I’m still enjoying the changes in scenery. Near the border I met up with Josh who was riding from Vancouver. It was nice to have someone to talk to. We rode into Kenora together and agreed to meet up the next day. Kenora and Lake of the Woods is very nice. I was anxious to get to Jason and Raquel’s house so I did not stop for any photos you’ll have to trust me that it is very nice!

Jason and Raquel are longtime friends of my friend Andrew. Andrew arranged for me to stay with them. When I got to the house I met Raquel, and had a nice visit and a bite to eat. I put on some laundry etc. When Jason arrived home they took me to "Camp" for the night! Camp in this part of Ontario is the same as going to a "Cabin" or “Cottage” in other parts of the country. They have a lovely Cabin on Willard Lake. Here we went for a swim and enjoyed an excellent meal. We sat outside talking for a while. I must say that meeting all the great people has really been the highlight of this trip for me! This area reminds me so much of BC, aside from the lack of mountains.

Jason made blueberry pancakes and bacon for breakfast. Jason and Raquel are quite opinionated when it comes to bacon "if you don’t like bacon, you’re not worth knowing!" We went back to Kenora after which Jason and I went and did a little shopping in town, and off I went. I had a great time with Jason and Raquel!

About 90 kilometers into my day I met up with Josh at Vermillion Bay. We decided to cycle another ~40 kilometers to Dryden. We stayed in a campsite on the west side of town. Here we met with Irene and her husband, they were traveling by van. Irene insisted on giving us a whole bunch of food. We ate quite well that night!

Heavy rainfall last night, just as the rains started I carried my bivi sac into the Camp Laundry Facility, whew. From here I watched a great show of lightening and listened to the rain. Slept poorly, but stayed dry. At about 6:30AM a camper who wanted to put some wet clothes in the dryer awaked me. I think she was pretty surprised to find me there!

Josh spent the night in his tent, some of his things got wet but he survived the night. I enjoyed riding with Josh, he studied Biochemistry and Religious Studies at UBC, and he had a lot of insightful things to say. He also worked as a bike courier in Vancouver for a couple years. He was very much a free spirit, he’d been traveling since June and had toured through many areas, and he even worked on a farm for a week.

I left camp early and went to Tim Horton’s in Dryden for a coffee and to make a couple phone calls. Josh arrived shortly and we set out riding. Near Ignace (100 kilometers into the day), we stopped for a break. I was keen to continue to English River while Josh wanted to stay in Ignace. I have some time constraints if I wish to reach the East Coast before winter! I was sad to say goodbye as I really enjoyed the accompaniment.

English River is tiny! I stayed in a little campground behind the Motel/Restaurant. After dinner I went into the Restaurant for a pop and some desert (apple rhubarb pie a la mode), yum. The people here are very friendly and I told them about my trip.

It rained again in the night. The camp owner agreed that if it rained I could bring my bivi-sac under the eves of his house (so I did). The rain made it hard for me to fall asleep but eventually sleep came.

In the morning I packed up and went over to the Motel / Restaurant (they said I should drop in for breakfast). I ordered the special (French toast) the waitress came back and told me that they wanted to serve me breakfast on the house! She insisted on giving me some juice and three big slabs of back bacon in addition to the French toast. The generosity that I’ve been experiencing has really touched me. It gives me great hope for humanity! Some tourists from Quebec (Mia and Peter) donated money as well!

If you ever go through this way be sure to stop at the English River Motel/Restaurant and visit with Dan (owner), Serena, and another lady who was very nice! They packed me a nice lunch and sent me on my way. There have been times on this trip when I wondered what I was doing, I even felt like it was a mistake to do this. People like this give me the strength and courage to push on.

It was a long ride to Thunder Bay, when I neared town I called Adeline. Adeline is good friends with my Aunty Diana and Uncle Paul! Uncle Paul grew up in Thunder Bay and Diana went to nursing school with Adeline and her sister Joanne. I received directions to the house and arrived around 530! After a nice shower I had dinner with Adeline and her mother, we had a great meal of chicken/spuds/carrots and other goodies followed by peach pie and ice cream! Oh did I feel spoiled!

After dinner we drove about the town and saw some of the sites, including the lakefront cabin that was just being rebuilt, and the house that my uncle Paul grew up in! We toured the waterfront and went back home to meet Joanne’s daughter Anne-Marie, she is a school teacher/ principle in town. We discussed different routes through this section of Ontario and I think I’ve decided on Hwy17 instead of Hwy11 which, although flat is much more desolate.

My cousin Carmen is on her way!!! She and her baby Emma are driving out to accompany me for a few days! I am excited about this and hope to meet them tomorrow!

