<- Read the previous post: Hooray for Thunder Bay

Okay – I didn’t realize I would have to rotate the photos before I loaded them, so you’ll have to crank your head 90 degrees until (or if) I get a chance to fix them. Sorry bout that!
[Edit: Now fixed]

Day 32 June 8 Saturday

Thunder Bay to Rossport

We started to another sunny morning today. It was fairly cold overnight, but It quickly warmed up as the sun rose in the sky. It was the first morning in a very long time that I didn’t need leggings.

Distance markers to various cities – Thunder Bay International Hostel

We found a lovely lakeshore road to take for the first 16 kms, before we had to jump back onto the Trans Canada.

Today was the day we had been waiting for. It was sunny all day, and we had our first taste of a tail wind in 3 weeks. It was light, and more of a cross-breeze, and we were more than happy to take it! It made the cycling quicker and easier than we had anticipated.

We met an interesting young man when we stopped for lunch.

Shawn

Shawn is walking from Thunder Bay to St. John’s NL. He said he was inspired by an article on some women elders who were walking around the Great Lakes to raise awareness about water conservation. He also was intrigued by Jean Beliveau, a man from Quebec who walked around the world over an 11 year period. He joined us for lunch, as he said one of his goals was to accept any hospitality that was given to him by strangers.

We arrived very early to our RV stop near Nipigon because of the great conditions, and we knew we had long days coming up, so we decided to press forward, and take our chances finding another RV park. We stopped at a Timmy’s for some sustenance (one frozen lemonade for me now, one for the freezer to have at the end of the day!), and then continued onward.

One of the key features of this area was the beautiful red rock. Not only was it surrounding the highway, but also gave the lake rocks on the beaches a pink hue. And still the only wildlife for me (if you can call it that) was a dead moose on the side of the road.

Herman and Ben

We met up with Herman and Ben, who drive a FedEx truck back and forth from Winnipeg to Toronto twice per week. As we spoke about mental health issues, Herman shared a heartbreaking story of his neighbor who lost both a daughter and a son to suicide.

It really is an epidemic.

We looked and looked, but didn’t come across a campground until Rainbow Falls Provincial Park, after Rossport. This made it our longest day – 178 kms, with a bunch of longer hills right near the end of the ride after about 140 kms. We didn’t get into camp until around 6:30 pm. It still wasn’t as hard as the Hope-Princeton day, because although some of the hills were steep, they weren’t near as endless.

We ate late, almost 7:00, and were really happy to have the chili that Terry had made on our day off in Thunder Bay. We had it frozen in case of a long day, and this definitely qualified. I scrambled to get a blog up, as I didn’t expect to have such a long day, and then deservedly hit the hay.

See Al’s photos from day 32

Day 33 June 9 Sunday

Rossport to Ney Provincial Campground

Today was a very eventful day. Weather was again great, minimal headwind, but it wasn’t the elements that got us today.

Now that’s a flat!

Right about lunchtime, we stopped at the RV as it was pulled over at the side of the road for a rest break. I heard the familiar hissing sound of a tire going flat, but this time it wasn’t a bike tire. It was one of the inside tires on the RV’s double axle. And with my hand I could feel something about the size of my thumb impaled into the tread of the tire. After unsuccessfully trying to get cell coverage to our RV rental company, we asked a helpful trucker what he suggested. We ended up driving slowly, at about 60 km/hr, until we got to a place with phone service. After investigating several options, which were limited because it was a Sunday, we lucked out that Terry had RV coverage with AMA.

To the rescue!

So someone came from Nipigon, over 2 hours away, to change the tire and put on our spare. We will take in the tire tomorrow to be fixed in Marathon.  We had a good conversation with Naomi, the mechanic’s girlfriend, and Elaine and her family, who were visiting from Winnipeg and were in our campground.

We had an early dinner at Ney’s Lunch, who stayed open until 6:00 pm for us, and had burgers which was the main staple of the menu. We met Danilita from the west coast, who had a brother who died of suicide 2 years ago. He had suffered from anxiety disorder since he was young, and had managed to work at a profession for many years before the breakdown of his marriage triggered a deep depression and he ended his life. I was glad to hear that her family could speak openly about it and support each other – that makes such a huge difference in the healing process.

