Day 40 Wawa to Pancake Bay, Ontario

 95.7 miles, 4,740 ft ascent on Canadian Shield granite hills

The name Wawa translates to wild goose in the language of the First Nation People, the Ogibwe, who inhabit the regions around Lake Superior, including those areas of Minnesota on and near the lake.  The sculpture you see below is actually goose number 3.  The original figure, built in 1960 lasted but three harsh Canadian winters.  This one was unveiled in 2017 as part of the 150th anniversary celebrations for Canada.  It stands 8.5 metres (8.5 feet} tall.  The Ogibwe word, "Wawa", is mentioned in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, the "Song of Hiawatha", Chapter X, Hiawatha's Wooing, and is translated as "wild goose"in the poem.  https://englishverse.com/poems/hiawatha_x_hiawathas_wooing

 

 

Today's ride included a 100 mile stretch with no services, i.e., no gas, no water, no food, as this sign warned in both English and French. 

Our moose sighting yesterday must have brought us a change of fortune, as today, thankfully, we had both sunshine and a low velocity tail wind to help us along!  It was an afternoon of glorious sunshine at Lake Superior, NO fog or rain.  This is a three day "bank holiday" weekend in Canada, however, there were no crowds at the lake.  There was plenty of room on the beaches, but I observed only a half dozen swimmers, presumably due to the cold water.

As you probably noted in the stats listed above, there was plenty of Canadian Shield climbing along the route.  It is difficult to say whether climbing is more difficult in the Canadian Rockies or on the Canadian Shield.  Our legs are now stronger than when the tour began, and we hit the Rocky Mountains in the very first few days of our tour.  Climbing on the Cabot Trail near the terminus of the tour is likely to be the most difficult of all.

The beaches of Lake Superior are unique to the shore of the lake where they are located.  Old Woman Bay, promoted by the sign below had nice, sandy beach, and a lovely shoreline, as you can see.

This is one of many rivers feeding into Lake Superior.

We had a nice descent to Lake Superior on this glorious, sunny day!  Who wouldn't want to cruise down this nice highway????

As I noted before, the beaches were not crowded.  A few people were enjoying this particular site.

A large part of today's route took us across Lake Superior Provincial Park designated by the circle in the upper right corner of this map.

Agawa Bay is another beautiful bay on Lake Superior.

This beach on Agawa Bay is not sand, but rocks and pebbles.  We saw more rocky beaches than sand beaches as we rode along today.

Here you see Lake Superior framed by two of  many birch trees, which can be seen throughout the region.

 

We sighted the first windmills of the entire tour on a hill above Lake Superior.  This is surprising, considering the high winds we encountered across the plains coming east.

This is the beach at our campsite on Pancake Bay.  Water temperature is in the 60sF.  The dog hidden behind the two women on the right seemed to enjoy the crystal clear water though.

Tomorrow we ride again, then we rest in Sault St. Marie on Monday.  Visit again to hear the next chapter in our saga.

Day 39 White Lake to Wawa, Ontario

 71 miles, 2,320 ft ascent

 

You may not know that White Lake, our current camping site, was near the home of the famous literary character, Winnie the Pooh.  Christopher Robin Milne named his toy bear after Winnie, a Canadian Black Bear that he often visited at the London Zoo, as well as after Pooh, a swan his family had encountered on holiday.  Winnie, the bear cub, was purchased in White River, Ontario from a hunter for C$20 by Canadian Lieutenant Harry Colbourn while Colbourn was en route to England during WWI.  Lt. Colbourn named the bear cub Winnie after his adopted hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba.  Winnie was then surreptitiously transported to England with Lt. Colbourn, and gained unofficial status and recognition as the Fort Garry Horse Regimental Mascot.  This statue in White River tells the story of Winnie the bear cub, who became internationally known as Winnie the Pooh, special friend of Christopher Robin in the stories by A. A. Milne.

It rained some last night, but it looked dry when we broke camp this morning.  All of our gear is slowly getting wet here on the north shore of Lake Superior due to the high humidity, low temperatures, and the lack of real sunshine during the last three days.  The campsite was back away from the water, so fog did not obscure the sky the way it does near the lake, and it was possible to get a glimpse of the sky along with a sense of the weather conditions.  Near the lake we had to rely on weather reports and radar maps for weather.  This morning the temperature was just above 50F, a big improvement over yesterday.  I am sure, however, that all cyclists will dress warmly, since rain is once again predicted.

Essential gear items were packed in individual waterproof bags to prevent wet items from contaminating dry ones.   We are really hoping for sun and/or wind to help dry gear at tonight's campsite in Wawa.

The common area of our campground had a single washroom with only one toilet, to be shared by all campers.  To avoid the inconvenience of sharing one toilet, as well as to dry out gear, three separate groups of our riders rented cabins at the campground.  They generously invited others of us to use their washrooms, for which we are deeply grateful and indebted.  I braved the elements in a tent, thinking that, were Merry Ann here, she would have demanded a cabin.  

