L O N D O N

After a rain-free evening, Brian and Sharilyn made me a wonderful, full breakfast and some pretty high octane coffee. It looked to be a nice, sunny day so I packed and sunscreened up and then hit the road. I was bound for Exeter, 120 km away, with a planned detour to Blythe to check out the brewery.
After pedalling along the remarkably smooth and lightly trafficked country roads for a while, gingerly trying to take it easy on my poor rear wheel, I started to come into a bit of headwind and hills.
After what must be 45 to 50 days of headwind so far, I am immunized to it. Errant thought of the day: I wonder what tailwind even feels like.
As I contemplate the headwind, the rolling fields of corn, and the oncoming approach of autumn, I lose track of ny bearings and miss my turn off. Once I realize my mistake I simply jog west onto another of the many paved country roads in Southern Ontario.
My super breakfast keeps me going without a snack break (but with almost a dozen pee breaks, what did you put in that coffee Brian?) for over two hours until I start to get a bit hangry. Luckily, a Tim Hortons looms on the horizon and I execute a sharp turn into the parking lot for some oatmeal.
Heading down the road south, I eventually make it to Blythe, where the monstrous facade of Cowbell Brewing is visible from a mile off. The brewery is essentially a brewpub on steroids, huge, with fresh wood and stone details, a gift shop, and room to seat over a hundred. I prefer my breweries small and intimate, with a long beer list. The brewpub is alright and since I am saving money on accomodations lately, I spring for lunch and three pints.
The beer isn't half bad but lacks a strong impact in my opinion.
The last 45 km to Exeter are a bit of a grind into a strengthening wind, with increasing traffic as I near London. Getting into town, I decide I need a pick me up, and grab a coffee at my second Tims stop of the day. A nearby Independent Grocer leads me in and I grab some cheap crackers and hummus for dinner, satisfying a craving and saving on stove fuel.
I head down to the small park where camping is allowed on a 5$ honour system with no utilities aside from a picnic table, a portapotty and a loud set of neighbours. Anything to save a buck.
The next morning I finally cracked the camp stove and made some oatmeal before getting an early start to London. The main road into the city got a bit sketchy with the shoulder and traffic situation so I dodged onto a side road. Decent surface and low loe traffic but I soon felt my speed dropping dramatically. Sure enough, I found the one road with a headwind and hill.
Dodging along a series of sideroads until London, I was greeted by my first seperated bike lane in ages. Until it ended 700 m later...
Upon inspecting my rear wheel, I noticed that the issue was far worse than a broken spoke. Two sections of my rim were deeply cracked. I guess it makes sense. The wheels came stock on my bike and have been through 15 000 km of Yukon highways, gravel, Winnipeg potholes, Sault Ste Marie singletrack, and most of Canada.
Still, the 150$ + tax for a new wheel hurt.
Oh well, shit happens. Things pass but at least I found the cracks before my wheel failed at 30 km/hr on a busy highway.
I was put up in London by my friend Steve (aka Rithim) but since he had to work, I spent most of my stay in London eating an incredible amount of food. Since I was spending money anyways, I decided to head down to the MEC and spring for a new set of tires, as I had worn through the tread on one of the old set. Luckily the MEC was well stocked, and I was able to get two tires in my preferred width of 32mm (faster). Later, I realized that these tires will likely last me all the way to Halifax. Scary.
Anyways, London is an interesting city. There are lots of parks and historic buildings, and a large market scene. However, there is also a large amount of urban decay, along with a large and widespread population of transients and addicts. I wasn't really affected negatively by any of the bad elements of the city, but it definitely shaded my opinion.
After two days in the city and lots spent on bike parts and tiramisu, I got up early to begin my escape from Southern Ontario.
I had a warmshowers stay in Kitchener-Waterloo, about a 100 km ride.
Leaving London on highway 2, I was soon rubbiny elbows with the transport trucks again, and as my shoulder began disappearing, I bailed to a side road. Smooth, safe pavement prevailed for all of 2 kilometers until I was betrayed by a stretch of gravel.
I stopped off in Thamesford for breakfast at Tims and swung north, trying to distance myself from the London-Toronto corridor.
As I left Tims, Rithim called me and informed me that I had left my battery backup and wall charger at his house. It wasn't worth doing the two hour round trip to retrieve it so I just sacrificed it and headed north to Stratford to replace it.
Stratford ended up being a very scenic town. The downtown was like a piece of rural Britain transplanted to Ontario, complete with open town square, pubs and pigeons. Amazing!
As I went east, I left behind the rural Britain vibe and entered typical Canadian outskirts that would fit in anywhere in the last 6000 km. Luckily these outskirts included a Staples, so I was able to spend even more money on a replacement battery backup yay! While contacting my host for the night, I was approached by a dude very enthusiastic about my tour. He seemed pretty cool so I chatted for a bit. Then he opened his wallet and I hastened to tell him to put it away, as I was not riding for charity. He replied by telling me he was giving me lunch/beer money, and handed me 20$. Hey, can't turn down free beer!
Then it was a beeline up to Kitchener-Waterloo to meet with the first of two Warmshowers hosts I had lined up.

