Day 37: August 4 Wawa to Pancake Bay 97 miles (157 km)
Picture (upper right): An Inuk Shuk, a totem that's built near a path, to mark the way and honor the gods
Picture (lower left): Pictographs in Agawa

What a great day.  It was relaxing, fun, and still a great workout.  I started the day by figuring out how to take a recipe I really love to make at home, and adjust it to feed a small army.  Jules helped me convert the quantities so I could make a shopping list for Brook (for example, how many tomatoes is 7 1/2 cups, or how much brown rice feeds 24 hungry bikers)

The ride was a little longer than any we'd done since Thunder Bay, a week ago.  I wasn't worried about the distance, but I wanted to get to camp with plenty of time to make dinner.  The hills were longer than the past few days.  A few were between 2 and 3 miles long (3-5 km).  They weren't steep so you could just spin.  The wind was coming out of the south.  Unfortunately, that was the direction I was going.  On the climbs you didn't notice the wind.  When you crested a hill and wanted to begin going down, it hit you.

Around the midpoint of the ride I stopped to view the Agawa Pictographs, old Ojibway indian graffiti.  The painting, done in ochre was done on a cliff face, near the waterline on Lake Superior.  There were animals, canoes, hunters, horses, and a mystical beast with horns and spines down its back.  It's believed that the paintings were done as part of dream visions.  In order to see them I had to climb down a large number of natural (uneven and awkward) stairs, take off my shoes and socks, then edge out carefully so I didn't fall off the rocks and into the lake.  Posted signs warned of injury and deaths from slipping.  There weren't any ropes or barricades.  It was worth the walk.

After leaving the park the ride seemed a little tougher.  The wind and the hills made it hard to get a rhythm going.  Then I hit the construction zone.  They'd ripped off the top layer of asphalt and hadn't put down the new yet.  It was awful.  I had to slow down because the vibrations were too much for me.  I couldn't even see straight.  The worst part was at the end.  I had to climb a final hill, then descend into Montreal River Harbour.  What a wasted downhill.  With the headwind and the road surface, I couldn't go faster than 37 mph (60 kph).  With the right conditions, I might have topped 56 (90 kph).

I arrived before most of the others, which really surprised me.  I'd left late, hadn't seen or passed many others, and there weren't many places to stop for food.  It turns out that most of the missing bikers stopped at one of the many beaches for lunch and a swim.

Catherine and I made dinner -- tarragon chicken with potatoes, carrots, and tomatoes over rice.  Jeff and Herb took care of cleaning up.  A quick dip in Lake Superior followed by a warm shower wrapped up the day.  I went to sleep listening to the waves.

Day 38: August 5 Pancake Bay to Thessalon  99 miles (160 km)
Picture: Carol, making her lunch in the morning.  Note the size of the peanut butter bucket.  

We had to do it.  We made pancakes for breakfast in Pancake Bay.  I'm not sure how many others cared, but the cook crew had fun with it.  It was dark as we began making breakfast.  With all of the places and timezones we've been in, we've had sunrise and sunset at quite a range of times.  The oddest was when it was light well past 10:00pm (sorry, don't remember where).

Jeff and I rode out last again after packing up the truck.  The job of "sweep" has pretty much disappeared.  Everyone knows how to take care of themselves now.  We also know who's going to going to get in early and late.  If one of us is stopped on the side of the road, everyone who passes at least asks if they're okay.  More often than not, they'll stop to help.

The ride was a long one, 99 miles.  Sault Ste. Marie was in the middle of it, not a good place.  I'd have preferred it a little later so there wouldn't be as far to go after lunch.  The ride into "The Soo" was relatively flat (for Ontario) with a couple of long hills.  The last one, Mile Hill, was the worst.  We found two bike shops to visit in the city.  I wasn't really looking for anything.  My bike's making funny noises, but I planned to wait until I reached Toronto where they have shops that understand road bikes.  Most of the bike shops I've seen across Canada, outside of Vancouver, focus on mountain bikes.

Jeff and I had lunch with Dave and Carol in Muio's Restaurant on Queen Street, downtown.  It came recommended by the bike shop.  I had homemade pasta with meatballs and blueberry pie for dessert.  Dave called an old college chum who joined us with his wife for an hour or so.  We were all invited to come swim in their pool and have a few drinks.  We were tempted.

Folks were tired at dinner.  Most hadn't had much time between arriving at camp and sitting down to dinner.  By 8:30 p.m. many had disappeared into their tents.  Only a handful were sitting around writing in their journals.