The idea of a dry day was short lived, as it began to rain just when we left the campground and continued for a long four hours.  Our itinerary was relatively flat and short, so we weren't in the elements as long as we had been on some previous days. 

At an A&W stop along the route, we met this woman riding our same route, although she was cycling independently and self supported.  She carried a considerably large amount of electronic gear to transmit her impressions and experiences.   

 

 

Here you see our French speaking cyclist, Louis, decked out in proper rain gear for Canadian touring. 

Yet another warning to beware of raging moose!  Still have not seen one, but our quest continues!

On our route today, we observed this area, which appears to be a perfect environment for moose.  Who knows?  Today may be the day we actually see one.

A Canadian Loon, the rooster of the north, who awakened us in the mornings, appeared in front of the small island.  This one was very wary.  When I stopped my bike, it took a dive and swam underwater to escape to a more distant location, resulting in a poorer photograph.

Eureka!  First moose sighting!  A lone moose munching grass in the ditch.  I stopped riding, dismounted to take a picture, and it casually walked into the opening between two pine trees.  Look closely.  I lightened the photo to make it more visible.  Thankfully, this moose was more intent on eating than charging a lone bicycle rider.

The Magpie River at Wawa Campground flows into Lake Superior.  I wonder how long that tree has been leaning so ominously and when it will finally fall.

 

I executed a repair of my bike, thanks to one of our British colleagues. I was having a front derailleur problem, and I had to ride the last 45 miles into camp on the small chain ring in front, because I was unable to get on the large ring.  A close inspection disclosed sand packed into a pocket around the shift wire near the bottom bracket.  I cleaned out the sand with a hose and sprayed WD-40 into the shifter, on the front derailleur mechanism, and on the shift cables.  That freed the cable, and when our British friend reset the cable tension, the problem was solved.  Thankfully, we were able to fix the problem in camp, because there are no bike open bike shops for another 6 days.

Tonight's dinner of pork chops with mushroom soup gravy and real mashed potatoes was the best camp meal yet.  It was much appreciated all around.

Tomorrow I am ready for a difficult day of riding Canadian Shield terrain.  It will be Monday before we have another rest day in Sault St. Marie.  Visit again to see how we fared riding on the big sheet of Canadian granite.

Day 38 Terrace Bay to White Lake, Ontario Half-way Day!

 88.2 Miles, 4,890 ft ascent. 

 

We camped not far from the shore of Lake Superior.  Cold air was generated by the cold water of the lake, and we felt it in camp.  The morning was cool and foggy.  Morning temperatures were in the 40s.  I slept last night in a down sleeping bag wearing my sweat suit.  The tent was well ventilated, so it was crisp inside.  Below you see the "modern" outhouse campers are to use prior to 07:00 when the washroom becomes available.

The temperature riding out of camp about 08:00 was 46F with a forecast of rain, so everyone donned warm clothing with a waterproof layer on the outside.    I added arm warmers and knee warmers to my usual cycling attire.  Being accustomed to their own conditions, Canadians are comfortable riding in very cold weather to extend their riding season.  As a result there were no exposed Canadian  legs, and the Canadian cyclists  typically wore warm jackets.  Thankfully the weather forecast of rain was wrong.  During the day the temperature rose to slightly over 60F, and roads were dry.  Here is the view as we departed on the Trans Canada Highway, very close to Lake Superior. 

Because the morning fog made it difficult to see rocks and other debris on the shoulder, we had to ride conservatively for the first hour or so to avoid obstacles. The narrow shoulder in sections of highway meant that cyclists had to ride tight on the right, watching traffic in their mirrors to make sure that vehicles allow room as they passed us.  I would not ride in these conditions at home.  One is forced to trust the truck and other vehicle drivers to be alert for individual cyclists.  Note the narrow shoulder  and poor visibility in the photo below.

 

 

We are still in the quest for a live moose sighting, despite the fact that we have seen hundreds of signs with moose warnings along the roads.  Truthfully though, I was very happy NOT to have seen a charging moose coming out of this morning's fog. The photos below depict areas along Lake Superior on today's route. The trees in the third picture grow in thin topsoil and in crannies of the rock of the Canadian Shield.

Fifty miles along the route, the tour director and his wife set up a SAG stop with a Happy Half-Way meal.  It even included ice cream!   We have now ridden 2,500 miles, half the distance across Canada from Vancouver, British Columbia, with an equal distance yet to pedal to reach St. John's, Newfoundland.  The cyclist in this photo was particularly happy about the ice cream on offer.

There was a gold mining operation along our route known as Hemlo Gold Mines.  It works one of the richest gold fields in the world.

The road to Battle Mountain Mine is called the Yellow Brick Road.  It is so named because a contractor mistakenly used gold ore instead of gravel to make the road.  Big "Oops!" I think!

