loiswolf

[loiswolf]

Summary of Anchorage - Toronto May 24 - July 31

Today I am flying home to Sydney. It will take 25hrs and 3 flights.

Somehow I’ve managed to pack Shirley and a pannier with contents (separate)

Into a normal sized bike box.

Sadly I decided to lighten the load just a little by disposing of Pinkie.

So sad….but she will be replaced by a new version of Pinkie asap.

My lovely host Rushd will drive me to the airport at around 1pm for my 4pm flight. I have been staying here with him and his nephew who is also called Rushd.

On the 20th floor ( overlook Mississauga )

I haven’t anything else to do this morning so I’ve gathered a few statistics for you.

Yesterday I took Shirley for a ride in order to try to buy something my sister asked me to get. We failed to purchase the required item but the ride was 16kms, bringing my total kilometres so close to 6000, we will call it 6000!

So total kms - 6000

Longest day - Day 36 Raymore - Melville 144kms. There were also many days just under this total which has brought the daily average to 100kms. There were also several short days for various reasons.

Toughest day - Day 3 Glacier View - Tolsona 116kms. Mountains and wind!

Rest days - 8 although 3 of those were in Tok.

Accommodation stats

Nights in motels - 37 ( I love motels!)

Nights in airbnbs- 15

Night in really bad hotel - 1 (thankfully)

Warmshowers- 4 nights ( including 2 here in Toronto)

Nights in cabins- 8 ( I love these too as long as they have running water (3 didn’t))

Nights in Hostels - just 3 in Tok but I loved it there too.

Nights with friends - 2 at Uxbridge ( also a favourite)

Probably my 2 favourites were Toad River(above)

And White Lake

So obviously I had help along the way which I happily admit to.

It was only because of lack of accommodation options and getting to my flight on time.

4 Rides in RV’s and 1 van - 625kms

1 ride in a bus - 385km

Total 1010kms.

I thank God for the amazing weather I enjoyed almost the whole time and keeping me safe every day from bears, bad surfaces on the road and drivers who do not appreciate cyclists. Also for sending people to reassure me, keep me company and provide something when I needed it.

The other amazing statistic is my incredible Shirley.

Number of flat tyres - 0

Number of times I pumped up the tyres after leaving Anchorage. - 1 at exactly halfway and I didn’t do it. Aaron in the bike shop at Vermilion did it.

Number of times Shirley got oil - 1. From a nice man at Nth Battleford .

Number of times Shirley complained or made a noise - 0. What a girl!

So I’m not sure if I’ll tour again. I’m really over dragging the box in and out of vehicles and through airports. Maybe if I could take a lovely cruise to and from my country of choice I might be interested. We’ll see.

Thanks for following me and thanks to all the people who wrote emails and messages. I hope you enjoyed reading my stories.

Lois x

[loiswolf]

Day 60 July 31 Uxbridge - Etobicoke (Toronto)94kms

Last day cycling! I thought it was going to be easy, but of course, it wasn’t!

I had a lovely day yesterday with Janet and Jim. It was great to see them again and Janet is a wonderful cook. She made some delicious home cooked meals which I thoroughly enjoyed.

After taking a selfie this morning

I cycled off straight for the cafe Janet took me to last year. It was on the way although only 14kms from their house. Here are some cornfields and farms I passed on the way.

I didn’t have a second breakfast since I’d had porridge already with my fruit, but the cakes at this place are the best I’ve seen in Canada.

I also bought a cinnamon scroll to go. It might be my last one. 😔

Jim had suggested I just head west on the road the cafe was on. That seemed like a good idea but Janet had mentioned there were lots of trucks.

Janet was right! I tolerated it for a while but they were really non stop.

The plan today was to head west until I was almost above my destination, then take a quiet road south.

Silly me! The only quiet road was the one I first turned south on.

Every time I cycled south it was mostly downhill and I had a tailwind. It sounds great and it would have been if I hadn’t had to worry about being hit be a car or truck and having to stop at lights every few hundred meters ….for what seemed like five minutes each time.

There are no quiet roads into Toronto. I had to choose roads that went somewhere, that didn’t stop at a railway or near the motorway or a huge gully. The closer I got the more the map showed that there was a limited choice. I was also conscientiously staying off the major highways. I really wouldn’t have wanted to cycle one of them anyway. Scary!

At about halfway I felt like a bagel then I saw a place called ‘what a bagel’.

Perfect! I stopped for a cold drink and a bagel with cream cheese thinking that I had really nailed it today, confident that I’d be early to my Warmshowers stay.

As you may have already guessed, this didn’t happen.

The roads were all very busy, two lanes each way and big intersections every few hundred meters. I kept thinking that I would turn onto a less busy road but they were progressively worse. Here was the place I actually entered Toronto

It was near Canada Wonderland.

The most horrible road was called Finch road heading west which had the most awful roadworks going on. I tried the footpath and ended up pushing and pulling Shirley over piles of gravel then had to squeeze her past a fence erected to stop people going that way.

Then the actual road was just a crawl over dirt and muck for several kilometres. I never got to the road I had planned to come south on. There was just too much roadwork in the way.

I finally arrived at my destination in an outer suburb called Etobicoke at 3:30. I’m staying on the 20th floor of an apartment block with Rushd, who I stayed with last year, and his nephew Rushd ( yes, the same name).

This is very late because we had to go shopping at Costco and a Lebanese fruit place after Rushd got home from work at 6pm.

I’ll write some stats later.

[loiswolf]

Day 59 July 29 Barrie - Uxbridge 110kms

Today was supposed to only be 85kms. I guess I’m not used to navigating because I did a really bad job. It didn’t help that it was raining this morning. I put my iPad in the front bag so I could access it but there was no shelter along the road so I just cycled on with the idea that as long as I followed the bay, I was on course. Wrong!