Spent all morning working on the computer (journal entries etc). Adeline made me a nice breakfast of eggs, back bacon and toast. I was having some problems with my camera causing me great concern. I would've been really upset had I lost all photos since Saskatchewan, particularly the people shots, as it has become clear that the people have been the most important part of this trip!

After a big lunch it was time for me to head off to Nipigon. I bid my farewells; it was really nice visiting Adeline and her mother, to tour around Thunder Bay and see the town where my Uncle Paul grew up!

My first stop was a few kilometers outside of Thunder Bay, the Terry Fox Pavilion. I spent a few minutes taking photos. I am in awe of Terry Fox, his accomplishments and legacy are incredible. A headache plagued me throughout the day. I found it difficult to justify any complaints in light of my visit to the Terry Fox Pavilion; after all I have two arms, two legs, and a bicycle with which to cross the country.

While riding, I observed silence for the lives lost Sept. 11 last year. I thought particularly of the children who were affected by this event. Seems unfair that those too young to know anything about war, prejudice, and hatred would be the most affected. We need to deepen our commitment to viewing the world as a community. Initiatives need to be taken to ensure such things cannot continue.

Have noticed many of these structures that house sand/salt during the winter months for road maintenance.

I arrived in Nipigon at around 6PM where I found my cousin Carmen and her daughter Emma waiting for me at the campsite! They'll be joining me to Ottawa! I'm really excited about this for two reasons, Carmen is a load of fun to be around, and I will no longer be lugging all that extra weight around! I am looking forward to covering lots of ground this next couple of weeks! I may have to wait for a few days before pushing too hard, as my butt is pretty sore (blisters).

Carmen's daughter Emma turned 3 months old yesterday, she is amazing; so well behaved! As you would guess, Carmen is really outgoing and willing to do anything (including camping with her newborn baby!).

Left camp after a breakfast of scrambled eggs! Felt happy to be riding such a light bike. The cycling went pretty well, many hills, many smiles! Weather was fine, sunny and clear.

We met at the first campground in Terrace Bay as agreed in the morning. The campground was pretty nice; our site was right on the riverside. We had a riverside camp in Nipigon as well. It’s nice to fall asleep listening to the babbling of a stream. However, both campgrounds happened to be pretty close to the highway. The odd transport truck would pass by in the night, slowing down on its descent into town using their loud engine breaks! "Bababababa!" I met Carmen at a lakefront rest stop, posed for a shot with Emma!

After dinner, we went up to shower and do dishes. Between the two of us we discovered that there was no hot water! I went and spoke to the girl in the campground store. She called her mom (the manager?) and after speaking to her for a few minutes came off the phone and told me that they'd just discovered the problem and it could not be fixed until the next day. Further discussion brought "mom" out of the house. I asked if there was somewhere else to shower (you see they also had a hostel/motel for other guests) she said "no", so I suggested that we get some of our money back so that we could go into town and shower at the local recreation center. Well wouldn't you know! They did have a shower that we could use after all.

After showering and doing the dishes, we went off to check out the town. Took a look at Lake Superior, the wind had come up and waves were surprisingly big! We went to the local library where we both checked email. Emma enjoyed a few stories as read by Carmen.

Good riding again today. Saw a few cycle tourists, an American couple headed the opposite direction as part of a circumnavigation of the Great Lakes. They have been doing a section each year for the last couple of years. I caught up to a fellow named George who was riding alone. George had ridden from Toronto to Kenora and was on his way back to Toronto. The shoulder was quite narrow allowing little chat George seemed to be traveling a little slower than myself (he had a loaded bike while I was carrying lunch and some tools!).

Had some confusion at the Campground this afternoon. Carmen and Emma passed me a few hours before I reached the destination. We agreed to find one another in the Campground. I arrived, feeling a little spacey (low blood sugar I guess). I rode right past the office/check-in and about 4 kilometers into the Campground. I pedaled around looking but could not find Carmen and Emma. The campground is very large. Confused, I ride back to the office/ check-in to see if there is a note. No note. I use the payphone to check my voice-mail. There is a message from Carmen indicating that she and Emma are at Site#31. Harried, and annoyed with myself for not checking my voice mail the first time, I jumped on my bike and rode the 4 kilometers again (I'm up to 12 extra kilometers by now). Arriving at Site#31, I find it empty. Now I am really confused! But then I remember that Site#31 is the site# from last night, therefore the voicemail message was from yesterday! I ride back to the check in to try calling Carmen's cell (16 kilometers extra now). I reach Carmen's voice mail and leave a message. Just as I was hanging up the telephone, they arrived! They were coming from the Campground too! I had ridden right past the site but the forest had blocked my view of the car. I put my bike on the roof and got a lift into the Campground.

