  The rock crusher works 24 hours a day.

The rain started around 5:30.  I'd been dreading the day when I had to get up, pack, and eat breakfast in the rain.  It wasn't as bad as I expected.  I'd rather not have to do it again, though.  I was cold while eating breakfast so I put on more clothes than normal -- leg warmers, jacket, and pants.  I took off the pants about 5 minutes outside of camp.  They were too warm.

The scenery hasn't changed much in the past few days.  We're going through rolling hills, over streams, and around lakes big and small.  There's not much traffic on the road -- RVs, logging trucks, a few cars.  The rain added an extra dimension to the ride.  The lakes were covered with a thin layer of fog.  The hilltops appeared to fade into the distance because the clouds were low.

I rode out alone, figuring it would be difficult to draft with the wet conditions.  I passed Alan right after he had scared two moose who were enjoying a quiet meal at the side of the road.  He was singing California Girls by the Beach Boys.  The next stop was White River, the place where Lieutenant Harry Colbourn, a Canadian Army veteran, purchased a bear in 1919.  He named it Winnie, short for Winnipeg, his hometown.  While on assignment in France, Colbourn left the bear in the London Zoo.  That's where A.A. Milne saw it and transformed it into a children's storybook character.  Milne's son was named Christopher.

Breakfast number two was at Robin's Donuts in White River.  I tried to dry off and warm up.  Jumbo coffee mugs, filled with steaming liquid make great hand warmers.  Knowing that the cold and rain takes a lot of energy out of a person, I refueled with 3 donuts.  The first two were huge.  The third may have been too much.  Next time I'll try to show restraint.  Alan, Jules, Jon, John, and Karin eventually wandered in sopping wet.  If only the bathrooms had blow dryers!

Jon and I rode out together for the last 56 miles (90 km).  Putting wet clothes back on at the donut shop wasn't fun.  We found Brook at the Winnie the Pooh monument so I grabbed my vest and put it on under my jacket. (Thank you Patagonia.)

Even though it was raining, we had a tailwind.  We pushed a bit and held a strong pace, 22 mph (36 kph).  The tough part was drafting while avoiding the rooster tail.  We arrived at camp in Wawa around 12:30 p.m. and had to wait for Brook.  She was still in town doing grocery shopping.  She'd been delayed in White River giving everyone a chance to get more clothes if they needed them.

It's now dinner time. I'm showered, warm, and my laundry is done.  It's a great day.  The group ahead of us had a sunny day but they had headwinds coming in.  I'm not sure I'd trade.

Day 36: August 3 Wawa (rest day)
Picture: The giant goose in Wawa.  Craig, Brook, and Jon are standing in the center

What I'll remember most about Wawa is the giant Canadian goose.  It stands over 30 feet tall and is set on a huge pedestal outside of the tourist bureau.  It was commissioned in honor of the Trans Canada Highway going past the town.

Main Street was actually two separate streets because it bends in the middle.  It took at least 20 minutes to walk from one end to the other.  Okay, so the town wasn't very big and it didn't have much to do.  What it did have was a massage therapist who just happened to be in and was willing to stick around for a walk-in.  It also had a decent hamburger.  I passed on the five pin bowling,  Brook is a killer on picking up splits, they tell me.

Brook upheld another tradition.  She made everyone bacon and eggs for breakfast.  Actually, she had help from at least 10 of us.  Not a bad start for a rest day.

onward >>  Even More Northern Ontario: Around Lakes Superior and Huron

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