No photos because the blogging app is not working when I try to post with them attached.

Huronian Days

The morning of my departure from Manitoulin was colder and overcast.
I had seen a food truck serving waffles on the way to town the night before but was bummed out to see it was still closed.
As I sat around waiting for the ferry to Bruce Peninsula, someone informed me that it wouldn't open the next day.
Luckily, I soon discovered that the ferry itself served waffles. And at a fairly reasonable price! I sat around the cafeteria lounge, drinking coffee and watched as the quaint little harbour of South Baymouth rolled by as we entered Lake Huron.
The ride was short, but pleasant. The Owen Sound Transportation Company even hires live music for the hour and a half crossing. BC ferries take note, this is how you run a ferry.
I had a warmshowers host waiting in Tobermory, my first since Fernie, BC.
Caroline welcomed me in the driveway and directed me to drop my bags so I could appreciate an impromptu rest day in Tobermory.
I hit up the bakery, then the local brewpub, which actually had some decent beers, and then decided to bike over to Mermaid Cove to check out the lake.
Upon arriving at Mermaid Cove, the sub had come out and the turquiose waters of Huron invited me. I had no swim trunks, no towel, but I stripped down to my bike shorts and spent two hours swimming aound the bays and nearby islands.
All the swimming built up an appetite, so I swung by an all you can eat fish and chips place. God bless the server, she just kept it coming with a smile on her face as I put away 5 baskets of fish and chips. I was ready to tap out when she carted out basket #6, so she even packed it up to go.
Back at the warmshowers stay, I met Caroline's dad, and her cousin's children, Holden and Phoebe (get the reference?).
I was already stuffed but managed to find room for a small serving of lasagna and salad.
After dinner, I rotated the tires again, as the back one was already wearing out. Holden and Phoebe assisted.
Caroline, who works for Parks Canada, got called out to rescue three hikers, so I hung out with the kids for the rest of the night, reading on the deck, and taking another short dip in Huron. Yeah, the warmshowers stay had frontage onto Lake Huron. Pretty sweet.
Unfortunately, it was another rainy night, but Caroline's dad made the morning right by making coffee and breakfast. All in all, a great stay in Tobermory.
Eventually, it was back on the road to Owen Sound, 110 km away at the base of  Bruce Peninsula. The highway shoulder started out alright, but quickly conformed to typical Ontario standards, not helped by the constant stream of vacation traffic from Toronto. Still, I managed not to get run over and made it to Owen Sound with enough time to get a campsite, and hit up the two breweries. Owen Sound (and the area around Huron in general) is a gorgeous place. All the buildings and houses are nice brick or stone constructions with white wash trim and ivy vines climbing the walls.
Side note: I'm spending too much lately. I am going to try limiting myself to one brewery a day.
While registering for camping I met a lovely woman. I believe her name was Norma, but I am really embarassed to stay that I forgot to write it down. Especially since she graciously invited me to come eat around the campfire with her family and friends. After a wonderful evening, with lots of food, it was getting dark so I brushed my teeth, set up camp and went to sleep among the sounds of partying campers.
The next morning I woke up to rain. Again. Come on Ontario, I'm trying to like you. I used the bathroom and struggled between my budget side that wanted to cook oatmeal on my stove and the lazy side that wanted Tim Hortons. The rain didn't stop until 8 am, so Team Tims won out and I packed up my wet tent again and hit off in search of a sausage biscuit combo.
As I didn't have to get into London for a few days, I planned to do a short day to Hanover, only 60 km.
It was a nice and cool day following the rain, perfect for cycling up some hills. I continued out of Owen Sound through a progression of quaint little towns, each of which seemed to be blessed with a bakery. Warming up to Southern Ontario.
A ways along the highway, I suddenly noticed that I had gained 6 inches of highway shoulder and traffic had slowed to a dribble. After some thought, I realized that I had passed the intersection splitting off to Toronto.
I further reduced my traffic companionship by taking a chance on a country road towarda Hanover. Another good route gamble, as traffic was light and scenery was wonderful. Only complaint was the amouny of hills.
I had reserved a campsite in Hanover, but enroute, I was messaged by a Warmshowers host who had just seen my message and offered me a place to pitch my tent a little ways to the south. I decided that it would be worth the cancellation fee at Saugeen Riverside Campground to do warmshowers for the night. Upon biking 5 km in a drizzle to cancel my reservation (too honest for my own good), the lovely campground manager waived it entirely and wished me a nice day.
After cycling back into Hanover, I checked out Maclean Ales for some pints and then headed south to Brian and Sharilyn's lovely farm property (at the top of a hill, as per warmshowers guidelines). What a lovely night too. Brian is keen on homebrewing so we talked about his set up, beer and shared perspectives on the Yukon, food, and the habits of "cityiots" (city + idiots). I even got a night in without any rain on the tent for a change. Only sour note was when I discovered a broken spoke on my rear wheel. Oh well, London is only 170 km distant and I can definitely get it fixed there. Some duct tape splinting and it was good enough.

