July 25; 127 km 605m vertical, hot and sunny

Orillia to Bowmanville
Tim’s keen to get to his mum and dad’s place so he had me up well before 8 for an early start. We were on the road just after 9 aiming to arrive around 4pm. As it was hot and sunny right from the start we decided to take a 10min. break every 20km to try and avoid doing too much too soon and getting dehydrated. We managed the 80km to Port Perry inside 4hours so we stopped there for our lunch break and then made good time for the rest of stage and, despite having to battle a head wind for the last 30km, we arrived on his parents doorstep at 4:02. That’s better timekeeping than the Bundesbahn can do these days.
The Rickards Red was out of the fridge and on the patio table before I’d got my gloves off and boy did it taste good. When I had the second one in my hand I started to wonder if it was really necessary to get on my bike tomorrow to start on the 500km to Montreal in the next 4 days. I think I can feel a bad back coming on so I’ll just crawl into bed. Night night.

July 24; 122 km 701 vertical, hot and sunny and just scraped past a thunderstorm

Parry Sound to Orillia
Our original plan had us heading for Gravenhurst today but when we got on the dual carriageway we had such a wide shoulder to ourselves we decided to stay on it for about 90km and take the exit for Coldwater. After about 50km we saw storm clouds building on our left but it looked as though they would stay off on that side. At 60km there was suddenly an almighty crash of thunder behind us that made me jump six inches off my saddle. If I hadn’t been locked in the pedals I might well have shot clean off the bike. We stopped and had a look at the way the storm was building and decided to drop of the highway and look for somewhere to have lunch at Crooked Lake while the storm passed over. It turned out that there was a small Marina and store but nowhere for a lunch so we sat at a picnic table on the shore of the lake and watched the storm approach. The storm was going west to east just north of us and the closest lightning strike was a mile away so we decided to get back on the highway and carry on south. We reached the exit for Coldwater without getting wet and stopped in the town for a late lunch after which we carried on for the remaining 23km to Orillia. We are a little further on than Gravenhurst and now in a good position for tomorrow’s stage to visit Tim’s Dad in Bowmanville.

July 23; 169km; 823M vertical

Sudbury to Parry Sound
We headed south from Sudbury to Parry Sound on highway 69. We have criticized the roads often enough in Ontario, but today the road was the highlight of our Ontario travels. We passed through some minor construction and then the road was perfect. Six feet of clean, wide shoulder with a rumble strip separating the cars and the bicycles. We felt safe and comfortable sharing the road with the trucks and cars. We were aided by a north wind and set a fast pace. We covered 170 km before the day was finished. Along the way we passed the French River where the voyagers used to travel from Montreal to Fort William by canoe.

July 22

Rest day in Sudbury
We went to Dynamic Earth in Sudbury and got a great introduction to mining life. After that we toured Sudbury - a city with 330 lakes inside the city boundary.

July 21; 80km; 414M vertical, cool and east wind

Espanola to Sudbury
We started with breakfast at Tim Horton’s. We were on the road at 10:30 and heading for Whitefish and lunch. However Whitefish was a ghost town at we ended up at Tim Horton’s in Lively for lunch. After fighting the wind all morning we overindulged in Chilli and tea. When we headed for Sudbury we were still burping, but we had a short afternoon and arrived in Sudbury around 3. Finding a motel was a challenge since we were staying for 2 night and didn’t want to pay $120 per night. When we flagged down a motorist for directions he recommended a good motel and then told us he had seen us on the Trans-Canada that morning. It’s a small world. We ended up at the Cardinal Motel that has the best Karaoke (on Mondays) in town. We enjoyed the singers and the Rickards White beer.

July 20; 124km, 444m vertical, hot and humid

Iron Bridge to Espanola
We got a quick start this morning. We were off at 9:20 without breakfast because we wanted to eat in Blind River 26km down the road. We got to the restaurant at 10:30 - and loaded up on sausage, eggs, toast and coffee. Then after a few pictures of Blind River we on the road again.

