After being taken care of in Sudbury for a few days, sorting out some minor bicycle issues (thanks to "The Outside Store" in Sudbury" and overcomming an illness we were back on the road. In usual fashion we were late leaving and in usual fashion there was a strong head wind whistling down the Trans Canada Highway. The wind was in our faces so we had to stop and have an icecream at Lucky's on the way but we made it to our goal of Espanola the first night in time to figure out all the stores were closed. We settled on a feast of McDonald's, your basic recommended nutrition for two people biking all day.
That night we took in UFC 100 and were not dissapointed. As the night was winding down we were still in search of a spot of grass to camp on and the locals assured us that the cops in the town were all over people camping without permission so we were a little hesitant. Luckily Ryan McKee was curious as to what makes "us" cross canada bikers tick and engaged us in a conversation as well as offered an invitation to join him and a crew from the bar for a post fights beer. We asked him enthusiastically if he had a back yard suitable for a tent and recieved and emphatic "Yes!" on one condition, that he would be allowed to test drive the bicycle. I obliged so we joined him and the rest for the post bar party.
The next day we took off again and were again faced with a daunting head wind. It slowed us down quite a bit, our average speed dipped into the single digits and was quite a discouraging day. We decided to stop at about 7pm that day as we were exhausted and stumbled upon quite a nice picnic spot. We met some very nice Manitobians Al and Alana who were having a picnic on the rock when we arrived. We got to talking and found out they were headed west back to their home of Winnipeg. In a half serious manor we asked how much space they have in their big van to which they responded "lots" to which we said "Enough for our bikes?" to which they responded "Yes . .. seriously" to which we responded enthusiastically "Yes." So what was once a playful joke question turned into them piling our stuff in and transporting our discouraged and fatigued bodies along with them, on the short jaunt into Sault Ste. Marie. Having believed that we had a contact in the Sault I was furiously on the phone trying to contact my sister to help us out. She unfortunately told me that her friend had moved and that she no longer knew how to get a hold of her in the short time before we arrived. Luckily Al had previously offered to put us up in the hotel with himself and his daughter for the night. We were reluctant to accept such a generous offer but he assured us that it was a small gift, no strings attatched and we hesitantly and sheepishly obliged. And we slept like babies.
The next day we took off from the Sault along with Al and Alana just outside of the city where they dropped us off and continued on their journey. The day was full of great scenery and despite the cold wind blowing in off of Lake Superior we were able to stay warm by cycling up the many hills that we were faced with. We had a cup of tea with some ladies biking in the other direction, supplied generously by some friendly Californians in a motor home. Al and Alana arrived and wondered whether we'd hopped in with another driver but we assured them we hadn't. That night we were running short on food and water as Lake Superior Provincial Park had none of the above. We decided to settle down in Old Woman Bay where we met two fellows also heading in the opposite direction of us. We had a great fire and played some competitive games of crib (thanks to the Seale Grandparents for the board) and shared stories of our journey thus far.
The next day we took off and made our way into Wawa where we had a breakfast and stocked up on food in order to avoid the hunger we'd experienced the night before. The day was good and we fought our way for 120km before we settled in White River which is the proud birthplace of your childhood friend Winnie the Pooh!! Which was a huge thrill for me as he was hands down my favorite little cartoon character as a child. We camped behind the tourist bureau and met a morotcyclist named Frank and had a very pleasent sleep.
Right now we're in Marathon where we justr had supper and are going to continue through the fog for another couple hours before settling down for the night! Pics are on their way in Thunder Bay hopefully where again hopefullly our phone will work for the first time in a week!
Bye for now!!!
Skye and Ryan
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