My ride to Tobermory. 

Did I mention that I really like Huron?

De-chan's long lost brother! First time I've seen another Tosca in the wild.

The view from my warmshowers stay near Hanover. Life sure is tough sometimes.

Motoring over to Manitoulin

Overnight in Spanish had some thunderstorms and there was rain in the forecast for most of the next day. I've tried not to obsess over weather too much so when I heard rain falling on the tent, I just rolled over and hoped for the best.
Morning yielded a light drizzle, but it looked like it was trying to clear up so I was hopeful. Guy texted me saying he was about 20 km ahead and going to Tim Hortons in Espanola, ~50 km away. By the time I got packed up, it had stopped raining so I hit the road hoping to catch Guy before he left Espanola.
Doing a strong pace to Massey, I turned off the Trans Canada and took a great side road that ended up being smooth, scenic and safe.
I kept a hard pace up, aided by the clouds that kept the sun off and the sweat down.
However, I was soon betrayed when a light drizzle began.
Before long, the light drizzle became a torrential downpour, reducing visibility to 100 feet. Since it was so humid and I was working pretty hard, I would be swimming in sweat with the rain jacket on, so I opted to forgo protection and just get soaked. And soaked I was.
I caught Guy just as he was looking at the rain, thinking about leaving Espanola. The massive downpour was hot on my heels and soon we were both back inside, waiting it out. After a coffee and breakfast sandwich, a glance at weather radar showed a possible window of escape between two clouds.
When the rain lessened, Guy and I scrambled outside to make the best of it and parted ways. He was pushing on towards Sudbury, while I was heading south to Manitoulin Island for an adventure. I sprinted to the intersection and left behind the Trans Canada (maybe for good?).
The break in the clouds lasted all of 3 minutes and soon I was once again 100% saturated. I had just finished drying out from my soakings in Sault Ste Marie too.
The remaining 50 km to Little Current on Manitoulin proved to be trying and intense. I peddaled through another 3 storms, and had constant rain the entire way. I also had to wrestle my way up a few decent hills and into a headwind the entire way, with passing motorists spraying me with gouts of water and sand.
Despite all this, I killed the 120 km to Manitoulin by 2 pm, an amazing pace. I took out some more cash and recovered at the local brewery. Pretty average beer but I was definitely not picky at that point.
I had a Warmshowers stay planned 10 km away, up two more hills so I limped over and set up for the night on a neat permaculture communal farm.
Nice, relaxed place and people, with a well stocked kitchen at my disposal. I found the ingredients for a basic loaf of sandwich bread and scratched my baking itch. Capped the night off with a sauna sweat sesh and shower and then hit the tent for some writing and a warm, dry sleep. Crazy day!
The next morning I took my time with breakfast and coffee before packing up.