When I finally stopped to check the map I found I had gone about 7kms past the turn! Right there was an extra 14kms.

Finally back on track I had done 28kms and hardly made any progress. I wasn’t having much fun in the rain so I thought I would regroup with a coffee and donut at Tim Hortons. Tim Hortons was the only option today, it was Saturday and I hadn’t looked for alternatives.

So I was actually trying to take the google maps cycle route today but I didn’t even manage that.

This is a photo I took leaving Barrie. It was a bit like Brighton Le Sands (in Sydney)

With the bay opposite.

That was before my extra kilometres.

This is a photo of the inside of Pinkie.

Sad but true. She is no longer very waterproof as all the rubber lining has turned gummy and is falling off. She was soaked very early today so I had to make do with the poncho.

After my Tim Horton’s break I just had to go straight ahead up a road I thought would be quiet. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be any quiet roads here. It was still raining, the shoulder came and went but at least I had memorised my turnoff so I didn’t miss it!

Another Tim Hortons break and the rain had pretty much stopped when I came out. Determined not to end up on the Highway I took a dirt road which ran parallel, then crossed at the lights to my chosen road. It wasn’t quiet but it was hilly.

There were a few of these hills before my next turn onto the most direct route to Uxbridge. It went thought a huge city with non stop traffic.

10kms later I was finally out the other side and on my final 30kms. Again there were large hills all the way to Uxbridge.

I eventually cycled into town and checked the map. Another 9kms….well it would have been if I didn’t miss another turn and do an extra 5kms of big hills. Grrr.

It was 4:30 when I finally arrived at this beautiful home.

So worth it!

Technically I’ve cycled across Canada ( apart from getting the bus and lifts) because I was at this point last year.

You probably all thought I would be riding into Toronto today. I could have, it might have been closer. I did mention when I took the bus that it would give me time to visit friends, so that’s what I’m doing. Tomorrow I am having a proper rest day ( the first one since Winnipeg) then on Monday I’ll finish my ride into Toronto. See you then!

[loiswolf]

Day 58 July 28 Meaford - Barrie 95kms

Already quite warm and very humid when I left Meaford this morning, I headed off along the road hugging the bay. Of course there were only glimpses of the water every now and then but the road was mostly flat and I had a tailwind. Most of the time there was a reasonable shoulder so it was good riding.

Again I sniggered when I saw this sign

There weren’t any mountains!

However, I was proved wrong down the road and around the bend.

They even looked a little like our Blue Mountains from a distance. I’m sure they are nothing like them really.

There was a town called Camperdown where I stopped to take some photos. The towns look a lot different to where I’ve been previously. There seems to be a lot of these old red brick buildings.

The closest I came to a beach was at Craigleith. I stopped at the RV park to have a look.

Not very inspiring compared to an Australian beach, but probably ok for a swim.

My scheduled break was Collingwood at 34kms. A really big, busy town with lots of traffic, I was heading for McDonalds. I needed to fill up my water bottle with ice as well as a small plastic container to put in my food bag in an attempt to keep things cool. Naturally I had a second breakfast of coffee and hotcakes while there.

As I was about to leave when this lovely lady

stopped me to ask where I got my helmet mirror. She had also done some cycle touring so we talked for about 15minutes before I got away.

Things got very scary after that. On the other side of Collingwood the road became a divided highway with two lanes each way but absolutely no shoulder. Oh, yeah, there was a small shoulder just wide enough to accommodate continuing horizontal rumble strips. Nnnnnnoooootttttttt gggggooooooooodddd!

The speed limit wasn’t even fast but the trucks and cars were not able to give me any space and I had to dive off into the gravel a few times. I stuck it out for 8kms until there was an alternate road.

This road was a dream compared to the highway. Lovely rural surroundings

and pretty houses.

Not to mention no traffic. I wanted to stay on if forever and it looked like I would be able to according to the map. Wrong! After the first 10kms the road was closed. As usual I cycled around it hoping I could get around whatever roadworks were ahead. No such luck. A skinny angry workman would not allow me to pick my way through ( it was a bridge with some biggish gaps on both approaches) so I had to double back about a kilometre.

The road back to the highway was unsealed but it was quite rideable.

It had been a good idea to miss as much of the main road as possible because it was no better when I returned to it. I still had the tailwind and was moving pretty quickly when I was blasted off the road by a passing semi-trailer. Shirley and I ploughed off into the gravel at speed but I managed to slow down by heading into the grass. We returned to the road unscathed.

Not only was the traffic scary it was really really hot.

16kms from Barrie there was an intersection with a big gas station. I desperately needed a cold drink and was hoping to get some fresh ice for the food bag. The freezer with the bags of ice was tucked away at the back of the shop. Unfortunately there was no loose ice…mmmm….I had a genius idea. I took the whole food bag off Shirley and discreetly planted it in the freezer while I had a 15 minute break.

With a lovely icy cold food bag I cycled off for the final leg. The traffic eased for a while until with 5kms to go I rounded a bend to see a very unwelcome big hill. Groan. It wasn’t steep and there was a path to the side I could use but the sweat was just pouring down my face all the way.

Barrie is also a large place and the last few kilometres were through lots of traffic lights, hopping on and off the path wherever I could get through.

A man on a trike informed me it was 31° but it was the humidity that was the killer.

Finally I saw my motel which is on the main road. It’s a Wyndham with very bad reviews. It’s not that bad but I am upstairs so had to make 3 trips to carry everything up to my room. It’s air conditioned so I’ve recovered now. What a pity I have to go back out in the heat to find something for dinner.

[loiswolf]

I usually get good reviews on Airbnb but I’ve never had one like this before!

