Blind river 140km

Al put on a huge spread again which was really nice and fueled me for most of the day. He got up early to get things going and made sure I woke up. After breakfast I was on the road pretty quickly and took the 17B instead of the Trans Canada highway. It went through a reserve and there was almost no traffic.

I really didn’t have much need to stop because of the large breakfast but eventually I pulled into Bruce Mines for breakfast which sits on Lake Huron. There were three bicycles parked outside so I investigated. There was a French couple from Quebec who were also riding to St. Johns and another man heading West who I didn’t speak with. The couple were very friendly and had also suffered through North Western Ontario. The man Mario almost ran over a skunk along the way but was lucky to avoid it. We had a good laugh over that!

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3 days of riding included here

As yesterday ended the day began with more hills but smaller in scale and our drafting was getting better so we made good time. We stopped in Batchawana Bay for breakfast which has a beautiful downhill heading south into the little town looking over its sandy beach. We had a fabulous breakfast in the Voyageur restaurant before moving on. There a lots of little beautiful homes here for sale right on the lake shore for those looking for a nice property.

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I a rushing through these posts as I am behind three days and I am forgetting to mention little things here and there. Some are not that interesting but others explain the flow of the story.

The park we stayed at had a water warning so I was able to use the purification pills supplied by Global Hydration. Even though I double dosed on the water to pill ratio the water tasted fine and did not have a heavy chlorine taste. I treated about 3 litres of water which not knowing the road ahead was truly a a great “piece of mind” feeling.

The night was pretty hot so I slept outside the bag for most of it and surprisingly woke up up before the girls did from what I could tell (no sounds from their tent). I got packing early and before long Robyn emerged and started prepping for the day. It is so different preparing for the day ahead with companions: pack quickly or not, take time eating breakfast or not, crank out the first 20km or ease into it. These things you do not even consider on your own but as you read on these things were less important than the group motivation.

It wasn’t too long into the ride before we put on our rain jackets. Now I am of course in Stormtech Blue but Kate was in purple and Robyn in lime green. Though the rain was gently soaking through I was happy the trees where getting some water and the air was cooling down.

We climbed a hill into Wawa to see the great goose. I liked it and other than the rain the town was quite beautiful with a view over the the bay. I ran into a Karen Dahl who is working with CES Canada to provide education to orphans and HIV effected children in Kenya. It was too bad we didn’t have more time to chat but I knew I needed to eat my food and get on the road as we had a lot of Kilometers to cover today.


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A little more about day 42. At the campground I met two Americans who had rode their motorcycle from Florida – what a long haul. They were circumnavigating Lake Superior and were going to be state side in a day or two. What a wonderful way to see the largest fresh water lake in the world – at least by surface area which is what matters to yours truly! I also met a family from Marathon who were just driving by my campsite and had a few questions. I love conversations like that were it starts as just a hello and you talk for 15 minutes or more about cycling, the area and kayaking!

It was a warm night for sure and I slept outside of my sleeping bag for most of the night. The night sky was again crystal clear and if I had the knowledge of why the 7 sisters ( Pleiades) sat on the shoulder of Taurus I could appreciate it more. I will learn in due time young Albatross (inside meaning).
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