And I finally saw my first live moose today, on the shoulder of the road. Before I could get a picture, he was scared away by a semi (luckily for him) and headed back to the bush.

We took an after-dinner walk along Lake Superior, to enjoy the beautiful views. To quote Forrest Gump, it was “hard to tell where heaven ended and earth began”. We’re gearing up for tomorrow, as the forecast says there is a chance of rain…….

See more photos from day 33

Read the next post: Attack of the Killer Flies ->

<- Read the previous post: Rocks and Trees and Trees and Rocks and Water

Hi all, for the sake of getting this blog out, I am foregoing the photos until I get time to post them, hopefully in a few days. This will be a bit disjointed, but I will try to get my writeups back to normal as soon as I can catch up. Life is busy on the road.

Many of you have been sending us congratulations on our efforts to date, but we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the Hillary’s Ride committee, who put in tons of work before we left and continue to today. Before the trip they were fundraising, arranaging concerts and other logistics, contacting charities, getting sponsorship, and organizing everything needed to be ready for launch.  They are still busy meeting, contacting media, updating the website, watching the budget, and the list goes on and on. Many of them are members of Bill’s family and long time friends. We’re here because of their hard work. I’d like to recognize all of them:

Betty jo Werthmann, Katie Chapman, Peter Chapman, Linda Werthmann, Heather Hanson, Bill and Sharon Taylor, Randy Zutter, Donna Wiznura, Cheryl Ann Orr, Rosalie Gelderman, Terry Heisler.

There are also many, many other volunteers who have helped with our fundraisers and concerts including Edmonton and Calgary, musicians who have donated their time and talents, media folks who have lent their support, businesses who have donated money and gifts in kind.  I couldn’t begin to list them all, and I know I would forget some due to the sheer volume. Please know that your efforts have made this project happen, and we love and appreciate each and every one of you.

Day 28 June 4 Tuesday

Dryden to Ignace

Our morning started cloudy today, but it wasn’t looking like rain, so we were pleased. We were camped just west of Dryden, so as we drove through town, we stopped to see their suspension bridge. The river was really raging, I wonder if it is only like this in spring.

We met 2 guys from France who were doing the cross-Canada trip at a neck-breaking speed, about 160-200 kms a day. They were plagued with flats (about 12), and we gave them a spare tube as they had run out.  To be honest, they weren’t very friendly or talkative, so they went on their way with much conversation.

Of note today:

We all met for lunch today – our 4, Derick, and Brian and Bob (now affectionately known as Brob). Because we have the RV, and can carry food, we are becoming the hosts of group get togethers and meals. It is really nice to be able to get to know our fellow cyclists better.

We ran across a lot of bridge construction, and several trucks with arms for wind generators – you don’t see that every day.

When we got into Ignace, we all stopped for ice cream, and met 3 sisters heading from Edmonton to Moncton – Janice, Donna and Valerie and their dog Ruby.  The one sister was moving back home, and the other two were picking her up. It was unusual to see a vehicle with Alberta plates.

Brian and Bob joined us for a fish dinner at the RV, Al went for an inaugural swim in the first campsite lake with a dock, and Kaitlyn and Emily joined us for hot chocolate and cookies when they arrived later in the evening.

See some of Al’s photos from day 28

Day 29 June 5 Wednesday

Ignace to Upsala

I’d like to report that the day was all bright and rosy for me, but I would be doing a disservice if I painted this journey as only upbeat and fun, because as with life in general, “the sun can’t shine every day”.

I woke up tired, and not feeling like getting on my bike.  Although it was a beautiful morning, it was breezy yet again, and it was coming out of the east. After more than three weeks of headwind, ranging from a steady breeze to a brick wall, I had just about had it. My positive outlook was wearing a bit thin, and I was feeling grumpy and sorry for myself.