[loiswolf]

Day 57 July 27 Lion’s Head - Meaford 92km

It was already quite warm when I cycled away from my motel this morning. The landscape was flat farmland

and I had a nice little tailwind. I hadn’t been able to get any fruit for my usual breakfast so had just made do with bread and honey. In fact, the couple of times I stopped yesterday to try to buy fruit , people looked at me as though I was insane. Obviously not in the food pyramid over here.

My morning tea ( or second breakfast) was going to be Wiarton. Just a few kilometres before I saw this inviting looking place.

I prefer to support these small local businesses rather than Tim Hortons so I stopped. It had some lovely baked goods and finally, some fresh fruit. There was also coffee and a very delicious fresh chocolate cup cake.

Moving on about 20 minutes later I passed through Wiarton. The traffic was quite busy but the towns are starting to look a bit more inviting now. I snapped a photo of this home on the other side of town.

Traffic was building up all the time today. Mostly there was a good shoulder but a couple of times I had to get off the road when a truck was approaching from behind and there was oncoming traffic.

The next scheduled stop was going to be Owen’s Sound. I took a back road into town which was hilly and scenic but also meant I missed the supermarket I had picked out. I hadn’t been to a supermarket since Espanola a few days ago so I really needed to shop today.

A quick map check before cycling up a massive hill out of the town showed there were plenty of other shopping options. It was so hot today I figured it would be better to shop after my lunch break anyway.

Another back road to avoid heavy traffic brought me out at this lovely little place.

It was time for that belated second breakfast.

Yummo!

Up the road I found a cheap supermarket and grabbed a few things quickly. It was so hot by now that I started pouring water over my food bag occasionally to try to keep it a bit cooler. I’m not sure if it worked. It seemed to dry out again in a few seconds.

Meaford was straight ahead along one straight road. Straight but not flat!

There were a few of these big hills to climb before the road flattened slightly.

The final 10kms were really fast because they were almost all downhill. Wheee!

I’m sure I earned that little break. I must have been slowly gaining altitude since leaving the ferry yesterday.

Meaford has a lovely beach area.

It almost looks like the ocean but it’s not, it’s Georgian Bay. My motel was only about 100m up the road from that beach. I think the motel owner is Russian. I managed to talk my way into a ground level room. ( she allocated me one upstairs first) Then I managed to get a coffee machine and microwave delivered my room. All good now!

I’ve been for a swim….the water is a good temperature ( someone asked) not too cold, but refreshing.

It’s probably going to be hot again tomorrow.

[loiswolf]

Day 56 July 26 Tehkummah - Lion’s Head 63kms

I’m not really at Lion’s Head, I’m 4kms back up the road at Ferndale. It’s not much of a place apart from a service station , a restaurant, and this motel.

Staying at the Kicking Mule yesterday was a real social event. As other people turned up they joined the group

I answered lots of questions and then Jeff got his guitar and we all sat in a circle around the fire and joined in when we knew the song.

I left at about 10:15 to go to bed in my wagon. The singing went on for quite some time and people had kept turning up because of a big ‘Vacancy’ sign Jeff had put up on the main road.

I was woken at 4:30 by a storm. The sound of very heavy rain on a covered wagon is enough to wake anyone. Unable to get back to sleep I eventually got out of bed at 6am and started getting ready to cycle to the ferry.

Breakfast was another social event but I finally left all my new friends at 8:30. The ferry didn’t leave South Baymouth until 11 but I had been frightened by tales of power happy ferry people not letting people on who were late. I also hadn’t made a booking. Cars have to be booked in but I figured Shirley and I would’nt have a problem. I got there early anyway. It was only 16km from Tehkummah.

Buying a ticket involved giving all my personal details for some reason. It wasn’t cheap either. The people in cars have to pay for the car then each passenger. I guess I got off easy.

I had time to browse to souvenir shops before we sailed. Two ladies, Cynthia and Grace ( sisters) had seen me cycling from time to time while they were travelling to different national parks to camp. They seemed to think I’d done pretty well and we agreed to meet up on the ferry to continue our conversation. They went back to their car and I went to talk to the other cyclists waiting to board. I had seen them from the bus a couple of days ago so I was able to find out where they’d come from.

The ferry ride went quickly, talking to Cynthia and Grace.

I didn’t take many photos today but here’s the lighthouse taken from the ferry.

I followed one of the other cyclist off the ferry and onto the one road leading out of Tobermory. I really should have stopped there to get some groceries but I hadn’t done my homework and planned ahead. Too much socialising!

The road was pretty boring . Almost straight and trees either side. I stopped at a rest area after about 20kms to find out too late there would be nowhere to buy fruit for breakfast tomorrow morning. I could have cycled to Lion’s Head but I would have been cycling back into a strong headwind and adding over 8kms onto the ride.

Nah, I just went to the service station across the road when I finally got here and bought some bread and a wrap for dinner. Breakfast will have to be bread and honey.

This motel was way too expensive but anything else cost far more.

It’s pretty average but at least it has wifi and I have my own bathroom. The TV is ancient but it has lots of channels.

There were cows out the back window.

[loiswolf]

Day 55 July 25 Sheguiandah - Tehkummah 42kms

Today was kind of like a rest day after all. I had a relaxing breakfast in my lovely RV and went for a short walk Jack had recommended up the back of the property. I managed to waste enough time to delay leaving until 9:45.

This is a photo from the deck on my RV last night taken at an out 8:30pm. I sat out there reading my kindle and for some reason there were no mozzies.

After returning to the main road today my first challenge was the 3km hill a few people had warned me about. It was nothing! A very easy gradient, I didn’t even raise a sweat and it was quite a hot day today.

