2010 Cycle Tour Across Canada

2010 Cycle Tour Across Canada. Job Done.

2010-09-06T11:14:00.001-06:00

As you can well imagine, I’m truly ecstatic to have successfully completed my 2010 Cycle Tour Across Canada from Vancouver to St. John’s! Congratulations to me! It was the realisation of a longstanding ambition, certainly a trip of a lifetime and something I’ll never forget.

I cycled in all ten provinces of Canada: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland & Labrador. I also cycled in the following States of the USA: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and New York.

My odometer, despite having a broken mount since day 3, recorded 8,302 km. (The actual total was a little more but I’m not worried). I was on the road from Thursday June 10th 2010 to Sunday September 5th 2010, a total of 88 days. I rode the bike on 77 of those days and had 10 rest days and one day off due to an injury. I averaged 94km a day or 108km a day when actually riding. My furthest points west and east were Ucluelet (125°32′31″W) and St. John's (52°42′26″W). I crossed 73° of longitude on my ride. That’s about a fifth of the way around the planet!

My original route schedule was 8,970km, 88 days, 76 days riding at about 120km per day. I didn’t quite manage that, hence I changed portions of my route to compensate. I straight-lined Minnesota and the Upper Peninsula, Michigan more than I wanted to and I didn’t ride the long way across Newfoundland. I actually rode further in Manitoba, first with a detour to Clear Lake and then taking back roads to escape the bad road shoulders and traffic! Unfortunately, I turned off the Cabot Trail because of the threat of bad weather. Other than that, I followed my published route pretty closely.

I had brilliant weather all summer. I think I only had about 7 rainy days in total. I had a ridiculous amount of tailwind! It was a little hot and sometimes humid from Saskatchewan onwards but it was only bad a few days. I managed to successfully miss the rains across the Prairies, the heat wave in Ontario and Quebec and even a hurricane in Nova Scotia!

I had absolutely no trouble with my bike, the indestructible Thorn Raven Nomad. Nothing broke (computer mount excepted) or malfunctioned. Amazingly, I had only one puncture (front, tiny piece of wire) which I mended before setting off on the last day to St. John’s! I changed the back tyre in Montreal at 6,400km. The front did the whole trip. I could have rotated the original tyres in Montreal and probably got to the end safely. The chain did the whole trip also and still has some life. I only wiped and oiled the chain a grand total of 4 times. The Rohloff Speedhub was faultless. I did the scheduled hub oil change (a little late) in Montreal.

I only had one small cycling injury. I picked up a random tendon strain on the outside of my ankle between Superior and Ashland, WI. It healed quickly. I had virtually no aches or pains that were cycling induced. I can only remember some cramp from the first hilly day. I had no saddle soreness at all. (Thank you: Brooks saddle, Assos Padded Shorts and Assos Chamois Creme)! Truly amazing, considering the various water sources and food sources I used during the 3 months, I did not get sick. I weighed myself in Montreal and I was the same weight as when I set out from the UK. I expect I’m still similar writing this text in St. John’s.

Some “accidental” things did happen that I sometimes but not always reported. I stubbed my toe badly on a bed leg in a motel in Saskatchewan, I had indigestion for a week approaching Montreal, I strained a muscle in my ribs really badly during sleep one night. (That required vast quantities of Ibuprofen for over a week in order for me to be able to lie down at night)! I crippled my calf muscles climbing the many steps up to Mont Royal in Montreal. I got stung by a bee right in the ear-hole.

How tough was this ride? There’s no two ways to put this, it was very tough. Actually, physically it wasn’t too bad. I rode within my capabilities, ate well (most days), was able to recover successfully each night (motels and restaurant meals most nights helped) and I stayed remarkably fit and healthy. Mentally, it was a different story and I suffered on several fronts. I found I just didn’t want to ride 120km (about 6 hours) each day every day. It was just too much to do on my own with my own thoughts. I found the first 40km of each day a particular trial, fighting with myself about “how far I still had to go”. The remaining 80km nearly always felt easier and faster than the first 40km! I got freaked out by mosquitoes after being bitten badly in BC. (I’d not encountered mosquitoes particularly before). I nearly gave up in Prince George at a result. I never got on with camping, partly because of the bugs, partly because food was more limited, partly because I could never sleep properly, partly because most serviced campsites were noisy and crap, mostly because I just loathed making and breaking camp. I think my issues stemmed from doing this ride on my own. I perhaps underestimated this aspect. Three months was a long time to be alone on the road. I never got “lonely” per se, but I think I would’ve benefited greatly from having company to help stay motivated and sane. Bottom line, I don’t think I’d do a trip of this magnitude on my own again.

It’s been asked whether this ride was harder than my ride across America in 2007. Well, probably yes, but not in the obvious way. The American ride had a very aggressive riding schedule of 200-250km per day for 26 days with no rest days, but you didn’t need to “think”. It was run as a military operation, with motels provided, route sheets to follow, daytime food and energy drinks to rendezvous regularly with. Obviously, as a group ride, there was plenty of company and comradeship on offer. The American ride was certainly more physically demanding than my ride across Canada, but the mental component on the Canada ride far outstripped the physical component. On balance, the Canada ride was harder because of the mental “pressures” of riding solo and unsupported. The additional length of time on the road also played it’s part towards the end.

Nearly finally, I’d like to thank the people of Canada (and America) who made me feel so welcome. I was the subject of many acts of kindness both large and small. The people I met on my travels, especially the countless roadside chats with inquisitive strangers, were often the highlight of the day. They really helped me along in many ways.

Finally, this will be my last post “from the road”. If you’ve been following this journal during the summer, I hope you’ve enjoyed the ride! It took me about 1.5hrs per night to first edit the day’s photos and then write some accompanying words. The journal was a labour of love, but it was sometimes a pain in the butt when all I wanted to do was sleep. I hope my efforts have been worthwhile.

Cheers everyone!

Riding to St. John's

2010-09-06T11:11:00.001-06:00

5th September: Dunville to St. John's

Odometer: 127 km, Start: 8.15am, Finish: 3.45pm, Avg: 24.1 km/h,
Weather: Sunny, strong SW wind, Temp: 15-24°C
Road Conditions: #100, excellent 1.5m shoulder, very light traffic. #1 (TCH) to jct. 35, good 1.5-2m shoulder, light traffic. #90/#60 to Conception Bay South, no shoulder, reasonable road surface, light (became moderate) traffic. #2 to St. John's, excellent 2m shoulder, moderate traffic from Mount Pearl. (Staying on TCH from jct. 35 to 44/45 may even be better)? Services: Whitburne at #100/#1 junction (41km), food stops from Holyrood onwards (75km). Rolling terrain throughout. Ascent: 1250m/1225m

I left bright and early (for me) this morning. This was to be my final day on the road. Just a days ride to St. John’s to complete my cycle ride across Canada! By leaving earlier, I’d thought I would have the added boost of mixing it up with the Tour du Canada (TdC) riders. (They were camped overnight a few kilometres behind me). I couldn’t keep pace with most of them pedalling a 40kg bike but I wouldn’t be too far behind…

Finished my cycle ride across Canada 2010! On Signal Hill overlooking St. John's

It was blowing a gale when I left Dunville but luckily the wind was coming from exactly the right direction (SW) to help me to St. John’s! I’m rather glad it was a tailwind because on the odd occasion I turned into the wind or encountered crosswind it was hard to steer a straight course.

St. John's from Signal Hill

Most of the TdC riders were at the restaurant in Whitburne when I arrived there for a mid-morning snack. After “short-stopping” I was ahead of some of them and that meant some whoops and hollers when they inevitably caught and passed me up the road. It was great fun!

Cabot Tower, Signal Hill

Cabot Tower

I wasn’t sure which route to take into St. John’s (the #1 TCH or another route). In the end I followed the TdC riders through Holyrood and Conception Bay South. (I’ve a feeling the TCH may have been as good, if a little remoter). After Conception Bay, I joined the #2 (a TCH clone) and had a rolling ride towards Mt. Pearl and then St. John’s. The run in to St. John’s was extremely fast with the strong tailwind. In fact my average for the day was one of the fastest of the tour, despite the constant rolling hills. Tailwinds rule!

St. John's Bay

Cape Spear (most easterly point in North America)

When I reached St. John’s downtown things were getting a little emotional for me, but I held it together and decided to make the final effort and climb Signal Hill, which overlooks the city. It was a very steep climb most of the way. Towards the top I could hear cheers and my name being called! I think I also heard “Do it for England”(!), as I struggled up the final few metres. The TdC crowd were there obviously, cheering each of their riders (and me!) up to the finish point.

Fingerpost on Signal Hill

The climb up to Signal Hill (actually >10% grade but camera doesn't show it)

I had finished my ride across Canada! I stayed on the hill for most of the afternoon, cheering the remaining TdC riders to the finish and chatting to interested tourists who were wondering what was going on! Finally, after a long wait (because they’d stopped in town), I cheered the riders I’d become friendly with from the ferry crossing. They ended things in style, cracking open celebratory bottles of champagne! Nice one and well done! For all of us, it has been an incredible journey and reaching the end safe and well is a fantastic achievement!

Looking out for Tour du Canada riders

Tour du Canada riders celebrating with Champagne!

Jay, John and "The Girls". Some of my Tour du Canada friends.

Ferry to Newfoundland

2010-09-06T11:02:00.001-06:00

3rd/4th September: North Sydney to Dunville, NL

Odometer: 18 km, Start: 10.30pm, Finish: 5.30pm, Avg: 19.0 km/h,
Weather: Dark then foggy during crossing. Sunny in NL, Temp: 16-23°C
Road Conditions: #100 (from Argentia, NL), sometimes had a 1m shoulder.

It felt very strange checking out of the motel at 10.30pm, switching on my bike lights and riding the 2km to the ferry terminal in the dark! At the terminal, I met up with the Tour du Canada crowd. I spoke to Andy, the only Brit on the tour while we waited for about an hour for loading to begin and then waited some more as bikes weren’t being put on first as usually happens.

First sight of Newfoundland

The ferry car deck was only about half full when I took my bike onboard and lashed it to an immovable object for the voyage. It seemed unlikely that this would be the normal state of affairs on a Labour Day holiday weekend so I presume many people had cancelled their travel plans because of the incoming storm.

We sailed at 1.00am, on time. The crossing was actually pretty smooth and it wasn’t affected by Hurricane Earl in any way. I couldn’t see anything at all on the way across. At first it was dark and then during the day we steamed continuously through fog with the ship’s horn sounding every few minutes.

Closer view of the two rounded islands

It wasn’t until we got into Placentia Sound that the fog cleared and nice views of Newfoundland’s coastline greeted us, causing a mass exodus from the ship’s interior to the sun decks.

Ship wake in Placentia Sound

It took very little time after that to dock and unload the ship. On Newfoundland the clocks have gone forward again by a strange 0.5hrs. I’m only 3.5hrs behind UK time now!

I was soon on my way from the port and in my tenth and final province! I only had a very short ride to do, but I didn’t feel good. I was decidedly groggy after 14 hours of disorientation caused by the continuous vibration of the ship’s engines and the rocking motion on the water.

I'm on Newfoundland!

Hopefully I will have recovered enough by the morning. I’m only about 130km from St. John’s by the direct route. I’ll probably try to do it in one go and that means I could complete my cycle across Canada tomorrow!

Day off in North Sydney

2010-09-03T14:50:00.001-06:00

This should (hopefully) be my last “day off” report of the tour! I’m spending the day relaxing, occasionally logging on to check the progress of Hurricane Earl and Marine Atlantic’s website for news of my ferry crossing to Newfoundland.

It looks like I might be lucky with my crossing. It’s still scheduled to leave overnight, slightly earlier than planned. The ferry port is going to shut down in the morning as a precaution against the incoming storm. We’re leaving just in time! Quite a few ferry departures after mine have delays of at least 12+ hours.

As for Earl, it’s still expected to hit western Nova Scotia sometime early Saturday morning. It has weakened slightly, but very strong winds and heavy rain are predicted throughout the maritime provinces during Saturday.

On my walk this morning (primarily to get some travel sickness pills – “be prepared”, I say) I met a large group of cyclists in town. They were the Tour du Canada cycling group. They have also been cycling Vancouver to St. John’s, but on a supported group tour. It was nice chatting to several of them during the morning. They are all on the same ferry as me tonight and due to finish in St. John’s on Sunday. I’m not going to race them, though, as they are on lightweight racing bikes for the most part!

Incidentally, they’d just come off the Cabot Trail. It had been a little windy yesterday, especially on some descents. One said dangerously so at one point. It was a bummer to miss the Trail (one Tour du Canada rider described the exquisite hills they’d climbed!), but I’d not have liked the windy conditions as my loaded bike is much harder to control than a racing bike in strong wind. I’m perhaps happy with my decision.

And so, dear readers, a delightfully long ferry crossing awaits me tonight. Heave-ho and all that! And not too much barfing on board, please…

To the ferry terminal at North Sydney

2010-09-03T13:46:00.001-06:00

2nd September: Baddeck to North Sydney

Odometer: 69 km, Start: 10.30am, Finish: 3.30pm, Avg: 21.0 km/h,
Weather: Sunny, humid, Temp: 21-32°C (Humidex: 36°C)
Road Conditions: #105 (TCH), 2-3m shoulder, excellent condition, light to moderate traffic. Restaurant at South Haven (25km), small gas station (50km). Climb 7km @ 4% Kelly's Mountain (30km). Ascent: 560m/560m.

It was perhaps the hottest day of my entire tour today. Luckily I only had a relatively short ride to North Sydney where I will catch the ferry to Newfoundland. I rode it all on the #105 TCH which wasn’t too bad as it had a wide and well surfaced shoulder and the traffic was reasonably light.

Baddeck Inlet

The lakeland area around Baddeck was pretty with good views out into St. Patricks Channel. It was hazy viewing, though, in the humid heat of the morning.

Baddeck Inlet, a bit further on

I had a good lunch at South Haven with a glorious vista across St. Anns Harbour. It was maybe one of the best lake views of my entire trip.

St. Anns Harbour (looking NE)

After my lunch had settled, I started the one big climb of the day, up and over Kelly’s Mountain. It climbed 240m in 7km, so not particularly arduous (the Duffy Lake climb in BC was 1150m in 13km!), but it was extremely hot and humid. There was no wind on the climb, the air was still. I was glad of the excuse to stop and enjoy the (very hazy) view from St. Anns Lookout, three-quarters of the way up.

Bridge over St. Andrews Channel (taken coming down Kelly's Mountain)

The downhill was a fast descent. Not quite steep enough for any records, but good fun until near the bottom where the wind was quite gusty. I took a picture of the bridge from the Bras d’Or lookout half-way down. I crossed the bridge five minutes later after finishing the descent.

I rolled into North Sydney, just about done in by the heat. I have a day off tomorrow and a wait for the ferry. We’ll have to see if Hurricane Earl has anything to say about the ferry’s expected sailing time of 1.30am Saturday…

Away from the Cabot Trail

2010-09-03T13:39:00.001-06:00

1st September: Margaree Harbour to Baddeck

Odometer: 55 km, Start: 11.00am, Finish: 4.00pm, Avg: 19.8 km/h,
Weather: Sunny intervals, humid, Temp: 20-28°C
Road Conditions: Cabot Trail (south), no shoulder, good road surface, light traffic. Gas station and shop at Margaree Forks (14km). Ascent: 320m/320m.

I took the decision this morning not to continue around the Cabot Trail. If I carried on, I was committed to three days on the coastal road around the Cape Breton Highlands. I couldn’t guarantee I wouldn’t get caught out by strong winds heading down the east side of the trail from the incoming storm. Some locally gusty 40km/h winds were already in the forecast for the Thursday anyway.

Margaree River valley. Very reminiscent of parts of mid-Wales.

Never mind, I can come back and do the Cabot Trail another time. There’s plenty of other parts of the Maritimes I’d like to see too. The region deserves a dedicated trip to do it justice one day…

My decision means I’ve got a couple of short cycling days to get to North Sydney and then a wait for the ferry (which could be affected by the storm). It’s a disappointing end to my cycling in Nova Scotia but I’m pretty jaded at the moment to be honest, so to get some extra, unscheduled, recovery time is no bad thing.

Sunflower field and hills

I rode gently towards Baddeck today along the Cabot Trail south road that ran along a couple of river valleys. The landscape was very reminiscent of certain parts of mid-Wales in the UK that I know well. I had just the one climb, over Hunter’s Mountain. It was taken on a hot and very humid afternoon.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Writing this evening, Earl is expected to make landfall, possibly still as a Cat. 1 hurricane, in western Nova Scotia Friday night / Saturday morning. It’s veered slightly away from my area in NE Nova Scotia. That may mean my ferry to Newfoundland won’t be too badly affected. Maybe…

Towards the Cabot Trail

2010-08-31T19:05:00.001-06:00

31th August: Port Hood to Margaree Harbour

Odometer: 74 km, Start: 10.00am, Finish: 4.00pm, Avg: 18.7 km/h,
Weather: Sunny AM, cloudy PM, Temp: 16-23°C
Road Conditions: #19/219 (Ceilidh Trail), small gravel or no shoulder, reasonable road surface, very light traffic. Services: Inverness (45km). Ascent: 475m/450m.

