HUGH C2C: July 12 - Day 38

Waking up at MacIver’s in Blind River we wanted to see if the owner could MacIver up a mosquito repellant as they were pretty thick around the trailer and the boys had to revert to the hats and screens to keep from getting eaten alive. We were on the road in good time, churning out the K’s in the new 3 man format with Johnny W doing the bulk of the bitch work up front, and doing it very well I must say. Great tempo and cadence from the big man, resulting in good road speed and lots of distance covered.

Before we knew it, our two hour morning spin had resulted in over 50km, leaving us just over that to reach Espanola, our primary target for the day, but knowing we wanted to blow through that town and get farther south towards the ferry before calling it a day. The terrain was quite flat, and somewhere along the line we picked up a tailwind for a while (please check dictionary for definition of tailwind, as I forget what one is), so extending the target was a done deal.

John arrived with our Vega supples........Sam would be proud

The Bill’s were out ahead of us scouting for possible campsites, and came up with a good one in Whitefish Falls, a really interesting community 20km to the south. Apparently this was a really popular spot a number of years ago, and like so many other places we have seen on our adventure, new blood has come in, buying businesses and trying to restore the community to its former glory. We are doing our part to support the local economy, and will be out for a fresh perch dinner this evening at the Red Dog Grill.

I have to bitch about the roads a little……just because…….I can’t believe that almost every other place we have been on the trip there is at least a 3 foot paved shoulder beside the roadway, and for the most part in good rideable shape. Why can’t we have that up north? I will never get used to boxed in transports blowing past you at 100km+ just a few feet away. Scary shit. We will be ok because we have “trust”……..we trust the truck , RV, and car drivers will hold their line, and I’m sure they are trusting that we hold ours, and sometimes that oncoming traffic knows enough to move over and allow them to cross the centre line and give us a couple more feet of breathing room. I don’t know who decides what type of shoulders we get on our roads………out here, around Collingwood, anywhere………but they really need to think about cyclist safety when resurfacing. That’s it. I won’t bitch anymore.

I can’t believe I am days away from holding my honey in my arms for the first time since June 4……..our longest separation ever………well there was the 30 year thing after high school.....does that count? We are around 80 km from South Baymouth and the ferry, with a number of hills facing us along the way. We are told by BS that the escarpment continues up onto Manitoulin Island and we have already had a taste of the Cloche Mountains on the way here from Espanola. Should be a fun ride.