Thunder Bay to Nipigon Day 34

This was a special day to be at this statue. If you remember we have a picture of us at Mile 0 in Victoria where there is a statue commemorating where Terry would have completed the trip. We are not sure what there will be in Saint John's but we think we will find it especially meaningfull as we will have completed our odyssey at that point.
These are 2 tour vets that have joined us for a leg of this 2009 trip. John, on the left, has been assigned to my galley crew. James is in training for a 2010 Ironman.
We had to leave our mark on the Courage Highway. We feel very courageous tackling this challenge.
Part of the highway from the statue to just west of Nipigon is called Courage Highway.

Quite the talent in these murals on the Esso station at Dorion. We now have a better idea of what to look for when we are scouting for moose.
This mural is exceptionally detailed.
The gang staying out of the storm.
We travelled through Red Rock. The pavement is actually red in colour in sections.
We noticed the cliff areas looking a lot like the Niagara escarpment.
I think we pass construction very day. The other day was 10 km of wet gravel. From what we were told a few cyclists got flats on that gravel road.
We are assigned a shelf in the truck and have two black bins to store our things. The ones with the white covers are my bins. I also have a tent bag that gets stored on the floor of the truck during the day. This who get to camp first get to unload. I have never done that as Terri and I end up usually close to the last ones in. We have however assisted in loading the truck when it is our trun to cook breakfast. Some of those tent bags weigh a ton.
This is the beautiful bubbling water we are camped beside tonight.

This is a rare treat to do a posting two days in a row. I thought I might as well take advantage of this connection in Nipigon as we have five days of continuous cycling ahead of us. We are camped at a small private site just west of Nipigon which we ride through tomorrow. We are situated by the side of a bubbling creek and just off the highway enough that the traffic will not bother us.

We left the University this morning and because we had a hill to climb we got to see some of the city that we missed on our rest day. We basically spent our rest day time drying things out and getting organized for the next leg of the trip. Bike cleaning also takes a fair chunk of time out of the day and we had some major grit and grime to clean. Our room was quite a piece from the truck so we had to make use of the trolley to get our stuff from point A to B. We did manage to get a cab to do some shopping at Walmart and we had a nice supper at Kelsey's. Our cab driver assured us we would have good weather for the next little while. We knew better but thanked her anyway. Who knows, she might have an in with somebody.

We had a special treat today. We had our first stop at the Terry Fox memorial. His statue sits high on a hill overlooking Thunder Bay area. You can't see him from the highway but you sure can see lots when you are up there. The weather cooperated for the photo shoots, one of which will be sent to our Terry Fox organizer, Susan as she will be getting busy for the run. Terri has done rides for the last several years and I joined her for the last three. We did an overnight trip to Tobermory last year, 342km. Together we raised over $4,000 for the fund. We will not be back in time to do it this year so we hope all our regular sponsors will pledge others or participate themselves. We will be back next year which is an anniversary year, 30, I think.

The highway from the statue to just before Nipigon is named Courage Highway after Terry's challenging trip across Canada. We had to leave our mark as well. We just hope the rain did not wash it away.

Our route today took us along Lake Superior and the road took us off the highway along cottage roads. Very nice vacationing here.

The weather really turned for the worse after our late morning coffee break. Fortunately we saw it coming and had our rain gear on but it came down so hard that we had to pull off the road, we could not see anything and at 35 km/hr the rain really hurts. We came into an Esso station when we could get going again and waited it out. Thunder and lightning went on for over an hour but we had good company as many other cyclists had taken shelter there as well. This made for a longer day and we had hoped with just 113km we would get in early. We did arrive safely though and that was what was important today. This is a busy highway and there were spots where the pavement was rough and sometimes the shoulder very narrow. Constantly checking your mirror was necessary and if someone looked like they would not give you room, well, we move over. The alternative is not pretty in that situation.

The Esso station was adorned with beautiful murals as you saw in the picture. More than one person told us today that we would have some major hills today to get us to Nipigon but we found them not too challenging. I think we are in for some bigger ones as we make our way around Lake Superior.

Till the next time I can get connected, take care, stay healthy and thank you all for your great comments and support sent to us through your emails. Everyday has its challenges.

Holly

Kenora is on the shores of Lake of the Woods, a huge lake with many islands.
Renee Liese is watching over the cooking of the fish she and Sylvie caught on the way to Kenora.
Sylvie serving up the fish they caught. As it turned out it was a real fish story. They were in a restaurant having coffee and someone overheard them talking. The fellow told them he was a fisherman and he had lots of pickerel filets and gave them 5 lbs. They were generous enough to cook them up for us. Larry, in red, made french fries. It was a delicious meal.

