Blue Boat Home

After yesterday's marathon ride, I was glad to take it easy today.  I had brunch in Iron Bridge and planned to turn north at Bruce Mines and camp at Rydal Bank, but when I got to Bruce Mines around 4:00, an ominous thunderstorm was moving in.

I had another long, hot day as I tried to get as far as possible.

I met several other bicyclists along the way.  There was a young couple from Niagara Falls on their way to the west coast, pulling a heavy trailer.  I suggested they travel through the US instead for better roads, but they said they'd never get through customs... turned out they were selling hemp jewelry to pay for their trip!  They were sitting out the heat of the day... what a concept!  I should try that sometime.

This morning I went to Dynamic Planet, a museum of mining funded largely by INCO, hoping it would mention the environmental damage done by mining and the industry's efforts to lessen it.  On the way into Sudbury I had passed a sign demonstrating the success that's been made since 1979 in foresting some of INCO's slag piles.  The museum and mine tour didn't mention either the problems or the solutions, but it did teach me quite a lot about mining.

There was a brief rainshower this morning, and I expected it to return all day, but it never did.  I stopped at a restaurant for a second breakfast and was glad I did, since there were no more restaurants when I was ready for lunch.

The geology as far west as North Bay is beautifully folded gneiss, as in the Appalachians.  But just west of there, the hills disappear and you're on the Great Plains!  I saw a field of live soybeans today for the first time since October... I expect I'll see them all the rest of the way to the Twin Cities.

Turns out that storm last night was more severe than I thought, and I might have been wise to take more precautions.  Oh, well!

Today was cooler but so windy that I made very slow progress into Mattawa, where I parted ways with the Ottawa River and ran some errands.  I decided I couldn't make it all the way into North Bay as I had planned and stopped near Talon Lake.  The campground has no showers, but I scrubbed myself off in the lake.

I had a leisurely breakfast with Norma & Kit this morning and didn't hit the road until 11:00.  It was another hot day, with lots of steep hills to climb, and I ran out of water about an hour before reaching my destination, but all was well.

After dinner a humdinger of a thunderstorm went over: hail and very close lightning.  I thought I had chosen a campsite on high ground, but when I opened my door, I found a lake!  Fortunately the rain only lasted a few minutes, and I was able to move my tent to higher ground.

43.1 mi

I should have gone farther yesterday... as it was I had to ride 13 hours today, some 105 kilometers instead of my target 80.  And it was a really hot, humid day.  I went through 5 liters of water plus a liter of other drinks -- that's more than I drank in a day while hiking the Grand Canyon in the peak of the summer!  At least the roads were flat; I hear tomorrow I won't be so lucky in that regard.

I stopped for lunch (poutine!) and ate it outdoors so I could dry my camping gear, so that i wouldn't have to worry about it tonight.

I took my time leaving Leela's place this morning, waiting for rush hour to end.  I followed bike trails all the way out of the city and was able to stay off main highways most of the way to Fitzroy Provincial Park.  I could have gone farther, but I would have had to rest and refill my water bottles, and the park was the closest place to do either, so I just stopped for the night.  It'll mean a long day tomorrow.

29.2 mi

This morning Leela and I went for a bike ride up to the "hogsback" waterfall.  It was her first time on a bike in many years.