A few kilometres after the hill I came to another beautiful rest area/lookout/First Nation craft shop.

I snapped a couple of photos and started to cycle off. What was I doing? I had all day to waste! I decided to play tourist and circled back to the shop. It had a few nice things I was tempted to buy. I made myself walk out, took a photo of Shirley who was looking good, stopped and admired the view .

Again I was about to cycle off when I thought, meh, I’m not going to be here again, so I went back into the shop and bought the things I’d been looking at.

Another few kilometres on and there was a waterfall. Like a good tourist I stopped and took a photo.

The cycling was flat and easy but I was already hungry and looking forward to getting a coffee at Manitowaning.

Since I finished the hilly section yesterday I’ve been on Manitoulin Island. It’s a really lovely place to be a tourist. 😁

Somehow I managed to miss the turnoff ( it wasn’t signed) and when I stopped up the road to check the map some ladies in a car pulled over to check I was OK ( they are very nice people here) and confirmed my suspicion. I doubled back into town and found the coffee shop I’d picked out.

It was a bit hot inside but I enjoyed my coffee and piece of chocolate and raspberry cake so much I had another piece of cake. This one was lemon and it was so big I felt really full by the time I’d finished.

I rolled out onto the bike for the last 15kms. It was well after midday so the headwind had blown up. Since I had all the time in the world it didn’t matter and actually helped to cool me off a bit.

I was still way early to check in to my rather unusual accommodation. I am staying at the Kicking Mule Guest Ranch in a covered wagon.

Cool hey? They have all sorts of different ‘rooms’ including teepees. Jeff is trying to make a go of the place and has put a lot of effort into improving it. I spent ages talking to him this afternoon.

Tomorrow I cross back onto the mainland on the ferry for the final few days of my journey.

[loiswolf]

Day 54 July 24 Spanish - Sheguiandah 112kms

This photo was taken from my bed this morning so you can get an idea of how “busy” the cabin was.

I did enjoy staying there and the hostess, Carmen was particularly lovely.

Cycling out this morning I had a snigger when I passed this sign

The song by the same name was playing on my iPod but the description of their “downtown” was nothing like the downtown of Spanish. There was a couple of vans which sold food last night, a dusty looking restaurant and takeaway shop and a general store where I was unable to get even one piece of fruit.

This was the reason I was really looking forward to my second breakfast today. It was 23kms to Massey where I was hoping for more sustenance. On the way I passed at intervals, a couple of men and a schoolboy cycling the other way all wearing braces over their shirts and a hat. Closer to Massey I could see a bike in my mirror but couldn’t make out any details except that he was trying to catch me. There was no shoulder to ride alongside so I sped up a little ( hehe) and after a while he gave up trying. I slowed down in the town and it turned out to be a gentleman dressed like the others I had seen. I think there might be an Amish community around here, or something similar.

So the place I had scoped out for breakfast was open. Yay! I ordered my favourite

and it came with whipped cream. Awesome! It was also rather expensive. That’s ok, I’d rather splash out on my second breakfast and just have a $4 frozen meal ( heated of course) for dinner.

The first 53kms to Espanola today were pretty easy. A few kilometres before Espanola I had to turn off the highway. This was a good thing as it was getting pretty busy.

I’d scheduled a stop at Espanola to do some shopping. I had planned to stay at the place I’m in today for two nights. It’s pretty remote so I made sure I had enough food for a day and a half. Somehow I managed to get it all on the bike even resorting to cutting the florets off the broccoli and throwing away the stem. There was a Dollarama across the road so I topped up my chocolate supply a little too. No, I haven’t finished the last cache I purchased, I’m just making sure it doesn’t run out.

From there things suddenly got a bit harder. Continuous hills! Even the hills between Nipigon and Marathon had stretches of flat road between them. Not this, there was 30kms of non stop up and down. Naturally I managed it ok. It just wasn’t expected.

Even here on these islands and peninsulas there is not much to look at. Mostly trees with the occasional water view.

After 30kms of hard work ( remember I was carrying at least 5kgs of shopping extra) I came to a little town which had this rather pretty church.

There were no shops there but around the bend was a gas station with a small portable building. I wasn’t able to get a coffee but a cold Diet Coke was a pretty good substitute on a hot day. The lady there was able to reassure me that the road flattened out ahead. She was right but the next 20kms I copped headwinds. Sigh.

At 100kms I came to a little town called Little Current. It’s actually bigger than where I’m staying if you can find it on your map.

The road turned out of the wind a bit from there and it was only another 12kms to my destination.

I’m staying in this really nice RV

but it wasn’t until I unpacked that I realised it had no Wifi or TV. Doh! Rookie mistake! The TV doesn’t matter but there really is nothing to do here tomorrow when I have no car, am on my own and have no wifi.

I was planning to pay the owner Jack, cash for tomorrow night so I wasn’t completely committed. I’ve just come back from explaining the situation to him and he is quite ok with it. So I will be moving on tomorrow but it will be a fairly short day. I guess my proper rest day will have to wait!

[loiswolf]

Day 53 July 23 Wawa - Spanish 25kms

Of course it’s much further than 25kms from Wawa to Spanish. I think it’s nearly 400!

My mission yesterday was to get to a store called Canadian Tire before it shut at 5pm. For all you Australians, Canadian Tire is like Autobarn, Bunnings and an Outdoor shop all in one. I needed to buy a roll of bubble wrap and some tape because Shirley and I took the bus today. I felt like I was cutting it a bit fine to get to Toronto for my flight home and all the locals talking up the hill factor had me worried. The hills weren’t really a problem but I would have had trouble getting accommodation after Wawa. I probably would have made the flight but it’s nicer to do it this way so I can have some rest days and visit friends from last year.

