Sorry, I'm stealing a line from Mark Twain, but I've never considered myself to be above plagiarism:)
July 11: Thunder Bay to Pass Lake (46.50km)
This was an unplanned short day, but I think I made the right decision.
The forecast today was not promising: rain, an easterly wind and cold (a high of 16 degrees). And they were right on all counts. I planned on leaving early to get as much distance done before it got too ugly. So I went to bed early last night, but alas, I only woke up at 7:00. Clearly, I needed the sleep.
I had a huge breakfast, packed my bike and I was off. Outside of the city, there is a monument to Terry Fox, because this is where he had to stop his Marathon of Hope. I stopped at the monument and the statue of the young man struggling to run and the text was quite poignant. I'm happy I stopped.
I continued on and the roads were quite good for the most part in that they had wide shoulders. So even though the terrain was hilly, I could relax my mind and enjoy the ride. I had been told that there was going to be quite a bit of construction along the road and that there were sections without shoulders or that the terrain was going to be very rough. As the construction zone began, I stopped at a truck stop to eat at the restaurant – I wanted to have a full stomach when going through the construction. By the time I left the restaurant, a blanket of fog settled upon the road. I started riding, but quickly realized that the fog would make the ride through the rough terrain ahead quite dangerous – my glasses were fogging up, my mirror was becoming more opaque and the drivers would have more difficulty seeing me. I decided to turn around and check the motel that I had just passed.
It has happened to me a couple of times on this trip that motel owners try to discourage my staying at their establishment. Maybe it's because I look rough around the edges or because they have had bad experiences with past bikers. In any case, the owner of the motel in Pass Lake was trying quite hard to undersell his motel. He was telling me how the motel 30km ahead had more services and how his TV is garbage (he's right on that point:). I decided to try and push on to the next motel and who knows, maybe even beyond if the conditions improved. If I saw that the conditions were unsafe, I could always turn around and since the wind would be at my back, it would be an easy ride.
Well, I biked about 1km and the mist turned into rain and a little voice at the back of my head was telling me that it wasn't a good idea to ride further today. Since that little voice is most often right, I turned around and got to the motel. The owner looked quite disappointed to see me again. He wasn't rude. He just looked like he couldn't be bothered to check me in.
So here I am, in the middle of nowhere with bad TV. I will take this opportunity to rest up some more and try to leave early tomorrow as the forecast seems to be more promising.
July 12: Pass Lake to Gravel River (112.68km)
The day began with thick fog and I had to wait for it to clear before riding off. As I was waiting to depart, I started thinking about my trip and I realized its true purpose. I knew it before, but I never fully articulated it to myself. Even though, I want this blog to be a true reflection of my travels, I won't go into detail about this because I don't intend this blog to become a confessional or for it to become too Oprah'esque. Anyways, suffice it to say that this realization gave me a renewed vigor. Instead of peddling for no good reason, I now understood its importance and why I must go on.
The fog finally cleared (literally and metaphorically:) and I was off. The first bit had construction and the roads were quite rough. But even in these circumstances, the riding was relaxing in that I rode in a construction lane in which there was no traffic. So I could set my mind on cruise control.
My destination for the day was unclear as I didn't know which towns had accommodations. I stopped in Nipigon's information desk and they gave me tips. I was planning to get to Rossport, but the winds were against me. I decided to pack it in at Gravel River. I'd be shocked if this place appears on any map because it is literally a motel and a gas station. Without exaggeration, the population of this metropolis is 2 (husband and wife).
July 13: Gravel River to Terrace Bay (60.06km)
Today's progress was regrettable as I had a significant wind in my back that was helping me out.
The day began rainy even though the forecast was for sun and clouds. I decided to wait a bit to see if it would clear. By 9:00 I thought it about the best time to leave even though it was still rainy. I got to Schreiber at 12:00 which is only about 40km progress (I am now in the heart of the northern Ontario hills and they can be long and steep). I stopped for lunch and considered my destination options for the evening. I asked the waitress and she said there was basically nothing between Terrace Bay and Marathon (an additional 75km).
Since I was wet, I got a chill over lunch. This accompanied with my slow progress in the hills and the fact that I hadn't slept well the night before (many mosquitoes and black flies in my motel - I actually slept wearing my bug net and bug spray) made me realize that I didn't have the legs for Marathon today and would have to make an early stop in Terrace Bay. It did at least give me a chance to catch up on my internet stuff. Great to hear from you all. Now I'm off to find fruit. I haven't had any in a couple of days and I was told it would be quite the challenge in this small town on a Sunday. Wish me luck!
Check out some of the scenery in northern Ontario.
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10 comments:
Hey Roland!
You're finally entering mine and Erin's old stomping grounds! A few more days and you'll be in Sault Ste. Marie, right smack dab in the middle of nowhere!
If you need anything in SSM, feel free to look up my folks. They'd be glad to help you out.
Best of luck on your travels through the metropoli of Marathon and Wawa!!
Mike,
I was thinking of emailing you today about SSM. I'm likely not going to be there long (1 maybe 2 nights). Are there any cool things that you would recommend. For example, are there some cool bars or neighbourhoods that I should check out. Anyways, any tips would be appreciated.
Roland
Hey Rollie,
Been checking your blog on and off during your trip. Way to go! Will keep the rest of the gang here (Christian, Philippe, Isabelle, etc.) abreast of your progress. See you during your pit stop in Ottawa.
