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.

Minnedosa to Portage la Prairie

We met Chris and Tim in Craik. They were travelling from Halifax to Vancouver, where they live. Their mission was to raise funds for Ronald McDonald House which is affiliated with the Delta Chain of hotels. Where possible they stayed in these hotels but this night they camped in our campground. They couldn't believe how early we go to get going, even though we only had 130k to ride.
Ray on the far right was generous in treating us to the cinnamon buns. His wife Deb had made our dinner
in Regina. Enjoying the treat are Sylie, closest to the camera, Juanita on her left, then Terry from Vancouver Island.
This looks like a painting. It was a very quaint spot, fair trade coffee, everything made from scratch and very delicious.


The ride today was exceptional for a couple of reasons. We had the sun and the wind on our back for most of the day. It was one of those days that you are not constantly looking at the odometer to see how much farther you have to go. We found the landscape in Manitoba was what we had thought the prairies was all about. Flat, flat, flat. I relished the opportunity to ride in my bring ring. Miles and miles of canola fields. We were in Portage at 2:15, where I got a much needed haircut while Terri and Edith scouted out the nearby bike shop. We ended the trip with an ice cream cone at Dairy Queen.

At the 33 km of the ride today we were treated to those cinnamon buns promised the night before. Ray from my galley crew knows the owner and just works down the street in Neepawa as the school superintendent. The family moved their business from Winnipeg to Neepawa. It was the prettiest little town we had seen thus far. It is known as the Lily capital of the world and is home to author Margaret Laurence. Also Terri's brother-in-law Harold was born in Neepawa and raised in Minnedosa, where we had stayed the night before.
I had stopped a lady on the corner to ask where the nearest mailbox was and she offered to take my postcards and mail them.

It was also just outside the town of Neepawa that a husband and wife team had a spill. They were riding in close enough proximity to each other that when he went down, she rode over top of him and also went off her bike. He was dazed but still able to ride after he was checked out by the doctor. His helmet was cracked in four places. She injured her shoulder, needed meds and a sling and was not able to ride. She took a bus out of town the next morning and was to stay with family until the group got to Kenora. She would then decide if she was able to continue the ride. Anything can happen in a split second.

We are enjoying a nice evening near crescent lake in the fairgrounds at Portage. We have been spoiled the last few days with the wind on our back and good weather. We know to enjoy it for there will be times we won;t be so lucky.

Binscarth to Minnedosa

The cows and horse posed for the picture when I blew my air horn.
The Holy Cow Restaurant, likely a thing of the past.

We rode with Edith Troupe today and we found out that she is friends with the couple, Patty and Doug who run Bike Face bike store in Owen Sound. She knew them when she was living in Prince Edward Island. They moved their store from PEI to Durham in Ontario and then to Owen Sound. We have been in their store many times and plan to see them when we get to Owen Sound. Small world.
By Minnedosa Lake, a nice peaceful evening.


After our long ride to Binscarth yesterday we were looking forward to the ride to Minnedosa, 136 km. There was a time when this would have seemed endless. We were fortunate to have a fairly level terrain with the wind in our favour. We actually had the ride more than half done by the time we got to our lunch stop. We got into camp at 3:15 and the wind had picked up enough that we opted to stay in camp, wash our cycling clothes by hand and dry them on the line.

The terrain for the day reminded us of travelling in Bruce County and I had to remind myself where I was. We stopped in Birtle for coffee and The Holy Cow Restaurant was there. I had read about it on someone else's journal from a prior year and I was anxious to try it out. Unfortunately the side of the building had caved in and it was closed. We are finding the many small towns we go through have seen better days. We were told there were excellent cinnamon buns at the halfway point but we were dissappointed when we got there only to find the place had been out of business for a few years.

We camped on the shores of Lake Minnedosa for the night and it was very peaceful. The wind died down, the sunset was great and I sat at the picnic table doing my notes and downloading pictures. At stops like this it is a shame to have only a few hours to enjoy it.

There is usually something to look forward to the next day. It usually has to do with weather, terrain or food. In this case we were advised to stop in Neepawa at the bakery for a treat of cinnamon buns and coffee, courtesy of one of the riders,

Neudorf to Binscarth

Crooked Lake meandered its way throughout the valley.
The hills through the valley looked as though someone had moulded.
Such beautiful countryside throughout the valley.
These hills looked as though someone had lobbed off the tops of them.
Terri taking a peanut butter sandwich break as we finished the trip through the valley and before turned up the hill to what would be a 2 km climb.
Another province under our belts. Here I am at the Manitoba border.
Postash Pete or Smelly Pete depending on who you talk to. He is from Esterhazy, the home of two potash mines.
The sky at Binscarth before the storm.

The sky after the storm.


How Terri and I felt after we finished the ride.


Being the brave souls we are, Terri and I opted to take the route as it was written on the cue sheet. We wanted to do the scenic route which would be 174 km. It took us through the Qu' Appelle Valley and took 12 hours for the ride including our stops.

The landscape was very different, sculptured hills as you can see from the pictures. There was a very interesting lake known as Crooked Lake. It meandered its way through the valley for several kilometres. There were beautiful cottages all along the lake and we both decided that it would be a great place for a summer home. The downside of the ride was the incredible wind we encountered for the whole morning. It made it difficult to get up any speed and we knew that given distance we had we would be pretty bushed by the time we would get to camp. To end the ride through the valley we had a 2 km climb out. The good news was we had a tail wind for that and the next 20 km and next to no wind the rest of the trip.

The road took us through Esterhazy, the home to two potash mines. The product is mostly shipped overseas to India and China where it is used for fertilizer.