We headed due east into an east wind and the day was hot and humid. I always carry 2 bottles of Gatorade, each 1.2 litres and today for the first time I used both before we finished the day. We had planned to stop along the way to eat and drink, but we stopped at the wrong place today. The whole store had only junk food and junkier food. I was short of Gatorade so tried a bottle of vitamin water and a Nutribar. Both were pure sugar. Twenty km later we came to Massey and my head was floating 2 feet head above my body and I was having trouble keeping my bike on the road. We stopped at the Country Cook restaurant and each had 2 bowls of the soup of the day and the largest pot of tea we’ve seen to date. The nourishment worked wonders and we carried on to Espanola, our stop for the night.

Near Massey we passed a horse drawn carriages travelling along the shoulder of the Trans-Canada. We were faster than 2 horses.

July 19; 122 km 519m vertical, hot and sunny at last

Sault Ste. Marie to Iron Bridge
A busy day today. We had to tear ourselves away from the TV live coverage of Le Tour and go down to the mall to get the laundry done and do some shopping. You should have seen the laundry. A Soo city map went into the washer with the clothes. When I got back from Big Mac TimB was just unloading our kit from the washing machine. It was all covered in about 2 quadrillion pieces of soggy paper and the machine had the another 2 quadrillion pieces inside so it took a little longer to get the laundry done than we had anticipated. After we had stowed everything away we creamed up for a day in the sun and I had to scoff a couple of cheeseburgers to work up enough energy to get my leg over and then we were off. After leaving town we moved onto the dual carriageway that took us 55km before we set eyes on anywhere to have a rest. We stopped at the first little restaurant that we saw and ordered the biggest pot of tea they could find. It did six mugs and then we had a refill. It all helped to wash down the lemon-cranberry muffins and at the end the owner would not let us pay a cent because she was so impressed with us riding across Canada. I should have had a steak and a beer. After we had sufficiently re-hydrated we set off and did the 62km that got us to here in Iron Bridge. We are in a nice little motel owned by a Spaniard and the attached restaurant is leagues ahead of the run of the mill places. It will be a shame to leave after only one night. Now it is time to get the telly on and catch up on Le Tour. Night night.

July 18; 125 km 791m vertical, cool & foggy

Montreal River to Sault Ste Marie
We managed an earlier start today. TimB was up before 6:30, I got tea in bed while he cooked breakfast (am I glad that I’m the mechanic) and were on our way by 9. The fog was still down to the tree roots so there was not a lot to see. We climbed the hill that we had come back down last night and nearly got above the fog to see a pale sun and then it was back down the other side of the hill into the gloom. Things were going well until after about 19km I told TimB that his back tyre was getting wider and wider. Sure enough, another puncture for me to fix and while doing it we found that the tyre was so worn the rubber was loose exposing the casing in several places. The chances for food and drinks were more frequent on this stage, the hills were fewer and less steep so we made good time to the Soo where we headed, via the Tourist Centre, to the nearest bike shop for an urgently required tyre. After fitting it we settled in a town centre motel so that we would be able to take full advantage of the street festival that is on this weekend.

PS Thanks to all those who posted comments and for their kind wishes. My back is much better today. TimB

July 17; 114 km 1019m vertical, warm and humid

Wawa to Montreal River
We are back in the saddle again. After 3 days of lying in bed with my knees higher than my hips, we decided to throw caution to the winds and head for Sault Ste Marie. As a test I loaded up my bike and road once around the parking lot to see if everything worked. It did. Riding my bike is not hard on my back, but getting on and off my bike is a little more complicated than usual.
We left Wawa at 11 and headed south for Montreal River. I road slowly for the first 10 km and then I tucked in behind TimG and let him do all the work. The winds were not strong, but they were from the south so I biked in TimG’s slipstream most of the way. We stopped every 25km for a rest and granola bars. The road had major hills and we hit 3 uphills that climbed more than 4km and along the way we got some nice views of Lake Superior and it’s precipitous shoreline. The road went through Lake Superior Provincial Park for 89km and there were no motels, hotels or restaurants so we had to do 111km without our usual 1 hour tea and lunch break. When we hit Montreal River we headed for the restaurant we had seen advertised at the exit from the park. Unfortunately, it was no longer a restaurant, just a food store, but we did get a tea and some bad news - there were no motels open for another 50km down the road. While I was asking other customers about a campsite, the lady told me there was a resort with chalets just 3km away back down the steep hill we had just climbed. We now have a lovely (wooden) chalet on the shores of Lake Superior with a large patio window where we are watching the rain fall gently into the largest freshwater lake in the world.