The bus company had said I was supposed to put Shirley in a box. They even offered to ship a box out to me. Yeah, like that’s even possible! I decided that bubble wrap and masking tape would have to do.

I load Shirley up and cycled the two kilometres to the bus stop just after 6am this morning. After removing the bags and strapping them together I wrapped Shirley.

This is definitely a new look for her!

The bus driver seemed quite happy to take her like that and even indicated that he wouldn’t have wanted her in a box. I probably didn’t even have to wrap her as she was stored with another bike ( in a fancy bag) away from the other luggage. Better to be safe than sorry….although that bubble wrap and tape cost me over $30. Grrrr

As well as threatening huge hills people had told me about the stunning views. It really wasn’t any different to what I’ve been looking at since Red Rock. 98% trees with occasional glimpses of the lake.

There were a couple of comments on my lake photos yesterday so here’s another one I didn’t put in the blog.

We had to swap buses at a Sault Ste Marie so I managed to grab a coffee from the motel which was the other half of the bus depot. I’m glad I did. When we had a scheduled break at Blind River all the food places were shut because of a power outage.

It was only another 15 minutes in the bus until I was dropped off at Spragge. I had chosen here to alight because I’d found a nice looking Airbnb 20kms further on in Spanish. ( that’s the name of the town). Spragge also had a power outage so instead of getting something to eat as planned I just unwrapped Shirley , put the bags back on and did a quick change because it was quite hot ( the bus had been rather cold).

I did take one picture during the ride. This view from the bridge wasn’t bad.

I was getting worried that there would be no power at Spanish so was relieved to see a place about halfway which was open.

I went in and bought an ice-cream. The owner was more interested in his business down the other end of the building ( selling weed) and would have let me have it for nothing. I insisted on paying as I had a bag of popcorn as well. He still didn’t charge me enough. Here’s a tip…..the owners of the places which sell cannabis are very relaxed so you can get stuff cheap from their associated stores.

It was almost 3 by the time I arrived at my Airbnb. The main house is very pretty

And my little cabin is soooo cute, although a bit cluttered for my liking.

I’ll ride a proper distance tomorrow. 😁

[loiswolf]

Day 52 July 22 White Lake Lodge - Wawa 121km

I’m not sure why I was worried about covering the distance today. I knew it was going to be flatter. Maybe because it took all day yesterday to ride 72kms and today was 50kms further.

Anyway, it was pretty easy. There was still a beautiful view from my cabin this morning, it’s a shame I had to leave!

I was ready to go at 7:30 heading off early for my second breakfast at White River.

It was another perfect day and the clouds reflected in this lake looked stunning.

At least there was a reasonable distance to cycle before White River. I’d covered 26kms before rolling up to Robin’s Donuts. My impression of Robin’s Donuts had been somewhat skewed from the motel/Pizza Hut/gas station/Robins Donuts back in Schreiber where there had just been a few sad looking donuts in a glass cabinet. The one in White River was great. It’s like a cheap imitation of Tim Hortons. I enjoyed a toasted cheese bagel and coffee, purchased a biscuit ( scone) and donut to go, and it was only $8. It would have been twice that in Tim Hortons.

I didn’t stay long….I had another 90+kms to conquer. The kilometre ticked by pretty easily with moderate hills and a good road with a shoulder. These signs proclaimed that section of the Trans-Canada Highway as a cycle route.

Amazing how as soon as the shoulder deteriorated 50kms up the road the signs disappeared. What’s that about? The cyclist are just supposed to drop in where it starts after White River then get beamed up when the shoulder is rubbish?

I had seen signs for a Midway Lodge about 46kms from White River but wasn’t too hopeful that it would be open. I’ve cycled by several derelict motels over the past few days.

The sign looked quite new when I reached the motel and the building was ok too. They had a chain halfway across the driveway indicating that it was shut. I cycled in anyway thinking I could sit on the bench outside to have my break.

Then I noticed there were vehicles around the back so I walked around and asked Trevor for a cup of coffee. No problem! Trevor and his friend were slightly rougher company than I am used to but the coffee was good and I had someone to talk to. They were there doing renovations on the motel. It’s good to know it will be opening again soon…although not too soon considering the rate at which those two were working. Or not working!

I probably stayed a bit longer than intended but I knew I was going to make it to Wawa with plenty of time to spare. I can’t tell you why I needed to be there before 5pm today…..you’ll have to wait until tomorrow. 😁

Next photo worthy sign was this one.

I’ve been noting these gradually increasing numbers since in entered Ontario 10 days ago. I’ve covered 1000kms of Ontario. It’s a much bigger province than all the others I’ve crossed.

The wind was blowing from the side and occasionally the front for the last 30kms so I was happy to see the turnoff for Wawa even though it was at the top of a hill. I don’t know what this big bird…duck….whatever signifies but there were a couple of others on the way into town.

I’d beaten my deadline by two and a half hours. Of course! Was there ever any doubt?

The motel check in wasn’t until 3:30 so I went back to the supermarket to get supplies. There is a music festival in town tonight so I don’t think it’s going to be a quiet one!

I’ve done the above map differently, marking the places I’ve stayed with a red squiggle so you can get a better idea of where I’ve been.

[loiswolf]

Day 51 July 21 Marathon - White Lake Lodge 72km

A short day today which I will have to make up for tomorrow. It would have been better for me to go to White River but there was no accommodation there. I’m glad actually, this place is perfect! I’m in a little cabin which has everything, including a fridge and a view.

The Airbnb at Marathon was OK but I was in the basement and I couldn’t access my food until 8am ( my hosts kept it in the fridge in zip locked bags as if it were contaminated). I would rather have a kitchen and a view than pretty little touches and fancy linen anytime!

