Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Monday, September 24, 2012
9/21/12 Montreal River Harbour, ON to Sault Ste. Marie, MI USA
Our final day, there's light at the end of the tunnel. The rain did stop, we had our final breakfast of bagels that we got back in Minnesota, finish off the peanut butter, freeze dried granola, freeze dried scrambled eggs, oatmeal, hot chocolate and an orange. We've been carrying all this food for 24 days and finally used some of it the last few days. We packed a couple of sandwiches each, used up the Gorp, took just what we need for the day, packed up the Bobs which we left at the office and headed out. After climbing the first hill, most of the day was "flat" as we went around Pancake Bay then Batchawana Bay. Getting closer to the Soo there's more "resorts", small communities and restaurants. There's one rest stop on this day at a tourist trap about half way. By the time we left there it was starting to rain. It rained on and off most of the afternoon. Throughout all of Canada probably the most common road sign is moose danger at night. Approaching the "mile hill" there's a big moose sign. We didn't see any the whole trip but I'm sure they're out at night. We made it up the big hill, slow but sure. If I had my Bob I may have had to walk part of it. There is one part that is pretty steep. Getting to the international bridge is easy, just follow the signs. Once on the bridge I wanted to shift my front derailleur and wouldn't you know it, it wouldn't shift. I had to laugh because our very first quarter mile out 24 days ago Tom's wouldn't shift. I wasn't worried because I could still ride over the bridge or walk if necessary. We were at US Customs at 3pm and there wasn't much of a line. We waited just like the cars, good thing it wasn't raining now. The customs officer didn't know how to code bikes so he had to call, It's funny, here we are with the bare minimum and took longer than a car to get cleared. The toll for a bike is $1.50/bike. We rode to the Holiday Inn Express to pick up the car. Now the long haul of the day... drive back 80 miles to get the trailers, going through customs two more times and then to home. At 8pm we left the US Customs again and headed south on I-75, had dinner in Mackinaw City at the Keyhole Bar and Grill then home.
What a great trip. Lots of memories and good thing I have a selective memory, forget the bad situations and remember the good times.
9/20/12 Wawa to Montreal River Harbour, ON
I heard the rain all night and thought maybe we should take the ride to the Soo. We discussed the situation, so close to the finish, would we ever finish at a later date, the road isn't too hilly, the weather is warmer, in the 50's, wind in our face, no Bobs, rain all day. We decided to go for it and left the Bobs with Tom and Tim and jumped on our bike. Riding we were warm enough but got cold every time we stopped. A couple hours out the guys drove by and waved. Good thing they didn't stop because I would have jumped in and called it a day. The hills weren't bad but the rain made it a miserable day and somewhat dangerous. This day was riding through Lake Superior Provincial Park and with the bad weather we didn't even want to stop and enjoy the views. We met a guy riding west towing a trailer with his cat in it. He's from Montreal, lost his job and is headed to Winnipeg to hopefully find a job in a poultry processing plant. All he had was a trailer that didn't have much in it other than his cat and a tent on a rack on the back of his bike. He looked down on his luck. There was a sign on the back of his trailer asking for food and/or money. After talking to him I put all my cares to the side and felt like a million wet dollars. We stopped at the Agawa Visitor Center to see how much farther we had. This is where we were originally going to camp. Good thing we didn't because it was cold and rainy and nothing would dry out. Much to our surprise, Montreal River Harbour was another 12 miles east, so our short day came to 64 miles. The good news is now we can finish the trip tomorrow with only 80 miles to go, otherwise we were going to split it into two 45 mile days.
We arrived at the Twilight Resort on the Montreal River looking like drown rats. Our Bobs were waiting for us. This "resort" isn't the kind of resort I'm used to. It's rustic cabins, no TV or internet and old furniture. But like all the other places we stayed, he was full that night. There's also a campground there but the bath facilities are pretty bare, no heat in the building. Good thing we didn't camp there. Dan's the owner for 26 years and has it up for sale for 2 years now. In the winter he goes to the Soo and does tax returns. We stayed here because he also has a restaurant, Taters. There used to be a restaurant across the river but it closed 4 years ago. He started losing business then because guests didn't have a place to eat, so he opened his little diner. It's not much but did the job. This time of year not only does he run the office, he cooks and cleans. In the summer he has hired help, same as most of the places. We turned up the heat in the cabin to dry our clothes, I even had my hairdryer going. Everything did dry out by the morning. We made the decision to leave our Bobs here while we ride the 80 miles on our final day. After talking to so many different people over the past week, we knew we had two final hills to climb, one out of here and the "mile long" hill before the Soo. That hill is steep, but once you're up there, it's all downhill to the finish.