I have a fairly relaxed schedule planned for Cape Breton to cater for the very “scenic” (i.e. hilly) terrain. Today I had a leisurely 75km ride northwards to pick up the Cabot Trail.

I had breakfast at the same place I had my meal last night, looking out again over the water. I hit the road around 10am and rode slowly to the next village of Mabou. This town had great scenery around it’s bay area. I also stumbled across the bike trail I’d used yesterday.

Mabou Bay

I took the trail (which I'm pretty sure now was once a railway line) all the way to Inverness, one of the larger (but still small) towns on my route around the island. I was glad of the shade of the trail as the sky was clear, the sun was out and it was already very warm.

Church and bridge at Mabou (taken from the bike trail)

Just before Inverness I counted down to my 8,000th kilometre on this trip! That’s 5,000 miles for all you imperialists. I can confirm that is a long way on a bicycle in 2.5 months…

8,000 kilometres = 5,000 miles!

I’ve stopped in Margaree Harbour this evening, which is another nice coastal location with pleasant views. It’s also on the Cabot Trail road. Therefore, the fun should begin tomorrow…

Margaree Harbour and bridge

I've reached the Cabot Trail!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I say should begin. I’ve found out tonight that another hurricane (Earl) is forecast to threaten Nova Scotia / Newfoundland at the end of the week. (Hurricane Danielle I wrote about a while back didn’t affect the region).

It leaves me with a dilemma. It will take me 3 days to get around the Cabot Trail and back to North Sydney (for the ferry to Newfoundland). I might run into strong winds (or worse) during the Friday and I’d still be on exposed coastal roads. Strong winds on a loaded touring bike would be an absolute no-no.

I could bail out from Margaree Harbour and head straight for North Sydney via Baddeck and beat the stormy weather by a day. I’d miss the Cabot Trail, of course, but at least I’d be in the right place to sit out a possible storm and watch for information on the Newfoundland ferry.

I think it’s a decision for the morning after viewing the latest forecast…

Across to Cape Breton

2010-08-31T18:54:00.001-06:00

30th August: Antigonish to Port Hood

Odometer: 95 km, Start: 8.45am, Finish: 4.00pm, Avg: 19.1 km/h,
Weather: Sunny, Temp: 15-25°C
Road Conditions: #104 (TCH), mostly 2m shoulder, moderate to heavy traffic. #4 (from jct. 36 of #104), small gravel shoulder, average road surface, very light traffic. #19 (from Port Hastings), small gravel shoulder, good road surface, very light traffic. Adequate stops before Port Hastings (50km). Small shop at Troy (55km) and Judique (75km). Ascent: 400m/430m.

It felt a little bit like a transition day as I made my way onto Cape Breton and north towards the Cabot Trail via the Ceilidh Trail. I had to endure some early kilometres on the Trans-Canada Highway until I could get onto the old alignment (highway #4) and away from the traffic. I seem to be increasingly annoyed now by loud and fast traffic. I think it’s because the contrast to the usually quiet roads I ride on is so stark. It affects my karma greatly.

Canso Causeway (from Cape Breton side)

Cape Breton is actually a large island separated from the rest of Nova Scotia by the 1km Strait of Canso. The road on the man-made Canso Causeway is the only land bridge. I sprinted across as the road was narrow and the traffic was heavy.

Welcome to the Island of Cape Breton

Port Hastings is just the other side and I rolled into the Tourist Information to get the low down. I find it useful, in areas without major population centres, to work out the relative sizes of the smaller villages along my route. (You can’t really tell from the map). This allows me to plan food stops in remoter areas. I got some good local information from the knowledgeable staff.

I joined the Ceilidh Trail (route #19) northwards from Port Hastings. This part of Nova Scotia seems quite celebratory of it’s Celtic roots! Village signs often have their Celtic name equivalents. The tourist trail ran alongside the coastline (St. Georges Bay) and it was quite pleasant viewing during the hot and sunny afternoon. I could just about see the land I rode on yesterday around Cape George across the bay!

On the Ceilidh Trail

At Judique, I found a bike trail, part of the signed Trans Canada Trail (the off-road bike trail across Canada). It was called the Judique Flyer Trail and I think it was using a former railway line as it was pretty straight and with well engineered shallow gradients. I took the trail through welcome shaded woods nearly all the way to my evening stopover in Port Hood which is right by the sea!

Coastal scene near Judique (taken from the bike trail)

Sunset at Port Hood. I had dinner on a terrace looking out at this.

The Mini Cabot Trail

2010-08-29T18:15:00.001-06:00

29th August: Lower Barneys River to Antigonish

Odometer: 89 km, Start: 8.30am, Finish: 3.45pm, Avg: 19.6 km/h,
Weather: Sunny, Temp: 17-25°C
Road Conditions: #245/337 (known as "Mini Cabot Trail"), no shoulder, mostly reasonable surface, very light traffic. Small cafe at Ballantynes Cove (45km). Very hilly around Cape George. Ascent: 720m/700m

After my rather unpleasant night’s “rest” at the noisy campsite, I was keen to get away in the morning. I was to continue along the coastline on what a couple of people have told me is known as the Mini Cabot Trail. A sort of “warm-up” for the real thing in a few days time!

At first the road was kind of flat and uninteresting. The sea was hidden behind the trees even though it was only 500m away. Gradually, around Arisaig, the terrain changed character, becoming much more hilly. The road started climbing and then plunging down into coves and climbing out again the other side. It became a veritable rollercoaster.

Looking down at Arisaig

Around the headland at Cape George, the road and views of the coastline were truly stunning. Both took your breath away! At one point you could see Prince Edward Island to the NW and Cape Breton (where I’m headed) to the NE. Both were about 30km away.

Road going down steeply around Cape George

From the Cape George headland the road dropped away again steeply and the wonderful vista of Ballantynes Cove opened up before me. I took a couple of photos from different vantage points down the hill. I also had a lunch at the tiny cafe in the marina, after waiting 20 minutes for it to open up at midday!

Ballantynes Cove

Marina at Ballantynes Cove

The road then gradually flattened out as it followed the coastline southwards to Antigonish along St. Georges Bay. Cape Breton was clearly visible (and looking very hilly) on the other side of the water. It had been a nice introduction to the rugged and beautiful Nova Scotia coastline. I’m looking forward to the “full-sized” Cabot Trail quite a lot now, although I’m thinking it’s going to be tough…

Chairs facing out over St. Georges Bay towards Cape Breton

Ferry to Nova Scotia

2010-08-29T18:08:00.001-06:00

28th August: Woods Island to Lower Barneys River, NS

Odometer: 60 km, Start: 8.45am, Finish: 4.00pm, Avg: 20.0 km/h,
Weather: Sunny, Temp: 17-25°C
Road Conditions: #106 (to New Glasgow), 2m shoulder, good surface, light traffic. #4/#245, no shoulder, average surface, very light traffic. Services: New Glasgow (25km). Gas station / Campground at Lower Barneys River (60km). Ascent: 300m/300m

After riding all the way across PEI in one go, I had a relatively short ride for my first day in Nova Scotia. The ferry crossing took just over an hour. You could see the Nova Scotia shoreline from the harbour at Woods Island. It was only 20km away.

Out on the water this morning

On the ferry, I spoke to a nice lady at the Tourist Information Desk to get my free province map and to establish the lie of the land on my intended route.

Lighthouse approaching Caribou, Nova Scotia

I’ve stopped at 60km at a busy and somewhat noisy (it’s Saturday night) Cranberry Campground on the Northumberland Shore. My tent spot overlooks the water, though.

Northumberland Shore from campsite

Tomorrow I get to ride along what the locals call the “Mini Cabot Trail”. I’m not quite sure what that means. A warm-up for the real thing? Maybe some coastal scenery without the hills? I don’t know.

The weather is excellent again and supposedly set fair for most of the next week. I haven’t got that far to go now and mentally, I’m thinking I’ve nearly finished this road trip. That’s a bit premature, though, as there is still some hard riding to come. Thankfully, my shortened route means I don’t have to ride quite so far anymore. I might be glad of that by next weekend…

Across Prince Edward Island

2010-08-29T18:03:00.001-06:00

27th August: Borden-Carleton to Woods Island

Odometer: 127 km, Start: 9.00am, Finish: 7.00pm, Avg: 18.9 km/h,
Weather: Sunny intervals, Temp: 16-23°C
Road Conditions: Confederation trail (67km to Charlottetown), red cinder gravel, smooth surface in great condition. #26 (from Charlottetown), no shoulder, very light traffic. Joins #1 (TCH), 1.75m shoulder, good condition, light traffic. #23 (to Woods Island), no shoulder, reasonable surface, extremely light traffic. Good stops on trail. Services: Charlottetown (67km). Cafe at Vernon Bridge (85km). Ascent: 500m/530m

I managed to dry out overnight and it was sunny when I went for breakfast in the morning. My motel was right by the start of the Confederation Trail bike path that I was going to take to Charlottetown. I wondered about the trail’s condition after the rainy day yesterday. (Other parts of PEI had very heavy rain, much worse than I experienced). I needn’t have worried the trail was hard-packed cinder gravel and it was in perfect condition!

The red earth of Prince Edward Island

The Confederation Trail was another brilliant off-road bike route. Nice one PEI! I really enjoyed the whole 67km to Charlottetown. Most of the trail surface had a red colour indicative of the colour of the island rocks and soil. I passed through old woods and across open grassland and pasture. This part of PEI had a lot of rolling hills, but because the trail was mostly built on a defunct railway route, the gradients on the trail were only very slight.

Typical conditions on the Confederation Trail

The trail delivered me right to the edge of the old town district of Charlottetown. I used the GPS to navigate the 500m or so to the one building I wanted to see in the town. Province House held the first talks on Canadian Confederation in 1864.

Province House, Charlottetown – Venue for the 1864 Confederation Talks

Information on the 1864 Confederation Talks

Cormorants on an old bridge support, Charlottetown

I had intended to get half way between Charlottetown and Woods Island to leave a short ride to the ferry to Nova Scotia in the morning. In the end, I made it all the way, due to an afternoon tailwind! I’m glad I did as I had great conditions in the early evening for some snaps of the lighthouses dotted around the Woods Island harbour area.

The little lighthouse and a sailing boat, Woods Island, PEI

Low tide and evening light

The colourful red lighthouse

The other lighthouse and the evening sun

Soggy day riding to the Confederation Bridge

2010-08-29T17:52:00.001-06:00

26th August: Bouctouche to Borden-Carleton, PEI

Odometer: 113 km, Start: 9.00am, Finish: 5.30pm, Avg: 21.1 km/h,
Weather: Drizzle/Fog AM, Showers PM, very humid, Temp: 18-24°C
Road Conditions: No Road report. I tried to follow the “Acadian Coastal Drive” again to the Confederation bridge but three closed bridges resulted in large detours.

A soggy day sums it up nicely! It rained overnight and turned very humid. I had set off in the dry though and it was supposed to be a improving picture during the day. I thought I’d got away with it again! Not this time, the weather forecast was off. It didn’t take long for the drizzle to set in. Several heavy showers during the afternoon and the lovely humidity ensured I stayed very damp. My skin was crinkly (again) by the evening.

A small portion of the 13km length of the Confederation Bridge

I wanted to follow the Acadian Coastal Drive for the second day down to the Confederation Bridge, but there were several closed river bridges on the route. (There seemed to be an unusual amount of road and bridge maintenance going on). Bridge closures are a bit of a bummer as it usually means a lengthy detour. A lengthy detour riding a bicycle is BAD. Add detours to the list of things that make me shout a lot!

The body-blow was the closure of the #955 which was a bike friendly road along the coast for the last 30km to the bridge. The detour was on an main road going inland followed by 25km on the Trans-Canada Highway… in the pouring rain! Lovely.

You can't ride your bike across or walk...

Approaching the bridge there were signs indicating pedestrians and cyclists aren’t allowed to cross. Instead there was a shuttle bus to catch at the information centre just before the start of the bridge. It was a strange system to catch a lift across. You had to use a phone in the centre to call for a lift. (I think the buses stay on the PEI side until they’re needed rather than having one or more stationed at each end? Maybe there’s some logic in there somewhere…).

I had to wait about 20 mins, just enough time for a snack and a walk to the observation tower to look out at the bridge. From the tower, you can only see the first couple of kilometres before the bridge curves away behind itself. It’s still quite impressive though.

...there's a (24hr I think) shuttle bus for bikes and pedestrians

After loading the Nomad on a trailer (annoyingly I had to take all my bags off), I and three foot passengers were whisked across to the other side and we were on Prince Edward Island!

PEI has a good network of bike paths, some of them following the course of the island’s railway line which was closed in 1989. I’m hoping to travel the 65km to Charlottleville, the island’s capital, off-road on the Confederation Trail. It should be a good ride. Shades of La Route Verte in Quebec…

Reached the east coast of Canada

2010-08-25T18:58:00.001-06:00

25th August: Rogersville to Bouctouche (8km south of)

Odometer: 115 km, Start: 9.15am, Finish: 6.00pm, Avg: 21.0 km/h,
Weather: Sunny, Temp: 15-24°C
Road Conditions: #480, no shoulder, some rough surface sections, deserted. #134/505/475 (from Saint Louis de Kent I followed the “Acadian Coastal Drive” signage), gravel shoulders, average road surfaces, very light traffic. Gas station St. Louis (40km). Services: Richibucto (50km), Bouctouche (105km). Ascent: 220m/260m.

I left Rogersville refreshed from my day off. Thanks to Freda and Garry at Chez Freda Restaurant & Motel for making me so welcome. (Garry even took me on a drive around the local area one evening). I was also upbeat, I was about to hit the east coast of Canada!

“And to my right we have the Atlantic Ocean” (Northumberland Strait)...

I began to look for glimpses of open water around St. Louis-de-Kent and Richibucto, straining my eyes up estuarial rivers, but an archipelago of islands sat just off the coast and blocked my view. It wasn’t until I got to Cap-Lumière that I took in my first view of open sea in 2½ months! I’d reached the east coast of Canada! I could also just make out Prince Edward Island 20km off the coast. I should be on the island tomorrow evening.

Is that a galleon I see before me?

I continued southwards hugging the coastline and following the Acadian Coastal Drive, a signed scenic tourist route. It was very quiet, although the roads were a bit bumpy and the wind was whipping in off the sea.

Err... no.

Just after Saint-Eduoard-de-Kent I met another two female Trans-Canada cyclists who had also set out from Vancouver! We chatted for a while about our experiences. They’d just ridden the infamous Plaster Rock to Renous #108 and had done a wild camp half way. They’d found it equally as tough. Funnily enough, they’d even heard of me from various sources over the last few days. (I was a day or so ahead of them, on the same roads from Quebec, until my rest day synchronised us). My reputation precedes me!

At Saint-Edouard-de-Kent

I stopped for an evening meal in Bouctouche and they carried on a while. (I should see them again tomorrow, I think). After the meal, I asked Madame about places to stay. Within a minute, she’d rang a couple of numbers and fixed me up with a nice B&B right on my route going south! Merci Madame! What a nice day it’s been…

Just before Bouctouche

Day off in Rogersville

2010-08-24T18:07:00.001-06:00

After posting my journal yesterday, I had time to look at my remaining riding schedule to St. John’s. I also decided to have my day off here in Rogersville rather than ride one more day to the coast. I needed a stop anyway having ridden every day since leaving Montreal.

Although I’ve covered 7,400km in 75 days since June 10th, I’ve not quite kept up with my schedule. (I’m pretty damn close though). Studying what’s left on my route and weighing the pros and cons, I’ve decided I don’t quite have enough time for the long ride across Newfoundland (from Channel Port-aux-Basques) I’d planned without leaving things tight to catch my flight home.

So instead, I’m going to take the alternative long ferry crossing (14 hours!) from North Sydney to Argentia, Newfoundland and ride in to St. John’s from there. It’s still the same end point, so makes no real difference. This reduces my route by about 750km and gives me time to relax and enjoy these final days without worrying about distances and time left. I should get a couple of days in St. John’s to sight-see as well. 14 hours on a ferry could be a bitch though…

The ferry only runs 3 times a week, so I’ve got to synchronise properly with that. I’m glad I checked the ferry schedule as I had assumed the service was daily! I’m also watching Hurricane Danielle which is currently off the coast of Mexico tracking northwards. It could affect the Maritime region in about a week's time!

I did have time to visit Rogersville’s (only) tourist attraction this morning – the Monument National Notre-Dame de l'Assomption (Acadian National Monument). Some pictures from there follow.