I did manage to delay departure until after 9am. The plan was to stop at the shop again for some yoghurt then ride up the hill back to the highway where I was hoping for another breakfast. Again there was going to be nothing all day.

The only place open once back on the highway was the service station. The lady there was nice and chatty and I had a coffee and cinnamon bun ( plastic wrapped and heated in the microwave) sitting on a plank outside.

Five kilometres up the road I came to this lovely First Nations craft and artefacts place.

I had plenty of time so I thought I’d stop again. Not only did they have coffee, they had a lovely outdoor area with a view. Grrrr….I should have waited.

Pamela was the owner and I talked to her for a while then took a photo of her and all the summer students “working “ there.

Only 11kms cycled and it was after 10:30. Time to get moving. Today was a lot flatter but there was still almost 400m of climbing. I don’t know what the wind was doing, it was all over the place.

I was surprised to see this huge mining place? It wasn’t what I expected to see on the other side of the lake.

The next stop, apart from layering off because it was getting warm, was at a rest stop at 46kms. I had some little wholemeal bread rolls and a small thing of butter accessible so I had the rolls for lunch. It has taken me this long to work out that the brown or grain bread here is much better than the white bread, the white bread is like eating air. Of course I also had a quick chocolate bar before cycling off again.

Two kilometres up the road I saw another cyclist coming the other way. It was Kurt riding a brand new Surly. I crossed over the road to talk for about 20minutes while cars, trucks and campervans whizzed by.

My suggestion to Kurt was that he should catch up to Matthew and maybe they could draft each other across the prairies. ( not that it will help much).

I’ll be interested to see just how far they get if that wind is anything like the force which pushed me across Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Not really much further to go I stopped to take photos of pretty lakes then arrived at my destination just before 3. Perfectly timed!

The only thing missing from this place is something for dinner. I guess I will have to eat the dehydrated meal I bought way back in Whitehorse for occasions such as this. Mmm yum. 😒

[loiswolf]

Day 50 July 20 Schreiber - Marathon 100kms

This morning I looked out the window and thought…what an awful day! It had been raining a lot during the night and everything looked quite dismal.

No problem, I was trying to waste time today because the check in time at my Airbnb wasn’t until 6pm. ( I think this is a bit rude since everywhere else is 3 or 4pm.

Anyway, I was able to watch the women’s soccer game against Ireland. Yay! We won! No matter how slowly I tried to get packed I was still ready to go by 9am.

I forgot to mention that this motel/gas station/Robin’s Donuts/Pizza Hut was also a KFC before Covid. When I asked I was told they had scratched out the colonel.

The rain had pretty much stopped by the time I left but it was still very overcast.

Second breakfast was only 15kms up the road at Terrace Bay. I had scoped out a coffee shop but after doing an extra loop around the town I found it didn’t open on Thursdays. 🤨 A few metres down the road was a lovely restaurant attached to the large motel on the highway. I was able to take my time over another coffee ( already had 2 cups in my motel room because the first one disappeared too quickly) and some French toast.

Yay, it was 10:30 when I left and the sun was coming out from behind the clouds. I was wasting lots of time just as intended.

When I had left the motel in Schreiber earlier the cleaning lady had told me there were three big hills today and they were all the same. Wrong! It was a pity Archie from the Gravel River Motel wasn’t there to set her straight.

Today there was 660m of climbing. There was a big climb at around 40kms but the rest was just a lot of up and down. This photo is from the top of the bigger hill.

It’s pretty obvious that there is going to be more hills ahead.

There wasn’t many views of Lake Superior today but there were a lot of little lakes which were quite pretty.

There is still a lot of roadwork here but I was able to ride straight through. The second one was holding up cars from a long way back in both directions. Only half the road was usable and there appeared to be a tractor on a trailer stuck there for some reason. There was just enough room for Shirley and I to roll by and continue past all the trucks and cars held up on the other side. I stopped to talk to a couple of drivers when they waved. They were obviously bored and needed someone to pass the time with.

I knew there wasn’t going to be another coffee stop today so I was glad to see the lookout sign at about 65kms. Naturally there were toilets and a picnic table there. This is Ontario!

Great! I had checked my watch a bit earlier and noticed that I was going too fast. This was going to be a good place to waste time.

I ate a mandarin and settled down with my kindle for a while. Suddenly I realised someone else was sitting at my table. It was another cyclist!

Matthew was from Poland and was heading in the other direction, aiming for Vancouver. I warned him about the winds which were not going to be in his favour. He was foolishly hoping for a coffee place along the road. I knew there was going to be nothing for another 50kms so I offered to make him a coffee if he could heat the water. Yep! That’s what we did.

Another lovely couple travelling in a car came over to talk to us too. We all took photos and exchanged cards etc. ( well I’m the only one with a card but Matthew had a very long instagram account name ) and eventually I headed off.

Another 30kms of ups and downs until the turnoff to Marathon. There was 4kms of downhill which I am going to have to go back up tomorrow morning. I found the Tim Hortons and settled in to write this and do some other things while I waited for my Airbnb. Almost immediately I received an email saying it was ready at 4:30. My map showed it was just up the road and there was a grocery store not too far out of the way. The shop was a dud ( no fruit and vegetables, just Indian stuff) so I’m going to have to go out now to get some fruit for breakfast and something for dinner. 😡

I’m going to have to stop again tomorrow morning because there is no fridge here. Grrrr. Apart from that it’s pretty good.

Somebody asked for a map.

[loiswolf]

Day 49 July 19 Red Rock - Schreiber 129km

When I stepped out the front door of the Red Rock Inn to check the weather this morning, my comment was ‘what a gorgeous day!

The man in the car pack putting his bags in the car didn’t hear me but turned around and said ‘ what a gorgeous day!’ It really was!!

