Day 29, June 27th, Nipigon to Terrace Bay Ontario, (114km)

Climbing a Hill Lake Superior Behind

Oh Lake Superior! The beauty of your shoreline is difficult to put into words. Today I woke up with vague notions of trying to get to Marathon almost 200km away. For weeks, cyclists going the opposite way had talked about the killer hills of Northern Ontario. Almost 650km into the province, all I had encountered were a few molehills and strong persistent headwinds. Today looked to be no different. Thick clouds hung in the sky and the fierce, cold wind blew directly in my face. Leaving Nipigon, I had no idea that the third challenge would be the steep hills that were about to come into play.

Narrowest Point of the Trans Canada

Just outside of Nipigon, is the narrowest point of the Trans Canada Highway. With a single lane each way, you come across a bridge that serves as the route for both highway 17 and highway 11. The shoulder is tight, and trucks come scarily close to your handle bars. Glad to get past the bottleneck, I got my first taste of the short and steep hills that define this part of the province. While the hills of B.C. tend to be long gradual passes that can run uphill for 40km or more, the hills of Ontario are short, steep and frequent in nature. Rarely is a hill more than 5km long. but they are definitely steeper then the ones I encountered in B.C. My first indication of how steep they are, was the view of a semi trailer slowly climbing one in the distance with its hazard lights on. Working my way up, the view of Lake Superior started to open up on my right. It was a serene scene full of natural beauty.

Islands of Lake Superior From the Top of a Cliff Head

Lake Superiors shoreline is dotted by rocky bluffs. Todays route along the lake involved more than 6 climbs up the rocky cliffs. To my right, islands in the lake became visible as I neared the summit of each cliff. The closer islands were a darker shade of blue while more distant islands got progressively lighter. I crawled up the hills. Sometimes I could barely ride 6km/h. The descents were quick and often reckless. On one descent, I saw a U-Haul truck pulled over beside the road. Smoke was pouring from its wheels so I stopped to ask the driver if everything was okay. The driver said he was carrying a really heavy load. The steep downhill had overheated the brakes.

British Mini Bikes Beside My Bike

Pressing on, I hit Gravel Creek. The only building in the town houses a gas station, liquor store and restaurant. I needed supplies so I crossed the road. Parked in front of the building were two tiny bikes fully loaded with touring equipment. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I entered the building expecting to see two midgets wearing cycling gear. Instead, I came across a couple of giant British guys. The shortest one had to be 6'4” Surprised, I told the guys, “When I saw those bikes, I thought I'd find a couple of midgets in the store.” The Brits had started their ride in Halifax and were working their way to Vancouver. They quickly admitted that the bikes weren't working out too well for them. Somehow they still managed to get close to 100km a day. They were good chaps, and I would have loved to chat a while longer but I still had a long way to go before the end of the day.

View of Lake Superior by Rossport

Climbing more hills, I descended into Rossport. By now, I was starving. Rossport turned out to be nothing more than a hamlet of houses along the shore of the lake. The shoreline out here is beautiful. After each climb up the side of a cliff, the lake presents itself with a different look. You have to remind yourself that you are looking at a different part of the same huge lake. In areas without islands, you can see water until the horizon. It's easy to see why early explorers thought Lake Superior was the sea.

Terrace Bay

Climbing Another Hill

Tired of climbing hill after hill, I paused to take some self portraits. The road in this area is blasted through the rocks of the cliffs. Often, the climb is longer than you first expect. False summits, plateaus then more steep road play tricks with your mind. You feel demoralized when you climb for 4km, the hill flattens out and you turn the corner only to see another huge hill in front of you. This happened 3 times on the final hill to Schreiber. Relieved to hit a major town, I grabbed a quick lunch. The fellow working there mentioned there were more amenities at Terrace Bay. Not impressed with the campground at Schreiber, I rode the final 14km stretch to Terrace Bay.  

Aguasabon Falls

Before setting up camp, I checked out Aguasabon Falls and the Gorge.   A massive waterfall plummets into a gorge before draining into the lake.  Today the scenery had been spectacular.  It was the most beautiful day since the mountains of British Columbia.

Rain was threatening so I set up my tent. Victor the Aussie rolled in half an hour after me. Within an hour, we were hit by the worst downpour of my trip. Victor and I ran for the washrooms to get out of the rain. It's been raining for 4 hours now. Lightning is flashing all over the night sky.  Thunder, lightning, rain, wind and cold temperatures can't stop me from remembering this as an amazing day.  

Looking Back at Lake Superiors Shoreline

Distance: 114km

Average Speed: 17.7km/h

Maximum Speed: 65.6km/h

Time: 6:26

Odometer: 3522km