Days 44 and 45

Wawa -> Montreal River 106km

We left the gorgeous campground of Wawa with one less in our crew. Keston's ankle was acting up again so he was planning on hitching to the Soo and meeting us there. We were making pretty good time along the way. It was a little wet and cold so we didn't feel like stopping anywhere for long. We ate lunch under a park map which provided a little shelter from the elements but not unfortunately the bugs. Ontario is pretty bad for black flies, they are much more persistent then mosquitoes and there bites last a lot longer :( After lunch we ran into some bike issues...luckily for me not with my bike, unfortunatley for Malkolm it was his. We spent about 2 hours total on the side of the highway trying to fix his chain. Two bent rings were causing the issue. Let's just say that now we are a lot more experienced with taking apart and putting back together a bike chain - they say practice makes perfect - we should be nearly there! We spent the night at the mouth of the Montreal River in a campground with showers! Yay showers! They have been far and few between on this leg of the trip and I was extremely happy to be clean again!

Montreal River -> Sault Ste. Marie 125km

As we packed it drizzled. As we rode it drizzled. As we ate lunch it drizzled. And so goes the story... luckily the clouds finally cleared as we were coming down into the Soo. Malkolm's chain had managed to pull through - although he was short a few gears and the only misfortune he experienced was a flat.

The highway was substantially flatter which was a nice change from all of the hills. It was clear we were nearing a city as traffic increased dramatically that day as did the cottages dotting the lakeshore. We arrived shortly before 5 and headed for the bike shop Velorution to meet Kesten and our host Andre, the shop owner. Back at his place we ate a huge dinner with homemade raspberry flan for dessert! A great end to a long day!

Today we have a rest day here in Sault Ste. Marie. I indulged and slept in till 9 this morning. Woke up just in time to enjoy crepes and french toast before heading out into the rain. We had a 10:30am coffee date with local MP Tony Martin, the first MP meeting for myself and only the 3rd or 4th for our group over all. The Soonews was there to cover the story and we had a good chat - we look forward to seeing Tony again in Ottawa, hopefully with a bike!

After our coffee date we headed back over to Velorution for a quick tune up on our bikes, or not so quick in the case of Malkolm who found out he had more problems then expected! My brakes are good and I gained a gear I didn't know I was missing so I am a happy camper! Thanks Andre and the guys at the shop for the helping hands!

For those of you trivia buffs our there I have put together a little photo trivia game on facebook so feel free to check it out and leave your guesses behind!
http://www.facebook.com/inbox/?ref=mb#/album.php?aid=2168111&id=120401629&ref=mf