Coasting Through Ontario - Kenora to Thunder Bay

Another rest day, and I'm pretty blown away by how quickly the time is going by this summer. We're now in Thunder Bay, which is very nearly our halfway point both for time and distance.  I'm also now realizing the sheer size of Ontario in comparison to the other provinces.  We crossed Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba in 4-5 days each.  We'll be spending 19 days riding in Ontario!  Granted we are taking a less-than-direct route...

The last chunk of four days from Kenora to Thunder Bay was fairly easy, cycling-wise.  Distances of 130 km and more are no longer as daunting and are even starting to feel pretty normal - hard to believe, especially when my longest training ride was 120 km just 1.5 months ago!  We've had much more pleasant weather than the last, sauna-esque chunk through the Prairies and the winds have - for the most part - been helpful or at least not a hindrance (one day excepted.)  Scenery was much of the same as the first day in Ontario - trees, lakes, rocks and rolling hills.  Although it has been fairly repetitive, it is very pleasant and I'm not tiring of it as I did with the Prairie scenery.

Lakes!!

Rocks!!

Trees!!

Our first day back on the bike took us from Kenora to Caliper Lake, a measly 130 km.  Skies were blue, temperature was very pleasant, and we only had the tiniest bit of headwinds for most of the day, although we did have some mighty gusts as we rode by lakes.  Stopped at Sioux Narrows for lunch and ice cream where the sign at the ice cream shop showed an ice cream called "Triple Tornado", which looked remarkably like my childhood favourite, Superkid.  Turns out the sign was very misleading, though still delicious.  Took it nice and easy in the afternoon, even stopping for a quick lie-down and nap with about 10 km to go.  The wind was a blessing at camp as it kept the mosquitoes down in the evening (though the annoying things were out in force in the a.m.).  We once again had a lake to swim in, and in the evening I once again showed just how inept I am at the game of chess.

Bridge leading into Sioux Narrows

Body of water over which the bridge into Sioux Narrows passed

Sunset at the campground

The next day we rode to Taylor's Cove, again with wonderful weather conditions and this time with a bit of a tailwind.  The ride was flat-ish, some gradually rolling hills, and more of the usual Ontario scenery.  Stopped for a quick photo at the town of Emo, then a wholesome lunch of McDonald's in Fort Frances.  Had an interesting run-in with the border patrol in Fort Frances. 

Our directions said that the Ontario-Minnesota border was just 4 blocks south of our route in Fort Frances, and some of our group really wanted to check out the border crossing.  So we went South and some of us, unknowingly, crossed into or close to the United States.  Unaware of this, we turned around and left to get back to the main route when a couple of border guards ran out of their building, yelling for us to come back.  Fortunately, after 10 minutes of waiting while they confirmed on video exactly what we told them - that we just rode to the bridge and turned around.  Interesting experience and at least the guards were fairly friendly.  The afternoon of riding was at a quick pace, the campsite was awesome and had a wonderful lake for swimming - it looked like something out of a beer commercial.  Expertly cooked some rice for my galley team in the evening, and for once actually won some games of chess!!

Glum in Emo

Chess!!

Woke up early to cook breakfast and was pleasantly surprised to see that, by our meeting time, one of our team members - Ron - had already prepared much of the meal!  Many people were worried about the weather for the day -- it was a 150ish km day, but we had a strong headwind, threat of rain, and cold temperature (high not even 60 F).  Muscles felt a bit sluggish for the ride and, even though the hills were rolling, it felt like we were doing far more uphill than downhill.  This was also a fairly remote area, with only one town between our starting point and destination, so we barely had a chance to escape the cold and warm up.  We did stop at the White Otter restaurant with about 50 km to go, and the last bit of the ride was, for me, the best part - thank you coffee and food!  Great night in camp, with lots of simple brainteaser-esque games around the fire and an early retirement to bed.  The only bad news of the evening was that we're losing another rider from the tour, as he will be returning to France for family reasons...