Terri coming across the Sioux Narrows Bridge.
The view from the bridge. Lots of very nice cottages on the lake. This is also the area where there are a lot of houseboats.
One man working (Mike) and two supervisors, Terri and Terry. This was just after a very nice lunch break.
It seems every time we stop we are eating. Most days I would take a container of cereal and thermos of milk, as a change from peanut butter sandwiches.
Evidence of how tall some of the rock walls formed when they put the highway through.

We thought we might try rock climbing as our next new adventure. Terri has reached her height limit.

Can see the caption now. Cyclist save from the slippery slope because she was wearing her helmet.
Verging on the sunset at Caliper Lake.
More of the Lake of the Woods views from the road.
Had to stop at the Bear Country store. This is the closest we have come to the real thing.
They like murals on their buildings in Fort Frances, too.
Enjoying the evening at Taylor's Cove. One of the prettiest spots we have stayed at. It was a shame it was just for one night. The water, they said was very nice.

The view from across where our tents were.
The view from our tents.
Sunset at Taylor's Cove.
Try and pronounce this!!!
The Seine River which flows into Rainy Lake. Nothing like the Seine in Paris for sure but it was pretty neverheless.
Terry has just the right seat for a rest stop.
Just in case we come across a moose we will know what it looks like. We hate to think we will get all the way across Canada without seeing one. No one else has cited one either but they have seen lynx, timberwolf and Holly saw a huge buck.
After the storm in Kindersley and the mud that came with it, Holly decided to get a pair of old fashioned rubber boots. They have come in handy since then.
We had such a downpour and then 10k of gravel road (under construction), we didn't want the dirt to dry on our bikes.
When we got to our rest day in Thunder Bay, what didn't get off in this car wash got removed with a lot of elbow grease and toothbrush.
The elevation is actually 1660 ft.
More evidence of the blasting that was needed to put the Trans Canada through.

Everyone is in awe of the sunshine. We had just come through a lot of rain and unfortunately, it came down again, even worse.
Stephanie will have ice cream any time of the day and will cycle out of her way if she knows there is a good ice cream shop there.
One of the tasks we have on our rest days. Here we are doing our laundry in the dorm room at Thunder Bay.

Well, here begins another entry for Day 29 of the tour. Rest day in Kenora on July 24th is behind us and now, July 25th, we're off to Caliper Lake Provincial Park, which is south of Nestor Falls, cycling a distance of 127k, taking highway 17 out of Kenora and then south on highway 71. It was an overcast day with 60% chance of rain but we lucked out on the rain. We did have a great ride along this stretch of highway and very scenic as we are going through the Canadian Shield so you can imagine the beauty of the rock and forests, lakes and rivers we pass either around, through or over. Many of you reading this will know the Canadian Shield is a huge section of granite crust that is the oldest part of North America with the total area covering half of Canada and it is rich in minerals. That is why the rock is different colours in various areas we cycle through. The road condition is great but it is very windy and lots of climbing on the bikes. Shoulders were great for cycling. Kenora is on Lake of the Woods and this area draws fishermen from everywhere. Campground at Caliper Lake is quaint, nestled in the woods.

Day 30 and July 26 takes us on to Taylor's Cove which is 39k east of Fort Frances and 128k. Another great day of cycling and still heading south on #71. Terrain much as yesterday, with the road winding, twisting and turning around the rock, the lakes and rivers and through the forests but very scenic cycling!! There are a lot of Indian Reservations through here. We turned east on highway 11 and head toward Fort Frances. In Fort Frances, the U.S. border is four blocks south of the #11 highway. Another large lake we cycled along is Rainy Lake with, again, many resorts, camping grounds and lodges for vacationing. Again, Taylor's Cove is another quaint campground and it is located on Rainy Lake. Beautiful homes across the cove from the campsite. Good warm temperatures for cycling today.


Day 31 and July 27. Off to Dawson Trail Campground in Quetico Provincial Park and 154k. Beautiful morning with no dew and got away at 0700. The cycling terrain remains, again, as the past two days. Beautiful wilderness scenery and I never tire of "nature". Had a real down pour mid morning but not cold. The sun was out for the remainder of the day. But, unexpectedly, we came upon road construction and there was about 10k of dirt road to cycle through so you can imagine what our bikes looked like!! There were a few flat tires and one person got a gash in his tire. We took a 3k detour into a town called Atikokan, found a car wash to clean off our bikes, found a good burger restaurant for lunch then proceeded to continue our ride to camp. Just before supper was completed, we were surprised with another few minutes of a good downpour. Good way to get to bed early!!