Woody
Hi,
Haven't posted for a week because work has been incredibly busy, but I always check the blog to stay abreast. I've pretty much read every word so far. :-)
I do not understand why motel owners would try to discourage paying guests - especially cyclists. Bikers (of the Hell's Angels variety) are one thing, but I would think that the stereotype for cyclists is pretty benign... yoga loving - organic food and humanely raised meat eating - low carbon footprint generating - type people. Hardly the type to tear up a motel room. I just don't get that one....
Anyway, I have to tell you that I am disappointed about one thing... I was really hoping you would skirt the southern edge of the Great Lakes and come visit. Guess it's not to be... what drove your decisions when you reached that particular fork in the road? Bet the motel owners would let you in -at least in Grayslake (-:
Cycle safe,
Monique
The nightlife in the Soo leaves a lot to be desired. Haven't been to any of the bars in a long, long time. I couldn't really recommend any of them.
For sights to see, there are a couple of National Historic Sites including the "old stone house" and the Locks on the St. Mary's River. There are a couple of good museums (Bush Plane and the regular museum) within a couple blocks of one another along Queen St.
If you feel like getting some good Sault pizza, visit Aurora's Pizza and Spaghetti House (on 2nd Line) or Mrs. B's Pizza (on East St.). Erin and I both highly recommend either of them.
There's a nice boardwalk along the river as well. Here's a website with some tourism info: http://www.saulttourism.com/tourism/?flash=true
Hope you find something to do while you're passing through!!
Mike
Bonjour Roland,
On suit tes aventures et j'avoue que je suis impressionne et fier de toi.
Peut-etre que le proprietaire du motel avait peur que tu dormes avec ton velo. La graisse dans les draps, c'est difficile a nettoyer.
Entretemps, tes nieces font des camps cet ete. Simone a passe une semaine a un camp Glenburn. Elle a adore ca. Hannah est a King's Landing. Nous la retrouverons vendredi.
Benjamin passe son temps a la maison. Il a fait de nouveaux amis avec nos nouveaux voisins. Il y a plusieurs enfants dans cette rue.
Sheryl continue a produire des mosaiques. Elle a presque termine une piece qu'elle veut placer dans le salon.
Et moi, je travaille sur mes propres blogues. Je prepare des blogues pour mes cours que je vais enseigner l'an prochain. J'ai presque fini mon site sur l'histoire du Canada. J'ai egalement passe quelques jours avec Mame et Dad. J'etais a Moncton pour l'Assemblee generale annuelle de la Federation canadienne des enseignants. J'aidais comme benevole.
En tous les cas, continue la belle route et garde ton courage.
Rodrigue
hey! on te suit de temps à autres. J'espère que tu trippes bien sur ta trip, c'est vraiment cool de suivre ton aventure comme ceci.
Courage, l'Ontario sera un jour fini! Keep it up, can't wait to read more about you're great adventure.
Johanne,Martin et les filles
Hey hey,
ça fait un p'tit boute que je n'ai pas laissé de commentaire. Pas d'excuse, juste parresseux.
Pis, t'as laissé un "cliff-hanger" blog post. Qu'est-ce qu'est cette réalisation? Enquiring minds want to know... ;-). Tu me le dirai quand tu me vois, si tu veux.
Terry
Salut! I'm assuming the 6 days without and update doesn't mean you have gotten yourself involved in any illegal motel activities...
On my end, I have a concussion from white water rafting on the rivière rouge: someones head hit me in the face before they took me out of the boat and landed on me in the water. I'm on meds and have taken 3 days off.
I'm trying to rent out the apartment and I'm staining the balcony tomorrow.
I bought a non-intuitive camera since my amazing one was dropped in the toilet minutes before "milie's b-day began.
Pls laugh, even I am am :-)
i.e. rafting: I was reminded that 'oh well I haven't done that before...' isn't a good enough reason (when the only one) to do something. If I never felt compelled to do something before, at my age, maybe there is a reason for that.
Caro
Gooday,
Many of you seem to be skeptical of my assertion that motel owners don't trust bikers. Believe it. Some have told me that bikers sometimes use room towels to clean their bikes including chains. Let it be known that I don't do this. I've always found that the bedspread is much more absorbant:)
Mike,
Sorry man. I asked you to give all those suggestions for what to do in the Sault and then I avoid the city (explanation in next post). Well thanks anyways and who knows, I may be back there soon.
Woody et Johanne et Martin,
Hey guys, merci de lire mon blog et de vos commentaires. Le voyage va bien de ces jours ci et le fait que je suis pres d'Ottawa et Moncton et que je puisse voir de gens que je connais est d'autant plus motivant.
Rodrigue,
Merci pour l'encouragement. J'apprecie vraiment ca.
Man, vous etes toujours occupe vous autres. Tu sais pendant des vacances d'ete on a le droit de prendre du temps off:)
Terry,
Yeah, si tu veux on s'en parlera de ma revelation, mais je ne veux pas le faire sonner trop dramatique. Je n'ai pas prouve l'existence de Dieu ou comment ils mettent le caramel dans les caramilk bars:) On s'en reparlera.
Monique,
Sorry to hear that you're busy again, but I can't say I'm altogether surprised (you always are). I'm guessing you won't be able to make it to Moncton this summer. If this changes, let me know and hopefully our schedules will collide.
My decision to do the northern route was mostly due to time and distance. Even though initially the destination wasn't the primary objective, it has sort of become that. Not to be too long winded, but the main goal of the trip is to experience such a trip and reaching the end point has become part of that experience if that makes any sense. In other words, by going the southern route, I don't think I would have had time to do the whole trip. Again, I don't know if that makes sense.
Caro,
Please don't speak of all my illegal motel activities. My parents may be reading:)
OMG, that must have been a nasty spill in the raft. I hope you're ok.
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