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| Sunrise Penn Lake |
Epic Day!! 201km after 3 difficult days. For the past 3 days, the route from Thunder Bay to Marathon featured some of Canada's toughest hills. The last 3 days had been tough! Victor says he finds it too difficult to ride up all the really steep hills. Every day for the last 3 days, he had walked his bike up and over more than 20km of hills. These hills were steep and it was starting to take its toll. At 5am, I got up. It was so cold there was frost on the grass. Making my way to the lake, I could see the steam rising off the water. The clouds were gone and the wind was calm. This was going to be a beautiful day. I broke camp and wished Victor good luck. He'll be alright. We both need a good day to get our spirits up.
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| Lake Before White River |
Today was an excellent day. The winds were calm, the sun was out and it was only 21 degrees. The conditions were perfect for a very fast day. Making my way out of town, I stopped at the junction with the highway. The girl at the station said the tough stuff was done. Today, there would be some hills, but they wouldn't be steep. Leaving the station, I worked the cranks. My first stop of the day was White River which was nearly 100km away. The lakes along this road are stunning. It's tough to describe their beauty. There are so many that it's impossible to remember their names.
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| White River Winnie the Pooh |
Around 11am, a tailwind picked up. Victor was right, when the sun heats the air, the winds get stronger. I was glad the the tailwind was with me today. I made the 100km to White River going fairly fast. It wasn't even lunch time so I checked out the town. White River is the famous birthplace of Winnie the Pooh. Lieutenant Harry Colebourn of White River was a veterinarian and soldier who donated a bear cub named Winnie to the London Zoo. Coleburn had come across Winnie near White River when a hunter had killed her mother. At the time, he was leaving for the war so he bought the cub for $20 and took it across the Atlantic where it became the mascott for the Canadian Armies Fort Garry Horse. Coleburn went on to serve 3 years in France and kept Winnie at the London Zoo. After the war, Winnie was donated to the zoo. Winnie later inspired the creation of A.A. Milne's famous childrens book Winnie the Pooh.
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| Trees Destroyed By a Forest Fire |
Moving past White River, I planned to stay at Obatanga Provincial Park. By now the air had warmed and the tailwind was fast. The road was flat and I did a 30 minute stretch at over 40km/h. In no time, I was at the park. I went into the office and contemplated whether I should end the day. The girl said the road to Wawa was fairly flat. With the wind at my back, I thanked her for the information and said I would go for Wawa today.
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| Neat Wawa Gas Station & General Store |
On big km days, your body tends to protest. Every 30 minutes, I forced myself to eat and drink 350ml of water. The plan worked well and my legs felt great. The girl was right, the road was flat. An hour out of Wawa, the temperatures cooled. In no time, the tailwind was gone. 5 minutes later, it had shifted into a headwind. I smiled at the heavens. I had really taken advantage of the tailwind that had followed me for most of the day. With only 20km left, I battled the headwind. Tough little hills started to reappear. On tired legs it wasn't easy, but I made Wawa RV before 6pm. The campground only gave me 192km. I really wanted a 200km day so I headed into town and reloaded my supplies. Arriving back at camp, my odometer read 201km. It was an epic day.
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| Canada's Lake District is Beautiful |
Distance: 201km
Average Speed 24.6km/h
Maximum Speed 59.1km/h
Time: 8:10
Odometer: 3817
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