Familiar Ground - Sault Ste. Marie to Tottenham, ON

Still rolling through Ontario, currently on my fourth rest day of the province in Tottenham.  Another great few days of riding have just passed by, and we're now well past the midway point.

The first couple days of the ride were fairly long, but not super eventful.  We rode the first day through rain to Spragge, and after I found my legs in the hills over the first half of the ride, it wasn't too difficult.  Stopped for a great lunch in Thessalon on the way to wait out the rain for a bit, and then again for candy in Blind River.  Really, nothing else exciting too talk about from the 174 km ride!

Interesting marketing campaign!

The next day we rode along to Manitoulin Island.  The day started poorly, as I pulled my tire's valve out while pumping it up before starting the ride.  That was my first flat of the ride, and flats number 2, 3, 4 and 5 were to follow within the first 35 km.  I had been bragging a bit the night before about how I'd yet to have a flat, and that came to bite me in the ass on this day!  Needless to say, it was very frustrating, but I'm very lucky to have had three very helpful and patient riders along with me!  Tube number 5 was resilient and did not puncture for the rest of the day, and the afternoon of riding was much more pleasant.  It took until about 1:30 to do the first 35 km, but the next 100 only took until about 6:30.  We rode on a quiet rode until Espanola and continued with a bit of a tailwind until we got to Manitoulin.  Stopped for incredible ice cream at Farquhar's on the island, ate a massive meal back at camp, and made sure my tire was without wires or anything - thankfully, nothing was found!

Bridge to Manitoulin

Views of Lake Huron from Manitoulin

After the bad luck of the previous day's ride, I was very happy to have a semi-rest day, as we were only to ride 60 km and take the Chi Cheemaun ferry trip to Tobermory.  Started the day off right by sleeping in, since only 53 km of that were to get to the 1:30 ferry.  Conditions were perfect for riding - sun, nice roads (for the most part), very little wind.  Was relieved to have a pleasant and mechanically uneventful ride!  We got to the ferry with lots of time to spare, and killed the time by stuffing myself with fish and chips, strawberry-rhubarb pie with ice cream, and a giant cookie from a nearby bakery.  I was very excited to be heading to Tobermory, as it is one of the few places on the tour that I can actually remember visiting in the recent past! We were greeted at the ferry port with cocktails (iced tea) and homemade butter tarts by one of the rider's sister, which was an unexpected surprise!  After eating so much and riding so little that day, I was hoping to get just a small ice cream to satisfy my sweet tooth in Tobermory... instead, my willpower gave way and I ended up getting the massive brownie sundae with maple hot fudge.  Excessive - yes, but very delicious!

Tobermory

Ice cream!

The next day, we rode to Owen Sound, and this is another ride I was very excited about.  We were to travel along Lake Huron to Owen Sound, passing through many places we visited while vacationing in Sauble Beach when I was younger.  Again, had beautiful, sunny weather - perfect day to finally wear my sleeveless purple, UWO cycling jersey which certainly does not look like a blouse!  After about 30 km, we stopped at a bakery that was hidden just off of the highway, but was definitely a treat.  It was organic and maybe hippie-ish, very small with a beautiful bit of land beside it.  Along the way, we also stopped in Wiarton and Colpoy's Bay, and nostalgia kicked in as I saw the place where we used to launch our boat (and where I several times faceplanted water skiing!).  The rider's sister who greeted us with butter tarts yesterday also provided us with a bbq lunch just past Wiarton, which was a treat.  I didn't realize until eating just how much I had missed bbq this summer!  The afternoon of riding was very pleasant again, not very busy with car traffic and beautiful views of the Lake.  Was once again on galley duty in the evening, and still had time to chill out before an early bed time.  I would definitely rank this amongst the best days of my trip!

Morning rest stop!

Amazing bakery

Wiarton Willie!

Colpoy's Bay (click for larger image)

Barbecue rest stop!

A few more pics from along the way:

 With tired legs, we set off yesterday for the last day of this stretch, heading towards Tottenham.  The morning was pretty tricky, with hot, humid conditions and almost constant climbing for the first 30 km.  This culminated with an incredible downhill, with a great view of the Blue Mountain area and the chance to hit a top speed of about 68 km/h.  Through this entire day, it was great to see a number of other cyclists out on the road!  We rode through Collingwood, and for the first time saw Blue Mountain with no snow on the slopes.  As we got close to a roundabout in town, it looked like most options led us to fairly ominous climbs, but luckily our option avoided them!  We did end up having a 3-4 km climb (and another sweet downhill) just before hitting Creemore, which is where we stopped for a bakery and beer break.  Stopped in at the Creemore Springs brewery to sample the beer, and got a chocolate eclair to fuel my last bit of riding in the afternoon.  The afternoon of riding was mostly along rural roads, with lots of rolling hills and farmland.  By the end of the day, I was very happy to jump in the (somewhat murky) water at the camp in Tottenham, and then crash for an early evening.

At the top of the morning's descent.

Blue Mountain, minus the snow

Farmland

Baked goods!!

Creemore Springs brewery

I'm still really enjoying the trip, and still can't believe how much ground we've covered.  It's also very tough to comprehend how quickly the summer has gone by, with less than a month now until school starts!  Our next rest stop is in Ottawa, and then onwards to Quebec and the east coast.

Hope you're all well!

Sault Ste. Marie to Tottenham, ON Riding Stats
5 Riding Days
664 km

Overall Riding Stats
39 Riding Days
4996 km

Peanut Butter Sandwiches consumed, to date: 89