Monument National Notre-Dame de l'Assomption

Statue of Msgr. Marcel-François Richard, considered the Father of Modern Acadia

Statue plaque detail

Statue detail of Msgr. Marcel-François Richard

The Acadian Flag. It's flown a lot in this region.

Flower of the day 1

Flower of the day 2

Some explanatory text of Msgr. Marcel-François Richard

Some explanatory text of the Monument

Out of the hills and animals during the night

2010-08-23T18:27:00.001-06:00

23th August: Middle of nowhere, between Plaster Rock & Renous to Rogersville

Odometer: 121 km, Start: 8.00am, Finish: 4.30pm, Avg: 19.8 km/h,
Weather: Overcast, brighter later, Temp: 14-22°C
Road Conditions: #108, no shoulder, average road surface, extremely light traffic. #118 (from Renous), no shoulder, light traffic. #126 (to Rogersville), gravel shoulder, light traffic but fast with heavy-haulers. Services: Renous (70km). Ascent: 500m/900m.

My isolated camp spot wasn’t as lonely as I thought it was going to be. There were several large animals wandering around in the woods during the night! I think they were moose or large deer as when I went out (a bit scared) to investigate, I could hear munching and crunching. I don’t think they were bears (New Brunswick does have black bears), but it was still a little too much “adventure” when camping alone in a great big forest…

I was a bit tired when I reached Renous after my “adventure”

It was rainy and windy during the night as well, so after a fretful and interrupted sleep, I broke camp quite early and hit the road. Despite making a good dent yesterday, I still had 70km to go to Renous and sanctuary. It was a slow process, despite the general tilt downwards of the road as I came out of the hills. I had little energy, even after eating most of my rations. I was cheered slightly by the number of honks and waves from the few car drivers. I don’t think many cyclists come this way…

Finally I reached the oasis, namely the gas station on the edge of Renous, the one indicated on the sign from yesterday’s post. I sat down with my food feeling pretty tired. I could have happily slept on that bench for a while, but I became a popular attraction with lots of people gathering around and talking to me about my trip. (It was strange to have the attention again. In Quebec, nobody bothered me at all. They all seemed much more reserved). After the break, lengthened considerably by my temporary celebrity status, I carried on hoping to reach Rogersville.

Gas station oasis at Renous

I did get to my destination, but it was a grind. Never mind, I recover quite quickly. Actually, I’ve got another highlight to look forward tomorrow as I reach the east coast of Canada and the Atlantic! Technically, the water is the Northumberland Strait, but it leads to the Atlantic Ocean and that’s good enough for me.

River at Renous

Remote crossing of central New Brunswick

2010-08-23T18:25:00.001-06:00

22th August: Grand Falls to the middle of nowhere, between Plaster Rock & Renous (Wild camp @ N46º49.057', W66º36.668)

Odometer: 113 km, Start: 9.15am, Finish: 5.00pm, Avg: 18.7 km/h,
Weather: Sunny intervals, Temp: 12-23°C
Road Conditions: #108, no shoulder, reasonable road surface, extremely light traffic after Plaster Rock. Services: Plaster Rock (35km) then nothing for 137km. Water available only from several rivers en route. Most are a scramble down to reach, though. The Dungarvon River at 110km was relatively easy to get to. Hilly day. Ascent: 1300m/1000m.

I was looking forward to today, but with some trepidation. When doing my research on getting across New Brunswick, I was intrigued by a remote looking road through the upper-centre of the province, the #108. From Plaster Rock to Renous I discovered, there is absolutely nothing, no gas stations, no rest areas, no tourist attractions, nothing that is but forest! It’s 138km between the towns and that’s a long day’s bike ride.

River at Grand Falls

A couple of days ago, I decided I fancied wild camping in the middle of nowhere, having ascertained there were several river crossings to hopefully obtain some water. So, I stopped near Grand Falls yesterday to make the distances work.

I visited the falls implied by the town’s name first thing in the morning, but when I got there I discovered it was the wrong time of year. (Spring is best apparently). The falls were just a dribble. Most of the water is diverted to a power station during the summer months. The scouring of the rock faces indicated that this would be a sight when the water is flowing, though.

Wrong time of year for the falls, though

Should be quite impressive during springtime…

I headed on to Plaster Rock, my last town to stock up on some food before heading out into the hills. The river at Plaster Rock was quite nice to view as I left town. On the way out there are a couple of signs warning about the large distance to the next town. There was a great big warning sign to expect winter conditions too. Maybe not today, it was 24 degrees and sunny.

River at Plaster Rock

Another remote stretch ahead, 137km of nothing but forest…

The road climbed into the Central New Brunswick hills and twisted it’s way through dense pine forests. It also rose and dipped repeatedly. I climbed and descended, climbed and descended throughout the afternoon, gradually gaining altitude. I reached 550m at one stage.

Heading into the hills of central New Brunswick on the #108

At the Dungarvon River I managed to get some water (to filter later) and started looking for a camp spot. The GPS helped here, as it showed a few logging roads in the area. I managed to find a nice hidden spot off a logging road and set up camp for a lonely night in the woods!

My wild camp between Plaster Rock and Renous at N46º49.057', W66º36.668!

Into New Brunswick

2010-08-21T18:27:00.001-06:00

21th August: Dégelis to Grand Falls, NB

Odometer: 89 km, Start: 9.30am, Finish: 5.15pm, Avg: 22.1 km/h,
Weather: Bright, but cloudy, Temp: 14-19°C
Road Conditions: La Route Verte 8 / Sentier NB, mostly cinder surface, sometimes gravel, good condition. #144 (from Edmundston), 1.5m+ paved shoulder, occasionally no shoulder for short periods, very light traffic. Ascent: 220m/220m.

After yesterday’s high, today was a bit flat, as it was almost bound to be. The bike trail to Edmundston wasn’t as pretty, the weather was cool and cloudy, perhaps the coolest since the Rockies an age ago, the scenery wasn’t the most inspiring (I know, I’ve been spoilt), I was also feeling a little jaded.

The four provinces left on this bike ride: (L to R)
Newfoundland & Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick

I did cross into New Brunswick early on this morning, though. That’s my 7th Canadian Province so far out of the 10. I’ve just four more to go: New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland & Labrador. I’ve also clocked over 7,100km and it’s my 73rd day on the road.

The Route Verte 8 seamlessly became the Sentier NB (NB Trail) at the province border. Before I took the NB Trail I crossed over the Trans-Canada highway and went to the visitor centre to pick up the free province map (I’ve been able to do this in all provinces so far). I also looked for the New Brunswick province sign but couldn’t see it on the highway.

The bike trail to Edmundston, part of Sentier NB

This section of the Sentier NB went to Edmundston, the first major town. It mostly ran right beside the Trans-Canada highway and therefore wasn’t quite as sceneic, but it was still a dedicated bike trail of around 20km in length.

After Edmundston I joined the #144 which I think is the old course of the Trans-Canada before the 4-lane divided highway #2 was created. The #144 was very quiet. (The #2 was obviously doing it’s job). The road closely followed the Saint John River, although there weren’t any real views. On the other side of the river is Maine, USA. I was right by the US border again. In fact, if I’d have continued east through NY State, I’d have probably come back into Canada somewhere around here!

I passed a few small towns along the #144, but the highway bypassed the towns and I couldn’t be bothered to divert from the road to have a look around. It was that sort of day.

La Route Verte 8

2010-08-21T18:26:00.001-06:00

20th August: Rivière-du-Loup to Dégelis

Odometer: 107 km, Start: 9.00am, Finish: 5.45pm, Avg: 18.5 km/h,
Weather: Sunny intervals, Temp: 14-20°C
Road Conditions: La Route Verte 8, most cinder surface, sometimes gravel, very good condition throughout. Quite smooth. Plenty of stops. Ascent: 450m/350m.

What a superb day! After a short climb out of Rivière-du-Loup, I joined La Route Verte 8 near the Trans-Canada #85 junction and spent the entire day completely away from the traffic on a cinder and gravel cycle-path! About 100km off-road in total.

Last look at the St. Lawrence, Rivière-du-Loup

RV 8 is also a major winter trail that goes across Quebec. So it’s bikes during the summer, snowmobiles etc. during the winter. The trail has its own road style signage, complete with warnings, instructions and distance markers. As you approach a town, the trail also has signage for hotels, restaurants and attractions. It’s brilliant!

I'm taking La Route Verte 8 to Edmundston (with a “d”). It’s all off-road!

The first half of today to Saint-Honoré was slightly uphill. I gently climbed from sea-level to over 400m through densely forested land. It was hard to determine the lie of the land because of the tree cover.

Cinder / gravel cycle-path through the forest. Typical of today’s ride.

Meandering river from the trail

After Saint-Honoré, I dropped back down and passed through the memorably named Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! (exclamation marks are correct) before reaching the very pretty Lac Témiscouata.

Sitting by Lac Témiscouata

For the next 30km, I rode along the lakeshore, passing through two towns, Cabano and Notre-Dame-du-Lac. It was a very pleasant ride and the cycle-path was quite busy with leisure cyclists. I’ve ended up for the day in Dégelis, at the end of the lake, a little short of the New Brunswick border. I continue tomorrow, off-road all the way to Edmundston!

Tailwind to Rivière-du-Loup

2010-08-21T18:25:00.001-06:00

19th August: L'Islet-sur-mer to Rivière-du-Loup

Odometer: 109 km, Start: 8.45am, Finish: 3.30pm, Avg: 23.4 km/h,
Weather: Sunny, Temp: 15-23°C
Road Conditions: #138, 1.5m paved shoulder most of the time, some stretches in the middle without a shoulder, very light traffic, though. Plenty of stops. Ascent: 325m/300m.

I was surprised to still see the wind blowing strongly when I broke camp this morning. The forecast last night said the SW wind that has been pushing me all the way from Montreal was to die out. Not that I’m complaining about my continuing good fortune.

Church and Quebec farmland

Church spires and pink roof, Saint-Jean-Port-Joli

It was my last day following the St. Lawrence, so I needed to savour the final views of the river before I turn inland. It wasn’t quite as picturesque as yesterday because the far shore was now quite a few kilometres away and it was also a little hazy in the morning. There were some better spots in the afternoon.

St. Lawrence at Rivière-Ouelle

St. Lawrence at Kamouraska

With the strong tailwind and a flat road, I had very fast riding conditions (again). I just hopped from town to town, stopping at a few cafes and any viewpoints along the way. My favourite cafe of the day was the last one, Café de la Vieille École in Saint-André. It was a very nice building in which to have crepes and a juice.

Nice cafe at Saint-André

My motel room in Rivière-du-Loup overlooks the St. Lawrence, so I get a last look tomorrow morning before climbing out of the city, taking another Route Verte cycle-path, number 8 this time, towards New Brunswick.

Bright red roofed house (one of quite a few seen today) in landscape

If the forecast is to be believed the wind is swinging around to the NW overnight. That’s the ideal direction for me again! Am I blessed or something?

Crossing the St. Lawrence at Québec City

2010-08-18T19:59:00.001-06:00

18th August: Neuville to L'Islet-sur-mer

Odometer: 125 km, Start: 8.30am, Finish: 5.15pm, Avg: 21.8 km/h,
Weather: Sunny intervals, Temp: 15-24°C
Road Conditions: La Route Verte 5 to Quebec Bridge on mostly backroads, La Route Verte 1 from Quebec Bridge, 12km cycle path through Lévis then #138, 1.5m paved shoulder, light traffic. Plenty of stops. Ascent: 400m/450m.

You have to hand it to Vélo Québec, the Québec government (for their $90m funding) and anybody else involved, La Route Verte & Québec’s cycle-path network is fantastic. Today I had to get through the western suburbs of Québec City, over a 1km bridge and through the large city of Lévis. I did it all on dedicated cycle paths and a few roads with barely any traffic.

Pont de Québec over the St. Lawrence, Québec City

St. Lawrence from Pont de Québec, Québec City (left), Lévis (right)

I’ve now crossed over to the south side of the St. Lawrence via the Quebec Bridge, a superb riveted steel trussed structure. It has the longest cantilever bridge span in the world, apparently. It’s also a bit rusty. The “cycle-lane” is technically a footpath you’re supposed to walk your bike across, but cyclists seemed to be riding it. It’s narrow though, I had to stop several times to let others past.

On the bridge (looking back)

Once over the bridge, I started following La Route Verte 1. To get through the city of Lévis, I joined a very popular cycle path alongside the St. Lawrence. There were loads of cyclists and inline skaters about, even though it was mid-week. I had good views of Old Québec City on the other bank at one point.

Québec City (old town) from Lévis

I stayed close to the river all day. Once out of Lévis I was on the #132 which I’m taking as far as Riviere-du-Loup. The #132 had a slightly elevated position over the St.Lawrence at first, giving good views of the river and the hills behind. It was also lightly trafficked and had a good paved shoulder.

Sunset over St. Lawrence from L'islet-sur-mer

I decided to camp tonight. (Well it’s been around two weeks since my last one)! I’m at L’Islet-sur-mer, a small village on the St. Lawrence, which as the town name suggests, now resembles sea rather than river. The banks are a few kilometres wide here. I had a great evening watching the sun go down from the jetty just beside the campsite.

Sunset shots

Following the St. Lawrence River

2010-08-18T19:54:00.001-06:00

17th August: Trois-Rivières to Neuville

Odometer: 95 km, Start: 9.15am, Finish: 3.30pm, Avg: 23.7 km/h,
Weather: Sunny AM, heavy showers PM, Temp: 19-25°C
Road Conditions: La Route Verte 5 (all on #138), 1.5m paved shoulder, very light traffic. Plenty of stops. Ascent: 120m/120m.

I spent another day tracking the Fleuve Saint-Laurent (St. Lawrence River) as the #138 continued to closely follow it’s north shore. The sun was out during the morning and showed the river and surroundings off nicely.

Bridge over St. Lawrence at Trois-Rivières

I had a strong tailwind to help me along the way, but I’m still having to deal with very sore calves from my “hike” in Montreal. It makes riding slightly uncomfortable. So despite the fast riding conditions, I felt like I was somehow struggling. Hopefully the calf muscles will ease soon.

Church at Champlain

It's shiny spire

I met another Trans-Canada cyclist today just outside Trois-Rivières. Duncan’s from Vancouver and is riding from his home town to St. John’s the same as me. He’s a bit faster and travelling a little further each day, but started around the same time. I suppose he must have longer breaks off the bike?

The St. Lawrence from a shady spot

There were some very nice small towns by the river, especially Champlain and Batiscan early on. At Batiscan there was a good example of the same iron bridge structure I’ve seen several times around here. The town of Deschambault was also nice. I had lunch there in the excellent Cafe Resto.

Iron bridge at Batiscan

Storm clouds gathered during the afternoon and I got a good drenching from a heavy thunder storm around 3pm. I could see further storms lining up behind me and didn’t fancy riding on after spotting a picturesque restaurant avec chambres right on the river in Neuville. I had a nice meal in their conservatoire later on, looking out over the St. Lawrence and watching the rain pelting down on the river.

Statue outside Batiscan Church

Scene at Batiscan

The chambres here are themed and my room is sort of “medieval”. I’m typing this being overlooked by a full suit of armour and there’s a large and heavy wrought iron candelabra right over the bed. It’s all ever so slightly scary…

Town on the other bank of the St. Lawrence river

Chemin du Roy

2010-08-16T20:12:00.001-06:00

16th August: Berthierville to Trois-Rivières

Odometer: 86 km, Start: 9.45am, Finish: 3.30pm, Avg: 21.1 km/h,
Weather: Light rain AM, brightening later, Temp: 18-24°C
Road Conditions: La Route Verte 5: Signage good. Quiet, bumpy country roads following old Chemin du Roy. #138 from 20km to Trois-Rivières had 1.5m shoulder and light traffic. Ascent: 80m/80m.

An overcast morning with steady light rain greeted me when I set off this morning. I’ve not had very much rain at all on this trip so I can’t really grumble.

Pont Galipeault, Maskinongé

River under Pont Galipeault

I again spent the day (mostly) following the La Route Verte 5 which (mostly) followed the old course of the Chemin du Roy (King’s Road), an historic highway along the north shore of the St. Lawrence river dating from the 1700s. The route was nearly completely traffic free on bumpy country roads through flat Québécois farmland. It frequently crossed and re-crossed the modern highway #138 on my way towards Trois-Rivières.

Following the Chemin du Roy (King's Road)

Around 20km out from Trois-Rivières I checked out the #138. It was pretty quiet and had a shoulder so I took that for the run into the city. It was quite a trek across town and although the sky was brightening up I decided to call time a little early today, just on the outskirts on the other side.

