Distance: 125
Time: 4 hours 20 min
Today we were all really excited to get underway because not only was the wind at our backs but we knew we would be spending the evening somewhere special. That being said, it wasn't long before we were biking through construction and feeling the pain as the chewed up roads caused more vibrations than we'd ever felt before. Our hands literally felt like they were going to explode but we made it through and completed the day.
The girls picked us up in Espanola and took us to the Silver Maple Campground where the owners were competing with Kipling for the title of the nicest people ever. They not only gave us a 30 foot trailer to sleep in for the night, which we had all been looking forward to, but had thrown a fundraising event on Canada Day a week earlier. It turned out that one of the ladies there had lost her fiancee to ALS at age 21 and so they all went into overdrive to do all that they could for us. Apparently everyone had a great time at their event and while we were disappointed that we could not have been there they filled us in on all the details and even gave us a scrapbook filled with pictures, notes and stories. But that's not all they gave us! Due to all their hard work they managed to raise $1115.00 towards our cause. We were all blown away and were at a loss as to how we could ever thank these amazing people. Oh, and they also fed us a delicious spaghetti dinner and had a campfire for us too. Even as we are writing this blog none of us can get over all that they did for us. So, if you are passing through Espanola make sure to stop in at Silver Maple because not only is the campground spectacular but the people are too.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
Where's the Iron Bridge?
Distance: 120km
Time: 4hr 20min
Leaving Sault Ste Marie we were fortunate to find ourselves heading out on a nice newly paved road with long flat sections and a bit of a wind at our backs. We made fairly good time on our way to Iron Bridge and there was no real excitement to speak of from the day. The one disappointment of the day was finding out that there wasn't really an "iron" bridge in Iron Bridge. There were a couple of bridges but nothing spectacular enough for the name, or so Mike thought.
Time: 4hr 20min
Leaving Sault Ste Marie we were fortunate to find ourselves heading out on a nice newly paved road with long flat sections and a bit of a wind at our backs. We made fairly good time on our way to Iron Bridge and there was no real excitement to speak of from the day. The one disappointment of the day was finding out that there wasn't really an "iron" bridge in Iron Bridge. There were a couple of bridges but nothing spectacular enough for the name, or so Mike thought.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Sault Saint Marie
Distance 125km
Time 5.5 hours
The ride from Lake Superior to Sault Saint Marie was long but fairly uneventful. It got quite hot after lunch with the bike computer registering 38 degrees Celsius. The day ended with a big hill- what locals refer to as the "Mile High Hill"
Their hard work was rewarded by a rest day the following day. Juliet, the die hard beach bum lived by the pool and was eventually joined by Mike, Adam and Heather.
The clouds were amazing that evening, and it looked like aliens might be coming! The day ended as most days do, with the group watching an episode of Heros.
Time 5.5 hours
The ride from Lake Superior to Sault Saint Marie was long but fairly uneventful. It got quite hot after lunch with the bike computer registering 38 degrees Celsius. The day ended with a big hill- what locals refer to as the "Mile High Hill"
Their hard work was rewarded by a rest day the following day. Juliet, the die hard beach bum lived by the pool and was eventually joined by Mike, Adam and Heather.
The clouds were amazing that evening, and it looked like aliens might be coming! The day ended as most days do, with the group watching an episode of Heros.
Some Superior Hillage
Distance: 145km
Time: 6hrs
Leaving Obatanga Provincial Park us boys were not sure exactly how far we were going to have to bike to our next rest stop. Our plan was to stay in Lake Superior Provincial Park at a campground called Agawa Bay but with Lake Superior Park being 83km long we were not sure how far down we would find the campsite. In the end we traveled through some very scenic (aka very hilly) areas and came to Agawa Bay after the longest day of our week. The ride was hard as we had the wind against us at times and meeting hill after hill begins to tire one out. The campsite however was located on a beautiful stretch of Lake Superior with a long beach area. We all really enjoyed the beautiful surroundings and were treated to an amazing sunset. We also met some nice people from California who asked us about our trip and donated to the cause.
Time: 6hrs
Leaving Obatanga Provincial Park us boys were not sure exactly how far we were going to have to bike to our next rest stop. Our plan was to stay in Lake Superior Provincial Park at a campground called Agawa Bay but with Lake Superior Park being 83km long we were not sure how far down we would find the campsite. In the end we traveled through some very scenic (aka very hilly) areas and came to Agawa Bay after the longest day of our week. The ride was hard as we had the wind against us at times and meeting hill after hill begins to tire one out. The campsite however was located on a beautiful stretch of Lake Superior with a long beach area. We all really enjoyed the beautiful surroundings and were treated to an amazing sunset. We also met some nice people from California who asked us about our trip and donated to the cause.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
The Barriers Man and Nature
Distance: 125 km
Time: 4 hours 30 minutes
Today we were in good spirits as we left the hills behind and even had the wind behind us for most of the day. So in celebration of our progress and because the girls had slept in a little that morning we treated ourselves to a little snack at A&W in White River and continued along with bellies full of burgers. Obviously, everything was looking up for us until we were chased down a hill by a transport truck who honked at us continually and then pulled off a little ways up the road. The driver and his lady friend then got out of the truck and proceeded to yell at us for being on the road. Mike spoke rationally, AJ was kind and Adam tried to look cute. None of it worked. We took his words into consideration but were not sure where to buy license plates for our bicycles. Not our favorite experience but we were pleasantly surprised when we got to the Obatanga campground and Amy had sweet talked the attendant into giving us their best campsite for free. Overall, not a bad day.