We crossed into Manitoba on this day and this meant a time change which put us into camp about 8pm instead of 7pm. We also had boil water advisory (the second so far) which put an immense strain on the galley crew(the same one that got it the last time) as water had to be boiled for everything including the next days drinking water. The camp store and local gas station had no bottled water for purchase. We also had a very short thunderstorm but fortunately we had our tents up before it hit.

Regina to Neudorf

Dawn(from Fredericton) Terri and I setting our for the day with our Tour du Canada look. Our white faces might look funny but we know we are well protected from the sun.
Beautiful canola fields and the their sweet smell accompanies us on our ride today.
Beautiful flax fields that from a distance look like a lake.
A texas gate not unlike the one I fell off my bike on when we were coming out of Lake Louise. Fortunately the bike fell on me and between me and the panniers, my bike came out of it with no damage.
Stephanie from Fredericton and John from Toronto took part in the face painting at the Motherwell Homestead.
I am on the upper porch of the Motherwell home.
Terri is relaxing on the veranda. Somehow the clothes and the hat don't match.
Mike (hidden by the branch), Terri, Terry (from Vancouver Island) and Dawn are strolling down lovers' lane.
Dawn, Terri and I on the porch. I couldn't figure out how to rotate the picture. Mike?? any ideas??
The French Connection, Renee Liese from Montreal and Sylvie from Quebec City met on this tour and ave become good friends in a short period of time.
Maybe when I get older I will have to switch to this bike.
Having dinner at the casino with Juanita from London and Renee Liese and Sylvie.


Our rest day in Regina was not unlike others. We did laundry, cleaned our bikes, got organized for the next series of rides. As I was on breakfast duty the next morning, I got the potatoes for hash browns ready and filled all the supplies for cereal, sugar etc. We also worked on the blog and it has been great to have access to the internet on our rest days.

After we got our work done we took the free shuttle to the casino. After spending a mere $10 on the machines we went to a bike store in the area and then had dinner in the casino. They had a great buffet. The shuttle took us back to camp with a stop at the drugstore.

Our next days ride was to Neudorf. You can see us with our Tour du Canada look. There is a special sunscreen with zinc that protects you more from skin cancer. It goes on white and really blocks everything. It makes it hard to wash your face at the end of the day but if it protects, then it is worth it.

It was a gorgeous sunny day and not too hot as we had a gentle breeze. The colors of the day were gorgeous, the canola fields, the flax fields as well as the many other grains we saw. Very little climbing today and I was glad to be able to get some speed. We enjoyed our break at Dairy Queen. You could tell it was Saturday as people travelled the secondary route we were on in a hurry to get to their cottage. It was the rudest traffic we have had thus far. We did appreciate the sweet smell of the canola fields. We were told it smells sweet in the field but when it is harvested it is a very unpleasant pungent odour.

We took a recommended side trip to the Motherwell Homesead, a recreation of the pioneer days in the prairies. As it was Saturday, there were lots of activities going on for the children. We opted for tea and a tour of the Motherwell home. He was born in Perth, Ontario and came to Saskatchewan as a young child. He was instrumental in organizing the farmers and he himself became Agriculture Minister.

The group dynamics are interesting to watch on a trip like this. You get to know people fairly quickly when you are put in close contact and with the contraints and demands placed on us each day. You learn habits and can usually predict who will be in camp first. There is some stress in the morning as the galley crew feeds the troups and most of the riders now want to be on the road earlier but the two staff have up till 8 am to get their breakfast. It makes it difficult for the galley crew especially if it is a long day. We are finding ways to be efficient in the packup to ward off some of that stress. Most of us agree the most stressful part of the tour is the galley duty. Coming in to camp at the end of the long day only to have to cook is not the greatest. The menu is fixed for us and sometimes changes are made that make it very trying. Also to get up extra early to start the porridge and whatever else is makes for a stressful start to the day. The crews work well together to put on the best meal they can.

Our camp for this night was in a small town that I am not sure will be there in ten years. There appeared to be very little activity on what seemed to be the only main street in town. Shops appeared closed for good. The arena we stayed at was very dated and I did not see anyone in the town except for who was on our trip.
The nice part was we got to use the showers and the kitchen for cleaning of our dishes.

Portage la Prairie to Beausejour

The Canada Geese were prevalent in the is park at Portage.
Renee Liese enjoying the easy ride this day.
St. Andrew's Dam which helps control the Red River. These gates swivel to let the ice go through.
Bill Nicolak, from Tiverton chose this for his clothes line in Beausejour.

Our trip from Portage la Prairie to Beausejour (164 km) provided us with the flattest terrain for the whole trip. It was especially nice as we had a tail wind for most of the trip and so the kilometres clicked by quickly.The trip was going so well we had half of our trip done by the time we had our lunch in Stonwall at a small diner. We opted to not go through Winnipeg as we felt we didn't have the time to do the city justice. We thought perhaps our chances of seeing anything new was gone as the landscape was pretty much the same. Due to the length of the day we also decided not to dee Lower Fort Garry but we were pleasantly surprised to see St. Andrew's Dam where the waters of the Red River are controlled as are the ice flows in winter. As you can see from the picture there are a series of gates that open and close. We also saw Duffy's Ditch (named after Premier Duffy)which is acts as a spillway for the Red River.

As we rode into camp Terri told the other cyclists she could smell Ontario in the air.

Our camp for the night was a mosquito haven and so we ate quickly and went to bed early. There was a fellow from the local paper taking photos. Our next day was to be over 170k so we needed the extra sleep.
A nice treat at the end of a long day was the box of chocolates that Mike sent me. Terri and I are making plans with Mike and Don to meet them on Manitoulin or Tobermory.