We arrived at the Twilight Resort on the Montreal River looking like drown rats. Our Bobs were waiting for us. This "resort" isn't the kind of resort I'm used to. It's rustic cabins, no TV or internet and old furniture. But like all the other places we stayed, he was full that night. There's also a campground there but the bath facilities are pretty bare, no heat in the building. Good thing we didn't camp there. Dan's the owner for 26 years and has it up for sale for 2 years now. In the winter he goes to the Soo and does tax returns. We stayed here because he also has a restaurant, Taters. There used to be a restaurant across the river but it closed 4 years ago. He started losing business then because guests didn't have a place to eat, so he opened his little diner. It's not much but did the job. This time of year not only does he run the office, he cooks and cleans. In the summer he has hired help, same as most of the places. We turned up the heat in the cabin to dry our clothes, I even had my hairdryer going. Everything did dry out by the morning. We made the decision to leave our Bobs here while we ride the 80 miles on our final day. After talking to so many different people over the past week, we knew we had two final hills to climb, one out of here and the "mile long" hill before the Soo. That hill is steep, but once you're up there, it's all downhill to the finish.
9/19/12 White River to Wawa, ON
For this 57 mile day, we started with the sun shining and 35 degrees, wind in our face still. It was an easy ride but the wind is getting old. We thought for sure the Canadian part would be wind at our backs. Unlike hills that go up and down, the wind blows whatever is pleases. And, don't forget about the rain. Even though I had booties on, my feet were cold and wet. I had full fingered gloves and riding my hands were warm but every stop they got cold again. Next time I'm wearing some waterproof gloves. We're upgrading our lunches to surf-n-turf. Tuna fish and Spam, sounds good, eh? There we were, eating our surf-n-turf on the veranda(under the overhang) of the now closed, for sale, decrepit Lakewood Motel overlooking Catfish Lake in the middle of nowhere. Sounds great, wish you all were here. We have to make fun of the situation. In fact, lots of motels are like this.
We arrived at the High Falls Cabins just outside of Wawa right off the highway. The owners, Anna and Zenon are from Poland and have been in Canada for 23 years, 5 years running the cabins. Absolutely wonderful people. Like most of these cabins, they're seasonal and in the winter the owners take other jobs or travel. Anna and Zenon travel all over the world. After getting cleaned up and things drying, Zenon drove us to the Best Northern Lodge down the road a mile for dinner. We had a nice Polish dinner, talked to several of the other diners there and then he picked us up. It's so fun to be able to strike up a conversation with anyone. One man told us that north of Wawa is the badlands and diamonds have been found in the rocks. DeBeers has since bought that property. These lodges/cabins have guests that keep coming back for years. This is truly what we came to experience on this trip.
The weather is scheduled to be wet for the next few days. Tom asked Anna and Zenon if they had any guests that were going east and could take our Bobs to the next stop. Our original plan was to camp at Agawa Campground but with the weather Tom found the Twilight Resort at Montreal River Harbour just east of there right off the road. Sure enough they had a couple of guys, Tom and Tim, that were up canoeing and would be willing to help out. In fact, they could take us all, bikes, gear and us to the Soo if we wanted. Very tempting.
Surf -N-Turf for a gourmet lunch, yum.
We arrived at the High Falls Cabins just outside of Wawa right off the highway. The owners, Anna and Zenon are from Poland and have been in Canada for 23 years, 5 years running the cabins. Absolutely wonderful people. Like most of these cabins, they're seasonal and in the winter the owners take other jobs or travel. Anna and Zenon travel all over the world. After getting cleaned up and things drying, Zenon drove us to the Best Northern Lodge down the road a mile for dinner. We had a nice Polish dinner, talked to several of the other diners there and then he picked us up. It's so fun to be able to strike up a conversation with anyone. One man told us that north of Wawa is the badlands and diamonds have been found in the rocks. DeBeers has since bought that property. These lodges/cabins have guests that keep coming back for years. This is truly what we came to experience on this trip.
