Day 34, July3 156km; 875m vertical, 22°C W. wind, nice & warm.

Fort Frances to Atikokan
It would have been a reasonably early start at 9:30 but when we pumped the tyres up a bit TimB’s valve tore out of the tube (the third one since he landed in Vancouver) so we were delayed until 10 o’clock. The new tube now has a piece of the old tube around the neck of the valve to cushion it against the edge of the hole in the rim. If this doesn’t work I’m out of ideas other than getting new rims!!!!! We are well and truly out of the prairies now. The terrain is heavily wooded, hilly and there are loads of lakes and rivers. Have a look at a map (or Google earth) of the region west of Thunder Bay and you will see what I mean. The terrain is such that there is no farming but plenty of fishing and hunting on offer at lodges well away from the road. There are hardly any private residences and we saw only one business (a gas station) where we could get a coffee in the whole 155km. The prairies were like market day compared to this part of the country.

Day 33, July2 88km; 215m vertical, 16°C N. wind and cold

Rainy River to Fort Frances
Just getting used to hotter weather and then this. Today was a gentle ride to preserve some energy for the next two stages. This is our first day in Ontario, 4 provinces done and 6 to go. We met another couple from Vancouver at the motel who are also riding to St John’s. They saw us way back at the laundromat in Creston (2200km ago) but since then we have been on slightly different routes. This morning they set off a little before us but we met again at Emo for a lunch break. There aren’t many places to stop at on the 440km to Thunder Bay (hence the long stages for the next couple of days) so we will probably be seeing them again soon. That makes eight groups or individuals to date either doing the same as us or on long rides to other destinations. I guess we will not get lonely.

Day 32, July1 67km; 76m vertical, 32°C nice and hot.

Warroad to Rainy River, Ontario
We left the campsite at Warroad at 9:30 and immediately stopped for a leisurely breakfast in Warroad. It is a pretty little town on Lake of the Woods, situated on a river that the Indians used to raid each other. Hence the name Warroad. We only planned on doing 70km, so it was a slow day. The highway to Baudette and Rainy River is labelled the flower road and had wildflowers in abundance. We lunched in Baudette and then crossed into Canada at Rainy River. I had wanted to find a Canada Day picnic with hamburgers and drinks but the only party that day was for children. However, there was a fireworks display at 10:00 (sunset). We had a hamburger at the hotel, a beer at the Legion and went to the fireworks. Happy Canada Day

Day 31 June 30 117km 175m vertical. SSW wind. Pretty hot 32°C.

Vita to Warroad, Minnesota.
As the motel restaurant was still closed we decided to set off on half a tub of yogurt, no tea or coffee and have a late breakfast break at Piney. Piney, situated near a crossroads, had been signposted for around 90km so we expected to see some services. On the 45km to the crossroads only 3 cars passed us in our direction. It sure is quiet around here. We turned right at the crossroads to go the 1km to Piney only to find the hotel closed and for sale, the garage had been derelict for years and the only business open was the financial services office. So there was nothing for it but to tighten our lycra and head back to the crossroads and carry on east . We had covered 70km and were running on fumes when we found a small restaurant at South Junction. Copious amounts of tea and toasted sandwiches did not restore us to our full former glory but at least got us back on our bikes. A drink break at Sprague and a favourable wind helped us zip along to the US border where we crossed into Minnesota for the last 10km to Warroad where we set up camp. After 3 dry nights some restorative action was necessary so it was not long before we found our way into town where we visited the Legion (bar & restaurant). I wasn’t half way down the first happy hour beer before I was chatting away and being interrogated by John Lofton and Erik Bloomqist. TimB was busy chatting to Barb (all 103.5lbs of her. Apparently they were talking about weight and cycling over mountains. That’s his version anyway. It’s up to you whether you believe him). John and Erik were generously treating us to drinks and we were soon needing a cushion for the intake. Sue, behind the bar, said the kitchen was closed but recommended a place round the corner so that was where we ate before returning to the legion to pick up where we left off. We were further treated to more beers by John and Sue and an hour of ready wit and repartee between Sue’s mother and John. You can’t wish for finer hospitality than we received today.

Day 30 June 29 108km 106m vertical. North wind

Winkler to Vita
We were on the road by 10:00 heading due east. The wind was from the north at times gusting to 40kph. The first 40km were slow, but then we flew due south for 6km on a newly paved shoulder. We had a health food lunch of waffles and pancakes at Letellier and then headed due east again. Shortly after lunch we passed the Red River, the source of so many floods. Since we got to Winkler the land has been extremely flat and you can see why a 10 foot rise in the river can flood 40km wide. We arrived in Vita at 5pm to find everything closed - Motel, restaurants, and bars. At the only convenience store that was open we got canned turkey and rice for supper. We did get a motel room when we found the owner, but the liquor store was closed and we had another dry night. For the last half day it has been easy to tell we are in a Ukrainian district of Manitoba.

Day 29 June 28 Rest day in Winkler.

Library, Laundry and Tim Horton’s.
Winkler is a dry town. As a result we have spent the last two nights at Tim Horton’s drinking Tea. We have had some very nice teas: Orange Pekoe, English breakfast, Earl Grey and Chai. What a delightful change from beer.