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!