My very caring and wise husband gave me a little statuette before he left for home from Lethbridge. It was Ganesha, who is a Hindu/Yoga deity with an elephant’s head, and is the “remover of obstacles”. I thought of him while I was slogging away against the wind, asking the universe to help me remove this obstacle. Not the wind, but my resistance to it. The Buddhists believe that the root cause of all human suffering is attachment – to a person, a thing, an idea, an expectation. I was getting pretty attached to the idea of a tailwind, and I was starting to feel weak and a bit defeated. And when you are out on the road day after day with hours to think, it is easy to sink into your thoughts and let the darker ones bring you down.

I was also disheartened a bit with the response, or lack of one, we had been getting recently from people we talked to. They were friendly and supportive, but seemed to want to talk more about the bike ride than hear about the cause. I had been surprised and encouraged at how open the mental health discussions had been at the beginning of the trip, but it seemed now that maybe the taboo or the shame was still strong, and that I was being naïve thinking things were changing. I started questioning whether it was I who had changed my approach to the conversations, or if it was because we were more off the beaten path. On and on the doubts went, and I felt like I wasn’t doing enough.

We had decided to do 20 kms (10 kms out and back) at the end of the day, to make up some extra distance so we didn’t have a really long day the following day. Something got into me, and I felt like I needed to prove to myself (and the wind) that I was not going to give in to this “victim” feeling. Frustration is a remarkably good energy source, and I hammered it for the 10 kms. I still had pent up “venom” in me, so I continued on for another  5 km, just to burn it off.

Once I turned around, and had the tailwind behind me, I was flying at almost 40 km/h without even breaking a sweat. It dawned on me how hard I had been working for days, and that none of this had been coming easily for us, and all of a sudden I was just so aware of what we had accomplished over these last few weeks. I also realized that not everyone was going to open up, but maybe we had planted some seeds of acceptance and understanding. The doubt melted away, and I got back to the campsite renewed and feeling stronger. It was just what the doctor had ordered.

Of course this was just my experience for the day. We all have our own personal struggles and demons, and I can only imagine what Bill, Terry and Al face inside on a daily basis. I think we are all learning more and more to have compassion for each other and our inner world. This is a journey on so many different levels.

Everyone had moose sightings today except me. I found my elephant instead.

See Al’s photos from Day 29

Day 30 June 6 Thursday

Upsala to Thunder Bay

We woke up to mist on the lake, it was so still and peaceful by the water, early in the morning.

More animal sightings today – moose, badgers, a big turtle, even a black bear in the distance. I have still not seen any of these. Maybe I should lift my head up from the road a bit more often……

And we passed the point where all streams now flow to the Atlantic – so we must be half way to the end, right?

We met another cross country cyclist, this time heading west from Michigan to Seattle.  Aaron said his friends all told him he was going the wrong way, but he has ended up having the wind on his side (or should I say his back), so who is laughing now? We are finding an entire bicyclist community that tours across the country, and I feel like I am part of some well hidden secret club. At any given time there are people on great adventures all around us, and we don’t have a clue. Makes you look at strangers differently, wondering what their stories and journeys are.

We had a climb up to the KOA campground we were staying at, but at the top was treated to our first amazing view of the vast Lake Superior, and the “Sleeping Giant”, a peninsula that looks like, well, just that.

We decided to rent a minivan for our day off, as we are trying to save gas and mileage costs on the RV. Bill rode his bike to Enterprise to pick up the van, and then we all dropped off our bikes off at Rollin’ Thunder bike shop, for another safety check up. Thanks to Dan for his expertise and time – all gratis!!

We went to Boston Pizza again for dinner. We like it because it has a diverse menu, for all our different tastes. And the management again gave us a discount – thank you BP Thunder Bay! After dinner, we took the scenic route home along the lakeshore, and stopped at the cascades, backlit by the setting sun. Across the road, there was some remote car racing going on – perfect after dinner free entertainment. Wow, can those things go.

See Al’s photos from day 30

Day 31 June 7 Friday

Day off in Thunder Bay

I think we were all really glad to have a break. After a morning of laundry, we all piled into the minivan to be actual tourists. We left finding a restaurant for breakfast a little late, thinking we would find one in Thunder Bay quite easily. But not so. I was ready to gnaw on someone’s arm, as was everyone else, so we stopped to ask a local the best place to go. She recommended Tiffany’s just down the street – and then of course we were all singing “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” to take our minds off our hunger, while Bill found it on the GPS and started heading there. Turns out Tiffany’s was closed down, so we went to Tina’s instead. It was not just down the street, so by the time we got there we were about ready to go in the back and take the cook hostage. It ended up being worth the wait because it was really good.

