Day 32, June 30th, Wawa to Montreal River (111km)

Calm Winds Outside Wawa

As beautiful as Canada is, one of the great experiences of this trip is meeting unique and interesting people. Everyone has a story to tell and the stories out here are unbelievable. Yesterday, I met Umair. Umair has a dark complexion and long black hair. He's the type of guy who could be from anywhere. Spotting me from across the road, he crossed over.  Umair had just done his masters and is riding his bike from Toronto to Vancouver over 40 days. We were doing the same route going opposite ways. I learned from Umair that next year he'll ride from Paris to Lhasa. With an interest in language, he plans to study Chinese dialects along the way.

Old Woman Bay

Today's ride took me through Lake Superior Provincial Park. After the long day yesteday, I hadn't looked at a map. A group of boys at the camp doing missionary work cooked up a good breakfast. The guys were in their teens and were hungry to hear good stories. They told me about Daryl who is a day or two ahead. He has a GPS that continuously updates his location on his blog. After breakfast, the guys gave me some Cliff Bars. It was already late when I set off for the Lake Superior Park.

Danielle and Her Dad

Entering the park, I saw the sign. Lake Superior Provincial Park was 83km long. In provincial parks, there's no stores to buy supplies. Great! I had 3 cliff bars and 3 liters of water, It was going to be a difficult ride. The hills were steep. After a gruel-ling ascent, I zoomed into Old Woman Bay. Danielle and her dad were by the water. Danielle's dad was going through an ugly divorce and happy to have time to spend with his daughter. Maybe after the divorce he might do a trip. He's thinking about biking across Canada so he had a lot of questions. He offered me some extra supplies before I resumed my trip.  I thankfully accepted a lot of water.  It's so ironic to run out of water beside a lake. 

I left Old Woman Lake and climbed the hill to the park office. Not familiar with the terrain, I asked for a profile of the road ahead. The helpful girl said there would be more hills and that I should be ready for a difficult climb up Montreal Hill before Montreal River. Descending from the office, a man appeared out of the brush beside the road. I was kind of curious so I stopped for a chat.

Descent Into Christine Bay

Dana Meise has a really interesting story. A little while back he received a promotion at his job. With the promotion, he would have been stuck in the same position for perhaps the rest of his life. Instead of accepting, he quit his job, sold his house and started to walk. People called him crazy, he had worked so hard to get the promotion. Dana started in Newfoundland and over 8000km later, I was talking with him at the side of the road. His goal was to walk the entire Trans Canada Trail. At 22 000km it's a bit of a hike.  The trail was washed out in this part of Ontario and after struggling for several days, Dana detoured through the park. Michaelle Jean the former Governor General and Lauren Harper the Prime Minister's wife had heard about his trip. They had spent some time to walk with him. His trip has taken on a life of its own. Now sponsored by the Trans Canada Trail http://www.tctrail.ca./home.php and Keen Shoes http://www.keencanada.ca/ca/en/, Dana will spend the next 7 years to complete the hike. He has a GPS that records his real time position on the internet. For more information, check out www.thegreathike.com As far as I know, Dana will be the first person to walk the entire trail. He's an amazing guy with an amazing dream. I hope one day I run across him again as he walks through the Trans Canada Trail into Vancouver.

Beautiful Desolate Beach, Christine Bay

After the chance encounter, I continued my ride. It was already afternoon and the sun was hot. Montreal River was still 50km away. My ride took me past Christine Bay. With no one by the water, I paused for a little lunch. Climbing more hills I finally made Agawa Bay. I talked to a biker at the rest stop. Yesterday, a deer had clipped his motorbike. He had gone down and the bike slid across the road. He was missing his windshield and a turning signal. The mechanic who fixed his bike said it happens quite often. Ditch rats is what they call the deer out here. Descending from the viewpoint I entered the provincial park campsite and filled up my bottles. The camping fee of $35 plus tax is a little steep. The girl at the office mentioned it was a 57km ride to Banana Bay. At 3pm it was too late. I set off anyways, hoping to find something in Montreal River.

Welcome to Montreal River

For weeks, I had heard about Montreal Hill. Dana had mentioned the big hill after Agawa Bay. Umair had said there was some nasty hills after the park. In Winnipeg, the guys at the hostel all remembered this hill. In the hot afternoon sun, I started my climb. It was steep and long and my legs were dead. I just kept ploughing forward. It took a while, but I finally hit the top. I had gone through 1.5 liters of water climbing this hill. With the summit behind me, I started my quick descent. A sign saying Montreal River appeared beside the Road. Montreal River isn't even a town. Distracted by the sign, I didn't notice the black rubber used to fill the cracks in the road. The rubber caught my tire and my bike wobbled really bad. I was able to recover and kept it from crashing. This black rubber is really dangerous to cyclists. It can clamp onto your wheel like a vice.  I counted my lucky stars.  At the time I hit the rubber, I was going at my maximum speed for the day. 

Sunset on Lake Superior

Not a town in sight and it was late in the day.  I briefly checked out Twilight resort but it was a rag tag place along the lake.  The great thing about Lake Superior is there are so many beaches along its shore. Walking through the dark forrest then along the shore, I found a nice little spot not far from the road and resort.  I set up on the rocky sand.  A night on the beach beside the lake.  Sunset was beautiful, and I met some guys with a canoe.  I swam in the lake to wash away the sweat.  Since breakfast, I haven't had a proper meal and I'm out of supplies.  It's going to be interesting to see what's left in the legs for tomorrows trip to Sault Ste. Marie.

Parks Building Lake Superior Provincial Park

Distance: 111km

Average Speed: 18.8km/h

Maximum Speed: 48.4km/h

Time: 5:52

Odometer: 3928km