After biking into a steady east headwind most of the way from Calgary I finally turned west to Gore Bay... into a hard west headwind.
Adding in my exhaustion from the hard day before and the hills enroute, I had a really hard time motivating myself. I also made the mistake of checking out camping in Ontario and Quebec and discovered that the lowest price for an unserviced tent site in the next few weeks will be around 29$.
Sigh.
Sometimes I wonder why I keep turning my pedals.
Eventually made it to Gore Bay and did my best to recuperate at the Brewery with some pizza, beer and trail mix.
Doing some research, I notice that the ferry to the mainland arrives in Tobermory either 10:30 am or 3:30 pm.
Wanting to catch the early ferry, I decide to push a long afternoon a further 80 km to the landing at South Baymouth, where the campground also happens to be one of the cheapest on the island.
I arrive at 6:30 pm, after a detour that takes me up a steep gravel road.
A load of laundry, and a pot of instant rice later, a younger couple (Matthew and Rochelle) bring me a beer and we talk about adventures; they recently hiked on the Appalachian Trail until the exchange rate forced them back into Canada.
Overall, Manitoulin wasn't as amazing as the hype led me to believe. The beer at either brewer was alright, but nothing exceptional. The coffee was expensive and mediocre. The highway was lumpy and narrow, and despite hearing about how laid back the island life is, there was a lot of impatient and speeding traffic. There was some nice scenery though.
Final say on Manitoulin: a bit overhyped.
Onwards to Bruce Peninsula on my way to L O N D O N.

Flexing the bread muscles

The sunset over Lake Huron was pretty sweet

Time for a new whip?

Northern Ontario Review

I know Northern Ontario isn't a province, but not only is it big enough to be one, it is totally separate in just about every way from Southern Ontario, so it warrants its own review. I know it doesn't conform to the actual definition, but I will delinate Northern Ontario from the Manitoba/Minnesota borders to Sault Ste Marie in the south. Past Sault, it changes character entirely in almost every way and so I will include the shore of Lake Huron in Southern Ontario.

Now then, what to say about this hellhole. I considered even writing this review because frankly, I don't have good things to say about Northern Ontario, but the people (those 10 - 20 of you that actually read this) must know.
But first, some stats.

Days spent in Northen Ontario: 12
Days spent cycling: 11
Distance covered: 1100 km roughly
Meters elevation gained: roughly 5800 (only 2000 less than from the Fraser Valley to Alberta)
Days where it rained at some point: 10
Average cost of camping: 30$ (unserviced tent site)
Average distance between towns: 80 km (based on no actual math, just what I remember).
Hottest temp: +36 with humidex
Coldest temp: +7
Longest day on the bike: 150 km from Fort Frances to Atikokan
Shortest day on the bike: 80 km from Pancake Bay to Sault
Best donuts: Superior Home Baking in Sault
Best coffee: Velorution Bike Shop in Sault (and its FREE)
Best beer: Probably Sleeping Giant Brewing in Thunder Bay (sorry Outspoken Brewing)