We then headed to Kakadeka Falls, about 20 mins out of town. Impressive falls, met up with Kaitlyn and Emily and the friends they were staying with. The sun was bright, it was a great day for touring.

Then massages was in order, and we all got in at 2:00 to see different therapists. Then groceries.  On the way home, we stopped at a monument that is very meaningful for all of us – the Terry Fox Lookout. It is the area where he ended his Marathon of Hope due to return of his cancer. We all reflected on his courage and how he inspired his fellow Canadians, including all of us, to challenge personal limits and be of service. There we met another trio of cyclists making their way across Canada – 3 gals from Victoria. How’s this for an unbelievable coincidence… they were cycling for Need2, the charity in Victoria who put on our wonderful kick-off concert.  They had left on April 27^th, and it was just by luck (or divine luck) that they met up with us at that time.

We got home later than planned, so had to hurry back to the car rental place. We were going to have them drop us off at the bike shop, so we could pick up our trusty steeds and cycle back home. I took a chance and asked our driver Mallory if she would let us load our bikes and drive us back to the RV site. I really didn’t want to ride on my day off, and get all sweaty again, and get home later for our BBQ dinner. She was happy to, which was wonderful as we had a great conversation with her about mental health issues – she is taking psychology at university, and emphasized how important it is to go out to the schools to talk about these issues with students. This will help increase understanding, and also help peers recognize signs of depression or other illnesses in their classmates and friends, so they can help rather than ostracize others for behaving differently.

We had a great barbecue of hamburgers and hot dogs (thanks for doing the flippin’ Brian) back at the RV, and finished in time for Bill to do his phone interview with Andy Donnelly on CKUA. He had been trying to do it for 5 weeks now, so we were happy when the planets lined up and cell phone reception cooperated to make it happen. We all crowded around the laptop to listen to the Celtic Show stream, as Bill walked in a nearby field as he chatted with Andy.

So, another rest day come and gone quickly. Onto the next leg of our journey.

See Al’s photos from day 31

Read the next post: The Long and the Flat of it ->

<- Read the previous post: On the cusp of Ontario and June

Day 26 June 2 Sunday

Falcon Lake to Kenora

Finally – a genuine sunny day – all day! The peasants rejoiced – Hazzah!! It was so energizing to get up and see sunshine this morning, after almost forgetting what it felt like. There was a frost warning last night, so it was pretty cool, about 3C, but the brightness overrode any thoughts of that.

Poplar “snow”

We thought we saw snow or frost on the side of the road, but it was just poplar fuzz. It is so heavy, it looked like it was snowing last night – really quite stunning as the sun was setting.

Poplar “frost”

Al alerted us that he found a tick crawling on his leg last night just before bed. He chased him around and squished him with the back of a spoon. He saved it to show us, they are bigger and more plentiful than back home. He then found another one on his head early this morning, which fell off luckily, and which he was also able to track down. This has earned him a new nickname – “Tick Magnet”. I’ve been checking myself at every shower, and get itchy every time I think about it. So far, so good!

We crossed the border into Ontario quite early – four provinces down, and the prairies are behind us. The end of the prairies became evident very quickly, as rolling hills started almost immediately. At least they aren’t the monster climbs that go on forever like in BC. Well, not yet, but that is coming. No use looking ahead at this point. One of my goals for this trip is to focus on the present and experience it fully, whether comfortable or not. It is a challenge sometimes.

I was so looking forward to seeing this area, and it has not disappointed me. There are lakes everywhere, and I mean clean, clear lakes with islands, surrounded by cottages – not the ponds we have back home in Alberta. It is incredibly rugged and rocky, and I’m sure it’s what a lot of visitors imagine when they think of Canada. I don’t know if it’s just my sunglasses, as I actually do have rose-coloured glasses, but all the colours are so vibrant – the green forests, the deep blue-black lakes, the infinite azure sky. It’s a delight for all the senses, as I breathe in cool air, smell the moisture, and listen to the birds and the wind.