In camp we ended up meeting a nice couple from Northern Michigan, Roxie and her husband. I was holding baby Emma while Carmen was showering, Emma got a little fussy and Roxie came to the rescue! They were very friendly, gave a pledge to the cancer foundation.

Took a few photos, the lake, some trees, and me!

It rained hard last night; we managed to keep everything (aside from the tent/fly) pretty dry. I cycled for 30 kilometers from the Campground into the town of White River where I met up with Carmen and Emma at Tim's for a donut, muffin, and coffee. I met George again, he cycles wearing navy blue jogging pants and a navy hoodie, he's not very visible to drivers and I imagine his outfit is pretty hot.

I passed by a ski area and thought of my all time favorite pastime! Weather was not so great; headwinds and crosswinds blew at me all morning. It threatened to rain all day, finally near Wawa it started to drizzle. I met Carmen along the roadside, she bore bad news, and the weather synopsis did not look good, cold temps in the night and certain rain. We decided to stay in a hotel in Wawa. I met Carmen at the tourist info center in Wawa and we checked into the Beaver Motel just as the rain started to pour! I must say that I have been pretty lucky (so far) in terms of avoiding rain!

I spent most of the afternoon eating. Chips, pop, junk food, Gatorade, cookies, sandwiches etc. In the evening we found a "Pizza Pizza" so we ordered take-out. I ate most of the pizza. My appetite is getting out of control! We also walked down to the shores of Wawa Lake with Emma and took a photo of ourselves!

This morning started out very chilly. I wore a light wind shell but, I did not bother with pants, this was a mistake as I was shivering from 8:30 until about 10:30. The amazing scenery made up for the cold weather though. Fog and mist blanketed many of the roadside lakes and ponds. Lake Superior Provincial Park is astounding. I enjoyed the scenery all day. I think this made the rolling hills and crosswinds much more bearable. Carmen and Emma caught up to me at a rest area, took a break at the beach for a bit. Had many nice views of Lake Superior today.

Towards the end of the day, around 200 kilometers, I reached a large hill. I felt like one of those guys in the Tour de France. Sometimes these men are shown struggling up the final climb, long after the leaders have completed the stage. Mouth gaping, looking stunned, empty of all energy. I later found out that this is referred to as 1-mile hill. It turned out to be not so bad after all, after the climb it descended very gradually allowing me to keep up a descent speed for the final few kilometers.

We stayed at a KOA on the N side of 'the Soo' (Saulte St. Marie). KOA's are among the nicest campsites. This one had a nice kitchen area, allowing us to prepare our food and do our dishes etc without having to use the camp stove.

I was feeling a little tired after the long day yesterday. I had a large breakfast, porridge with brown sugar, and a dash of peanut butter, banana slices, trail mix, and some yogurt. This is not a combination I would normally enjoy!

Around 9:30 I got on my bike and left town. The landscape has begun to change again; the steep climbs of the Canadian Shield have given way to gentler hills and flatter terrain. Started out cool in the morning, this time I wore pants. It was nice to cycle for "only" 4 hours today.

I rode past a giant loony, seems that a local fellow was the designer of this symbol of Canadian wealth! It was nice to wonder around a bit, explore the town, and do some reading. We are now on the shores of the North Channel of Lake Huron. We camped across the road from a beautiful beach. It was quite windy all afternoon (cross winds for me), but it died down later in the night. We had to cook under cover of the tent vestibule to stay out of the winds! It seems that little Miss Emma is having a growth spurt! She slept for 9 hours last night; this is very unusual for her. I have been learning a lot about babies the last few days! Nice sunset this evening.

Went to the local diner for breakfast this morning. A beautiful morning, few clouds, light winds. The first few hours were a bit of a struggle. I had woken up with a tummy ache, probably related to over-consumption of food. I rode along, stomach gurgling/burping etc. After some time I did begin to feel better.

Road conditions have varied through Ontario, I encountered a long section of "Rumble Strips" today, and I theorized that the Highways Engineer who came up with these had a strong disliking for cyclists.

In Espanola, Carmen treated me to a Blizzard at the DQ! Yum. The campsite in Espanola was pretty nice despite a few bugs. I might add that the bugs have not been a problem at all here in Ontario. Winnipeg was about the worst for mosquitoes. I guess I am not through all of Ontario yet though! We had a nice evening, playing with Emma, watching the sunset etc.

Last night, upon arriving in Espanola we put the bike on the car and ran some errands in town. So this morning Carmen drove me from camp (dirt road) to the highway. It turned out that I forgot the bike computer in the tent. So I waited at Tim Horton’s while Carmen and Emma drove back to pick it up for me. There are a number of Tim Horton's in this part of the country! Fog blanketed the land this morning but it soon burned off.

