First day on the road without Nadia, and we were also missing Kesten as his ankle was still acting up. We met with a couple local environmentalists and MP Bruce Hyer's assistant Andy for breakfast at the famous finnish restaurant Hoito. Three plate sized pancakes and mounds of scrambled eggs filled our bellies and when Nod stepped onto the scale to do her official weigh-out she was the exact same as when we left Victoria. I'm sure it's more muscle and less fat right?
We said goodbyes outside the restaurant and then Malkolm and I were off. We managed to stay off highways for the first 25km which was nice. Back on the trans we came upon a couple other touring cyclists, they too had left Vancouver and were heading east. The highways wasn't too bad for the most part and we made pretty good time getting into Nipigon. So good in fact that when we arrived our host for the night was not yet expecting us and wasn't at home. She found us sitting outside the convenience store having a snack on her way back from blueberry picking.
Thankyou Bonnie for a deliscious dinner fresh from the garden and for sharing your tasty wild blueberries with us! We were well fueled for the next day!
Nipigon -> Rossport 80km???
Third odometer bit the dust that morning so our distance is a rough guess. It lasted 2,576 km which i
s about 2500 km more then the last one so I guess I shouldn't complain!
We set off under sunny skies with beautiful views of the lake to the south as we climbed and descended hill upon hill. We coasted into Rossport around 2pm, perfect timing for a second lunch! We had heard great things about the Serendipity Cafe so that's where we headed to wait for Kesten as he had a ride which would bring him to Rossport that afternoon. We sat on the patio and enjoyed veggie burgers and spanokopita.
Once we had met up with Kesten we got back on the road to find a place to camp for the night. It was to be my first experience "roughing it" We ditched off road and set up camp on some rocks on the lakeshore. Probably the most beautiful campsite of the trip! Sure it lacked facilities but made up with it view! I was slightly nervous about wild animals, specifically bears, as we had been warned not to wild camp but I woke up still in one piece the next day!
Rossport -> Marathon 105km??
Left camp early that morning as we were supposed to be in Schreiber (next town on the hwy) by 9am according to a press release which had been sent out from Thunder Bay. We had breakfast on the side of the highway in Schreiber on the lookout for reporters. None were to be seen but that could be as much our fault anyways since we were running about 20 minutes behind schedule! Kesten decided to hitch from there so it was just Malkolm and I again.
Very hilly highway with not great shoulders wasn't the best day for riding especially not coupled with a headwind! We made it into Marathon about 5pm and hit the grocery store to load up. We seem to always make the mistake of shopping when we are hungry! I also went to Canadian Tire in search of a new odometer! We headed out towards the campsite and were just setting up when Kesten rolled up. Apparently hitchhiking takes just as long as cycling if not more so! That night we also met in the campground another cross-country cyclist who we had been catching glimpses of for the past few days. He has since joined the crew so now it really is just me and the boys!
Marathon -> White River 100km
We left town and couldn't see more then 20ft ahead of us the fog was sooooooo thick! Luckily that didn't last too long and before we knew it we were being wisked along by a delightful tail wind! The road was a lot flatter so we made good time, except for one flat tire (kesten's) that is. When we got into town we found out that there was free camping behind one of the motels! Yay! Also free showers at the truck stop next door. Hooray for showers! I hadn't had a real one since Nipigon!
White River - Wawa 107km
Posed
with Winnie this morning before we left town. White River is where Winnie-the-Pooh first came into being (little known fact of the day). Again flatter road so we made really good time. Had lunch on the side of a small lake. Very picturesque but very stinky, must be something in the water! Got into Wawa about 3pm and am now at the library getting in some good internet time! We are heading a little south of here to stay with some friends of our host Darrell (thunder bay) they have an adventure kyaking company on lake superior and have offered to let us camp there! Internet time is running out so that's it for now...
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