Shaw interview

Bob and Brian

Today was supposed to be a very short day, about 60 kms, so we decided to go some extra clicks to shorten our day into Dryden, which would have been about 138 kms. We took the bypass route, Hwy 17A, to go north around Kenora, then met up with Hwy 17 again and back-tracked west into Kenora and our RV site. It was a bit of a scramble as we had a filmed interview with the local Shaw station booked for 3:30 pm, and we had no idea what the bypass route would be like. It was hilly, but we still made it in plenty of time. And we were very happy to run across Bob and Brian again, as they were staying in the same campground with us.

The six of us had dinner out on the patio of an Italian restaurant called Borrelli’s, which recently moved to a primo location by the lake. They gave us a discount, as many of the restaurants have along the way. Business owners are certainly generous, and support their communities in ways that many of us will never know. I had mussels, and they were delicious. I know it’s crazy to have ocean seafood in the middle of the forest, but I just couldn’t wait until the Maritimes.

After dinner, we had a long walk back to the campground, but not without stopping at the local ice cream shop. That is, after accosting a couple in a van who were enjoying their cones and asking them where they got them. It was great to talk with Bob and Brian, who are really nice guys, and who could commiserate with us about the wind and rain battles of the prairies.

Pelicans, not geese

And we were all surprised to see a flock of pelicans fly over in perfect “V” formation. We could definitely take drafting lessons from them!

Kenora is a cool little city, if you ever get the chance I recommend a visit. It has lots of old historic buildings, and many of the downtown buildings have impressive murals outlining the history of settlers and aboriginals from the area. There are also lots of unique, renovated homes. Another town added to my “must return” list.

I was pretty exhausted when we got back, my legs felt like they got a double work out. I hit the bed hard.

See more photos from day 26

Day 27 June 3 Monday

Kenora to Dryden

We were treated to another beautiful day today. I don’t want to jinx anything, but I hope it’s a trend. Because we did the extra miles yesterday, we were able to shuttle out of town in the RV to make our day a bit shorter. We passed our buddies Bob, Brian and Derick on the way out. They head out even earlier then we do, they are all real troopers and very strong.

Bill, Sue and Al in a giant Adirondack chair

I felt like I was dragging my butt all morning, and then discovered I actually was dragging my butt – I had a slow leak in my back tire. Drat! The guys were sent ahead while I changed my flat. It was another piece of wire from a radial tire, just like my first flat. It seems pretty ironic to me that the remnants of one tire are the cause of flats in another tire. I think some inventive cyclist should create a truck tire that doesn’t shed wire, and we will all salute you. And Cam, if you are reading this, thank you thank you for figuring out the best tires for this trip, ones I can easily change without breaking tire irons and my fingers.

You wouldn’t believe the amount of tools, bungee cords, and other paraphernalia we see on the side of the road. We could start a hardware store if we picked up everything we saw. Hmmmm…. possible retirement scheme? I digress. I am very pleased to report that the shoulders have been mighty fine since we got into Ontario. Many of the roads look newly paved, hopefully that continues as we move eastward.

We got to our RV site in good time, even with the hills and the wind.

Look how high the water levels are – no drought here

Yes, we still don’t have that elusive tailwind we’ve all been waiting for. Believe me, this winter I will not shed a tear when the weather person blames a cold snap in the east on an Alberta Clipper. Payback time!

Bill had a phone interview with the local radio station in Dryden, we got groceries, and had what has been rare up to this point – an outdoor barbeque, complete with pork chops, corn on the cob and roasted potatoes, courtesy of Bill. He showed us a very cool way to cook corn so that the husks and the silk come off easily at the end. Bill is just full of lots of tricks he’s picked up over time. Google “corn with husk in microwave” if you want to learn the technique.

As I write this blog, I am sitting outside with my laptop, watching the pink sunset and listening to the frogs in the distance. Another great day to be alive is coming to an end. And another one to come tomorrow. Sometimes I can’t believe how fortunate I am.

More photos from day 27

Read the next post: Hooray for Thunder Bay ->