St. Lawerence at Pointe-du-Lac, near Trois-Rivières

Looking from a road bridge in Trois-Rivières

La Route Verte 5

2010-08-16T19:44:00.001-06:00

15th August: Beaconsfield, Montreal to Berthierville

Odometer: 120 km, Start: 9.15am, Finish: 5.00pm, Avg: 20.7 km/h,
Weather: Overcast, Temp: 18-25°C
Road Conditions: Followed La Route Verte 5 all day. Signage and road paint pretty good. Out of town road sections had mostly 1.5m paved shoulder. The last 10km until the approaches to Berthierville on the #138 had no shoulder but traffic was light. Ascent: 120m/120m.

It took me most of the morning to clear Montreal. In fact I had 55km showing before I left the island. Luckily, navigation was easy as I was following a marked cycleway: La Route Verte 5. (La Route Verte is a 4,000km series of bikeways within Québec, financed by the provincial government. The development is overseen by the organisation Vélo Québec).

Lake St. Louis, Beaconsfield

I left Beaconsfield and took the Lakeshore Road to the Lachine Canal where I picked up a cycle-path and followed the canal to the docks and Old Montreal. It wasn’t particularly scenic along the way but it was nice following the water course.

The cycle-path along the Lachine Canal into downtown Montreal

Crane on the Lachine Canal section

La Route Verte 5 went around the houses (literally) through Montreal and was a bit of an obstacle course. I didn’t enjoy it that much. Too many twists and turns, curbs and road junctions to negotiate. It would have been better than a busy highway, except it was Sunday and I could see the road I was shadowing (rue Notre-Dame) was very quiet.

Jacques Cartier Bridge across St. Lawrence, Montreal

Ships near the Old Docks

Nearly two-thirds of my day was urban riding and it wasn’t until after St. Sulpice that I left the conurbations behind. Near Lavaltrie I stopped off at a roadside fruit stall and had some framboises (raspberries). I spoke for quite a while to the nice lady running the stall. The fruit growing business was a hobby and used to help fund her daughter’s musical education, apparently. After I told her about my exploits, I got a free drink, although I probably should have insisted paying a little harder as it was such a tiny stall!

Followed La Route Verte 5 all day

From Lavaltrie, I was closely following the St. Lawrence River, as I will be doing now for the next four days all the way to Rivière-du_loup. Approaching Berthierville (the hometown of the former racing driver Gilles Villeneuve) the clouds were getting heavier and it started to spit with rain. I quickly found my accommodation using the GPS and managed to stay dry for another day.

St. Lawrence river, near Berthierville

Two days off in Montreal

2010-08-15T20:03:00.001-06:00

First of all, many thanks to my excellent hosts in Montreal – Elisa and Gavin. Their wonderful hospitality under exceptional circumstances (more of that later, I expect) and generosity was greatly appreciated! Thanks again!

Viewing the city from the terrace of Chalet du Mont Royal.

I spent one day wandering around downtown Montreal. First of all I climbed up “the mountain” to Chalet du Mont Royal for the fine views of the city from the terrace. It was quite a steep climb and descent using the steps and it made my legs go all wobbly on the way down (and my calf muscles hurt spectacularly the following day). I’ve obviously been cycling too long…

View from Chalet du Mont Royal. Pont Champlain over the St. Lawrence in distance.

Also from Chalet du Mont Royal (to the left of previous shot)

I continued back downhill wandering amongst the tall buildings and found the Musee D’Art Contemporain in the Quartier des Spectacles. There were several stunning pieces (as usual), in amongst the incomprehensible stuff (as usual).

Pyramidal roof of Le 1501 McGill College

Building Reflections

I continued on, after a pretentious lunch in the museum’s restaurant and ended up at the Cathédrale Marie-Reine du Monde (Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral). It was cool, deathly quiet and dimly lit inside. I had a snooze.

Cathédrale Marie-Reine du Monde

Reflection of Dome of Cathédrale Marie-Reine du Monde and Statue (name?)

It was quite hot by now and looking for one more thing to do I picked the Planetarium. It had excellent air-conditioning, was dark and had comfortable reclining chairs. Perfect. Drifting in and out of consciousness (quite a few people were also doing this), I watched a presentation on Saturn and the Cassini Probe mission. I was a bit sorry when it ended and I had to go back outside.

Skyscraper (Tour KPMG) and sun

Gargoyle on Christ Church Cathedral

I had planned to go back into town the next day and visit Vieux-Montréal (Old Montreal), but my legs hurt as I've already mentioned so I just did my bike maintenance* in the morning and took a short local walk to Pointe-Claire instead. I'll obviously need to come back sometime without a bike and explore the city properly…

*For Bryan: I did the Rohloff oil change and changed the rear tyre for a new Marathon Supreme. I think you could just about swap the original tyres and get to the end (with not a lot of tread left on either) but I had two new spares so it seemed sensible to use one. The existing front will last the distance easily, so didn’t bother changing. I’ve also decided to run the same chain until the end. I’ve put another turn on the EBB and wiped and re-lubed. There’s some mild hooking on the sprocket, but the chainring looks OK. Everything’s running sweet!

To Montréal

2010-08-14T20:47:00.001-06:00

12th August: Malone to Beaconsfield, Montreal, QC

Odometer: 110 km, Start: 9.00am, Finish: 5.30pm, Avg: 19.5 km/h,
Weather: Sunny, Temp: 16-25°C
Road Conditions: Various Quebec country roads once back in Canada, a lot of rough surfaces! Cycle paths from Les Cédres to Montreal. Ascent: 150m/300m.

I had a short ride to US border and crossed back into Canada via the Trout Creek crossing point. It was a simple crossing and I was on my way within 5 minutes. Rough roads greeted me in Quebec as I rode northwards to Montreal. I had a nice tea stop in a cafe in Huntingdon (nice talking to you Morgan!) before continuing on.

Canadian border at Trout Creek

Montréal, straight on!

Gavin, my Montreal host, had devised a route to Beaconsfield in the SW of the city using cycle-paths and a ferry. We were a bit worried about a narrow bridge near Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague which cyclists are barred from except at weekends when there’s a motorised shuttle transfer available. It would have meant a 20km detour to cross another bridge upstream if I couldn’t get across this one. I had two plans, either ride the bridge (whistling) or thumb a lift over the <1km length. When I got to the bridge it was lightly trafficked and safe enough so I crossed having “completely missed” the tiny no cycling sign…

Quebec farmland (maybe Adirondacks in background?)

Eglise Saint-Timothée

Rather ironically, the road the other side of the bridge was narrow, badly cracked and eroded and posed more danger than the bridge itself! Oh well. (Note to cyclists: The bridge does contain 100m of diamond metal grating in the middle that could be tricky in the wet or with narrow tyres). I got to Saint-Timothée and used the GPS to find the ferry crossing point via another narrow bridge across the reservoir, a gravel road and a small pontoon bridge. The ferry was conveniently moored on my bank, seemly waiting for me.

Short ferry ride from Saint-Timothée to Les Cédres

On the other side in Les Cédres, I joined up with La Route Verte 5 (a major Quebec cycle path) and rode alongside the Salonge Canal. I crossed a couple of bridges to get on and off Île Perrot and was finally on the Île de Montreal! (The city of Montreal is an island). It was just a short and pleasant ride to Beaconsfield where I’ll be based for a couple of days.

La Route Verte (Green Road) cycleway signage

Tonight I’ve been having dinner and chatting with my kind hosts Elisa and Gavin. A very nice couple and new friends!

Crossing onto the Île de Montréal (Island of Montreal)

Tour of the Lakes - Part 2

2010-08-11T19:41:00.001-06:00

11th August: Long Lake to Malone

Odometer: 133 km, Start: 9.00am, Finish: 5.45pm, Avg: 20.6 km/h,
Weather: Sunny, Temp: 16-26°C
Road Conditions: #30, mostly 2m shoulder, sometimes more, sometimes less, good surface until 10km to Malone then rough, very light traffic. Services at Tupper Lake (44km), then an Restaurant/Inn at Lake Clear (70km), then nothing. Ascent: 650m/950m.

They should call this part of the Adirondacks the “Lake District”. The higher mountains are a little bit further over to the east, but what I’ve lacked in classic mountain views has been more than compensated by lake views.

Great reflection

Just 1km over the short hill from where I stayed last night, I was greeted to the spectacular vista of another part of Long Lake. It was tempting to abandon the morning’s ride and take to the skies in the light airplane moored to a jetty.

Long Lake

As I had hoped, the #30 had a more open feel. There were less trees and the road was nearer to the numerous lakes and ponds it passed. I definitely got more bangs for my bucks, so to speak.

Tupper Lake

The main town en route was Tupper Lake and it came quite early in the ride. Just before town, the road cut across Raquette Pond and Simon Pond. Both were very shallow and had wetland environments.

Raquette Pond

Simon Pond

I managed one more stop at a great Inn at Lake Clear, before setting off on the afternoon ride that I knew would unfortunately take me out of the Adirondack Park. This was a hard 65km stretch with no services at all. The wind was coming from the north and this had contributed to a sunny day without humidity, but that meant there was a (slight) headwind. I hadn’t quite recovered from yesterday’s hill-fest, so I struggled a little but won in the end and arrived tired at Malone my night stop.

Insect of the day

Tomorrow I return to Canada crossing over into the province of Quebec and ride on up to Montreal. By the time I get there, I’ll be glad of the 2 day rest stop I’ve got planned thanks to the help of Elisa and Gavin, who are kindly taking me in. I’m looking forward to a couple of days away from the bike.

Tour of the Lakes

2010-08-10T19:37:00.001-06:00

10th August: Boonville to Long Lake

Odometer: 124 km, Start: 9.00am, Finish: 5.30pm, Avg: 19.5 km/h,
Weather: Overcast, sunny intervals PM, Temp: 18-24°C
Road Conditions: #28, mostly 2m shoulder, good surface, moderate traffic to Old Forge, less after that. Hilly. Good stops at Old Forge (44km) and Inlet (65km), then only a gas station at Blue Mountain Lake (107km). Ascent: 1200m/1000m.

I left Boonville and at first continued on my rollercoaster ride towards the Adirondack Mountains, but eventually reached a wooded plateau. I rode through the forest and noticed it was strangely quiet. No birdsong, not even the crickets that usually chirp incessantly around here. Not sure why? The country road I was on eventually followed the Moose River and then linked up with the main #28 road to Old Forge.

Moose River

I arrived in Old Forge, a popular tourist town via a cycle route. It passed the old railway station, Thendara Station, which is now a tourist destination. (You can take scenic train rides from here).

Thendara Station at Old Forge

I continued along the #28 which only occasionally provided glorious views of a number of lakes. First I passed by the imaginatively named 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th lakes. (Maybe there was a 1st-3rd as well, I don’t remember)? Raquette Lake provided the best scenery and the sun also came out at this point, which helped.

Canoeists on 7th Lake

Next was Blue Mountain Lake which was busy with holiday makers but disappointingly didn’t have anywhere to eat except a small gas station. I was at 107km by this point and needed some food. I decided to push on to Long Lake the next town, but nearly regretted that when the road headed into the hills via a steep and hot climb. Luckily, it was too long and it was mostly downhill then to my destination.

Raquette Lake

It was a slightly frustrating day. The #28 didn’t quite have enough views to counterbalance the effort required to ride a bike along it. It was a hard day with relatively few open scenic points available from the roadside. (There were a lot of points for parking and walking to viewpoints). I’m on the #30 tomorrow for my second of two days in the Adirondacks. We’ll see if that brings better rewards from my effort…

Long Lake, from my evening meal spot

Rollercoaster ride to Boonville

2010-08-10T19:33:00.001-06:00

9th August: Fulton to Boonville

Odometer: 113 km, Start: 9.15am, Finish: 5.15pm, Avg: 20.5 km/h,
Weather: Hazy sun and humid, storms late PM, Temp: 19-30°C
Road Conditions: GPS route on assortment of country roads, mostly traffic free. Hilly. Services at Camden (65km). Ascent: 1060m/900m.

I’m not sure what “special ingredient” went into my Fettuccini Alfredo last night, but I had good legs today for the rollercoaster ride to Boonville. It was my first really hilly day since the Rockies and that was too long ago!

Rollercoaster road

The humidity was beginning to creep back. It was only really moderate (about the same as a “hot and humid” day in Southern England) but enough for it to be troublesome with all the short sharp hills to be negotiated, especially during the afternoon when the sun came out.

I let the GPS take the strain and find me the shortest route as I was cutting across country with no obvious main road routing and I didn’t want to map read all day. It meant countless small country roads (lanes), sometimes a bit rough and definitely with the steepest hills around. Great! It was very quiet all day. Some of these little roads had no traffic at all.

Old barn and rising background hills

After lunch in Camden, the hills kept coming and it was hot. I took it easy and enjoyed the peace and solitude of the countryside, mostly dense old woods and grassland by this stage. I was gaining altitude slowly, with the steep downs slightly shorter than the steep ups. I was near 500m at one stage, although I lost some of it on the run in to Boonville.

During the late afternoon the storm clouds were rolling in. I could hear thunder all around but stayed dry until West Leyden with about 10km left. I sat out a heavy shower there and had a couple of cakes. I made Boonville only a little wet and found a great old hotel just before the storms started properly. It rained very heavily for the next couple of hours. It was glad to be indoors.

Boonville Hotel

Boonville is the last town on my route before the Adirondack Mountains begin. The scenery should be good tomorrow. I can’t wait.

Heading towards the Adirondacks

2010-08-08T19:36:00.001-06:00

8th August: Irondequoit to Fulton

Odometer: 115 km, Start: 9.00am, Finish: 4.30pm, Avg: 21.3 km/h,
Weather: Mostly cloudy, Temp: 16-28°C
Road Conditions: #404/Ridge Rd (Parallels #104 to Wolcott for 65km), 1 to 1.5m shoulder, good surface, very light traffic after leaving Irondequoit. #104, 1.5m shoulder, good surface, light traffic. #3, 2-3m shoulder, good surface, light traffic. Plenty of food stops. Ascent: ?m/?m (Didn't record. Rolling terrain 2nd half).

Irondequoit (a major town suburb of Rochester) proved difficult to escape. My intended route was to sneak through right along the Lake Ontario shoreline, but that relied on crossing the Irondequoit Bay Outlet Bridge. I noticed a couple of days ago that this swing bridge is only open to traffic from December to April! The rest of the time it’s left in the open position for boats to leave the bay and head into the lake.

Sodus Bay (from the bay bridge)

The main bridge across the bay (on the #104) is a freeway (motorway). I couldn’t find out whether there was a pedestrian / bike route from asking a few people last night. As luck would have it, as I was about to cycle out this morning to find out for myself, a police car stopped and I was able to ask. There wasn’t a bike route but the cop kindly drew me a map to get out of the city safely! Thanks!

Once clear, I spent most of the day on Ridge Rd which followed the major #104 highway. (Maybe the old #104 route)? This proved to be a nice route through several small towns with frontage housing for most of it’s length. It was a pleasant Sunday morning ride watching people doing their Sunday morning chores and relaxations. There were also many “yard sales”, people setting stalls up in their driveways.

Sodus Bay (other bank)

I reached Sodus for lunch and spoke for a long time with a young couple in the gas station / cafe. They were very friendly people who were interested in my trip and England. Just after Sodus I passed Sodus Bay which was just about my only scenery today. It was quite interesting reading the Seaway Trail history board of the bay crossing. (I’ve been loosely following the signed Seaway Trail from Niagara Falls).

Sodus Bay Bridge history

I’ve ended today in Fulton, NY which is on the Oswego River. I’m on schedule to reach Montreal in 4 days, assuming I can still remember how to climb hills. My all too brief days in the Adirondack Mountains are coming up after tomorrow…

Oswego River, Fulton

Perfect cycling day in NY State

2010-08-08T19:28:00.001-06:00

7th August: Olcott Beach to Irondequoit

Odometer: 110 km, Start: 9.15am, Finish: 4.00pm, Avg: 23.3 km/h,
Weather: Sunny, Temp: 15-24°C
Road Conditions: #18, 1 to 1.5m shoulder, excellent, very light traffic until outskirts of Irondequoit / Rochester. Plenty of food stops (lots of roadside fruit stalls). Ascent: 170m/170m.

It was another perfect day for cycling. (I’ve had a few I know). The humidity has gone these past couple of days (temporarily, I think), blown south by the wind. My clothes stayed dry. The temperature maxed out at a barmy 24°C (75°F) this afternoon. The skies were mostly clear. I had another westerly tailwind!

NY #18, a very good cycling road

The road was pretty good as well, although very flat. A nice smooth highway with a good shoulder and hardly any traffic for the first 80km. All along the route were orchards and other fruit farms. Market stalls lined the roadside every so often and there were countless pick-your-own berries spots.