Distance: 105 km
Time: 4 hours 15 minutes
Today was a fairly uneventful day, with many groans and complaints as the hills continued to challenge us all the way to Marathon. As Mike put it, it was quite a Marathon to Marathon. However, one thing that we were all fascinated by was the change in temperature whenever we neared Lake Superior. It was literally as if we hit an invisible wall where the temperature would drop 10 degrees. We were all blown away by it as one moment we would be sweating profusely and the next we would be zipping up our shirts and pulling down our sleeves to stay warm. Definitely a memorable experience!
Time: 4 hours 30 minutes
Today we were in good spirits as we left the hills behind and even had the wind behind us for most of the day. So in celebration of our progress and because the girls had slept in a little that morning we treated ourselves to a little snack at A&W in White River and continued along with bellies full of burgers. Obviously, everything was looking up for us until we were chased down a hill by a transport truck who honked at us continually and then pulled off a little ways up the road. The driver and his lady friend then got out of the truck and proceeded to yell at us for being on the road. Mike spoke rationally, AJ was kind and Adam tried to look cute. None of it worked. We took his words into consideration but were not sure where to buy license plates for our bicycles. Not our favorite experience but we were pleasantly surprised when we got to the Obatanga campground and Amy had sweet talked the attendant into giving us their best campsite for free. Overall, not a bad day.
Distance: 105 km
Time: 4 hours 15 minutes
Today was a fairly uneventful day, with many groans and complaints as the hills continued to challenge us all the way to Marathon. As Mike put it, it was quite a Marathon to Marathon. However, one thing that we were all fascinated by was the change in temperature whenever we neared Lake Superior. It was literally as if we hit an invisible wall where the temperature would drop 10 degrees. We were all blown away by it as one moment we would be sweating profusely and the next we would be zipping up our shirts and pulling down our sleeves to stay warm. Definitely a memorable experience!
Canada Day!
Distance: 95km
Time: 4hrs
So we hit some big hills today, real big. Even though the Rockies have longer passes, Northern Ontario definitely has more ups and downs. We are starting to realize we made the right decision to make the first few days of this week shorter than usual.
After a short, strenuous day of cycling, we made it to Rainbow Falls Provincial Park. Later in the evening, we ventured in to Terrace Bay where we witnessed a wicked Canada Day fireworks event. For a small community, they had a surprisingly long (close to 30 minutes) but also drawn out, fireworks show. The wicked and unexpected part was near the end when thunder clouds rolled in and brought tonnes of lightning all around us on the beach. Just as the show wrapped up, the cold, cold rain started to fall. A Canada Day experience we'll remember for quite a while.
Time: 4hrs
So we hit some big hills today, real big. Even though the Rockies have longer passes, Northern Ontario definitely has more ups and downs. We are starting to realize we made the right decision to make the first few days of this week shorter than usual.
After a short, strenuous day of cycling, we made it to Rainbow Falls Provincial Park. Later in the evening, we ventured in to Terrace Bay where we witnessed a wicked Canada Day fireworks event. For a small community, they had a surprisingly long (close to 30 minutes) but also drawn out, fireworks show. The wicked and unexpected part was near the end when thunder clouds rolled in and brought tonnes of lightning all around us on the beach. Just as the show wrapped up, the cold, cold rain started to fall. A Canada Day experience we'll remember for quite a while.
Terry Fox and a Canyon
Distance: 95km
Time: 3hrs 30min
Our first day back on the road after our first two day weekend turned out fairly good. We had a shorter ride than usual and a few memorable stops along the way.
After a few kilometers of warming up, we stopped at the Terry Fox memorial. It was good to see and be inspired by an individual that took the extra step forward to make a difference.
Stop number two was suppose to be for lunch at Eagle Canyon suspension bridge. After finding out the price to cross Canada's longest pedestrian suspension bridge, we decided to just park in their lot and eat instead. Unfortunately, we were quickly asked to pack up and leave if we were not going to pay and cross the bridge. So we took our business elsewhere and traveled up the road a little further to Ouimet Canyon where for a fraction of the cost we had lunch and enjoyed the beautiful views.
As for the rest of the day; cycling was fairly uneventful, finishing near Nipigon and overall pleasant to have a short distance after a long break.
Time: 3hrs 30min
Our first day back on the road after our first two day weekend turned out fairly good. We had a shorter ride than usual and a few memorable stops along the way.
After a few kilometers of warming up, we stopped at the Terry Fox memorial. It was good to see and be inspired by an individual that took the extra step forward to make a difference.
Stop number two was suppose to be for lunch at Eagle Canyon suspension bridge. After finding out the price to cross Canada's longest pedestrian suspension bridge, we decided to just park in their lot and eat instead. Unfortunately, we were quickly asked to pack up and leave if we were not going to pay and cross the bridge. So we took our business elsewhere and traveled up the road a little further to Ouimet Canyon where for a fraction of the cost we had lunch and enjoyed the beautiful views.
As for the rest of the day; cycling was fairly uneventful, finishing near Nipigon and overall pleasant to have a short distance after a long break.
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