PS from TG. Just in case you don’t already know: Lake Superior surface area 31700 sq. miles (that’s about one third the size of GB); East-West 382 miles N-S 160 miles; max. depth 1279ft; avg. depth 489ft; volume 3 quadrillion gallons; avg. temp. 40F (yep you don’t see anybody swimming in it); water turnover 191-199 years; tour around the lake 1300 miles.

July 14, 15, and 16

We are holed up in Wawa, Ontario due to injury. TimB had a back spasm on Sunday night (Hexenschuss uff Deutsch) and is resting in bed for 3 days. During this time he has been waited on hand and foot by TimG who is proving to be an excellent nurse. Thanks goodness for the Tour de France on television.

Many thanks to everybody for the birthday wishes. I had expected to spend the day on a bike saddle not nursing a cripple but at least I get to rest between fetching tea and meals and doing the laundry and ……….

Day 44 July 13 97km 705M vertical 12°C Cold rain SW wind

White River to Wawa
We had a cold, wet and miserable day, but not all at the same time. It was raining heavily this morning so we had a leisurely breakfast and departed White River at11:15. The rain was lighter but the wind was in our face as we headed straight south so we had a wet journey for the first third of our day. Suddenly the rain stopped, the road dried up, and the wind shifted to our back. We made the most of the tail wind and cruised along at 29 kph for the next third of our day. The sun peaked out briefly, just to tease us, and then the temperature dropped to 12°C , the wind turned to face us and the sun disappeared. Our cruising speed dropped to 19kph. The last third of the day was drudgery fighting the cold south winds. We pedalled into Wawa and immediately found the Tim Horton’s for hot tea and cinnamon buns.

Day 43 July 12 96km 759m vertical, 11°C thick fog cold S wind

Marathon to White River
This morning I felt it was necessary to check the calendar. I shook it and checked again and it still said July. Well you could have fooled me looking at the weather. Visibility was about 100m and the damp fog felt a lot colder than 11°C. I promise not to say anything bad about Scottish weather again. It was a tough start with a 4km climb out of downtown Marathon up to the TransCanada Hwy and then east through 20km of roadworks where the asphalt had been ground off leaving grooves that don’t bother cars but cause narrow bike tyres to constantly shift left and right. It was a relief to finally get onto a normal road surface. The day brightened slowly and by mid afternoon was warm and sunny while the wind freshened to a point where when we left the shelter of the forest to pass a lake it nearly blew us both to a standstill before we could lean on the pedals harder. Scenery continues to be impressive including many square kilometres that a few years ago were destroyed by fire and though green again lacks any trees. Guess what? We are in a motel again. Anybody want to buy a three man tent?

Day 42 July 11 101km 1000M Vertical

Schreiber to Marathon
We started the day with a visit to the Internet Café and then the railway Museum at Schreiber. The Museum was small but informative, just right for a 1 hour tour. We left Schreiber at noon and headed for Marathon. The theme of the day was hills, hills and more hills. We had a mild headwind so we were not fast and the constant uphills kept the average speed down. For every uphill there is a downhill, but sometimes it’s hard to find. Today we followed the shore of Lake Superior and had glimpses of the beautiful scenery along the lake. But, by the end of the day we counting the meters climbed and looking for a new daily record for Ontario. (It didn’t happen)

Day 41 July 10 95km 1013m vertical, 15°C cool SE wind

Nipigon to Schreiber
We left Nipigon at 10:45 and headed east on Highway 17. Our hopes of the NW wind to push us along were dashed when we saw a SE wind blowing during breakfast. The day did not start well for TimG because the pancakes that he had looked forward to were served cold so he sent them back and made do with a cup of coffee. We set off against a strong head wind and the road featured many climbs several of which were long and steep. Because of the conditions our average speed was only 19kph. The road ran close to the shores of Lake Superior and we often had good views of the scenery. Shortly after starting we came across another group of cyclists on a cross Canada ride. We had camped at the same campsite in Assiniboia Sask June 19. We leapfrogged each other all day long and ended up eating lunch together in Rossport, a pretty little town right on the edge of the lake.