Interesting (?) fact:  What we use to protect our backsides from chafing and saddle sores:
- Dr. Naylor's Udder Balm
- Bag Balm (my choice)
- Butt Butt'r
- Body Glide
- Penaten Cream
- Melaleuca Gel
- Tea tree oil
- Vasoline
- Baby powder

Mascot updates:
- John's mascot, the cheetah, left John and is going home with his daughter Allison who came to visit.
- Dave's fox was kidnapped but escaped.  A ransom note was left asking for a bottle of scotch and a People Magazine.  The police recommended he not pay the ransom.  They also suspect the note was written by a foreigner because of the inappropriate use of the word "eh" in the note.
- Catherine has acquired a tiger cat named Danny Mac.
- Alan's daughter Robin has 2 mascots in her car, a rabbit named Triscuit and a pig named Pig

Day 39: August 6 Thessalon to Massey  82 miles (132 km)
Picture: An abandoned building along the route to Massey

Another rainy day.  I was riding along early in the morning thinking "at least it's just a drizzle".  Right about then the sky opened up and it poured.  Fortunately it was a warm day.  My jacket stayed in my bag except for when I stopped.

The ride was simple.  Just get on Highway 17 and go east.  It curved a bit to follow a river and again later to follow the north coast of Lake Huron.  The wind was in my face or coming from the side all day.  I think I'd rather have no wind (if I can't have a tailwind).  The scenery wasn't very exciting, partly due to the rain.  There were farms, a couple of indian reservations, and woods (bush, to Canadians).  The big towns of the day were Iron Bridge, Blind River, and Massey.  You can tell the bigger towns from the smaller ones in two ways.  The bigger ones have more billboards by the road coming into town.  The smaller ones don't have the population listed on the town sign.

On the previous two days of long rides, I wasn't reaching camp until late.  That meant that the biking clothes I washed each night weren't drying before I had to take them in for the night.  Now, after three days of riding, I don't have any biking clothes that I want to put on tomorrow.  The laundry was just a short distance from the park so I got everything together and rode over.  What a dump.  There was a mother and daughter in the place.  The mother told me that only one of the 16 washing machines was working. She let me use it when she finished.  Two of 7 dryers still worked.  There was no attendant, no change machine, no soap vending machine.  Nothing but a run down building and lots of graffiti.

At dinner Robert related an incident he experienced during the day.  He stopped to take a picture and realized he had to go to the bathroom.  Now.  Number two.  He saw a little bush nearby that he could use to squat behind.  On the way he spied an envelope in a ditch that could be used for clean up.  As he was squatting he began to tear the envelope into pieces to get more surface area.  It was still sealed.  Inside, he found a check for $83.  Very surprised he set it aside, not wanting to use it.  Well, the envelope pieces weren't enough.  Yep, he used the check, too.  But he used the backside of the check just in case the rightful owner comes looking for it.

Day 40: August 7 Massey to Manitowaning  70 miles (113 km)
Picture: Jules, Alan, Craig, and Karl on Manitoulin Island

The map for the day said it was going to be a short day, but hilly and not easy.  I took that as a challenge and had a lot of fun.

It sprinkled overnight in Massey.  According to the locals, it hadn't rained in over four weeks.  Why couldn't it have held off one more day?  I stayed dry but packed the tent away wet again.

It felt good getting on the bike this morning.  My butt was comfortable, it was warm, and I was feeling happy.  It threatened to rain early on but held off.

There was a light tailwind as we rode east.  I found myself moving along at 22 mph (35 kph) easily.  Most mornings I start off at around 17 mph (27 kph).  At Espanola the route turned south on Highway 6, a heading we kept for the rest of the day.  The hills started right after Espanola.  I attacked them.  My goal was to keep my odometer above the teens, in kilometers per hour.  I only counted 8 hills that made me drop below 20 kph.  Another 4 pulled me down to 20 or 21 kph.  I didn't count all of the hills, so I don't know how many I beat; it was probably another 15 or 20.

The morning stop was in a town called Little Current on the island of Manitoulin.  It's the largest island on a fresh water lake in the world.  Just across the bridge onto the island was an ice cream shop that was recommended on our maps.  I went in, of course.  I met up with Jules, Alan and Craig there.  Alan said there was a better place that he remembered down by the waterfront.  We had to do a fair comparison so we followed him to town.  It wasn't open yet, so we were forced to find a restaurant for lunch. Don't you hate when that happens?  Lunch at the Anchor Inn wasn't served until 11:30 and we arrived at 10:30.  We couldn't even have a beer until 11:00.  We waited for both.  By the time we finished lunch the ice cream shop was open.  It was a tie; both served the same brand of ice cream.  The one on the waterfront had a limited selection but served bigger scoops.

