total km: 4527.7
Today's scenic route mapped out in detail for you guys (you better appreciate this because this may be the only time we're going to do this - it takes way too long).When we were in Velorution, John (the 76-year old, not the 66-year old) told us the tip that we could shave off a day of riding on the trans canada by hitching a ride with a fishing boat from the Blind River marina, straight south to Meldrum Bay on Manitoulin Island. We took his advice.
En route, we saw a number of interesting things:
Local skate park on the outskirts of Iron Bridge.
Modern real estate.Blind river was not nearly as pretty as Thessalon, making us appreciate our decision to stop early in Thessalon, as our previous night’s sandy beach stay was much more picturesque. We headed to the marina eager to find a willing water taxi. Unluckily for us, the weather was not favourable for boating and few boats were heading out. Luckily for us, an American couple (Deb and Sandy) were not only heading out to one of the nearby islands but overheard our plight and took pity on us. They went out of their way to take us to our destination at Meldrum Bay, 17miles south of Blind River. The directional change in their plans meant that heading to their destination from Meldrum Bay put them in a head to head fight with the wind and waves. Despite this fact, they were more than generous with their hospitality, even providing us with our choice of refreshments for the relaxing cruise
The break from our ordinary routine was a very welcome change
Upon arrival in the quiet Melrum Bay, we tried in vain to pay them at least for the gas, but they would not accept, insisting that we needed it more. Thanks a lot guys, and good luck on the rest of your tour.
When we stepped onto the shores of Manitoulin, it felt like stepping onto the shores of a new country. We had left behind the busy hustle of trans canada traffic, and were greeted with the welcome sight of a completely deserted road. There may not have been any shoulders, but when you see only one vehicle every ten minutes, shoulders are not necessary. It was 3:45pm when we got dropped off, and we still had 67km of backroads ahead of us. We got down to business and covered the distance in about 3 and a half hours (with stops) thanks very much in part to a magic tail wind that seemed to follow us no matter which direction we were heading.
Riding on a narrow spit of land, dividing the water into lake Huron behind Katie, and Lake......George? behind Brandon.
Birds chilling on Lake Huron.After a late dinner we found out that a campsite did not exist in Gore Bay, leaving us with no choice but to make old John proud and squat for the night. Gore Bay proved to be the ideal location for stealth camping with heavily tree lined waterfront along the entirety of the empty road heading to the lighthouse away from town. Perfect.
B&K
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