Day 40 July 9th 115km 686m vertical, 18°C cool NW wind

Thunder Bay to Nipigon
I think if we had stayed any longer living the good life with TimB”s relatives we would not have got back on the bikes. It was 11:30 before we got going. We had to ride along the north east shore road to Nipigon with a strong NW wind blowing across or against us. Together with stretches of road that were in an appalling state (and we are talking about the Trans Canada Highway here) it was a fairly tough day. After about 70km we took a loop road to Ouimet/Eagle Canyon to see Canada’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge over Eagle Canyon. I thought it was daylight robbery charging us $18 apiece to walk over the bridge but we did have a good laugh getting it to sway about and trying to bounce it up and down (actually that was me while TimB was trying to take pictures). After that little excursion we had to crack on for the last 40km as it was getting a bit late. We finished tired but with high hopes of being able to benefit from the NW wind in the morning when we turned the corner to start heading E along the north side of the lake.

Day 39 July 8

Rest day in Thunder Bay
We toured Thunder Bay with Frank our host and spent more money in bike shops. We worked on our bikes and we ate and drank more food and beer. We raised the issue of staying here until our trip is over but Frank pointed out that his children have moved out and he doesn't want two more. Tomorrow we hit the road again.

Day 38 July 7 55km Warm and sunny

Oliver Lake to Thunder Bay
We left Oliver Lake and headed to the big city of Thunder Bay. At 110,000 inhabitants, Thunder Bay has doubled since I lived here. However all the distances seemed so short. On the way to my other cousin (Sharon) we rode past my old house, my old elementary school, my old ski club, old swimming pool. The house was smaller, the school was gone, the ski club was closed and the pool was still there. For the first time since leaving Lethbridge we found some very good bike shops where I bought a new tire and TimG bought a new helmet. We arrived at cousin Sharon’s at 3 PM to find the Wal-Mart greeters out on the street waving us into the right driveway. We enjoyed a very warm welcome, a very good meal and then met all my family in Port Arthur. To say my family contains a few live wires is not an understatement - Melissa.

Day 37 July 6 hot and sunny

Rest Day at Oliver lake

Day 36 July 5 60km Hot and sunny Wind SW moderate

We rode the Trans-Canada from Shabaqua to Kakabeka Falls and then stopped at the Niagara of the north. The falls were awesome, - the sheer volume of water and the roar of the water leave a lasting impression. One lady I talked to is a local who said she has never seen so much water going over the falls in her life. She was a lot older than me.
We turned south at Stanley and took gravel roads for 15km to Oliver Lake. We arrived at 3pm and the party was in full swing. My cousin Danny lives year round on Oliver lake. Over the years, he has mastered the art of enjoying the lake at it’s best and Saturday was hot and sunny. We ate, drank, swam and watched the fireworks he had saved for the fourth of July (my anniversary). It was a good start to our 4 day layover in Thunder Bay.

Day 35 July 4 144km 897m vertical. Warm and sunny, wind W. to SW moderate.

Atikokan to Shabaqua
We spent the night in the Atikokan Hotel - our best hotel so far on this trip. The hotel is old, but very well maintained. Our room had beautiful wood floors and the nicest bathroom to date. All rooms had different comforter and pillow combinations - it was more like a museum than a hotel. The food was quite good and pricey. After a hearty breakfast we hit the road at 11:00 and planned to do 120km to Shebandowan. The winds were favourable, the road went up and down all day and the scenery was interesting. Only the bugs were bad. At one stop, TimG road around in circles to avoid the mossies, while I took a picture - I’m still scratching. We tried to always stop where the wind was strong. The up and down roads today meant we had our largest vertical climb since BC and the fifth highest climbing day of the trip. We passed the Artic/Atlantic watershed today - you could be forgiven for thinking it would all be downhill after the watershed but it wasn’t. However, we managed to averaged 25.0 kph (good for us and our luggage). As our contribution to the environment today we rescued Stanley the turtle from the middle of the road and put him in a ditch. He’s not a flat Stanley yet!
Our planned destination was to have been Shebandowan Lake but the Hotel was no longer in business as such so we carried on to Shabaqua, an extra 20 km. But what’s another 20 km when you’ve already done 124.