BAD impressions (the whine section):
Hills hills hills. Every day in Northern Ontario was up and down. It was at its worst going around Lake Superior, where you tend to have flat sections that never exceed 2 km between successive hills.
Wind. The wind never stops blowing in Northern Ontario, and while it drifts around a lot and you occasionaly get a tailwind, it is more often than not a headwind.
The rain. Actually not that bad. It rained nearly every day but rarely while I was on the bike.
The remoteness. Towns are very far apart with large stretches of barren wilderness between them. Staying on top of water and food was difficult and you rarely have the option to do longer days unless you are willing to do wild camping or go 180 km in a single day.
The roads. Even worse than Manitoba, the shoulder is only about 8 inches wide on average and generally in terrible shape. Crumbling asphalt, potholes, or disappearing shoulders abound. Pretty sad when you consider that I spent most of my time in Northern Ontario on the Trans Canada (the main highway in Canada).

The silver linings (good stuff):
Haven Hostel in Thunder Bay. Reasonable rates, cool atmosphere and a great conti brekkie.
Free camping on the beach at Terrace Bay. One of the most amazing spots I've ever pitched my tent.
Most things in Sault Ste Marie. Velorution, Superior Home Baking, the Independent Grocery, Outspoken Brewing. I had a great time in the Soo.
Lots of visitor centers with great staff.
And of course, the other two members of Camp Cyclist, Guy and Risto. Aside from making the trip around Superior less expensive, you two made it more fun and more bearable to know someone else was out there on the road with me.

Overall impression: Sucked a lot. Unfortunately you have to do it on a cross Canada ride unless you dip down into Minnesota and Michigan. The experience could be vastly improved by upgrades to the Trans Canada Highway shoulder and I intend to petition the governments of Canada and Ontario to make this happen.
Camping is either free or amazingly expensive. Avoid Provincial Parks as much as possible, as they are not only the most expensive (40$/night, no services), but also are often under boil water advisories. Get your shit together Ontario.
Advise travel with buddies, as it will save you a lot of money, and is also a major boost to morale when you have someone to complain to every night.

The average day's roller coaster

An unusually wide and smooth shoulder outside Nipigon

Small Town Smooth Sailing

Leaving Sault Ste Marie, I had heard from the fine dudes at Velorution about a series of alternative roads to the Trans Canada. Remembering the "shortcut" on the way to the bar the night before, I was skeptical, but gave highway 17B a try. It was alright, low traffic and a paved shoulder (wow), but the road surface wasn't fantastic.
Eventually found my way down to the Trans Canada again, and dealt with shoulder of varying size and significant truck traffic. When the shoulder was replaced with rumble strips and sand, I had enough, and took a chance on one of the country roads paralleling the highway.
What a great gamble! Apparently I was on part of the Trans Canada Trail, but it was undistinguishable from a country road.
Road conditions were beautiful for about 20 km: pavement, beautiful winding vistas through farm country, and best of all, only 10 cars went by.
I passed a number of Amish (maybe Mennonite) homesteads, and being Sunday, many of them were enjoying a day of rest by laying under the trees. I was tempted to join them on a few occasions but decided to enjoy the lovely riding instead.
After about 20 km, the road changed to gravel and I decided to risk it.
Unfortunately, it quickly became heavily washboarded and when combined with the steep, winding hills, I was reduced to doing single digit speeds at times.
I bailed out back to the Trans Canada (highway) for the last 5 km to Bruce Mines, where I grabbed a spot at a municipal campground for the night.
Bruce Mines is a nice little town, and the campground was like many I stayed at in the prairies: inexpensive, with slightly dingy but free and hot showers. All you need for a night as a bicycle tourist.
Due to overnight rain and the morning dew, the tent was a bit damp the next day but I felt rested (finally), and set out for a longer day.
Now that I have escaped Northern Ontario, my ride was more or less decent, passing a small, picturesque town every 20 to 30 km. Lots of chances for rest.
The highway conditions weren't ideal, narrow, crumbling shoulders and frequent rough sections that required cyclocross or professional sprinter levels of bike handling to traverse without nailing a pothole or getting hit by a truck.
A steady headwind kept my speed down but the land was more or less flat so I took it easy and went for the slow and steady distance. Even though I was on the highway all day, some great scenery, between old buildings, nice farmlands, and roadside wetlands filled brim to brim with water lilies. All in all, welcome changes from Northern Ontario.
After the small town of Blind River, which boasts a beautiful river and two Tims, I came upon a sight that confused and delighted me: a three meter wide, paved shoulder, complete with rumble strips to separate me from the gas-guzzling peasantry. I had smooth, safe sailing for 15 km until I was suddenly back upon the 6 inch wide shoulder, with trucks passing by a few feet to my left.
Only half a day of Trans Canada Highway left.
Upon reaching the small town of Spanish, I headed into a campsite for the night. The fee was a bit more than I hoped, but the difference was soon made up for by Dan,substitute campground manager. Dan runs an electrician business from Espanola, a bit to the east. He stopped by with salad, pastries and fruit, then offered me some info on Manitoulin Island, my next detour. He later returned with two cold (!) beers, and a homemade butter tart. Kudos Dan! You are the man.