Some shots along the way...

Well-deserved rest break in Atikokan... and something slightly to the left

Easy night at camp

Our ride into Thunder Bay was another century ride, but overall it was a pretty easy one.  Day started on a somewhat sour note with seasonal allergies kicking in, but still rode at a comfortably quick pace over more rolling hills.  Part of the ride was on a portion of the TransCanada Highway with no paved shoulders, only one lane each way, and heavy, heavy traffic.  Adrenaline was high for this portion and I think our average speed reflected this!  Took a brief sightseeing stop at Kakabeka Falls, which were quite impressive, and then decided to take a pizza stop in the town of the same name.  Cruised along to Lakehead University along less-busy roads, and found the residence building where we would be staying the night.  As much as I've loved this month of camping, a night indoors sounded just fantastic.

Town of Sunshine, to contrast with the town of Emo

Kakabeka Falls

With each rest day, we have planned to go out to the bars the first night we get into the town; however, except for the first rest day, we've given up on these plans due to exhaustion.  Last night, though, we actually made it downtown!  It was a Sunday night, which meant options for bars were limited, but we found a place called the Black Pirate that would be open late, all thanks to the diligent phone-calling and searching by Katie from our group.  I almost bailed out beforehand, but we had a fairly strong contingent going and I was very glad I went along!  Won't go into any details about the evening, but these pictures give you an idea...

Today did the usual rest day thing.  Despite being up past 3 a.m., I couldn't sleep in as I'm just too used to waking up at 7ish.  Ate a ton of junk food, got some minor fixes on my bike, laundry, and another game of Risk.  Also caught up with some of the realities of home - bills, school stuff, and tuition payment (ouch!).  These days always go by incredibly quickly, but looking forward to more good riding days!

Next up: another six day riding stretch to Sault Ste. Marie.

Cheers!
Dale

Kenora to Thunder Bay, ON Riding Stats
4 Riding Days
596 km

Overall Riding Stats
28 Riding Days
3584 km

Peanut Butter Sandwiches consumed, to date: 60

Two More Border Crossings - Regina, SK to Kenora, ON

Today was another amazing rest day - this time in Kenora - and I would say that it was very well deserved after the past 6 days.  We left Regina to finish crossing Saskatchewan, rode across Manitoba, and just started into the Canadian Shield, all the while battling sweltering heat, some headwinds, dodgy roads, and a few less-than-friendly drivers across Manitoba.  It feels incredibly satisfying to look at a map and see how far we've come, and it's also amazing to see some trees, hills, and water in Northern Ontario.  After a couple weeks in the Prairies - as nice as they are - all of the fields start to blend together a bit!

Look guys, more canola!!

Our first day of the six was my first real century ride (100 miles), and I was looking forward to successfully completing this after my last and only century ride attempt ended in despair.  Last year, I went to do the "One Helluva Ride" in Michigan, and while the first 150 km went swimmingly, I ended up learning my tire was worn out and getting three consecutive flats by 154 km, sadly necessitating a ride in the Sag wagon a mere 8 km from the finish (Alex and Bryon, this may sound familiar to you guys!).  Anyway, this year had a much happier finish!  It was actually a fairly easy day; rode quickly in the morning with a bit of a tailwind on a not-so-nice road with not-so-nice drivers.  Oh well... the terrain was mostly flat and fieldy, but we did go through the Fort Qu'Appelle Valley briefly, which was gorgeous, and the afternoon was lovely with a much less busy road and sunshine.  Rode in at a very leisurely pace, took a stop in the tiny village of Neudorf (where we were asked to sign the guestbook at the local grocery store) and easily reached Grayson to make the century.  Had an awesome dinner of local sausages and apple pie, and went to watch one of the famous Saskatchewan sunsets (apparently Saskatchewan is the "Land of the Living Skies").  It was alright, though some more clouds would have made it even more impressive!  The full moon at night was pretty sweet, though.