The weather is scheduled to be wet for the next few days. Tom asked Anna and Zenon if they had any guests that were going east and could take our Bobs to the next stop. Our original plan was to camp at Agawa Campground but with the weather Tom found the Twilight Resort at Montreal River Harbour just east of there right off the road. Sure enough they had a couple of guys, Tom and Tim, that were up canoeing and would be willing to help out. In fact, they could take us all, bikes, gear and us to the Soo if we wanted. Very tempting.
9/18/12 Marathon to White River, ON
We had big plans to leave the Travel Lodge early because rain was in the forecast but first we decided to make lodging arrangements for the next two nights. We had no idea lodging would fill up like it does. Every night every town seems full and this is after Labor Day. It must be packed during the summer. There aren't any big chain hotels like the US has. In fact, lots of these places, hotel, gas stations, restaurants don't want you to use their restrooms unless you're a customer. The lady at the front desk was very helpful and made several phone calls for us. We made reservations at Paws Cabins in White River and High Falls Cabins(Dave and Kristina's recommendation) in Wawa. At least we're set for now.
The weather started out cold but sunny, so far, so good. As the day went on, the rain and wind appeared. What would the trip be without our dreaded wind? The road was much flatter today, a welcome change. About half way, 28 miles or so, we pulled over at Gloria's motel to get off the road and eat our PBJ. The owner came out to chat with us, told us he's booked solid because it's half way between Toronto and Winnipeg. The truckers have to stop after 12 hours of driving. The other guests are the various contractors getting things ready for the mines and hunters. Bear hunting is a big thing up here. Like many of the hotels, he has a restaurant that people from Marathon, White River and Manitouwadge, to the north, come to. Food must be okay, we didn't try it.
By the time we got to White River, it was snow, sleet and hail all at once. Good thing we only had 100 yards or so to go to get to Paws Cabins. From the outside they don't look like much but the inside was very nice, 2 bedrooms, small but complete kitchen, dining table, TV and updated bathroom. Peggy, the owner, told us she and her husband are from the Soo but came to White River to work at the lumber mill 20 some years ago. The kids in town would finish high school and go right to the mills. When that closed down a while back the kids went off to college and the other employees had to get retrained to work at the mines. Now many of the men work in the oil sands and are gone for 20 days, then 10 days off, working 12 hour days. Not much of a life. She's running these cabins. After a hot shower and hanging our clothes up to dry inside, we walked "downtown" to the Rivers Cafe for a sandwich. Fortunately it rained while we were eating then cleared up for the walk back.
The weather started out cold but sunny, so far, so good. As the day went on, the rain and wind appeared. What would the trip be without our dreaded wind? The road was much flatter today, a welcome change. About half way, 28 miles or so, we pulled over at Gloria's motel to get off the road and eat our PBJ. The owner came out to chat with us, told us he's booked solid because it's half way between Toronto and Winnipeg. The truckers have to stop after 12 hours of driving. The other guests are the various contractors getting things ready for the mines and hunters. Bear hunting is a big thing up here. Like many of the hotels, he has a restaurant that people from Marathon, White River and Manitouwadge, to the north, come to. Food must be okay, we didn't try it.
By the time we got to White River, it was snow, sleet and hail all at once. Good thing we only had 100 yards or so to go to get to Paws Cabins. From the outside they don't look like much but the inside was very nice, 2 bedrooms, small but complete kitchen, dining table, TV and updated bathroom. Peggy, the owner, told us she and her husband are from the Soo but came to White River to work at the lumber mill 20 some years ago. The kids in town would finish high school and go right to the mills. When that closed down a while back the kids went off to college and the other employees had to get retrained to work at the mines. Now many of the men work in the oil sands and are gone for 20 days, then 10 days off, working 12 hour days. Not much of a life. She's running these cabins. After a hot shower and hanging our clothes up to dry inside, we walked "downtown" to the Rivers Cafe for a sandwich. Fortunately it rained while we were eating then cleared up for the walk back.