Orchards and market garden crops all along the route

It was a good day to overdose on fruit! It was quite difficult to pass by without buying something nice to eat. You can’t pass up this sort of opportunity! I had well over my “5-a-day” today. It sure beats buying food from a gas station…

Lots of roadside market stalls and pick your own fruit

Niagara Falls and back in the States

2010-08-08T19:27:00.001-06:00

6th August: Fonthill to Olcott Beach, NY

Odometer: 85 km, Start: 8.15am, Finish: 5.00pm, Avg: 20.0 km/h,
Weather: Sunny, Temp: 15-24°C
Road Conditions: #20 (to Niagara Falls, ON), 0.5m shoulder, average road surface, moderate traffic. #18 (NY State), 1.5m shoulder, excellent, very light traffic. Ascent: 250m/350m.

There would’ve been no worries over accommodation in Niagara Falls, ON. There was a glut of old fashioned motels as I approached town along the #20. I saw $29 for a room. It stills looks like the 50s with all the motels one after another along “the strip”. It was a bit seedy and dated.

The Falls were spectacular, of course. I was quite emotional when I first set eyes on them. (I had the same feeling when I saw a total eclipse). The sheer power and majesty of nature. Fantastic.

Me at Niagara Falls

The weather was perfect and sunny and the viewing areas were very well laid out. There were lots of people about, but it wasn’t overcrowded. After viewing from the Canadian side, I crossed over to Niagara Falls, NY via the Rainbow Bridge. It was a formality at the US border this time as I already had a 90 day tourist visa from my Minnesota crossing. I viewed the falls from the American side at Prospect Point and then headed out of town.

It was confusing trying to head north to Fort Niagara and Lake Ontario. At first there was a bike path alongside the Robert Moses Parkway, but this ran out after a few kilometres. I don’t think bikes are allowed on the parkway (although it was very quiet) but I took a chance and made it to Youngstown without being arrested.

Excellent cafe in Youngstown, NY

I had lunch in town at a very nice cafe with a wonderful frontage. Afterwards I headed east along the shoreline of Lake Ontario on the NY #18. It was nice to be back on American roads. It’s a lot more relaxing when you’ve got 1.5 to 2m of paved shoulder to work with, even if the traffic was very light during the afternoon.

Marina at Newfane / Olcott Beach

I’m staying in Olcott Beach this evening. I found a neat room in a fishing and tackle shop for $35 with internet! All the other people staying were fisherman and I had a good “fishing” conversation. I even guessed the weight of a large salmon in a picture that one of them produced. I said “35 pounds”. “Right on the money, Shaun, right on the money”!

Lake Ontario at Olcott Beach

Pictures from Niagara Falls – Horseshoe Falls

2010-08-06T20:17:00.001-06:00

Horseshoe Falls

Horseshoe Falls (the American part)

“Maid of the Mist” getting a closer view of Horseshoe Falls

Horseshoe Falls from American Falls

The rapids to Horseshoe Falls viewed from Table Rock Centre

Horseshoe Falls detail

One of the many “Maid of the Mist” boats approaching Horseshoe Falls

Pictures from Niagara Falls – American Falls

2010-08-06T20:10:00.001-06:00

American Falls (viewed from Canada)

American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls (far right)

Looking up Niagara River at American Falls and Rainbow Bridge

American Falls from Prospect Point (in America)

American Falls with Horseshoe Falls in background

Rocks at bottom of American Falls

“Maid of the Mist” passing American Falls

Humid riding towards Niagara

2010-08-05T19:23:00.001-06:00

5th August: Guelph to Fonthill

Odometer: 132 km, Start: 9.15am, Finish: 4.45pm, Avg: 23.3 km/h,
Weather: Sunny and humid, Temp: 20-30°C (Humidex 36°C)
Mosquito Bites: 80, Hills walked: 0
Road Conditions: Assortment of county / concession roads early on to get to Peters Corners. Then #52 south, gravel shoulder, moderate traffic to #403 intersection, then quiet. #65 (Carluke), 0.5m shoulder, good road surface, light traffic. #20 (Bismark), 0.5m shoulder, good road surface, light to moderate traffic. Some limited choice food stops. Ascent: 400m/450m.

It was another hot, humid and uncomfortable day in the saddle and towards the limit of what I can repeatedly tolerate. It took a lot of effort to stay disciplined and take in enough fluids, not only for today, but for tomorrow. I think I did OK, but it’s not much fun riding for 6-7 hours having tears of sweat running down your face continuously and being soaked to the skin all day. Certainly not something you’d want to do day in, day out. (And to think it was even hotter and more humid around here a month ago while I was crossing the Prairies…).

Dramatic clouds over storage silo

I had help this morning getting away from Guelph when I met racing cyclist Mike out on a training ride. He turned around and rode 10km with me to get me across to the correct county road for my ride south between the cities of Cambridge and Hamilton.

We talked about the Ontario road racing scene which Mike said isn’t what it used to be. It seems they’re having problems with local bureaucracy, policing and rising event costs. This is pretty much the same problems the domestic UK racing scene has as well.

Market garden farms by the roadside today

We also had a funny conversation concerning where we live. (One look at the map of this corner of Ontario betrays where the early settlers came from. The towns of London, Cambridge, Stratford, Grimsby, Chatham, Peterborough, Richmond, Newmarket are all here along with many others). Mike said that he used to live near London, ON and now lives near Cambridge, ON. That’s exactly my situation with the UK versions! What a coincidence.

My first (and I suspect only) roundabout after nearly 5,600km...

I decided to stop this evening in Fonthill, about 20km from Niagara Falls, ON basically because accommodation was bounded to be cheaper. I’d also had enough for today. When I took my soggy clothes off, my feet and hands were all wrinkly like when you’ve sat in the bath for too long!

Through Ontario farmland to Guelph

2010-08-04T19:38:00.001-06:00

4th August: Hanover to Guelph

Odometer: 110 km, Start: 9.00am, Finish: 4.00pm, Avg: 21.8 km/h,
Weather: Sunny and humid, Temp: 19-28°C
Mosquito Bites: 80, Hills walked: 0, Smelly farms: quite a few
Road Conditions: Mostly county roads, chiefly: Grey #3, gravel shoulder, good road surface, deserted and Wellington #7, 0.5m paved shoulder, good surface, traffic light-ish but fast with some big-rigs. Plenty of food stops. Ascent: 500m/500m.

Those who know me know that the 4th August is always a quiet and reflective day. So it was fitting that during the morning I had a suitably deserted country road on which to quietly reflect…

Farming scene

I moved one (parallel) road across from the #10 I came into Hanover on, hoping for a quieter road going SE. The #3 was an excellent, smooth and deserted county road through pretty Ontario farmland. It was fantastic to ride on. It was another hot and humid one, though and I was soaked with sweat before 10am.

The deserted Grey county #3

The early part of the ride had a Germanic theme to it with the small towns of Carlsruhe, Neustadt and Moltke all close by. Around mid-morning I arrived in Harriston and found an excellent bakery that proclaimed to have been there since the 1870s. I feasted shamelessly on cakes!

South Saugeen River

The afternoon road wasn’t so quiet (Wellington #7) but it was OK. Looking at the map later I think I should have again chosen one road further over and came down on the #8 instead.

Farm and mailbox

As well as the mixed arable farming from yesterday, there was also plenty of livestock around including cattle, sheep (the first I’ve seen) and even some alpaca. Rather disagreeably, there were many indoor “intensive farming” units (chickens or pigs?). These certainly had a very strong “country odour”, accentuated further by the summer heat no doubt!

Corn and the blue sky

Approaching my destination Guelph (pronounced Gwelf), a large city of 120,000 people, I was keen to cross the city avoiding the main arterial roads. I plotted an alternative route in, but hit a snag when I encountered road-works and detour signs pointing back to a road I was trying to avoid!

I spoke to a nice lady (Barb) at the construction site as she was setting up signage. It was a lucky encounter. She directed through the first closed section and told me about a turning for a good bike trail! I found the turning and I had a glorious 4km ride through cool and shady woodland by the side of the river, right into the city parkland area! Nice.

Nice woodland bike trail into the city of Guelph

Day off in Hanover

2010-08-03T19:54:00.001-06:00

Well I’ve packed another 10 days riding in since my last “day off” posting! I’m very close to 5,400km and still in good health apart from being stung in the ear by a bee a couple of days ago! I am tired though, so today’s complete rest has been useful, I’m sure.

It was a reasonably good stretch through the Upper Peninsula, Michigan, (would’ve been nicer if I hadn’t straight-lined it) then a mentally tiring one on the TCH and also across Manitoulin Is. and the Bruce Peninsular with the holiday weekend traffic. In hindsight I should’ve taken a day off over the weekend and sat it out a while. Never mind.

My motel in Hanover is slightly out of town and it’s been hot and humid today, so I haven’t felt like wandering around, so no photos. Sorry about that.

I’ve just been hanging around the room using the internet and making use of the air-con that actually works! All motels have air-con, but you need a reasonably expensive establishment for it to even remotely work, I’ve found. (Incidentally, you seem to also need this level of hotel to expect 2 working plugs for the sink and bath, adequate plumbing, a full compliment of light bulbs, a swept floor, an absence of cringe worthy features, but I digress…).

Coming up I’ve got Niagara Falls in a couple of days before crossing again into the States and riding along the south shore of Lake Ontario and then a scenic mountain passage through the Adirondacks. After that I return into Canada and Quebec and head up to Montreal for some more R & R. It’s only a further 1,000km…

Finally, a special mention to the small spider that’s been riding across with me for the past week. Every night he builds a little web, usually around the left brake lever and every day hides away somewhere from the wind while we’re moving down the road. It’s amusing me no end. He’s called Harry, by the way.

SE to Hanover, dreaming about a day off

2010-08-03T15:04:00.001-06:00

2nd August: Wiarton to Hanover

Odometer: 78 km, Start: 9.15am, Finish: 2.30pm, Avg: 19.9 km/h,
Weather: Cloudy, Temp: 16-22°C
Mosquito Bites: 80, Hills walked: 0
Road Conditions: #10, 0.5m shoulder, good surface. Traffic light-ish. Ascent: 225m/225m.

I decided last night that I needed a day off, so I set Hanover as today’s easily reachable destination. A comfortable distance away and the only town within range likely to have a motel. I did get my free camp last night, by the way!

A touch of Prairie déjà vu summarised the ride southeast. I was back in flat farmland, on dead straight roads with very little to see or keep my mind occupied. Even though I was only doing 80km it was a hard ride, travelling in one direction through “nothing” all day into a slight southerly headwind. I definitely needed that day off now and that was about all I thought of as I rode along.

Flower of the day

I saw a lot of smaller sized farms along the way growing a variety of crops including soya, corn, wheat and some others I can’t name. It was already harvest time for the wheat crops. Combine-harvesters were working the fields at several locations.

Mowing the wheat fields

The little towns I passed through were pretty dead with most shops closed for the holiday (Civic Holiday or Simcoe Day in Ontario. I looked it up on Wikipedia). In Chesley, the biggest, where I was hoping to get lunch, everything seemed closed except a fast-food pizza bar. So I had pizza for lunch.

A foraging bee

I made it to Hanover by mid-afternoon and found a comfortable resting place, unfortunately just out of town. I don’t think I’ll be doing my rest day wander, 1km each way is just too far to walk! It’s also going to be hot over the next few days, so tomorrow will just be a day to laze around and catch up on some sleep instead, I think…

Ferry ride to the Bruce Peninsula

2010-08-03T10:49:00.001-06:00

1st August: South Baymouth to Wiarton

Odometer: 90 km, Start: 11.30am, Finish: 5.30pm, Avg: 20.1 km/h,
Weather: Rain AM, overcast PM, Temp: 16-21°C
Mosquito Bites: 80, Hills walked: 0, Ferry rides today: 1
Road Conditions: #6 (to Ferndale), gravel shoulder is rideable. Traffic moderate, heavy going to ferry (holiday weekend). Borderline safe road. (Ironically, traffic was heavy enough to be quite slow). I took country road #9 to Lion’s Head and on to Wiarton, gravel shoulder, very light traffic, nice surface. Gas station at #6/CR-9 intersection. Ascent: 375m/400m.

I was up bright and early for a ferry ride this morning! This boat trip links Manitoulin Island with the Bruce Peninsula and SW Ontario. It takes about 1 and 3/4 hrs and is sailed back and forth by just the one ship, the MS Chi-Cheemaun (translates to “Big Canoe”). It was a smooth crossing but overcast and there wasn’t too much to see. I sat in the ship’s cafeteria and had my second and third breakfasts during the crossing.

MS Chi-Cheemaun (the Big Canoe) about to dock in South Baymouth

At Tobermory, I let the ferry traffic disappear by sitting in a restaurant for 20 minutes (fourth breakfast). It started raining quite hard when I eventually set off. This was the first real rain I’ve had for ages. Waiting for the traffic to subside didn’t seem to make any difference. There was still a lot and the traffic heading towards me was almost constant. The #6 road had no paved shoulder to speak of and road conditions were a bit ugly in the wet.

Light house at Cove Island (approaching Tobermory)

I had a somewhat surreal conversation with a cyclist Lucas who was battling to get to Tobermory and the ferry. We stopped and communicated from our respective sides of the road in the occasional pauses between the heavy traffic. It was just too much for one of us to cross over!

FOTD - Very pretty and abundant roadside flower around here

I finally got off the highway after 40km, but I think I missed one chance earlier on the left (40 Hills Road?). I took the CR-9 to Lion’s Head. This was a good choice and it got me to Wiarton almost traffic free. There were a couple of signs along the way indicating that I was on the 45th parallel and therefore riding half way between the pole and the equator!

Riding the 45th parallel, half way between the pole and the equator!

The late start riding made this a slightly shorter day at 90km, but no bad thing. I need another rest day soon. Wiarton was very busy as there was a fair in town and fireworks planned for the evening. I had trouble finding a tent spot in the large lake shore campsite and for some reason the site office was closed! I eventually found a nice quiet unofficial spot and hopefully, if I leave early enough tomorrow, it’ll be a free one as well!

Marina at Wiarton

Colpoys Bay from campsite at Wiarton

Manitoulin Island

2010-08-03T10:46:00.001-06:00

31st July: Espanola to South Baymouth

Odometer: 132 km, Start: 9.15am, Finish: 6.30pm, Avg: 19.5 km/h,
Weather: Some sunny intervals, Temp: 15-22°C
Mosquito Bites: 80, Hills walked: 0
Road Conditions: #6 (to Little Current), 1-2m paved shoulder, excellent condition. Traffic moderate by mid-morning. #6 (from Little Current), 0.3m shoulder, poor and more traffic. I took country roads west from Sheguiandah to join secondary roads #540/551/542 to South Baymouth. Regular enough food stops available. Ascent: 700m/800m. (Some hills today!)

I had a surprisingly good shoulder on the #6 out of Espanola, heading south down to Little Current and Manitoulin Island. It was quite a hilly section, the first in a long time, with numerous 0.5 km rises and falls through exposed rocks and past pretty lakes. The traffic was busy, though, as it’s a Canadian long weekend.

Cresting a hill through the rocks

Approaching Little Current, I crossed the narrow Swing Bridge onto Manitoulin Island. (This tiny bridge is the only land access to the island). Traffic was queued both ways as the bridge only has one lane and access is controlled by traffic lights. I breezed past the queue, of course and crossed over quickly.

The one-lane bridge onto Manitoulin Island

I met Adam and Katherine outside the supermarket in town. They are cycling to Vancouver and then on down the west coast to California. (They have a nice journal going at www.biketrip.ca). They’ve recently got married and this was a sort of honeymoon trip! So far they haven’t fallen out (too much). We talked about routes. Katherine said they were still debating about going through the States v. the TCH in Ontario. I told them my preference. A nice couple. Good luck and stay safe!

Adam and Katherine heading for Vancouver and then down to California

I started down the #6 again, but the road away from Little Current had a different complexion. It had a narrow to non-existent shoulder and it was clear that this part hadn’t received the recent upgrade of the road further north. There was still quite a lot of traffic, so I didn’t fancy the 60km on that road down to South Baymouth. I decided to take a country road across from Sheguiandah to continue on some secondary roads. A lot less traffic was the reward for an extra 25km travel, as well as some nice lake side views and little towns.

Lake Manitou at Sandfield

I’m in South Baymouth this evening and camping too! I’m due to catch the morning ferry to Tobermory and the Bruce Peninsula, tomorrow.

FOTD. Saw a lot of this one today

Glad to get off the TCH

2010-07-30T19:33:00.001-06:00

30th July: Blind River to Espanola

Odometer: 101 km, Start: 8.30am, Finish: 3.30pm, Avg: 20.8 km/h,
Weather: Sunny, Temp: 15-24°C
Mosquito Bites: 80, Hills walked: 0, Days too many on the TCH: 2
Road Conditions: #17, variable width paved shoulder 0.5-1.5m, mostly 0.75m, smooth surface. Traffic was moderate by mid-morning. I thought this was a borderline unsafe road (in good weather). Regular enough food stops. Ascent: 350m/320m.

I was apprehensive this morning about another ride on the TCH #17. I considered setting off at first light to beat the traffic, but decided against it because I’d be travelling due east and therefore riding directly into the rising sun. I’d be hard to see.