That's all for today.  Tomorrow we pedal on to Wawa, Ontario, the home town of one cyclist in our group.  Visit again for a look at the road to Wawa, and to find out whether we have spotted a moose!

Day 37 Nipigon, Ontario to Terrace Bay, Ontario

 

68 miles, 3,860 ft ascent

Today started in fog.  I rode the first 15 miles without glasses, as the fog coated the lenses with water droplets, rendering them useless.  You can see the fog here at the Nipigon River Bridge.

 

 

Much of the day we rode close to the shore of Lake Superior.  This shot was taken early in the morning.

We knew that there would be several long Canadian Shield climbs on today's route.  The most severe of them began at this turn.

 

At the summit of that climb, we could see the descent to come as illustrated in the picture below.  Because we ride on the shoulder, we ride an obstacle course avoiding the rocks.

This view is looking out from the Rossport Harbour Marina to the body of Lake Superior.

 

We stopped here at the Marina.  Note:  There is no sandy beach.  The shore is river rock.

This was our first day riding long Canadian Shield climbs.  Surprisingly today's climbing was less stressful than climbing passes in the Rocky Mountains.  We will see what the future days between here and Sault St. Marie bring.  

The air temperature by the lake is more than 15F colder than further away from the lake.  Cyclist heated up on the long climbs and got cold on the downhills and riding close by Lake Superior. They were shedding a layer of clothing for the climbs and putting the layer back on when descending or when near the lake.  I rode wearing a compression jersey under my cycling jersey.  I was comfortable enough in those two layers that I did not have to add and subtract clothing like many of the others did.  

I will need warmer clothing tomorrow, however.  It predicted to be in the 40sF at 07:00, and the high is to be 61F with rain again in the forecast.  Tomorrow we reach the midpoint of our tour, and we are having a "Half-way Lunch" in Marathon.  You may recognize the name Marathon from the paper towel industry.

The latest challenge:  This morning at 02:00 my air mattress went flat.  Of course I did not sleep well after that.  I used ShoeGoo to repair a damaged seam today in order to get quality sleep tonight.  Many campsites are gravel.  It is imperative to be elevated on the air mattress in order to stay dry when it rains, and to sleep comfortably on the rocks below the tent.  Hope the ShoeGoo holds!  Come visit again to see if it does!

Day 36 Thunder Bay to Nipigon, Ontario

 68.2 miles, 2,370 ft ascent

Air temperature this morning in Thunder Bay was in the low 50sF.  Lake Superior is a very cold lake, and it moderated the temperature of the surrounding land.  At Grand Marais, Minnesota, the temperature was 40F, the coldest of the entire lake.  Such temperatures are insufficient for swimming even in the warmest areas of the lake, so the swimming season is very short, if there is one.

Today's ride was a beauty!  We had a tailwind and NO rain.  Although there was rain in the forecast, it held off until we rode into camp.  This morning I wore an extra layer, a compression shirt, under my jersey for protection in the event of cold rain.  I dressed like the Canadians, and I will continue to do so, having learned a lesson from near hypothermia as we rode into Thunder Bay.  

Below is a view of the harbor in Thunder Bay as we were departing.

 

This is one river flowing into Lake Superior.

 

And one of the innumerable and beautiful bays belonging to Lake Superior.

 

The Tour du Canada passed by the Terry Fox Monument, located in the outskirts of Thunder Bay.  This public monument commemorates  the "Marathon of Hope", a tribute to Terry Fox, a Cancer survivor, who attempted to run across Canada. a distance of 5,300 miles, with a prosthetic leg to increase awareness of and raise funds for Cancer research.  He ran 26 miles a day, and he had covered over 5 provinces before ending his "Marathon of Hope" because his own Cancer had returned.  The disease finally took his life on June 28, 1981.  This statue marks the place where Fox was forced to abandon his effort on August 31, 1980.  Apologies for the quality of the photos.  The engraving on the granite tablets was difficult to capture, and hardly legible in the pictures below.

 

 

 

 

 

Along the route today, we saw at least a half dozen advertisements for mines.  Lake Superior is a rock hunter's paradise where one can pick up agates along the shore.  The sign below touts amethyst among specimens available for purchase at the Diamond Willow Mine. 

Amethyst, according to Wikipedia, is a violet variety of quartz.  Amethyst, a semiprecious stone, is often used in jewelry and is the traditional birthstone for February. It owes its violet color to irradiation, impurities of iron and in some cases other transition metals, and the presence of other trace elements.  The hardness of the mineral is the same as quartz, thus making it suitable for use in jewelry. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amethyst

 

 

 

                                                  

We pedaled by this nice stone outcropping of the Canadian Shield.

On galley crew tonight, our group served burritos with real ground round, and red kidney beans, rather than the traditional pinto beans.  For dessert we prepared sponge cake covered with canned peaches and whipping cream.  The very filling meal was greatly appreciated.  Up early tomorrow to fix breakfast for everyone and clean up the kitchen before I start riding. Come by again for an update on our saga!