Day 32 and July 28th. This day takes us to Thunder Bay and a distance of 167k. Dull morning with the chance of rain!! Roads are in great riding shape with shoulders. Light misty rain falling after leaving camp and increased to heavy misty rainfall for the fist 50k. Terrain not too difficult today with only a few climbs to tackle. Again, long distances between villages for getting water or something to eat. Every road, hamlet, river, etc, has an indian name. Took pictures at the Atlantic Watershed marker and then took a snackstop at Kashabowie. Sun was out nice and bright when we left but not long after, it started raining again and that was it for the remainder of the long ride. The road condition wasn't great for riding. Reminded me of riding on Highways 21 and 9 and the shoulders the same. By the time we got to the university, we were pretty cold and glad to get there. One good thing is that we did have a good tailwind to help us through the rain and distance. We missed the turnoff about 30 k remaining and ended up taking 11/17 into Thunder Bay. The traffic was very busy with a poor shoulder part of the time to ride on. One of our cyclists had a fall early into today's ride and ended up with a chipped bone in his elbow so he is out of the tour. That is # 4 so far that have had to leave the tour. We're staying at Lakehead Univesity dorms so it's great having a real mattress to sleep on for two nights!! The little things that please us???!! Rest day is July 29th. in Thunder Bay

Beausejour to Kenora

We have just enjoyed a nice treat in this bakery/bed and breakfast. It was hard to believe they were out of bread but our appetites were satiated with cinnamon buns and date filled cookies.
Stephanie Yorke from Fredericton and Barry from Beamsville enjoying their treats on the veranda. Stephanie is an English major soon to set off the England on a Commonwealth Scholarship.
A very quaint little house but you would not believe the add-on the back where the full size industrial kitchen is located.
This is the guys Tour du Canada look. Tousled hair and a few days growth. He gets a makeover on rest days.
A neat sign. The waitress in the restaurant where we had our break could not think of anyone famous but she said her sister wanted to be a doctor and maybe she would be the one to make her town famous.
Rock hard evidence of the Canadian Sheild.
Terri and I entering Ontario at 4pm.
from left to right, Terri, Terry form Vancouver Island, me and Stephanie.
The view of the water at our campsite for our rest day. I don't think anyone went swimming. It rained on and off just about every hour on the hour for ten minutes today.


We thought we had our longest day earlier in the week but this topped it at 180 km. This was the sixth day of continuous riding and were were all more than ready for this rest day.

Our camp in Beausejour was infested with skitters when we got up so we ate our breakfast and were out of camp by 7:15. We saw the flat terrain give way to more rolling hills and we dealt with a light but steady rain for most of the day. The landscape reminded us of Manitoulin Island and we were treated to sights of the Canadian Shield. We crossed over into Ontario at about 4 pm and that we did not have rain after that. We have been warned about Highway 17 but the part we rode on yesterday was freshly paved with a nice shoulder. I am told this will disappear when we leave tomorrow and head to Thunder Bay with a few stops in between. I am also told the good weather may leave us.

We can feel ourselves getting stronger. To date we have now cycled 2804 km. so I guess that is to be expected.

During the day we came across a 21 year old Bristish fellow named Phillip who is doing basically the same ride we are, on his own. We had met him in Binscarth and others had met him in Kindersley. He joined us for supper and Patrick's birthday cake and he set off this morning (our rest day) to his next camp. His route is loosely planned as he goes along. Terri and I thought he was very brave and we decided we like knowing where we going each night. He said he had to camp beside the road on a couple of occasions.

I cleaned my bike in Beausejour and so just lad laundry to do on this rest day. I was thankful as the blog gave me more trouble today than I was counting on. I was so proud of myself for making notes on the computer at the end of each day. All I would have to do is cut and past. This I did this morning and added the pictures. After I had four days done I decided to post them and lo and behold the site would not accept the narrative and therefore would not publish the post. After much consulting with others more tech
oriented than I am my fears were confirmed. As I thought, the Blogspot site would not accept the characters I had cut and pasted. So....I had to redo it all including uploading the pictures again. At least now I know for next time. I am however getting more efficient and have been down loading my pictures from my camera each day and putting them into folders. Consequently it is not as smooth as it should be. As you will notice one of the postings is out of order. My apologies, did everything I knew how to correct it. Guess the learning curve on this blogging activity is still on the steep side.

Terri went downtown to the bike store and we plan to walk over to Walmart after I am done here. Supper will be found between here and there. I think that will include more of the chocolates Mike sent me.

Until the next rest day or the next internet access point, stay safe, be healthy.