Day 50, Monday, July 14, Wawa, 92 km

After another motel stay due to crappy weather (defined by Environment Canada as headwinds, rain and mid July fog!), we left Winnie the Poo behind and headed east.

It was cool and damp until we reached H & C Family Lodge - about 30k east of White River. The improvement in weather was facilitated by the best homemade pies (cherry and blueberry) we have experienced since leaving Victoria. The experience was further enhanced by the opportunity for old foggies and foggettes to flirt with the proprietor’s very young children.

The road was fairly flat, with some minor hills approaching Wawa. Fortunately we had following winds and did not have headwinds until the last few kilometers.

The wildflowers along this section are gorgeous. Such floral displays used to be a common scene in the prairies but these disappeared years ago – thanks to contouring and vegetation control in roadside ditches. Hopefully Ontario will continue to have the foresight not to follow this “progressive” approach of its western neighbours.

Tents up and campsite established by 2:35pm – a good day!

Dave2

Day 49 July 13 White River 96 K

The view from Marathon this morning was downright depressing. Steady drizzle and 8 deg. temp. with a stiff wind. However, after a short day yesterday we knew that we had to "bite the bullet "! We donned our full winter/rain ensemble which we haven't needed since the mountains. Rain jackets, booties, gloves and,for the real wimps, can you believe touques.
Things always improve after a few miles on the bike and so it was today. The highway was first class,hills were gentle, traffic was light and the truckers were very civil. We stopped at Gloria's cafe for a tummy fillup and the weather seemed to improve. No longer cold, but just cool with a nice little breeze to blow us along. We arrived in White river relatively early and decided to motel it as we were all pretty wet and needed to dry out our gear.
Jim and Yvonne are cooking tonite. They always come up with something yummy. Do you get the impression that food is always on our mind? -- Pat!

Day 48 - July 12th - Marathon - 25KM

After enduring a ferocious overnight storm, we woke up to the sight of a thick, "pea-soup" like fog. This fog and mist was so bad that many people were taking frequent breaks in order to de-fog, if you will, their glasses and sunglasses. Although the safety conditions were sub-par it was quite an easy ride because we were all expecting a fairly mountainous trek. We were greeted by Brenda in Marathon and she had done a great job, as usual, in finding us a great hotel, The Peninsula Inn, that was more of a seven person camper that included a dishwasher and stove as well as a TV in the family room. Everyone had an enjoyable afteroon with some of us spending the afternoon in town while others stayed at home and enjoyed the Saturday sports TV. A great dinner, salmon patties and bean salad with veggies, and a great dessert, ice cream and grapes, capped off the day. Until next time!! Stefan.

Day 45-47 July 10-11 Rossport and Ney's Lunch

Rain and bugs are the mainstay of this stretch of road. We have hit our first major climbs in Ontario into Rossport. We are skirting the shoreline of Lake Superior, a very impressive sight. We got hammered with high winds, rain, thunder and lightning last night. We are undecided how far we go today perhaps Marathon. It will be a good climb out of Ney's Lunch. Until later!! Adele

Day 44, Wednesday, July 9, Dorion, 90 km

We reluctantly left our soft beds, had a quick breakfast down at Joe's on Arthur Street and left town by local roads. Because of the history of Thunder Bay (Port Arthur and Fort William originally) our street name changed from Simpson, to Fort William, to Water, to Cumberland and finally to Hodder which took us. after 19 kms, back up to Hwys #11/17 where we were finally allowed to cycle.
Very quickly we came to the Terry Fox monument which was inspirational for all of us. Then we were on the highway again with some very bad patches with the shoulder being very narrow and full of holes, as well as the lane for vehicles beside it . It was horrendous for short patches on this two lane Trans-Canada Highway. We had planned to meet Brenda to make lunches but she phoned to say that there were 3 patches of construction ahead. So we stopped at Pass Lake to order a second breakfast/lunch.
We continued on into a headwind until Dorion where we decided that even if we continued we wouldn't get into Nipigon (original destination) until after 5 o'clock. It was very slow going and we were tiring. So we opted to stay at the Wolf River Campground just a few kilometers down the road.
It was a lovely site until the wind died down during the dinner hour and the mosquitoes came out. Even though we tried to be diligent mosquitoes got into the RV where David and Brenda had to fight a war before they could sleep. Those of us in tents fared better as it was a confined space with few places for the nasties to hide.
We hope for better wind tomorrow.
Contributed by Yvonne

Day 43, Tuesday, July 8, Thunder Bay, rest day

Day 42, Mon. July 7, Thunder Bay

Having been plagued by mosquitoes and black flies the last two days, today was no exception. Never have I seen a "break-camp" so fast. The 90 km road surface from Shabandowan to Thunder bay was - for the most part - quite acceptable.

Our intended breakfast stop became only muffins and buns as there was no cook at the restaurant at the junction of hwy 11 and 17.

We arrived at Kakabeka Falls by last morning, and enjoyed wandering along the several pathways on both sides of the river.

Continuing toward Thunder Bay, we were presented with a recently opened by-pass route and traffic signs indicating "no bikes". There was no indication of where cyclists should proceed or how we should levitate to our destination. No posted bike routes; no map of alternate routes; no bike path - just a sign to suggest "no bikes".

Tomorrow (Tuesday) is a rest day in Thunder Bay.
Contributed by Ute Grayson.