Fort Qu'Appelle Valley

Sunset outside of Grayson

Next day was scorching hot but fortunately we were scheduled for a much shorter ride this time - only 109 km (I still can't believe that I'm saying only 109 km!).  More of the same terrain to finish Saskatchewan and we crossed into Manitoba which, coincidentally, has much the same terrain as Saskatchewan at the start.  Not a super-exciting day, but we did stop at a local BBQ in the town of Esterhazy for lunch.  The road in the afternoon was in pretty poor condition with lots of loose gravel, so not-so-good for my bike, although on the upside, one of the construction workers was an incredibly good-looking girl.  After crossing Manitoba, traveled briefly into and back out of a valley and then onward to Binscarth to camp.  Cooked in the evening and then continued my ridiculously long winning streak in Hearts.

We're in Manitoba!!

Valley near the end of the day

Next day was more of the same - fields, flat.  Manitoba became increasingly flatter but also greener than Manitoba.  Rode really lazily in the morning and really quickly in the afternoon (35-37 km/h for most of the ride).  Met a couple of Albertan girls who are also biking across Canada, and then we stayed in a wicked campsite on a lake at night.  The swimming was definitely a treat after yet another scorching day!

More canola!! More flooded fields!!

Awesome waterfront campsite in Minnedosa.

Next day I rode really easily with the sweep crew (meaning we stayed at the back of the pack), another 140 km day in boiling heat.  We rode through the hometown of Margaret Lawrence in the morning, then continued along to Portage la Prairie (which none of the locals pronounce in a French fashion, as the name suggests).  Again, we rode over flat land, seeing lots of fields, more green, and battling a bit of a wind.  Had a bit of riding on the TransCanada Highway at the end which unfortunately had to be on an unpaved shoulder, since the road was quite busy.

More flatness, but awesome clouds on the day! (click for larger panorama)

Unfortunately with the wear and tear with all of the gravel of the past few days, my rear tire was toast after this day of riding.  I replaced it with the spare I packed, but while doing so, I noticed that my rear wheel-frame was pretty much done as well.  It had a ton of cracks and holes, but I was lucky enough to make it to Winnipeg the next day without it breaking down.

One of many cuts in my tire.

At night in Portage, me and another rider continued our search for an old Risk board.  We've been looking for a board to play on rest days, although unfortunately the new boards are totally updated and not the same as the Risk I grew up with.  Our search has included thrift stores, and since they were all closed in Portage on this Sunday, we inquired at a video store where we may look.  The owner was very helpful and called home to see if he could give us his personal copy of the game... sadly, it was missing pieces and the search continues... Instead, we spent the evening playing "Bohnanza" - a ridiculous yet fun German game about planting and harvesting beans. 

BOHNANZA!!!

Day 5 of 6, rode to Beausejour, Manitoba via Winnipeg.  Again, it was blazing hot and the heat was even more pronounced going through the big city... the traffic and frequent stops/starts definitely did nothing to help keep me cool!  After riding quickly to Winnipeg (the TransCanada had a beautifully paved, wide shoulder all the way), spent a couple hours in the bike shop getting a new wheel (phew!), drank a ton of Gatorade, then continued to our destination.  Unfortunately in Winnipeg, I lost the other seven riders I had come with, due to a combination of getting stopped at stop lights and poor direction-taking on my part.  Of course we all met up again at camp, so no biggie.  Fortunately, I ran into another rider who was riding in an even more wrong direction than I was, and just as we were about to take off in a different wrong direction, a third rider rolled by and pointed us the right way.  It was very lucky to have a big city nearby to get my repairs, but I do much prefer the days of riding long country roads with only 2-3 turns total!!  Anyway, had a good afternoon, and the camp was on an amazing river for swimming.  Finished the night with a great spaghetti dinner and yet another loss at chess.