9/17/12 Terrace Bay to Marathon, ON
Again at breakfast we ask the locals about the road and hills. Sure enough, more hills today. Good thing it's only 48 miles. The rain had stopped by the time we left but it was cold. We bundled up but after the first hill we had to take off our raincoats. The wind was very strong, out of the east. We had to pedal downhill just to maintain 10-12mph. Dave and Kristina drove by taking pictures. The Jet Stream has dipped down right over us so now we're in for cooler wet weather.
We stayed at the Travel Lodge, getting one of the last rooms. There's new mines that will be opening so the mine companies bought 3 hotels to turn into bunk houses. These mines are copper, gold and palladium, used for catalytic converters. Again the town is very excited to have the mines. We went to the restaurant a mile west of town on the highway because we didn't want to ride down and back up hills 4 km to get into Marathon. Also down that road is Penn Lake Campground.
I talked to some guys and they said from Marathon to Wawa is relatively "flat", nothing like the cliffs we just did the last 2 days. It's pretty incredible all that we've done, from 2 wks ago in the 80s feeling like I was in the Caribbean, swimming in the lake to now, wearing my heavy clothes, actually thinking about my down jacket and hat. This is probably the hardest riding I've done, harder than the Big Ride which was a piece of cake now that I've lugged a trailer.
We stayed at the Travel Lodge, getting one of the last rooms. There's new mines that will be opening so the mine companies bought 3 hotels to turn into bunk houses. These mines are copper, gold and palladium, used for catalytic converters. Again the town is very excited to have the mines. We went to the restaurant a mile west of town on the highway because we didn't want to ride down and back up hills 4 km to get into Marathon. Also down that road is Penn Lake Campground.
I talked to some guys and they said from Marathon to Wawa is relatively "flat", nothing like the cliffs we just did the last 2 days. It's pretty incredible all that we've done, from 2 wks ago in the 80s feeling like I was in the Caribbean, swimming in the lake to now, wearing my heavy clothes, actually thinking about my down jacket and hat. This is probably the hardest riding I've done, harder than the Big Ride which was a piece of cake now that I've lugged a trailer.
9/16/12 Nipigon to Terrace Bay, ON
Breakfast was at the Esso gas station restaurant. Don't forget we're in Canada where they use the metric system, kilometers and Celcius. We became very good at converting the numbers. We talked to a man there who confirmed the two big hills we had coming. This area has cliffs that go right down to the lake so there's no getting around them, it's up and over. The longer hill was a good 2 miles and of course, the wind that was out of the west shifted to be out of the east, another headwind. Most of the trucks did turn off on highway 11 right at the start so the traffic wasn't bad. Strange thing about this highway, the shoulders range for nothing to 6 feet, they go from one size to another without any logical reasoning and it may be for only a few yards at a time. Go figure. One thing for sure, it's when there's a very narrow shoulder is when there's an oncoming and passing truck at the same time, and there we are. Scary. I rode up the hills at 4mph or less, but at least I didn't have to walk up. Coming downhill I have to be careful because going too fast my trailer starts to wobble and I feel like I'm losing control. Of course that's when a truck goes by too.
We stayed at the Norwood Motel, $70/room. We got one of the last rooms in town because the pulp mill is reopening and the contractors are taking the rooms. Actually an Indian(from India) company bought the mill and is going to make rayon there. The town is very happy about this but there isn't much to the town to begin with. Drying our clothes outside we met several other guests. Dave and Kristina were visiting family over in Minnesota. They had a pickup and towing a powerboat. They offered to take our gear to the Marathon if we wanted, but we didn't know what we might need riding during the day. Another couple was there to go to the Amesyth mines and find some stones. Everyone was so friendly and had a story to tell.
We stayed at the Norwood Motel, $70/room. We got one of the last rooms in town because the pulp mill is reopening and the contractors are taking the rooms. Actually an Indian(from India) company bought the mill and is going to make rayon there. The town is very happy about this but there isn't much to the town to begin with. Drying our clothes outside we met several other guests. Dave and Kristina were visiting family over in Minnesota. They had a pickup and towing a powerboat. They offered to take our gear to the Marathon if we wanted, but we didn't know what we might need riding during the day. Another couple was there to go to the Amesyth mines and find some stones. Everyone was so friendly and had a story to tell.
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