Even the curry smell from last night was overpowered by the delicious smell of baking cakes and muffins. The Indian girl last night was a long term guest, not the cook. Anyone is allowed to use the huge industrial sized kitchen and I suspect she does so often. Her room mate, another Indian girl was doing the baking. She makes fresh cakes and muffins for the continental breakfast every morning. I ate my usual breakfast and grabbed some goodies to go.

First stop was to take a photo of this sign. It was raining when I passed it yesterday.

Although Heather’s achievements are quite notable, they are also 34 years old.. Maybe a better sign would let people know of some of the current delights of Red Rock.

Nearly 8kms back to the Highway then another 9kms and I was ready for my second breakfast at Nipigon. There was not going to be many places to stop today so I thought I’d drop in for a quick coffee and bagel. I didn’t have to wait to be served because the Indian girl from last night works there and was happy to give me prompt service.

I knew today was going to have a lot of climbing so I wasn’t really looking forward to it. In total there was over 900m ascending. First thing after Nipigon was this rather impressive bridge.

At least there was a view every now and then

this is looking back down the first big hill

There were two big climbs before I came to the Gravel River Inn at 64kms. A great place for a break. I was the only person in the restaurant so felt like I was being watched by Archie the elderly owner. At least he was able to give me an accurate description of the road ahead…..three climbs, the first one 3kms long and 7%. There was no internet up there and he turned out to be spot on. I wonder if he used to be a cyclist. Definitely not cycling now.

This photo was taken near the top of the descent after the biggest climb.

It was a long, fast , cold run downhill but if you look closely you can see the next climb up ahead on the next hill.

I didn’t find all the climbing at all distressing today. Shirley has lots of gears which I make good use of. It was also pleasantly cool. If it were hot I wouldn’t cope very well at all. The motel owner at Upsala told me they had temperatures of 38° last week. Looks like I missed that too!

After reaching the top of the next big hill I stopped to put Pinkie on so I didn’t freeze on the downhill run. Since I’d stopped, I decided to stretch because my leg muscles were getting tight…then I had a quick bite to eat…a drink…then I noticed the traffic was being held up by a stop/go man so I stretched again. The line of cars was back to me by then and a man in a huge yellow construction vehicle asked my why I hadn’t sidled to the front of the queue.

We chatted while we waited and he gave me his version of the road ahead. He wasn’t quite as accurate at Archie but he was right about it being cold down the bottom of the hill near the lake. I was glad I had Pinkie on.

The last climb was a lot more spread out and the downhill stretch into Schreiber was only 2kms long. It took a while to check in because the motel is also a gas station, Pizza Hut ( after 5pm) and Robins Donuts. There is only one man working there. The motel isn’t terrible but it isn’t great either. The first thing I did was move the ash can right outside my door. Glad I did, there’s a couple of people puffing away a few doors down where I left it.

[loiswolf]

Day 48 July 18 Thunder Bay - Red Rock 105kms

A few days ago when I was in Ignace I called five motels in Nipigon (the next town) and not one of them had a room for tonight. That’s why I’m in Red Rock, an 8km detour off the highway. It’s a pretty cute place though

With a view of the lake

And in a sweet little town with pretty houses.

So this morning I decided to take the cycle route out of Thunder Bay as the short stretch of highway I rode yesterday was banned to bicycles.

It was a nice quiet road but I didn’t get the view I was hoping for. It was all industrial areas, really bad motels and railway lines. I had covered 20kms before I had even a glimpse of the lake.

As you can see on the map

there was an extra detour before joining back onto the highway. I decided to take it because there was a cake place along the road. Big mistake! The cake place was there but it was just a house with a sign on the garage. There was nobody there and definitely no cake. I sat in one of their chairs and ate a Boston Cream donut I’d bought in a six pack yesterday. Eventually I got sick of listening to the dogs barking and moved on.

There had been a long downhill run down to the cake place so I knew I was going to be in for an extra hill. There still wasn’t even a good view of the lake because there were houses down driveways blocking the view from the road.

I wasn’t wrong about the hill going back up the highway but I didn’t count on it being dirt as well. That’s the last time I take a google maps cycle detour!

Just a few km up the highway was a service station where I could finally get a coffee. This place was called Flying J’s Travel Centre. How was I supposed to know it was just your average service station?

I had my coffee sitting out on the edge of the flower bed. As usual someone lit up a cigarette nearby. I’m so sick of this! I made no secret of moving down the ledge and facing the other way. There seems to be a lot of cigarette smokers here.

For the next 30kms it was non stop roadwork

It wasn’t terribly hard cycling but not very scenic.

At 75kms there was a roadside convenience store. A nice young lady serving suggested a breakfast muffin when I realised the ice-cream I’d chosen cost about the same.

The muffin was pretty good for a change and I enjoyed sitting out in the sun for longer than I meant to.

30kms to go including a long hold up for road work. I hadn’t expected a tail wind today because I was heading north so it was a pleasant change when I turned off for Red Rock. Unfortunately it started raining for the final 5kms which kind of ruined the fun.

It took a long time to check in as Don is very old and technically challenged.

I actually wasn’t able to pay because he doesn’t know how the use the little machine you put your card in. I have to wait until later this evening when someone else will be here.

I thought Don must be really old but he’s only 76. I think he bears more than a passing resemblance to Monty Burns from the Simpsons.

He must have lost his sense of smell because instead of smelling like a lovely old, slightly musty motel ( which it is) it smells like curry, just like all the other places. I’m pretty sure its because the cook is Indian.😔

This is downstairs along with a huge games room.

[loiswolf]

Day 47 July 17 Upsala - Thunder Bay 129km

Usually I rush out early when I have a long day ahead. For some reason today I wasn’t in a hurry. I was vacillating between time zones so I just left when I was ready.

