I headed out this morning along the road to Lorrette since it eventually meets up with the Trans Canada highway. The wind was against me early and I was a little concerned because I was expecting to ride 190 kilometers today.
On the Trans Canada it was a little and before long I was averaging a pace in the high 20’s. This was when I noticed the shoulder disappearing 500 meters ahead so took a casual look around and saw a cyclist coming up the road with no gear. I decided to let them pass since there wouldn’t be any room to do so very shortly.
She thanked me as she passed and I rode about 10 meters behind her until she eventually dropped me. It was a good distraction from the narrow shoulder and the general terrain which is still flat. Seeing another cyclist kinda puts you back into cycling mode rather than travel mode where you are looking around at everything. Up ahead I guess she had stopped for something and I had rode by. I was in front for a while now which was a good kick in the rear for me to get focused and crank out some kilometers. When someone is close behind the tendency for me is always push a little so it helped me cover a lot of ground over 30km/hr. Eventually there was a slight uphill in the grade and I was able to make room to let her pass. There was no shoulder here at all and I was a little worried but I got some confidence when I watched her simply ride on the road close to line. She did it so casually that I just did the same and let cars go into the inside lane to pass us. Again she dropped me after a few kilometers but I did manage to talk to her at a rest stop. She is riding from Vancouver to Halifax since she wants to study or do some design work at the Dalhouise University. She thought why not ride it and her mom volunteered to be a support crew and drive behind her – nice deal!
Her site is: www.anastasiavogl.com
As the landscape became greener and lusher my happiness increased. I had entered the White Scales provincial park and was heading for the Ontario border. I was now more or less in lake country and it was starting to feel like the sunshine coast in British Columbia.
There was a lot more traffic now but thankfully the shoulder was good through the park. This is lake country and there are a lot of cars coming from Winnipeg to find some sun on a lake for a much deserved break. I stopped at Falcon lake for some supplies before heading for the border. I was a little disappointed in the Ontario border as it was only a simple sign and a few kilometers up the road there was a closed down building that used to promote the area. I met a man there with his young boy who were stopped for lunch. We chatted for a bit and he gave me his blog site which is documenting his new life as a father.
Following George Irvine’s excellent map I easily found the turn off for the “Mann’s” cottage. Turning off the highway down a loose gravel road enclosed by trees was just like arriving in Sakinaw Lake. At the bottom of the hill the road opened up to a tiny bay with a sandy beach with a Canadian flag blowing in the breeze. There I met Craig Mann and his two black lab crosses Guiness and Murphy who came running up to greet me. His daughter Kelsey and her friend .Stephanie were also there to say hi.
We walked up a beautiful cottage perched on a rocky cliff overlooking the enormous lake which had islands of evergreen trees as far as the eye could see. This is the Lake of the Wood which I didn’t know at the time. The house had several large pine that poked holes through the deck to provide shade and privacy. I quickly changed and went for a swim. The water so clear and refreshing after a long day.
Back up at the cabin I met Craig’s mother who recently celebrated her 90th birthday. We were joined by her nephew Lloyd and his wife Monique along a family friend John who had all arrived by boat . They had been fishing that day and were determined to a catch a few more. We stayed back and relaxed and Craig made dinner on the bbq. We had an excellent feast of bbq chicken breast, salad, and baked potato for dinner with a little ice cream to top things off.
We weren’t done though as Craig took me out on his boat for a tour of this section of the lake. You see the lake is massive and this is only a tiny corner of it. We managed to catch up the rest of the gang who were still fishing. I tried my hand at it but didn’t catch anything but that didn’t matter this was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in the world and to op it off there was a gorgeous sunset.