I felt so lethargic this morning; I wanted to curl up in the grass on the side of the road, even the gravel looked inviting. I continued to feel like this for the whole ride today. Sturgeon Falls was a nice little town, we wanted to go to the library and recreation center in the evening but I was too tired after dinner. Spent the afternoon lounging in the sun, did some laundry and went to sleep! Took Emma for a toe dip into the Lake.

This morning Carmen spoke to the owners of the Campground about the Laundry facilities, suggesting that they might like to have a look at their dryer they were rather defensive but judging by the condition of Carmen's socks they owe her one! Carmen might call CAA about this one (as they were recommended by CAA). Not really a nice facility (especially the restrooms).

There must have been an antique car show somewhere near by; vintage American cars drove past me all morning. The morning also included a heavy rain shower; it was a warm/muggy day so the rain was not all that bad. It's like the tropics here; you can almost drink the air. In North Bay I made a short stop to make a telephone call.

I wanted to stop at the Samuel de Champlain Ecology Center, however I rode my bicycle about a kilometer down the road from the highway, there was no indication how far off the road the place was so I grew impatient and returned to the highway! This has happened to me at a few of the rest stops along the way. There have been a number of occasions where I went back to the highway not knowing how much further it was to the destination of interest (usually a restroom).

I caught up to some more cycle tourists today. Two Swiss guys, who were cycling across the country, they had left Vancouver in July. I finally reached the shores of the Ottawa River. The winds were rather disagreeable again today. I will miss the shores of Lake Superior; I was amazed at the vastness of the lake, as well as the surf that was generated by the winds.

Carmen, Emma and a big pot of Veggie Chili awaited me at Stonecliffe. Stonecliffe is a tiny town on the Ottawa River. The weather was misty /cloudy. It rained hard during the night.

Getting very close to Ottawa, I can taste it Poutine and beavertails mmmm. Took a photo before leaving Stonecliffe, the Ottawa River is very wide here!

Today, I was bothered by swarms of tiny black flies they are attracted to my yellow cycling jersey. The humid sticky weather was no help; at times I'd look down and see them all stuck to my arms and legs. The only good thing was that they were not biting me! Yuck. Before too long Carmen and Emma drove bye, they had the A/C on. I really wanted to jump in the car.

Things went pretty well in the morning, the anticipation of nearing Ottawa gave me a little extra strength to battle the gentle headwinds (blowing from the south), and at roughly 75 kilometers I reached Pembroke. Here the winds picked up, breaking my spirit. My speed dropped from 28 to 20 but I kept pedaling.

I would like to have stopped for a bite to eat in Petawawa or Pembroke but in both cases the town was 4-5 kilometers off the highway. That meant an extra 8-10 kilometers that I was unwilling to perform.

Around 530 PM, I was picked up off the side of the road by Carman's husband Glenn. He drove me to Ottawa, I would return tomorrow to cycle the remainder! We went out to an Irish Pub to watch a hockey game, drink beer, and eat! I was in a bit of a daze this evening but managed to make it through!

Today was the last day of cycling before a break. I have been riding every day since Day 16, that’s 23 days straight!!! The day did not go by without mishaps though. Glenn drove me out to Renfrew in the morning; I got out of the car and discovered that I had forgotten my riding shoes. Oops. It wasn't so bad, got a little annoying towards the end though; the clipless pedals are very small so it is hard to keep your feet centered on the pedals without the proper cleats. My feet started to get pretty sore towards the end of the day.

I was pleased to get off of the highway (about 40 kilometers out of town), and onto some country roads. I enjoyed the rural countryside outside of Ottawa. Made a brief stop at the "Diefenbunker", a weird reminder of the Cold War era. After a while I made it to a bike path that rolls alongside the Ottawa River leading right into town and the Parliament Buildings where I met up with Carmen, Emma, Glenn and Camera.

We toured around town for a few hours, went to the art gallery, looked at the "art" including the 25million dollar "Voice of Fire" a large canvass with 3 stripes on it! Went to a Tim Horton's for donuts and coffee, to Chinatown for egg rolls and other delights, then home for Pad Thai. I am greatly anticipating sleeping in a real bed and waking up in the morning tomorrow WITHOUT getting on my bike!

Days 40-48 Sept. 22/02 - Sept. 30/02

Days spent not riding my bike. I traveled by car, truck, train and subway to Ottawa, Stratford, Chatham, Windsor and Toronto then back to Ottawa. Highlights included meeting Glenn's Aunt Roberta and Uncle Ron and staying at their house in Stratford. Visiting with Jo-Anne and Alan in Chatham for a few days, eating them out of house and home. Seeing my friends Derek and Kristen, spending a night with Derek's family in Windsor. Traveling to Toronto by train and meeting Carmen for the trip back to Ottawa.