A common scene along Huron

The extravagant meal lavished on me by Dan (butter tart not pictured)

Days of Unrest

After a long, windy, rainy, and super hilly 10 days in Northern Ontario, all members of Camp Cyclist were looking forward to a rest day in Sault Ste Marie.
While checking for Warmshowers hosts, I stumbles upon free camping at one of the local bike shops and decided to give it a try.
Good timing, as the bike shop was holding their annual party/sale (but mostly party) the next day. And with rain in the forecast until Sunday, it seemed like a good time to not be riding a bike.
Since it was so early, I left my gear at the shop and headed downtown to do some shopping and check out the brewery scene.
While sipping my first glass, a younger woman walked over and introduced herself. We had a couple beers and talked about sustainability and other hippy things before she invited me to go hang out at her place.
After imbibing some hunger-inducing substances we biked over to the store and bought fixings for a dinner. She invited me to hang out with her friends that night and I had nothing better to do so I biked back to the shop and grabbed my stuff. While there, I discovered the other members of Camp Cyclist had both arrived.
After biking back to my new friend's housr, we grabbed her buds and went downtown to enjoy some live music, beer, bbq, pool and getting drenched by a steady rainfall. Walking back to get my bike, I narrowly dodged a lightning bolt that touched down about 250m away.
I didn't get back to the bike shop until 2 am, so I set up my tent through a haze of exhaustion, inebriation, and rainfall before passing out.
Day two in the Soo.
Started the day with a hangover and another trip for donuts, which I am starting to become well known for liking. I sat around drinking coffee at the bike shop for a while, bought some new socks and a new chain, and then started thinking about the days plans. Risto and Guy were already downtown so I slapped a pannier on my bike and took off to find a grocery top up and maybe get a beer with the cycle friends.
The rain eased off a bit, and without the gear on my bike, I was enjoying a nice little ride, so I decided to bike along the main downtown drag.
Unbeknownst to me, there was a parade that day.
I found myself coming up on the tail end of it and decided to have some fun and ride through the parade. I was slightly out of place, heavily bearded, hungover and riding a battered touring bike but no one kicked me out of the parade and I had fun peddaling between floats and waving to kids.
After meeting up with Guy and Risto, who had seen me go by, I decided to bike back to the shop for the party.
Great idea! In addition to coffee and sale prices, they also brought out big trays of baked goods, hot dogs and opened a beer tent. I spent the rest of the afternoon stuffing myself.
Guy and Risto showed up later in the afternoon, so we went to have a beer together at the tent and discovered that since the party was officially over, beer was free. Sat arouns drinking with the guys and the bike enthusiasts until I was invited to join the bike shop crew on a brewery ride. It was starting to rain again and I felt bad for ditching Guy and Risto two nights running, but I had to accept an invitation for group rides and beer.
I soon learned that the employees of Velorution bike shop are totally nuts.
Our ride to the brewery was a 45 minute, winding sprint through the bike paths, traffic lanes, parking lots, and forested singletrack of Sault Ste Marie. All in the pouring rain with a bunch of yelling, drunk cycle enthusiasts. Back to Outspoken Brewing for beer until closing time, followed by a few more porch beers before a 12 am Wendys run and another late bedtime.
I woke up Sunday morning, hungover again, half my clothes muddy or still soaking wet, and contemplating another rest day. Eventually, I decided to suck it up and do at least a few kilometers, as another 'rest' day in Sault would probably kill me.
Guy, Risto, and I all got breakfast at Tims before splitting up. Guy planned on doing a slightly longer day, while Risto wanted to stay in the city one more day to get stuff done. Perhaps we will meet again on Manitoulin Island, perhaps not. It was good to have them by my side (sort of, we never rode as a group) through Northern Ontario.

