Playing Catchup

OK, it's now 9:44 PM and we have a 154Km ride ahead of us tomorrow and I will attempt to upload as much as I can ....

Day 29   
The day started well, with good roads and a return to the Canadian shield - terrain I love to cycle. 

Can you spot the two cyclists? 

 

It was not without its lighter moments, either.





Just past Kenora










I enjoyed lunch at the eponymous Nestor Falls

 We then set up camp at Caliper Lake Provincial Park  and discovered it was also a prolific mosquito hatchery .

 Dinner was hastily asembled by an intrepid cook crew, and many people adjourned to the lake where there was no bug problem at all!

The lake at dusk

Day  30
We climbed out of the shield through gently rolling terrain...

...that occasionally gave way to stretches reminiscent of the prairies.

Into Fort Frances, the heat intensified,

and the town was pretty much shut down, it being Sunday.  But you could tell we were back in civilization: there were now power lines on both sides of the  road. Then it was an ample  meander along Rainy Lake before heading back into the shield.

Wary after the previous day’s lakeside camping, we were delighted by Taylor Cove’s grand swimming and (more importantly) complete lack of mosquitoes.

A reflective moment at the lake.

Day 31
I set a record today: less than 1 km before the first photo opportunity.

Then it was back to the heat and hills.

 Collapsed in the shade outside Atikokan................

.....with more climbing yet to come

And at the end of the day: mosquitoes again in Quetico Park.

Swamp Monster!!

Days 32, 33
A long, hard ride into Thunder Bay, where there was a tornado advisory as the heat continued to build. Strangely, the weather broke that night with nary a sprinkle of rain. But we couldn’t complain: at Shabaqua we met a Japanese guy walking fropm Vancouver  to NYC. His English wasn’t that good, and no one  ever found out why he was atempting such a feat.
Along  the way we had the customary hills and rock,

 

a stop at the Atlantic/Arctic watershed,

and the requisite visit (for most of us) to Kakabeka Falls.

We later found out that  bicycles are apparently no longer allowed on some section of highway 11/17– but as it's the only road in the area, where is one supposed to go?
In town, I continued my record of seeing wildlife in urban settings – this time a doe and a fawn; there was also a bear advisory at Lakehead, where we were staying. Also staying with us were teams from the World Junior Baseball tournament, and some of us attended the Canada-Czech match which Canada won in the bottom of the ninth.
Several of us also accompanied Andy (from the UK) as he tracked down the house he grew up in until he was appproximately 18 months old; I then completed my tour of Fresh Air Experience stores (I have now visited them in Kelowna, Thunder Bay, and Ottawa)

and made the obligatory visit to the Hoito restaurant.

Note the Finnish blue shirt I happen to be wearing

Day 34

Today was a day of ups and downs, both literally and figuratively. It started with my not getting adequate sleep because the ball players had the day off and so had stayed up late the night before,  passing frequently (and loudly) by my open window. Then in the morning I awoke early (as I was on cook crew) only to discover that breakfast had been changed to a later time and no one had told me. But then I was off on a gorgeously sunny and cool morning,

Can you tell why they call this High Street?



 first to the Terry Fox memorial,














then to our first views of The Lake.

 Along the way the hills got bigger,

but we hit some construction and got to ride peacefully on new pavement for a long stretch, as traffic going in our direction was held back by a flagman . Alas, the day ended with having to ride a hilly, scarified tarmac for about 9 km to reach camp, with the allure of more of same waiting for us the next day.

Day 35
This was our hardest day yet, with long distance in hilly terrain accompanied by an uncharacteristic headwind that precluded going quickly even downhill. Fortunately, many stellar views abounded.

It started off cold enough (a reputed 8 degrees after the sun had already been up for a few hours, although it still hadn’t cleared the hills near our camp), and we set off into the Nipigon mist.

Luckily, the scarified road ended after only a few kms, and soon enough the lake started to present itself.

Sometimes we saw the lake from above

 

 Sometimes we were right next to it

Memory is a curious thing: I have no recollection of this part of my 1994 trip, save for some views of the lake, but it is indeed quite hilly, and the added headwind made for slow going. Further, most of the great views come on the descents but I was not about to sacrifice my hard-earned speed for a photo, and consequently you`ll just have to take my word for it that this is a scenic area.

 The two specks at the bottom of the hill are cyclists. Hard-working cyclists.

The conditions didn’t deter me from making a side trip to visit the Aguasabon Canyon, however, even though it involved  some extra backtracking (and climbing) - it came close to the end of the day. But we were all dismayed upon arrival at the entrance to Neys Provincial Park to discover we still had several kms of road to travel to reach the park gate. The reward, though,  was a gorgeous lake side campsite with a luxurious sandy beach.

 Day  36

Our happy crew, still intact at the half-way point of the tour

Another reward was knowing this day would be easy – at the official halfway point of the tour we were treated to a lunch set out by our ‘handlers’ (never mind that it came only 33km from camp and was scheduled to commence at 10:30 AM), complete with ice cream.

 There is no free lunch: you have to earn it

It was interesting just meandering along trying not to get to the lunch site too early. Then it was off into the heat with (at last) a tail wind.

Rock and roll, Tour du Canada style

Days 37,38
More of same (rocks, hills, pesky headwinds), except for a change in the foliage: recovering burn areas and fireweed, with some good riding marred by the last 15km straight into the headwind on a bumpy road.

 The morning start: our first view of receding hills (a favorite of mine)

One of many scenic lakes

White River, home of Winnie the Pooh (and some pretty cool winter temperatures)

Scrub pine and fireweed
But we are in Wawa at last, home of a Canadian icon

Comfortably ensconced in a (log) motel room on a rainy day off, how easy it is to remain in bed and flip through the channels using the remote. Our favorite show? The local forecast, of course!

And now, at 11:53 PM, I am fully caught up in my blog (and woefully behind in my sleep). Good night.