Again I had the plastic layers on because it was raining. The light misty rain only lasted for the first 10kms then stopped. I was looking forward to a second breakfast 20kms along the road.

Yes, it appeared right on time and I wandered in for a bagel and coffee. Their breakfast selection was pretty limited.

There was 50kms until the next place to stop but the cycling was good today. The wind did what it was supposed to do, push me along. There were quite a few hills

you can see one of the larger ones at the back of that photo. There’s an arrow pointing to it.

Gary likes to take photos of interesting signs so I thought this one was worth stopping for.

I thought that was called the Continental Divide? You might expect it to be all downhill from there but it wasn’t.

The road has been mostly good but today there were some stretches where the shoulder was only about 30cm wide, dropping off into rough gravel beside it. There were several occasions when I cycled valiantly ahead clutching the handlebars, while a very large truck would have to pass in the lane next to me because there was something coming from the other direction. If possible the large vehicles will always give me as much space as possible.

Somehow I survived these encounters and the road provided a more generous shoulder.

At 72kms I came to the general store at Shabaqua. Wow, what a crazy shop!

They did have coffee, tables and chairs, and deformed looking cinnamon buns which were delicious heated in the microwave. I spent a pleasant half hour there before moving on.

Another 20 something kilometres and I was turning off to take the northern road into Thunder Bay. It was a quieter road but there were a couple of largish hills to cycle over. By the second one I was getting hot so I popped into this handy structure to layer off.

There are a lot of these little buildings here. I think they are for the school kids to wait for the bus in. It’s too cold in winter to wait outside.

Not much further I came across this

I know I was always wishing for somewhere to sit further back in my travels but I never envisioned something like that!

Once the hills were over it was a very easy cruise all the way into Thunder Bay. There were a few places where I could have taken another break but I was enjoying the ride. Mostly I just sat there being pushed along by the wind and benefiting from the gradual descent into Thunder Bay.

I made a quick stop at the big shopping complex about 6kms from my Airbnb to get something for dinner and to stock up on my chocolate supplies from Dollarama.

Yes it looks like a lot but this will keep me going for the rest of my trip. It’s soooo much cheaper there than the supermarket. This lot cost about $8.

A sudden shower made the last few kilometres a bit difficult as I had to navigate and the iPad was under the poncho.

Eventually I made it to my Airbnb where I am being carefully monitored by this weird looking dog.

Tomorrow I start my journey around Lake Superior.

[loiswolf]

Day 46 July 16 Ignace - Upsala 108kms

This morning was the first rainy morning I think I’ve had all trip. First I popped over to Subway to collect three more cookies for the road.

Again there was absolutely nowhere to stop for a coffee today and only one rest area, I needed some supplies.

I left a bit later than I intended because I’ve been trying to figure out where I’m staying a few days ahead. Everything is booked out so it’s very stressful finding places to stay. I also have a deadline because I’ve booked a flight home and to get the extra baggage allowance for Shirley, I made it a bit sooner than I would have liked.

So I had pinkie and the poncho on when I left this morning. Yesterday was a bit cooler than usual and today was even colder….with rain.

It rained pretty steadily for the first 25kms then seemed to stop. The road was good again so I just put my head down and pushed on. I don’t think I put my foot down at all until the rest stop at 46kms. That’s very unusual for me. There are usually a couple of toilet stops after my breakfast coffee and some unlayering. The plastic layers were keeping me warm so I left them on.

Another lovely rest stop presented itself right where I had estimated it.

There was even shelter so I didn’t have to sit on wet seats. I enjoyed a few of my cookies and read my kindle while my plastic layers dried off a bit.

There were two motels a bit under 10kms ahead and I was hoping I might be able to get a cup of coffee out of one.

The first one was at least open but there was no one there. I walked into what I thought might be the breakfast room hoping to score some leftover coffee but unintentionally walked into their kitchen. If I was staying at that motel I would not be wanting to eat breakfast from that kitchen. It was disgusting!

The second place was closed and there were some big black clouds approaching so I thought I’d better move on.

The wind was supposed to be behind me today and I was hoping to cruise into Upsala being pushed along by a tailwind. It was not to be. The wind was all over the place and often pushing me back. The hills seem to increase in number over the last 30kms.

The sun came out so I stopped to take off Pinkie and then took off my long sleeves as well. It was suddenly warm. There wasn’t much to photograph today so I took this where I stopped , only because there was something to lean Shirley against.

When I took those photos I noticed the time on my iPad had changed. I think I lost another hour.

Since there are not many photos and I didn’t get a proper break I thought I’d put in some fond memories of past breaks which I didn’t post.

This was the coconut cream pie I had at Sophie’s 30kms before Cedar Creek.

And this was an absolutely delicious treat I indulged in when I was in Winnipeg. I bought it at a specialty cake shop when I went out for groceries and enjoyed it back in my apartment.

Back to reality…eventuality I cycled into Upsala which is a very small place. I couldn’t see the motel so I pulled into the service station/general store. The shop man told me the motel was another five minutes up the road. I did mention that distance is measured in kilometres, not time, as these estimates are very unhelpful for a cyclist. Everyone here, including the signs, measures distance in time. 😔

He was kind of sweet, rather like a character off a TV show who talks with a slow drawl and a big smile. I purchased some food off him for dinner tonight, rearranged everything on Shirley, then rode off.

It was only another three kilometres to the motel. The owner here is like another TV character, a bit like a retired policeman. The motel is old but ok.

This lovely park is across the road in case I want to swim. I don’t.

Apparently there are bears around! I thought I’d passed all that. It sounds like the people next door have bears in the room judging by the way their kids are thumping around. I hope they go to bed early!