Serpent River

I don’t mind risk. Risk can be fun. In fact risk should be fun. Unfortunately, this sort of risk is excessive, depressing and uncontrollable. Can you guess yet whether I enjoyed my 2nd day on the TCH in Ontario?

Serpent River (other side of bridge)

I met another cyclist on the road after Spanish. (I also caught up with him yesterday at a gas station). By this time I was pretty frazzled and upset. I’d even been crying a little earlier. I said I was about to get off this highway at Massey and take the Lee Valley country road to Espanola. He declined to join me just in case there were any gravel sections (after I said I was reasonably sure the route was paved). A strange sense of priorities?

River at Massey (once off the TCH)

A community of Mennonites live and farm around this part of Ontario

The Lee Valley country road was a bumpy, jarring, pot-holed road. It had several years worth of crazy patchwork. Multiple shades of tarmac, layer over layer over layer. It was very quiet though and went past some nice farming land. I savoured this road, stopping many times along it’s 20km length. It was a nice road to de-stress on.

Wild berries against the summer sky

I'm in Espanola this evening and still a bit upset about what I’ve just put myself through. I don’t think I’m prone to sensationalism. This is my personal opinion of this stretch of the TCH: The route from Sault to Espanola is not stupidly dangerous but I think it presents an overly excessive risk. The bit towards Bruce Mines especially so. (Note this section can be avoided by taking the #638 from Echo Bay). Bare in mind I rode in good weather, it would’ve been a lot worse in bad weather. I haven’t encountered this level of risk before this point on my trip and hopefully won’t encounter it after this point either.

A new Flower of the Day

Dicing with the Trans-Canada Highway

2010-07-30T19:19:00.001-06:00

29th July: Sault Ste. Marie to Blind River

Odometer: 139 km, Start: 9.15am, Finish: 5.30pm, Avg: 23.4 km/h,
Weather: Mostly sunny, Temp: 15-23°C
Mosquito Bites: 80, Hills walked: 0, Very close encounters with RVs: 1
Road Conditions: #17B, 2m paved shoulder, good surface, very light traffic. #17 (from Desbarats, see below) variable paved shoulder 0.3-2m, worse before Bruce Mines, better between Bruce Mines and Thessalon, better still after Thessalon. Traffic was moderate until Bruce Mines lighter after that. I thought the section to Bruce Mines was dangerous. The rest was borderline unsafe (in good weather). Regular enough food stops. Ascent: 420m/420m.

I was not looking forward to today. I was due to join the Trans-Canada Highway #17. From all I’ve read this is not a nice road to cycle on. Unfortunately the 200km section between Sault Ste. Marie and Espanola can’t be completely avoided, as there’s not really any easy alternative. So I rolled out this morning to dice with the TCH.

Water tower at Echo Bay on the #17B

Things started out OK, I used the Vélorution recommended route away from Sault. This involved using the #17B through Garden River (First Nation) and Echo Bay and then some excellent country roads to Desbarats where I joined the TCH.

On Government Rd, part of the Vélorution recommended route

The section of the #17 from there to Bruce Mines was very bad. I’ve cycled in traffic a lot, but this stretch scared the excrement out of me. A narrow, cracked shoulder about 30-50cm wide, deep unrideable gravel beyond that, moderate traffic both ways on quite narrow highway and big-rigs and large RVs squeezing between me and oncoming traffic. It was bloody dangerous. (In hindsight, I think the #638 from Echo Bay, which was my original intended route may have been better than the bike shop route. The #638 brings you out at Bruce Mines and avoids the misery above).

I’ve mentioned the big-rigs and there were a lot of them, but in truth most were very considerate drivers. They’d consistently give the most room, more than often squeezing opposing traffic by riding the centre line. I felt safer being passed by 50 tonne lorries than most of the other vehicles along this highway.

I was very unhappy when I reached Bruce Mines for food. I’d just been run off the road (literally) by a large RV that passed well within a metre. The shock and the RV’s draft put me in the gravel. It was one of the nearest encounters that I’ve ever had (and I’ve had many).

Marina at Bruce Mines (Lake Huron North Channel)

Luckily after Bruce Mines the highway improved a bit. I still didn’t like it at all, but the shoulder was marginally wider (mostly 75cm, sometimes 1.5m) and smooth. The traffic seemed to decrease a little as well. (Roads like this are only really an issue when traffic volumes are high. If there’s nothing coming the other way, virtually all drivers will give a very wide birth, much more so than in the UK).

Lake Huron (North Channel) at Thessalon

Approaching Blind River the highway improved again. I had a consistent 1m shoulder now and the road was often 3 or 4 lanes, which helped traffic flow and improved passing distances. The road ran alongside the Mississagi River for quite a few kilometres and was quite picturesque. I relaxed a little along this stretch, the first time since joining the TCH.

TCH #17 (a good part) and the Mississagi River

I have 60km left to do tomorrow. At Massey I can turn off and a take country roads to Espanola and from there, head south to Manitoulin Island.

If any of this section of the #17 is representative of other parts of the #17, I have no idea why cyclists would ride more than the bare minimum along this road. It’s too much of a risk in my honest opinion…

Mississagi River

Back in Canada

2010-07-28T19:34:00.001-06:00

28th July: Newberry to Sault Ste. Marie, ON

Odometer: 121 km, Start: 9.00am, Finish: 5.00pm, Avg: 22.5 km/h,
Weather: Cloudy then Sunny, Temp: 16-24°C
Mosquito Bites: 80, Hills walked: 0, Bridges nearly fallen off: 1
Road Conditions: #28, 0.75-1.5m shoulder, very good surface, less so after 65km. Light traffic (not sure why different from yesterday?). Small store at Strongs (40km), gas station at 70km. Ascent: 400m/400m.

Well I'm back in Canada this evening! Thank you America for providing a pretty safe route around Lake Superior. I’m a bit sad I had to straight line this leg of my trip to save a little time as I would’ve liked to explore this part of the States properly, especially the Upper Peninsular in Michigan.

The International Bridge at Sault Ste. Marie

It was slightly fresher today after a few storms during the night, but it was still humid in the morning when I took to the road. (I looked up some data. Around here mornings typically have around a 85% humidity index, afternoons around 65%).

Old Thresher Engine

I was rolling along the #28 again with a strong west wind that made me smile a lot. Services were a little scarce on the road. I made use of the colourful general store at Strongs, after passing their restaurant that was closed because of a recent fire.

General store at Strongs

One wildlife encounter today. I met a turtle on the shoulder about to cross the #28. I rated it’s chances as reasonable, as the traffic was lighter than yesterday for some reason. (There were no major towns en route and no major junctions either, so I don’t know where yesterday’s traffic went).

Turtle (resting) before attempting the crossing of the #28...

Approaching Sault Ste. Marie, MI, I had to navigate across town to the International Bridge to cross back into Canada. At the toll bridge entrance, it’s initially confusing as there’s a sign saying “Motorised Vehicles Only”, even though bikes are allowed to cross. I ignored the sign and had to pay $1.50 at the toll booth.

Toll booth at the International Bridge. I had to pay $1.50

Once on the bridge, the cross wind was extremely blustery. I was having trouble steering a straight line. At one point I had to take up the entire single lane to avoid being blown by gusts into the side barriers. Luckily I had an understanding driver behind, who could obviously see I was having problems. He patiently sat behind me all the way across the bridge. It was no hardship, because there was a 15 min queue to cross the customs point on the exit ramp. He probably knew this.

Welcome to Sault Ste. Marie, ON!

So I’ve made it back to Canada. I had one thing to do in Sault Ste. Marie, ON and that was to visit the Vélorution bike shop. This shop, owned by André Riopel, is well known to Trans-Canada cyclists as a welcoming place. They offer free camping to all touring cyclists, as well as quick repairs. I just went in for a chat with André. He was very interested in the Rohloff hub and S&S Couplings on the Nomad. I was a bit sorry I couldn’t put any custom his way. My bike doesn’t have anything wrong with it at the moment!

At the Vélorution cycle shop

Closing in on the Soo

2010-07-27T19:12:00.001-06:00

27th July: Munising to Newberry

Odometer: 95 km, Start: 9.15am, Finish: 4.00pm, Avg: 21.7 km/h,
Weather: Sunny, quite humid, Temp: 18-29°C
Mosquito Bites: 80, Hills walked: 0
Road Conditions: #28, 0.75-1m shoulder, good surface, sometimes moderate traffic (more than I expected) with big-rigs. Regular gas stations. Ascent: 400m/300m.

I would have liked to have stayed around Munising for a day to see the sights. There’s a very well known boat trip out to the Pictured Rocks that would’ve been nice, but I’m still on a mission to claw back some time, so I was back on the #28 for another dose of pine trees and flat, straight roads…

A rare hill today

A rare bend in the road today

A rare bit of open land today

It was hot and humid (for a Brit. anyway) for the third day running. My clothes were soaked through within 1/2 hour and I didn’t dry out at any point during the day. It was definitely a day to keep chugging down the water. My arms are now a bit burnt (I’m fair skinned), my factor 50 sun cream keeps washing away with the sweat!

Hot and dry at the moment

I didn’t really enjoy today’s road conditions much. The traffic levels were a bit higher than I was expecting and there were quite a few big-rigs on the road. Although saying that, I’m actually more afraid of the large RV’s (the one’s the size of a bus and normally TOWING A LARGE 4x4) and the trucks towing wide boats! Fortunately the road had a central rumble strip so at least I could gauge whether the vehicle behind had at least moved over a bit and I could relax a touch. (I also listen for a change in engine note for the same reason).

FOTD

I’m in Newberry this evening, rehydrating. There are supposed to be some thunderstorms, possibly severe, overnight. Maybe that will cool the air a touch. I’ve got one more day on the #28 and I should have a strong west wind again so it might not take too long! Hopefully, I’ll reach Sault Ste. Marie tomorrow and return to Canada.

Nearly back into Canada (just above the R in Superior)

Along the shoreline to Munising

2010-07-26T19:20:00.001-06:00

26th July: Champion to Munising

Odometer: 115 km, Start: 8.45am, Finish: 4.15pm, Avg: 23.1 km/h,
Weather: Sunny, Temp: 18-32°C
Mosquito Bites: 79, Hills walked: 0, Dead wolves: 1
Road Conditions: #28/US#41, 2m shoulder, good surface, moderate traffic, becomes fast 4 lane at Ishpeming. #28 Business / CR480, 1-2m shoulder, good surface, light traffic. #28 to Munising, 2m shoulder, good surface, moderate traffic (mostly other direction). Regular gas stations until #28 to Munising (48km) then nothing. Ascent: 325m/625m.

After a rough day yesterday, I wasn’t expecting to feel much like riding today. I think this low expectation level actually helps, because most days the riding is good once you get going. It’s just the “getting going” that takes some effort. After a very slow start, once I was on the road I felt much better. Technically, it was hotter today, but I coped well. The anticipated nice scenery in the afternoon also helped with motivation!

Marquette Bay, Lake Superior

The #28 had merged with the US #41 and soon became a four lane highway full of big-rigs. I had to find a different route: “GPS, I’m a cyclist. Get me out of here”!

Nice river view

I went into Ishpeming and picked up the County Road 480. I think this was the original highway #28 by it’s direction and endpoint. It kindly took me south of Marquette and joined up with the #28 going to Munising. I avoided having to go into and out of Marquette (a large town) entirely! Useful and I also saved about 10km.

Deer Lake

From then onwards, the #28 mostly ran alongside Lake Superior. Unfortunately, a lot of the time trees obscured the view and there was also a lot of private lakeside property between the road and the water. Several times, though, there wasn’t and that left stunning panoramas of the lake and it’s golden beaches. It was really beautiful in the sunshine. I sat on a couple of beaches during the afternoon and rested, watching and listening to the very gentle waves lapping ashore. It was just like being at the seaside, except the water here is fresh not salty if you cared to taste it!

Au Train Bay (looking west)

Au Train Bay (looking east)

Photographing shadows

Sun and pine trees. Lots of both.

2010-07-26T19:15:00.001-06:00

25th July: Bergland to Champion

Odometer: 142 km, Start: 8.45am, Finish: 6.15pm, Avg: 22.0 km/h,
Weather: Sunny, Temp: 16-28°C
Mosquito Bites: 79, Hills walked: 0
Road Conditions: #28, 0.75-1m shoulder, good surface all day, light traffic. Regular (very small) towns. Ascent: 375m/375m.

The sun shone down on me all day. It wasn’t that hot or particularly humid, but my sweat system seemed to be in overdrive. It was easily able to dump out the 8 or 9 litres of fluid I drank during today’s ride. I found the ride quite draining.

A lot of this on the #28...

The road didn’t help. Pine forests are nice to be around, but despite the greenery, they don’t make for interesting viewing for some reason. In fact they’re rather monotonous. The #28 spent most of today in pine forests and by the end of the day it was becoming a trial.

Funny

I took to the Old Hwy 28 a couple of times to break the ride up a bit. This road crossed the current highway at numerous points. It had mostly been returned to gravel but made a welcome change, nonetheless. Being closer to the trees (the same trees obviously) seemed to change the nature of the landscape. It was much better on the trail than on the road.

One stretch of Old Hwy 28

It wasn’t until nearly the end of the day that the landscape finally changed and I rode past a succession of large and beautiful lakes. By that time, though, I was tired and had had enough for today…

Scenery, finally. Lake at Michigamme

Flower of the day

Back on the road after short interruption

2010-07-24T20:57:00.001-06:00

24th July: Ashland to Bergland, MI

Odometer: 114 km, Start: 9.15am, Finish: 4.30pm, Avg: 21.6 km/h,
Weather: Cloudy then sunny intervals, Temp: 18-23°C
Mosquito Bites: 79, Hills walked: 0, Dead raccoons: 2
Road Conditions: #2, 0.75-1m shoulder, good surface. Light, occasionally moderate traffic. #28, 0.75-1m shoulder, reasonable surface, light traffic. Regular gas stations en route. Services: Iron Wood (60km). Ascent: 400m/300m.

I was back on the road after a short interruption to give my ankle further rest time. I decided to spend an extra day in Ashland to make sure a slight injury didn’t become troublesome. I managed a full day’s riding (taking it reasonably easy) and I don’t seem to have any reactions this evening. Success!

Nice collectables shop just out of Ashland

I was still on the #2 and it was a pretty quiet sort of day, mostly rolling through pine trees. The road went through the Bad River Reservation early on and this was marked by a large and rather out of place casino complex. (Native Americans often have gambling enterprises on their land, it seems).

Flower of the day with guest appearance from a fly

A little while after this I stopped at a signed viewpoint hoping to get a view over Lake Superior. Unfortunately the trees had grown obscuring the indicated view completely! I spoke instead to a couple also at the spot and they were suitably impressed with details of my exploits as they presented me with a still warm pasty they’d bought in a town a while ago! It was tasty and better than the plastic gas station sandwich I was just about to eat.

The major town of the day was Iron Wood and it was just after the state border to Michigan. I’m now in Michigan until I get to Sault Ste. Marie and return into Canada, probably in another 4 days time. I didn’t visit Iron Wood’s business district as it was off the highway, but I passed an unusually large number of budget Motels along the main road. (I counted at least 7). They all seemed to be racing each other to the bottom with the prices at around $30, the cheapest I’ve seen! I thought it was funny for some reason.

Michigan cars don’t have front license plates. So some people make up their own...

At Wakefield (90km), I debated stopping for my ankle but I was still feeling fresh and had no issues, so after sitting by the town’s nice lake to eat some food, I pushed on. The extra day off had allowed me to use the internet to establish exactly what towns had what for the rest of my time in the States, so I knew what was ahead.

Sunday Lake, Wakefield MI

Nee-Gaw-Nee-Gaw-Bow (Leading Man) carving at the lake

I made Bergland my new destination and arrived there again still fresh, but decided not to push it anymore as there’s always a danger of doing too much after a rest day when you’ve got more energy reserves. I’ve also lost another hours recovery time this evening as I’ve crossed over onto Eastern Time.

Close up of head

Day off in Ashland

2010-07-22T20:05:00.001-06:00

Well that’s another 1,000km done! I’m at 4,250km now. Close to half distance. I’m glad of the rest day as I’ve got a slight ankle strain. It began hurting during yesterday’s ride. (And this after I wrote about having arrived at Lake Superior in good condition. Typical!). Not sure how I picked it up but hopefully a day’s rest will be enough. We’ll see.

(Edit: I ended up spending an extra day in Ashland to allow the complete recovery of my slight ankle strain).

I spent most of the morning looking at murals! Ashland has a really cool Mural Walk around the business district. There were around a dozen large scale wall murals to see. It’s a really fantastic (and ongoing) piece of work. It’s the work of two local artists, Kelly Meredith and Susan Prentice Martinsen. I spoke to “Sue” whilst she worked on the latest one entitled “Oredock”. (One of Ashland’s landmarks is the last remaining of 6 former mineral ore transportation docks). A nice lady to talk to and very talented. Some pictures of my favourite two murals follow.