The coolest bike shop in Canada (so far)

The aftermath of multiple rainy bike rides (the smell in my tent right now is unfortunate)

Members of Camp Cyclist finally get a beer and a photo together.

L to R: Denny, Guy, Risto

Escaping the Lake

A treat in Lake Superior Provincial Park was waking up to the warmest morning since Thunder Bay. Breakfast under the trees was also nice, but that's where the fun times ended.
The headwind from yesterday was back with a passion, and after passing Guy on the way out of the campground, I spent the morning battling with the wind,  neverending hills, crumbling highway shoulder and the constant flow of traffic.
Seriously though, this isn't even unusual, this is the Northern Ontario experience for cyclists, day in and day out for over a week. But more on that in a future blog post.
At one point I saw a police cruiser pull over at a bridge and was trying to figure out why the officer was getting his picture taken there until I rode past and noticed the name of the river. Both the river's name and the officer's hairstyle were Baldheaded.
The 60 ish km to Agawa Bay were pretty slow, and I didn't get in until about 11:30. Even if the riding was terrible, at least the scenery is getting nicer the further south we go. It's as if the landscape is trying to tell me: "Pedal, pedal, you're almost out of Northern Ontario. I took a quick lunch break at Agawa Bay and appreciated their beach.
Past Agawa Bay, the road turned up again. So began the biggest climb of the day, only about 300m of climbing involved on this one but spread out over about 7 km with a flickering headwind kicked in. Near the top, I met an elderly man walking down the shoulder pulling a handcart full of gear. After checking to make sure he had enough food and water, I chatted with him a bit and discovered that he has spent the last 5 summers walking from St. Johns to here, doing about 500 ish km a summer and then picking up where he left off the next year. Very impressed, but sad that I forgot his name as I suffered my way up the next two hills and into the headwind for another 50 km.
Guy must have had a good day, as he went by the camp at Pancake Bay Provincial Park only 30 mins after I arrived. He followed my suggestion of hitting up the store 1 km down the road before coming into camp. We then sat down after a mutually tough day and cracked beers, chips, candy, smoked lake trout, etc.
A hard day but a nice, relaxing dinner as we talk about our imminent escape from the wilderness of Northern Ontario into the big city of Sault Ste. Marie tomorrow and speculate on what Southern Ontario and Quebec will be like.
Sure enough, another windy day dawned on us in Pancake Bay. After two tougher days I was just determined to make it into Sault Ste Marie in good shape, so I began with an easy pace.
I stopped briefly in Chippewa Falls to snap some pics and visit the memorial that marks the halfway point of the Trans Canada Highway (My halfway point is wayyy back to the west fortunately).
The wind played games with me all morning, sometimes giving me a slight push, and sometimes coming right down my face while I struggled to keep my speed in double digits on a 9% incline.
Still, I had a fast day into the Sault, arriving around 11:30 am. I immediately hit up the Superior Home Bakery at the entrance to the city, as I had starved myself for about 55 km to make room for treats. The donuts did not disappoint, they were delicious, huge and very well priced. Some of the best in Canada.
I then headed a few hundred meters to the nearby bike shop to begin a day and a half of rest in the Soo, feeling quite content to be full of donut energy and to have successfully escaped Northern Ontario.

An emotional moment for cycle tourists: when the road finally starts going downhill

One of my last glimpses of Superior