Finally, the sixth day of the series was the longest of the trip so far (and the second longest of the trip overall) - 177 km and mid-thirties at least temperature-wise.  To add to that, we battled a pretty wicked head/cross-wind for a good part of the day, and had an interesting run-in with an a-hole driver.  Anyway, despite this, I still really enjoyed the day!  We rode hard for a lot of the morning until we made a stop at a wonderful small bakery.  After gorging on cinnamon buns and monster cookies, our group decided to ride at a slightly easier pace to prevent burning out as the day went on.  We got almost halfway by lunchtime, when we stopped in the town of Rennie (with yet another sweet claim to fame -- see photo below) for a bit of respite from the heat in an air-conditioned diner.

Bakery in Whitemouth

Best claim to fame yet.

As we got closer to Ontario, we saw the terrain changing from the flat, green Prairie fields to becoming more hilly, rocky, treed terrain with more and more lakes along the way.  We continued for about 45 km after lunch before stopping to fill our water bottles and realizing that, where we decided to stop, there was an amazing lake for swimming!

Reaching the end of Manitoba...

Caddy Lake - best rest stop yet!

Much refreshed by the swim-break, we continued on until the end.  The heat was unrelenting, and at times the blacktop-road was literally melting underneath us.  While pedaling, one of my fellow riders nearly fell when his tire started sinking into freshly-paved road.  We persevered, though, and finally made it to the Ontario border!!

The road that melts...

Finding some respite from the sun

 

 

 

Ontario!!

Welcome to Ontario, pt 2

The rest of the ride was rolling hills, trees, and more beautiful lakes until we reached Kenora.  Kenora is located along Lake of the Woods and it seems like we turned one final corner along the TransCanada Highway and - BOOM - massive lake.  Probably the most beautiful sight that I've seen throughout this trip (although it might just be because I'm comparing mostly to the couple weeks in the Prairies...). 

Lake of the Woods

Kenora

Instead of going to camp for dinner, a number of us stopped at a pub and I feel I fully earned that milkshake, poutine, and burger! (and of course, a couple more liters of water!).  From our campsite, we have quick access to the lake, so we swam after getting back.  I re-discovered that I could back dive, which I hadn't actually done since I was maybe 9 or 10 years old... Early to bed in the evening, and then spent the rest day doing the usual routine... internet, food, laundry.  We FINALLY found a Risk board!!  And in the evening, went to see Harry Potter in town and wrapped up the evening with more ice cream and more swimming.

Over the next four days, we're heading to Thunder Bay, and I'm pretty pumped for a) the slightly-shorter days that we're riding, and b) more of the awesome Northern Ontario scenery.

Take care!

Regina, SK to Kenora, ON Riding Stats
6 Riding Days
879 km

Overall Riding Stats
24 Riding Days
2988 km

Peanut Butter Sandwiches consumed, to date: 47

Into the Prairies - Drumheller, AB to Regina, SK

Today, I'm enjoying a rest day in Regina after a long five days of riding across the Prairies.  I'm still feeling a bit of withdrawal after leaving the mountains, although the Prairies - and the winds that come with it - feel quite like home.  To be honest, though, Chatham-Kent is flatter than what I've seen in the Prairies so far!

Of the last five days of riding, we've had three good days and two fairly arduous days, all owing to the wind we've had on those days.  Since leaving Drumheller, the first three days we were lucky enough to have the wind at our back, which made for some pretty easy riding.  In the last couple days, we've fought very strong headwinds and have led me (very quickly) to the conclusion that climbing mountains is way more fun - and scenic - than fighting the winds!

As for the days with wind at our back -- AMAZING!  In those three days, we rode from Drumheller, Alberta to Outlook, Saskatchewan.  Each day was 130-160 km long and I was able to cruise through them with incredibly little effort.  During the ride from Youngstown to Kindersley, me and a friend started the day crusing at about 40 km/h, then realized we could actually travel at over 20 km/h without even pedaling.  We ended up riding about 7 km without pedaling, a clip of which can be seen in this video:

Despite the lack of mountains, the Prairies are actually quite beautiful and we had a number of highlights from Drumheller through to Outlook.  Leaving Drumheller, we enjoyed the amazing rock formations, then through the Prairies, we had beautiful weather (just a bit of rain) and saw endless fields of canola and other crops.  We even passed through and ate lunch in Hanna, the home of Nickelback!!!