Sue Martinsen painting this fantastic mural - "Oredock" (less than half is visible here)

Mural detail

Some faces still to be painted…

Storefront Mural (2002)

Mural detail

Mural detail. Just Brilliant.

Further detail from of above shot

A got of couple of other shots as I wandered down Main St, but the murals definitely stole the show today!

Ashland City Hall

Great cafe interior

But is it art?...

Nice cafe sign

Bike Report 1

2010-07-22T19:58:00.001-06:00

Bryan (who rode across Canada last year and kindly helped me with some of my planning stuff) has asked about how my bike is doing and commented that I hadn’t said anything about it so far. Well, there’s not much to report, everything’s been fine…I shouldn’t have written that of course…Thanks Bryan for all the mechanicals coming my way over the next few days… :)

For the record:

The tyres are holding up well. I’ve not needed to mend any holes. The rear might even get to 6,400km without a swap around. (I’ve a spare waiting in Montreal). I’m also carrying a spare so can just swap the rear only if the tread goes. I think the front could do the whole trip. I don’t think these tyres would last as long as M+, but they roll a whole lot better!

The Ergon grips are excellent. I’ve no hand issues, despite not using bar ends. I’m in the habit of practicing regular hand (and shoulder and feet) exercises on the bike to avoid problems, though.

The Brooks saddle is good but not perfect. It’s comfortable enough on a daily basis to avoid any “saddle issues” (I’ve no chafing or soreness. My excellent padded Assos shorts and liberal use of “Chamois Creme” also contribute significantly to this), but it’s still “a bit of a trial” sitting in the saddle all day on this bike with it’s more upright position. After about 80km, I need to relieve pressure every couple of km by standing for a minute or so. Hence my comment before about wishing to avoid 140km+ days. My legs and fitness could cope with it pretty easily, but my arse (and willpower and sense of humour) would struggle.

(I might want to do a bit more work on my saddle comfort before another long trip. I’ve got a Selle An-Atomica to try out and maybe the Brooks B17 Narrow might be a better shape for me…).

The transmission is fine, I’ve just moved the eccentric BB once so far to take up chain slack. It’s probably due other tweak soon. I’ve wiped and oiled the chain a grand total of one time, so far! I’m changing the chain (and reversing sprocket and chainring) in Montreal for essentially brand new transmission. I reckon the chain could do the whole trip if needed, though. I could do the Rohloff service anytime from now, but may leave it until Montreal, as well.

I’ve got a very slight amount of bearing play in the right SPD pedal. Should be OK, but monitoring it. Bottom bracket is fine.

I broke my Cateye cycling computer mount on about day 3! (The bike fell and took out the mount on a bench). The computer is still working and has been kept attached to the mount with various elastic band arrangements. My ingenuity knows no bounds! My current “best solution” is a little ponytail fabric elastic band. I’ve found a couple of these on the floor. They work really well!

Ashland on Lake Superior and time for a rest

2010-07-22T19:45:00.001-06:00

21th July: Superior to Ashland

Odometer: 108 km, Start: 9.30am, Finish: 4.45pm, Avg: 22.9 km/h,
Weather: Sunny, humid AM, Temp: 21-28°C
Mosquito Bites: 79, Hills walked: 0
Road Conditions: #2 (after leaving Superior and CR UU stretch), 0.75-1m shoulder, good surface all day except the run in to Ashland. Light, occasionally moderate traffic. Regular stops available. Services: Iron River (66km). Ascent: 300m/400m.

It was quite humid when I left Superior this morning and that led to a sweaty morning’s ride before the wind picked up and provided a little freshness to the air. It was still quite hot though.

Duluth from Superior in the morning

I was heading to Ashland a medium sized city on the shore of Lake Superior. This was going to be my next rest day town. As normal, once I’ve decided I’m going to have a rest day the next day, the current ride becomes quite long and tiring. This was despite another good west wind. (Chuckle. I’m going to pay for all this favourable wind and weather big time someday soon, don’t you think?).

The nice white post office at Brule

Route #2 was the road again, after a short detour on County Road UU to avoid a fast divided highway section. Wisconsin county roads all have letter designations instead of the usual numbers. It’s quite strange to see. County Road UU was a nice “English country lane” with a buckled and unmaintained road surface to match!

County Roads have unusual letter designations in Wisconsin

There were lots of “artisan type” shops along the #2. Some woodworkers, a quilt maker, antique stores, curiosity shops and… a chainsaw carver! There were a fantastic selection of animal wood carvings on show. As I looked around, a gentleman was chain-sawing away in the background, “releasing”, in true Michelangelo style, a bear from the large tree trunk.

Chainsaw wood carving store

"Releasing" a bear

Exquisite attention to detail

At Iron River, the artisan theme continued. I had lunch at the Orchard's Cafe (& Pie Shoppe). A great selection of homemade meat pies were the main part of the lunch menu. Big chunks of meat and vegetables in a pasty. All handmade by Sue. Delicious.

Approaching Ashland the road ran alongside Lake Superior and provided excellent views on my run into town. I rode quite a way into Ashland before realising I was passing all of the cheaper motels.

Ashland Marina. (My posh hotel in left background)

I didn’t fancy riding back (I never do), so I looked at the large, impressive, centrally located hotel overlooking the lake. A “prime site” hotel if ever there was one. “This is going to hurt”, I thought, as I walked inside and up to the front desk. Actually, it wasn’t too bad with their special mid-week rate. An upmarket pad for another well earned rest day!

Colour ripples

Boats glinting in the evening sun

Silhouettes as the sun sinks

To Duluth and over Bong Bridge

2010-07-20T21:26:00.001-06:00

20th July: Grand Rapids to Superior

Odometer: 140 km, Start: 9.00am, Finish: 5.30pm, Avg: 22.2 km/h,
Weather: Cloudy, light showers then Sunny, Temp: 15-26°C
Mosquito Bites: 79, Hills walked: 0, Perpendicular cracks: 4375 approx.
Road Conditions: #2 3m shoulder. Perpendicular cracking first 35km. Good surface after that. Light to moderate traffic. Felt safe. Gas stations every 30km. Ascent: 250m/400m.

This was a ride of two halves; the first half was a hard and annoying bump-fest on a cracked shoulder in the cloud and light rain, the second half was a glorious run in to Duluth in the sun, with a tailwind on freshly laid black-top! Care to guess which half I particularly enjoyed?

Rusty mail boxes. (Summed up the morning).

I wasn’t expecting much from today. On the face of it, it was just a run along a main road to Duluth. The first 60km went that way and by the time I got to Floodwood I was beginning to sag. I had a few calories and set off, well aware I still wasn’t half way.

New white flower today

The sun was out, though, after the morning of light showers. Then the predicted “Calm then Wind W 5 to 9 mph” arrived and almost immediately I began a 40km section on brand new tarmac! All’s well with the world.

On the #2 once the sun had come out

St. Louis River

Approaching Proctor on the wide outskirts of Duluth I took another break to try and work out how to get down to the bridge to Superior. I decided to load up a GPS route I had prepared before I left England to use as a guide. I wasn’t very far from the route, so I navigated a couple of blocks across town and found my route. Almost immediately I found a “bike route” sign and decided to follow that into Duluth. I followed the signs and this correlated exactly with my pre-planned route! Intuition?

(Any cyclists coming into Duluth/Superior using the #2, take a left at 5th St / Vinland St coming into Proctor. You can then follow “Bike Route” signs to downtown Duluth and Superior Bridge).

Heading for the Bong Bridge

Following the cycle route signs

Eventually I lucked into signs for the bike route to cross the Bong Bridge. I crossed the bridge and was in Superior, Wisconsin! I made it to the far end of the busy town unscathed and found a hotel along the nice Marina area.

Me next to Lake Superior (Duluth left distance)

I’ve made it to Lake Superior! This was one of my milestones. I’m very pleased to have got this far in good condition. Onwards…

The Avenue of Pines

2010-07-19T20:11:00.001-06:00

19th July: Northome to Grand Rapids

Odometer: 105 km, Start: 9.30am, Finish: 4.15pm, Avg: 22.6 km/h,
Weather: Cloudy, Temp: 16-23°C
Mosquito Bites: 77, Hills walked: 0, Pelicans: 15
Road Conditions: #46 0.5m shoulder to Squaw Lake, variable after that, very light traffic, reasonable road surface. #2, 3m shoulder very good, light traffic became moderate nearing Grand Rapids. Gas station Squaw River (33km), services at Deer River (75km). Ascent: 120m/80m.

After photographing the lake at sunset I settled down for a peaceful sleep (there was no one else around to disturb me). The lake inhabitants had other ideas.

First, about 1/2 hr after the sun was gone the insects went mad for a while resulting in an incredible hissing noise all around the lake. There were a lot of bird calls as well. A loud screeching noise came repeatedly from one unidentified bird species, the sound echoing loudly around the lake. The Pelicans that had sat silently on the water all evening then started clapping their large bills at each other (I think?). This seemed to go on for most of the night!

Pelicans on the lake were noisy at night (Digital Zoom on small compact camera)

I was a bit slow getting away, not having had much sleep and still feeling pretty tired. I rode slowly SE on the #46, rather descriptively named “The Avenue of Pines”. That was exactly what it was as it crossed the Chippewa National Forest Area. It was a bit strange not being able to see for miles to the sides.

Riding on #46 - The Avenue of Pines

I met a couple of guys at Squaw Lake who’d been out camping for the weekend. They were from either Minneapolis or St. Paul. (I’m not sure which, they just said from “The Twin Cities”). They were pretty friendly and very interested to my trip. They even offered me food out of the back of their RV when I half-joked about the gas station selection. Thanks for your generosity, guys!

Poppel River at Squaw Lake

After Deer River, I joined the National Route #2 which is the main road route SE to Duluth. I’d already established that this road has a very good 3m shoulder from a retired cyclist I met yesterday. It also seems that this route is often used by trans-AM cyclists doing a “Northern Tier”. Several people have mentioned to me that “bikers” use this road a lot. Maybe I’ll meet another cyclist en route?

Another roadside flower

I’m going to run this main road into Duluth and hope to reach the city and cross the bridge to Superior, WI, tomorrow evening. I caught a local news programme on the TV this evening and it mentioned lots of road-works in and around the city. I’m thinking it might not be fun…

Bartlett Lake at Sunset

2010-07-19T20:09:00.001-06:00

Some snaps of Bartlett Lake as the sun was setting…

Camping by a lake after nice day

2010-07-19T17:03:00.001-06:00

18th July: Baudette to Northome

Odometer: 117 km, Start: 9.15am, Finish: 4.30pm, Avg: 23.3 km/h,
Weather: Sunny, NW wind, Temp: 17-28°C
Mosquito Bites: 73, Hills walked: 0
Road Conditions: #72 0.5m shoulder, light traffic, reasonable road surface, some perpendicular cracks from time to time. #1, 0.75m shoulder, light traffic, good road surface. Small services at Waskish (63km), Gas station at Kelliher (95km). Ascent: 80m/50m.

I gave the Brooks saddle tensioner a half-turn tighten-up last night and that's made a big improvement. I guess after nearly 4000km my saddle had softened a touch and that's why it hadn't been so comfortable these last few days.

River at Baudette. Bridge to Canada in far distance

That's Baudette, "The Wall-eye capital of the world"!

The weather was perfect for today’s ride. Around 28 degrees, but not humid and mostly sunny. A refreshing breeze kept things comfortable as I pedalled south. I thought it was going to be another lonely ride on a long straight road, but the pine forests along the route made for a refreshing change from the open farmland of the last three weeks!

Rapid River... on a quiet day

I had a 3/4 tail-wind and that made the ride pretty easy. I’d stocked up with food and water as I wasn’t sure what the tiny towns (< 500 people) ahead could provide. I didn’t really have a problem though. Small town America isn’t as small as small town Canada. There are certainly more gas stations around for a start.

I have started to see a lot more water towers in this neck of the woods. There were a few in SK, MB, but more here. I remember the water towers well from my ride across America in 2007. They were normally the first thing you’d see approaching a town.

Water tower in Kelliher, MN

Close up of tower

I reached my destination town, Northome, around 3.30pm. I went to the motel but it was closed for Sunday. Probably thought there would be no custom that night! It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The grill house next door told me there was a quiet campsite by a lake just the other side of town. I had a nice pasta meal and then went to find the campsite.

Bailing up the hay

It was on the shore of Bartlett Lake and was completely deserted and relatively bug free! I’ll take it! I’ve set my tent up on a small hillock to catch the nice evening breeze. I can see out over the lake from the tent door. I’m not sure the love affair with camping is back on, but this will do for this evening…

Bartlett Lake, Northome where I camped tonight

Flat as a pancake and somebody buys me lunch

2010-07-19T16:54:00.001-06:00

17th July: Roseau to Baudette

Odometer: 107 km, Start: 9.30am, Finish: 4.00pm, Avg: 20.6 km/h,
Weather: Sunny after early dark clouds, SE wind, Temp: 18-27°C
Mosquito Bites: 73, Hills walked: 0
Road Conditions: #CR-2 <1m shoulder, deserted, good road surface most of time. #11 to Baudette, <1m shoulder, light traffic, reasonable road surface. Cafe at Roosevelt (65km). Ascent: 40m/40m!

Today’s ride was the flattest yet and it made my bottom hurt. I’ve got a Brooks saddle which does a good job in allowing me to ride day after day without any issues, but even my Brooks couldn’t protect me from the flatness around here.

Dark clouds early on but I escape the showers again

Hope Church

I spent most of the day on a little “county road” – CR-2. It was an excellent small two lane highway with a good surface and best of all it was completely deserted. Hardly a car passed me. About half way, I stopped and eat a sandwich and heard… absolutely nothing… well, apart from the birds and the fields rustling gently in the breeze.

Nice painted barn

Lots of beehives by the side of the road today

I hit the main road again near Roosevelt and soon arrived at a roadside cafe. I was quite lucky as the place had limited opening hours and was soon closing at 2pm. I didn’t fancy a meal, so I had some oatmeal and toast and chatted to a local couple. They were clearly impressed with my travel tales because when I got up to pay, the waitress said the couple had secretly taken care of my bill!

A new roadside flower

As already mentioned the flat roads took their toll today along with a light but persistent headwind. I was a bit grumpy when I reached Baudette (which is only a km from the US/CAN border). I can’t complain, I’m still well up in the tailwind v. headwind stakes, but it still hurts pushing the wind all day.

That's what I've got tonight...

Across the border into America

2010-07-16T20:47:00.001-06:00

16th July: St. Malo to Roseau, MN

Odometer: 131 km, Start: 8.30am, Finish: 4.15pm, Avg: 23.6 km/h,
Weather: Mostly sunny, NW wind, Temp: 16-26°C
Mosquito Bites: 73, Hills walked: 0
Road Conditions: #59 (26km), 2m gravel shoulder, light traffic. #201, grassed over shoulder, deserted, reasonable road surface. #89, gravel shoulder, deserted, reasonable road surface. Good tarmac on the US side at first then deteriorates approaching Roseau. Gas station at #59/#201 and services at Vita (45km) then nothing until Roseau. Ascent: 150m/100m.

My approach towards the US border was uneventful. The roads were flat and straight. The scenery consisted mostly of farmland – a mixture of cattle farming and hay/silage crop fields. Occasionally small open forested sections would punctuate the landscape. My old friend the Red-winged Blackbird was also much in evidence. After I turned onto the provincial road #201 the road was almost deserted.

Deserted straight road through an open pine forest

Vita was the only town of note and it came a bit early at 45km. I took a light lunch, expecting Piney to have something later. Unfortunately, Piney was a dead town with the hotel, restaurant and gas station all boarded up. I was a bit hungry when I got to Roseau, MN.

Old rusted tractor and plough

Isolated trees make good subjects!

The border crossing was painless. Technically, I crossed as a pedestrian. The border patrol officer filled out a simple I-94 form, I ticked a few boxes, paid $6 and was through in 10 minutes. The Pine Creek border crossing was a very quiet one. The officers said “they liked it that way”.

The small US border post at Pine Creek

So I’m in the US! I keep reminding myself this is the US and not Canada, as there’s not much visually to distinguish the two, apart from the change of flags flying and the new currency.