The remainder of the ride was short.  The wind was gusting from the southwest so we fought a headwind for a bit, then had to stay balanced on our bikes when it switched to the side.  We've been wasting the westerly winds.  I'd like to turn east again soon.  I'll get my wish in a couple of days.

It was a mail day again.  A package was waiting for me from the Myers clan (Thanks Krista and family for the brownies and card.  Thanks Mark and Carol for the jerky.  All were well received.)  Mom and Dad sent a card; it's nice to be thought of.  The other package that arrived was the GPS device I purchased as I passed through Manitoba.  Now I can track the route we're taking plus the elevation changes.  It mounts on the handlebars, slightly blocking Sparky's view.  I moved him around a bit, so it's not too bad.

Day 41: August 8 Manitowaning to Tobermory 26 miles (42 km)
Picture: Herb and Catherine, preparing to ride to the ferry in Tobermory

It was almost a rest day.  We had to ride a few kilometers down the highway to catch the ferry from the southwest corner of Manitoulin Island to Tobermory, the northern tip of the Bruce Peninsula.  We had reservations on the 1:30 p.m. ferry.  Breakfast was done and the truck was packed by 8:30 - even with a late breakfast.  We almost had time to walk the 26 miles.

I went to the Canada Post in town to see if my bike part had arrived.  I love small towns.  I just told them my name and the name of the campground and they gave me my package.  They also gave me the mail for a few of the other riders.  It wasn't the bike part, though.  It was a package from my cousin Janet -- homemade cookies and turkey jerky.  We started on the jerky as soon as we arrived in camp.  The cookies became dessert.  Janet you're very popular in camp now. You can make cookies for us any time!

Chef Bruce, Brook and I stopped for another breakfast in Manitowaning since we had so much time to kill.  Word was that there was no good breakfast spots in South Baymouth, by the ferry.  After a leisurely meal where we talked about bike and canoe tours with a couple at the table next to us, Bruce and I headed south.  Brook went back to the campground to ask them if they would forward the package to Toronto when it arrived.

Just after we arrived at the ferry terminal and found the truck, the woman from the campground walked up bearing a package for me and several letters for others.  She said the package had arrived by Purolator just after Brook had left.  Did I mention that I love small towns?  After thanking her profusely I had to tell her that this wasn't the expected package.  It was brownies and New Hampshire maple syrup from Dena and Joe!  Dena, you make great brownies.  The box arrived in great condition and the brownies were still moist and unbroken.  Unfortunately I had to share them since they arrived around lunchtime and the crowd was starting to get ugly.  (Joe, I understand what a sacrifice it was to let the brownies out of your house.)  We're planning to test the syrup side by side with some from New Brunswick in the next few days.  Thanks again.

The ferry ride was uneventful.  It rained unexpectedly and turned a little chilly so we all stayed inside.  Not surprisingly, most of us slept and/or ate on the way south.

The campsite was only 3.5 miles (6 km) away so a few of us stayed in Tobermory to eat, shop, or use the internet in the library.  The town was a definite tourist trap with lots of small shops and high prices.

Some of the riders from the Toronto area have started to disappear.  Jon and Jeff rode ahead yesterday.  They were hoping to ride 125 miles (200 km) yesterday and again today to get home for a four day break.  Carol rode ahead yesterday to meet her partner in Tobermory and was planning to rejoin for the ride to Toronto.  Herb and Catherine met friends in Tobermory who were giving them a lift home for a few days off.  They'll rejoin in Campbellford, the night after Toronto.  Quite a few others are planning to head home or to friends' homes once we reach the city.  With Jeff, Herb and Catherine gone, I'm the only one of my cook crew who's going to be around on the night into Toronto.  I think it's going to be either leftovers or pizza.

Jules' bike was making bad noises today.  Alan and Jules (with me holding the flashlight and offering moral support) cleaned and repacked the rear hub.  It was the second time in a week that it had needed to be done.  It should hold for a couple days until a shop can take it apart completely and overhaul everything.

My bike is doing ok.  I plan to replace the chain and the rear cogs when we get to Toronto.  That should help eliminate some of the odd noises.  The only other problem I found was a bubble in the rear tire.  It's between the outer rubber layer and the cords, not all the way through to the tube.  The tire was new in Thunder Bay, only 600 miles (1,000 km) back.
 

Stats to date
Total Distance: 2,834 miles / 4,571 kilometers
Total time: 163:06
Average speed:  17.4 mph / 28.0 kph
Average distance/day: 79 miles / 127 kilometers

onward >>  Southern Ontario: The big cities

backward >>  More Northern Ontario: A party, Winnie the Pooh, and a giant goose

Home