Just outside Drumheller

More Drumheller

Pretty fields once the prairies begin

Home of Nickelback, eh??

We spent a night in Youngstown, a town of 170 people (as of 2006...).  Tiny, but the people living there are phenomenal!  For over 20 years, the Tour du Canada has been traveling through this town and joining the members of the community for a massive potluck dinner.  The meal was incredible - TONS of food - and as a double benefit, it was my galley team's turn to cook so, aside from making a massive pasta salad, we had the night off of cooking for the team (though we did help clean up the meal and still did breakfast the next morning).  It was also nice to have indoor facilities available to play cards, chill out and escape the mosquitoes for one evening!

Youngstown

FOOD!!

During the next two days, with the glorious tailwinds, we cruised across the Alberta-Saskatchewan border, saw a lot of fields (pretty, but the scenery gets to be quite the same as you go along!) and of course puttered along with lots of stops along the way.  Stopped for lunch in tiny Rosetown one day, and while chatting with the locals, I gathered that they're not too used to seeing cyclists on the road when one kind old lady told me, "When I see a bunch of of bikers on the road, I don't know whether to hit them or go by them!"  Luckily, the drivers have been much more respectful than that!

We're in Saskatchewan!

Bought the friendship of this little guy with some bread pieces

Rest stop!!

More pictures from the days of beautiful tailwinds:

The road ahead...

More fields.

Panorama as rain loomed above (click for bigger version)

The last two days of this little stretch were pretty tough, cycling-wise.  We were pummeled by headwinds, with the exception of about a one-hour stretch before the town of Craik.  With much of the scenery looking the same, these were days that I really just kept my head down, tried to make myself aerodynamic (ha!), and just kept on pedaling through the wind.  Yesterday, it took 7 hours of riding time to travel the 130 km from Craik to Regina... with no winds, I could make that ride in just over 4 hours!  Oh well... the winds gave us the incentive to make plenty of stops along the way, and I've been finding that people in Saskatchewan are incredibly friendly and welcoming.  Outside of a small, rural restaurant yesterday, I chatted with a local farmer for a while about our trip.  I was wearing my sleeveless UWO Triathlon jersey and, as the conversation died down, the gentleman asked me, "So, are you an Olympic athlete as well?  You have the build for it!"  Well - that's the first and, I'm sure, the last time that I'll ever be mistaken for an Olympic athlete, but it was very nice of him anyway!

One thing I've found along the way is that many of these small towns have some sort of "claim to fame."  In just the last five days, we have stayed in the site of the longest pedestrian bridge in the world (Outlook), the "friendliest place near a dam site" (Craik), and we rode through the blizzard capital of Saskatchewan (Kenaston).  The bridge was actually really nice, and Kenaston had a cheesy giant-snowman statue, though I didn't meet any locals in Craik to hold up their claim.  I guess you have to believe the sign, no matter how ridiculous the statement is!

SkyTrail in Outlook

Atop the bridge in Outlook

(Underwhelming) giant snowman!!

Dam straight!

Also, here are a couple pictures from the Royal Tyrrell Dinosaur Museum in Drumheller.  The place was as cool as I remember it being when I was 9!

After our rest day today, our next stretch will take us across Manitoba and into Ontario.  This will be our longest stretch yet - 6 days and almost 1000 km - but with all of the riding so far, my muscles, butt, and mind are ready for it.

Hope you're all enjoying the summer! Take care!

Drumheller, AB to Regina, SK Riding Stats
5 Riding Days
717 km

Overall Riding Stats
18 Riding Days
2109 km

Peanut Butter Sandwiches consumed, to date: 36