Welcome to Minnesota

After buying a map of Minnesota and studying a few routes, it looks like I’m going to take 4 days to make Duluth. I’m straight-lining Minnesota more than I planned to save some kilometres. I’ve fallen behind a couple of days and since I’ve decided I’m not interested in doing 150km+ days I need to shorten the route to make sure I’m not short changed towards the east coast of Canada. So I’m going to cut out a little bit of my planned route meandering in the States. I’ll see how I get on. Here’s to a successful American leg of my cycle trip…

A paved road in Manitoba

2010-07-15T19:26:00.001-06:00

15th July: Carman to St. Malo

Odometer: 100 km, Start: 8.45am, Finish: 2.45pm, Avg: 24.0 km/h,
Weather: Sunny then clouded over, Temp: 15-25°C
Mosquito Bites: 73, Hills walked: 0
Road Conditions: #3 (15km). <1m paved shoulder + 2m gravel shoulder (good), moderate traffic. (I rode the gravel). #23, 1m paved shoulder for 20km! Gravel shoulder after that. Light traffic, good road surface. Services at Morris (62km). Ascent: 100m/80m.

Manitoba rocked for about an hour today. I found a road with a paved shoulder. It was smooth and it was bliss…

Manitoba road with a paved shoulder!

Before that I had to ensure the #3 south from Carman. This was a busy road with a lot of big rigs. It had a <1m small paved shoulder and a large gravel shoulder. With the traffic it would’ve been suicidal to stay on the pavement. Luckily the gravel shoulder was pretty good for a change. Progress was slower riding the gravel but I didn’t have that far to go, so I just tuned out the noise in my left ear and finished it inside an hour.

Crop rows and wispy cloud

When I turned onto the #23 I was shocked to be presented with a paved shoulder. “This’ll end in a few hundred metres”, I said to myself. (Often the roads around here have short paved shoulder stretches through towns and at junctions). It carried on to my surprise. I saw a sign soon after that read “Pavement Test Site”. Glad to see Manitoba’s at least testing the concept of paved shoulders…

Part of an "experiment"

Apart from that excitement, today passed rapidly and uneventfully. The roads were very flat and featureless again and yesterday’s strong wind, although a little abated, was still helpful. I made it to another small French speaking town and stopped slightly short distance, not being that sure there was much further on down the road.

That's more like it...

Tomorrow, if all’s well, I should cross the 49th Parallel and that can only mean one thing…

Violet flower at the roadside

Strong tailwind. Oh happy days.

2010-07-15T19:22:00.001-06:00

14th July: Glenboro to Carman

Odometer: 117 km, Start: 9.15am, Finish: 4.15pm, Avg: 24.4 km/h,
Weather: Sunny after early storms, Temp: 16-24°C
Mosquito Bites: 73, Hills walked: 0
Road Conditions: #2 to Rathwell (55km). Gravel shoulder, light traffic. Road good surface. #244/#245, Gravel shoulder, extremely light traffic, good road surface. Regular small service towns on #2. Cafe at Notre Dame de Lourdes on #244 (72km). Ascent: 320m/380m.

I sat and ate my breakfast to the accompaniment of thunder, lightening and the noise of the rain smacking into the ground. It was very dark and foreboding outside. Not a promising start. Storms had been blowing in from Alberta since very early morning…

The remnants of the storm clouds over trees. I like this one.

Miraculously, I witnessed the rain abruptly stop and the skies brighten rapidly from the west just as I finished eating. The sun came out as I loaded up the bike and after waiting a further half-hour, the road was barely moist when I set off. It remained mostly sunny for the rest of the day and the wind was the strongest yet… and in my direction. Unbelievable!

Of course, I had a very pleasant day :)

Hay bales

My plan was to dash along the #2 for a while before taking a couple of provincial highways (like UK B-roads) to Carman. It worked well, with the main road #2 lightly trafficked and the provincial roads pretty deserted.

Windmill... in Holland, MB… of course

In the town of Holland there was a windmill for some reason. There was also a horse racing track. Harness racing seems to be popular in this part of Manitoba. (There is a summer long racing season taking place on tracks in many of the surrounding towns). A couple of gents were lapping when I passed by after buying some fruit in town.

Harness racing practice in Holland

After turning off the #2 I headed south to Notre Dame de Lourdes. This was my first “French” town. I had a beef sandwich and some ice cream in the café. "Merci beaucoup, madam. C’était bon".

Violet coloured crop

The side wind along this stretch was getting stronger and stronger. It was difficult to keep the steering straight with the wind catching the panniers from the side. Eventually I turned west onto the #245. I’d been waiting for this for an hour…

Horses grazing

What a tailwind! I was able to just about COAST at about 30km/h. I ran out of gears at about 45km/h. It was a glorious 40km run in to Carman… in just over the hour.

Nice old truck on the run in to Carman

South to Glenboro

2010-07-15T19:17:00.001-06:00

13th July: Minnedosa to Glenboro

Odometer: 122 km, Start: 8.45am, Finish: 4.30pm, Avg: 19.9 km/h,
Weather: Cloudy then sunny periods, Temp: 16-23°C
Mosquito Bites: 72, Hills walked: 0
Road Conditions: #16 to Neepawa. 2-3m shoulder, very good, light traffic. #5 to Glenboro. Gravel shoulder, extremely light traffic. Road is bumpy after Carberry. Ironically with a paved shoulder that’s badly cracked and mostly unrideable! Services at named towns. Ascent: 125m/200m.

It rained hard during the night. When I awoke I wasn’t confident this was going to be a good day. I was surprised though, to find the road relatively dry and glimmers of sun through the dark clouds when I poked my head outside.

Abandoned house. (Extensive post-processing alert…)

After the slightly dodgy #10 road from a couple of days ago, I’m reassessing my route through Manitoba. I just don’t like these gravel shoulders when there’s traffic about. It’s worse than having no shoulder at all, in my opinion. I’ve decided to head further south and hopefully the roads will be quieter if I pick and choose carefully. (This means I’m “off-route” for anybody looking at my proposed route).

Luckily, the #16 (Yellowhead) to Neepawa had a good paved shoulder. I knew this from another blog. I also knew the shoulder didn’t go much further after that. In Neepawa I enquired about the #5 going due south. (I normally talk to several people in quick succession to get a feeling for the information accuracy). The consensus was the #5 was quiet.

Crossed the Trans-Canada Highway on the #5 today

And it was! It was very quiet, indeed, despite it’s low number designation. I passed several “Lily farms” heading south as Neepawa is the self-proclaimed “Lily capital of the world”! I had a safe ride into a mild headwind to Carberry for lunch. After Carberry the road became very bumpy and coupled with the headwind it made me shout a bit (again).

Around Neepawa - self-proclaimed "Lily captial of the world"!

I was aiming for a Provincial Park en route for a possible camp, but when I got there for a drink at the nearby park cafe there were just a few forlorn looking people batting away at mosquitoes and the serving girls were hiding behind shut serving hatches! I still don’t fancy camping with mosquitoes, I’m afraid. I’m not a hardy camper, obviously!

Welcome scenery change in Spruce Woods Provincial Park

I wasn’t sure the next town was big enough for a motel or campsite but it was my only destination. I breathed a sigh when I got there and found the reasonable Spruce Woods Inn.

Crossing the Assiniboine River (again)

Day off in Minnedosa

2010-07-12T20:09:00.001-06:00

Taking another well earned day off with 3,200km on the clock. Just about 10 days straight of westerly winds sure helped to less the potential psychological impact of the Prairies! While out exploring this morning, I noticed the wind direction has changed. It’s started coming from the SE. Either my timing is immaculate, if it’s just a one day aberration, or it’s the start of some payback tomorrow. I’ve got 3 days travelling SE to reached the US border at Minnesota…

Minnedosa is a small town of about 1,500 people, but it has a nice lake and beach area, a trail through a wetland area and a heritage museum of old buildings moved and restored from various locations in Manitoba. It all kept me occupied on my wanderings during the morning. Some pictures follow.

Bridge on the town's nature trail

Rickety bridge through the wetlands area

Agricultural commerce building at the Heritage Museum

Working wind powered water pump. Blades glinting in the sun

Manitoba flag

Detail of old school building

Old church building

Street signs all have this train silhouette

Half a day to Minnedosa and not loving Manitoba’s roads

2010-07-12T14:56:00.001-06:00

11th July: Wasagaming to Minnedosa

Odometer: 60 km, Start: 9.00am, Finish: 2.30pm, Avg: 20.4 km/h,
Weather: Sunny, Temp: 16-24°C
Mosquito Bites: 72, Hills walked: 0
Road Conditions: #10 to Erickson. 2m gravel shoulder, light traffic. (Didn't like this road, see below). I took a detour on parallel gravel road (#262) after Erickson.

I have been on the road for 10 consecutive days since Canmore, Alberta, not wanting to pass up the westerly air flow. Two provinces later and after a late night and some beer, I knew I wasn’t going to ride very far today. I set Minnedosa as the destination and plodded off slowly from Wasagaming.

I got as far as Onanole (4km) before deciding I needed a second breakfast! I revisited the excellent coffee shop at the back of the very English looking second-hand book store (yesterday’s ice cream treat) and sat there for some of the morning talking to the friendly proprietors.

Inside is a very English second-hand book and coffee shop. Excellent!

I retraced my route on the #10 from yesterday and ended up in Erickson for some fruit and yogurt. As usual, I soon had somebody come over and strike up a conversation. Danny had accidently got stranded in this (small) town one day. He stayed and has since bought a farm and business in the area! It’s moments like this that add a lot to a trip of this nature.

Erickson had a lot of Viking references about town

I’m not loving Manitoba’s roads. The one’s I’ve used haven’t had paved shoulders. They’ve been gravel. Often deep and unpredictable gravel. These aren’t very suitable for bike riding. So you mostly “ride the line” between the pavement (tarmac) and the gravel. I feel exposed doing this when the shoulder is wide and there’s a modicum of traffic. It feels to me like you’re riding in the middle of the road. (It might well look that way too from the motorist’s POV)? I didn’t like the #10, so took a detour down a gravel back-road to Minnedosa. Progress was slower, but certainly less stressful. I might look more carefully at the roads I’m taking SE down to the US Border, if the roads so far are typical…

Taking a (stress-free) gravel back-road

Two sheds in the landscape (still a bit “featurefree” around here, bear with me…)

My 10km gravel road returned to pavement as I approached Minnedosa. A further advantage over the main route was coming in via the lake side of town and getting a cracking view and a footpath / cycleway along the lake shore into the town itself.

The lake at Minnedosa

I’m overdue a day off. I’m not sure whether to stay here tomorrow or make the short hop to the slightly bigger town of Neewapa. I’ll see in the morning.

Another flower of the day. (All these flowers decorate the roadside).

Comedy: D-minus for forward planning

An evening on Clearlake

2010-07-12T14:47:00.001-06:00

10th July: Russell to Wasagaming

Odometer: 130 km, Start: 8.15am, Finish: 4.45pm, Avg: 21.8 km/h,
Weather: Bright but cloudy, Temp: 14-22°C
Mosquito Bites: 67, Hills walked: 0
Road Conditions: #45, Gravel 1.5m shoulder difficult to ride on (This is Manitoba...). Road surface good, though. Traffic very light. #10 to Wasagaming. Gravel 2m shoulder, moderate traffic (borderline safe road, IMO). Several small service towns.

Well it’s not the end of the flat roads, but at least there were a few more trees around to help break up the scenery. I was making a slight detour from my route today in order to visit a friend. Steve completed a Trans-Canada bike ride last year and lives near Wasagaming in the Riding Mountain National Park. He kindly invited me to visit, as my route passed so close to his house!

Nice calm lake, early morning

The countryside along the #45 was almost English like during the morning. Mostly fields and trees, some yellow canola (oil seed rape) and a few small ponds dotted about with accompanying ducks and waders. The only difference being the road, which was virtually straight for 90km and had a yellow line down the middle of it.

Canola reflection

I was due to meet up with Steve at 5pm and having left quite early (for me) I had plenty of time. For the first time for a long while, I had several small towns (villages) along the route for meal stops. I stopped four times during the day for a variety of calories.

Toilet humour in Sandy Lake :)

Steve found me in the small town before the one we were supposed to be meeting up at. (I was rewarding myself there with an ice cream for arriving early). He must have seen my bike from the road. We rode tandem back to his house, me following Steve’s motorcycle.

Clearlake in the evening

Soon afterwards we met up with some neighbours across the road and they cooked up some food for me! Instant Manitoban hospitality. (I ended up spending a long time chatting with Kevin and his family later that evening and spent the night there as a sort of “accommodation upgrade”. Very friendly people. I even got breakfast to send me on my way. Thanks Kevin and family!).

Launching the speedboat

Wakeboarding kit

Steve and Jeff (Kevin’s son) are into wakeboarding and had arranged an evening on the nearby Clearlake. I went along for the ride! Trevor provided a very powerful speedboat and with all of us loaded up in the pickup, we sped over to the lake and launched the boat. After a while floating on the water and drinking beer (life’s tough around here), I watched the guys take it in turns doing board tricks on the water. They were pretty good. It was a great way to spend a summer’s evening. Thanks Steve for the evening’s arrangements.

Steve on the water

Big air

Great way to spend a summer's evening

Into Manitoba

2010-07-09T20:42:00.001-06:00

9th July: Melville to Russell

Odometer: 114 km, Start: 8.45am, Finish: 5.30pm, Avg: 22.5 km/h,
Weather: Sunny, west wind, Temp: 16-26°C
Mosquito Bites: 51, Hills walked: 0
Road Conditions: #15, Pretty good. 1.5m shoulder first 26km. Traffic extremely light. #16 2m shoulder, good. Traffic light. Services Churchbridge (66km), Langenburg (82km) on #16. Ascent: 120m up/100m down. (Mostly one river valley)!

I think it’s the 51st day on these straight and flat Prairie roads, but it only feels like the 48th. I’ve not lost my mind yet and I think I’m coping well with the Prairies…

Flower of the day 1

After 450km my relationship with the rural road #15 has come to an end. Like all such partings it was a bit sad and tearful. We’d been though some good times and some bad times. Things had been decided rough and rocky at one stage, but it was better towards the end. Throughout our time together, the #15 played it straight and true. Thanks friend.

Goodbye friend

I’m temporarily back on the Yellowhead Highway, the same road I travelled from Prince George to Jasper quite a while ago. It was hot when I turned onto the #16 and there were some impressive heat hazes coming off the road as I travelled to Langenburg for second lunch.

Heat haze on the #16

The town had put the flags out for me. It was quite a parade. After the festivities had died down, I retreated to the “save room for dessert” cafe. This was a great place and I enjoyed my Rhubarb Crisp and Berry Fruit Crush. Much better than the normal fare I can get from roadside cafes.

Langenburg puts the flags out for me

After Langenburg I crossed into my fourth province – Manitoba. I’ve also lost another hour. I’m now on Central time. Does that mean I’m half way? No. Although I did turn over 3000km shortly afterwards and that’s about a third of my total distance for this trip. I’ve also been on the road for one month. Very neat and tidy.

At the Manitoba border

About a third of the way…

Approaching Russell, I met a hill! My first real hill for a week. It went down to the Assiniboine River and then back up and accounted for virtually all of today’s climb total of 120m. Is this the end of the flat, flat, flat? Not sure, I’ll have to wait and see…

A hill! Assiniboine River valley.

Flower of the day 2

To Melville, my largest town in SK (5,000 pop.)

2010-07-08T21:44:00.001-06:00

8th July: Raymore to Melville

Odometer: 146 km, Start: 8.30am, Finish: 4.45pm, Avg: 23.3 km/h,
Weather: Sunny, hazy PM, west wind, Temp: 16-24°C
Mosquito Bites: 51, Hills walked: 0
Road Conditions: #15, some gravel/tar patching first 30km, then reasonably OK. 1.5m shoulder mostly. Traffic very light. Small gas station (55km), services Ituna (85km). Ascent: 160m up/220m down.

I had pretty much a repeat performance of yesterday with small drumlin hills and ponds and plenty more evidence of the recent floods and farming problems. A bit of deja vu. Perhaps the landscape is beginning to get to me!

More hills and ponds and flooding

In a tiny gas station at 55km, I sat and ate my first lunch while reading a local Sask. farming paper. The paper only talked about the excessive spring rainfall / flooding problems and how it was adversely affecting the region. (It’s pretty serious).

From the farming paper - excessive rainfall. I'm SE of Saskatoon at the moment

The paper has extensive coverage of the problems

After Ituna and another lunch, I had fun with trains. Despite having tracks running along a lot of the roads I’ve travelled on so far, I’ve not actually seen that many trains. I saw more trains today than on the rest of my trip so far. Big freight trains with 100-150 wagons and several kilometres long.

CN train. I saw lots of these today

Each town on the line had a grain elevator. Here's Hubbard's

I didn’t quite understand the single line they were running along, though. Trains were running in both directions and several times had to stop to let one from the other direction pass. Hence, I had a train pass me three times! The driver was amused, I think. He blasted his horn and waved each time he passed me. This was not “fast” freight, obviously.

Wild flower of the day

I’ve reached Melville tonight. At 5,000 population, I think it’s the largest town I’ve encountered in Saskatchewan! I leave the province tomorrow and enter Manitoba and start making my way down towards Winnipeg.

Melville, Canadian and Saskatchewan flags. (West wind of course).