A late note from Donna

Donna writes this message as we leave Saskatchewan:

Rain, rain, rain!!! Combine that with wind and it becomes driving rain! Plus 6 long days of 120kms, 102kms, 96kms, 119kms, 142kms, 117kms without a break and we arrive in camp as 31 wind whipped, rain drenched, bedraggled, pathetic, weather beaten cyclists/campers. But after a good night's sleep, we strike out in the morning, ready again for whatever the day has in store for us.

The morning in Milestone, SK we woke up to a new world - it was dry and warm with the Saskatchewan sun rising above the Horizon and the BIG prairie sky greeting us without a cloud anywhere. With a false sense of security, we believed the worst was behind us. Summer had arrived. The Hwy ahead was only 60kms to Weyburn, FLAT, straight and one could see almost tomorrow in the distance. The campground was a soft grassy park surrounded along one side by a gentle river. Tents were erected among the small trees and shrubs and clotheslines were stretched between the trees. Tomorrow was a rest day. This was truly heaven.

But it was too good to be true.

The rest day turned into a nightmare with driving wind and rain, rain, rain. The once lovely soft grassy park became a massive wet sponge with no dry spots in which to step, water surrounding tents and tents sitting in pools of water. Jan and Ken wisely pre-booked a motel for these 2 days, Donna was rescued by relatives in nearby Midale, and one or two others also went to motels. But there are no quitters. We are survivors!! And the following day with the wind at our backs, we fly on to Carlyle.

My choice to ride/walk to the Coquihalla Summit with Ottawa's Alex. He turns out to be the most generous and patient person you could ask for, helping everyone who had a flat tire, including me that day.

A fellow cyclist worried that I did not have full gloves to ride down from the Coquihalla Summit. Ed from Kamloops handed me his spare pair of gloves.

I am truly thankful that I have been hosted in homes in BC, AB, SK, 5 in total.

In Banff, 3 group members had lost and then found 3 important items.

Sister Mary and husband George picked me up at Beasant June 16 for family reunion in Saskatchewan. Searching for friend Veronica from Glenaron, I phoned her sister in Red Deer to discouver she was in Saskatoon hospital for major surgery. For weeks I had anticipated Veronica hosting me at her brother's in Carlyle June 20th, but instead we had a good visit in the City's hospital.

After leaving Besant, we stopped at Smitty's on Hwy for supper. Then drove onto Moose Jaw to visit niece. Suddenly I realized I didn't have my money pouch and I left it in the washroom at Smitty's. George rushed us back and the servers had it at the counter, all in tack.

Leaving Kenora June 28th and heading for Sioux Narrows (road to Caliper Lake was flooded), after climbing a hill I bungeed my orange jacket to my rat trap. After 5-10kms a truck comes along and asks if I had lost anything off my bike. I looked back and sure enough I had lost my orange jacket. I told the driver and he held it out to me. Naturally my money purse and phone numbes were in the pocket!!

Thanks friends for your prayers

Back to Rachelle

Thursday, June 29th, Sioux Narrows to International Falls, 150kms

Nice day to start off, but then the showers started. So as usual, as soon as you put on rain gear - 30 minutes down the road the sun comes out and you feel like you are in a sauna with all your gear on.

The country side is rolling hills and lots of lakes. This part of the country from Winnipeg on has had an infestation of catipillars. They have stripped all of the leaves of the trees and it almost looks like winter. It was a long, hard ride with a head wind, but we all made it to the border. We crossed over the bridge into Minnesota and had our pictures taken in front of the "Welcome to Minnesota" sign. We found our campsite and sat down to another meal from Bosco and crew.

Friday, June 30th, International Falls to Cook - 122kms

More rolling hills, just a bit smaller and the wind changed from the head wind to a side wind. On this road the traffic was very heavy with a lot of Americans taking an extra day to make it a five day weekend for the 4th of July celebrations. It seemed that every second vehicle had a large boat or a couple of motors attached. This is lake country and it seems like everyone likes fishing. Cook is a small, but busy town. Our campsite was about 50 yards from the train tracks. It kept everyone up all night with all the horns they kept ringing!! Even the people with earplugs heard them!! Nothing like trains in the middle of the night

Saturday, July 1st, Canada Day, Cook to Duluth, 150kms

A very hot day - 35 degrees. Lots of sun screen and lots of water. You drink 2-3 times as much and pee about 1/2 as much. The shoulder was absolutely terrible for about 70kms. When there was a shoulder it was like you were riding over speed bumps every 3ft. There were a lot of aching butts that night!! Gordon hit a small stump on the road and went "ass over tea kettle". Fortunately no major damage, just bumps and scrapes. We all arrived safetly and we stayed at a Nortic lodge called Snowflake Lodge. We have it all to ourselves and tomorrow is a day off. I for on sure need it!! We had a birthday cake for Canada Day, sang and had a night of Canadian trivia. A fun time had by all (not to exclude Cocktail hour)

Sunday, July 2nd - Duluth - Day Off

Some people went shopping at a bike store and one of the customers (Doug) came back to camp to see what we were all about. He ended up driving all 22 of us out to dinner in his station wagon (2 trips) and brought us back home.

By the way, we had TV cameras on the riders when they arrived at Snow Flake Lodge camp and did an interview with Horst. ...

Monday July 3rd, Duluth to Ashland, 126kms

We left our camp in three groups of 10 as it is rather difficult to get out of Duluth. It was about 15kms before we cleared Duluth, including the bridge over Lake Superior - thanks again guys!!

We had a nice day, not too hot, nice shoulder to ride on. Sonie and Gordon rode 15kms on a old railroad bed and had a real pleasant time. We arrived in Ashland about 4pm which is on the shores of Lake Superior. There was a very cool wind blowing off the Lake. Ashland was a lovely old town. There were a lot of old brick buildings, including a huge Catholic Church - very beautiful.

Tuesday, July 4th (America's Independance Day), Ashland to Bruce Crossing - 150kms

We left camp at 6am because of all the holiday people returning home. We wanted to be off the road ASAP. We stopped at McDonald's for breakfast and then we cycled from 6:30 on. Noreen had a bit of a fall in a driveway but no real damage. Beautiful sunny day, no wind to hinder us and a nice shoulder to ride on through rolling country side. Very beautiful. Renaud, Peter, Ken and Jan were interviewed in Wakefield and had their pictures taken for the local newspaper. One elderly lady (76) was so worried that Peter looked a bit dirty that she offered to give him a bath. For dinner we sat down to another roast beef dinner, with mash potatoes, gravy and all the trimmings. Because it was the 4th of July, we sang the "Star Spangled Banner" but I don't think we will be getting a grammy for it!!. We finished off with four birthday cakes consummed by 30 people.

Wednesday, July 5th, Bruce Crossing - Marquette, 150kms

It started out with a sunny day, 6am, cool but nice weather to ride in. Hwy 28 is a nice quite road with wide shoulders until it combines with Hwy 41, all the way to Marquette. All the holiday traffic and trucks come down from the Penninsular and travel this road. The shoulder was very broken up at times. It wasn't very pleasant cycling this road for sure, especially with such a long day.

Other than the road, the construction and the long distance, it was a pleasant day. Marquette is an old city and they have restored the old buildings to their original state. It is right on the shore of Lake Superior and when that wind blows off the Lake you need to put some extra clothes on. We really rained that night - a total downpour - but it stopped by the time we had to get up in the morning. Wet tents, but at least we didn't have to pack up in the rain. Nice bike path out of Marquette til Hwy 28 split again from Hwy 41. That was a relief.

Thursday, July 6th, Marquette to Seney, 140kms

Once we started travelling on Hwy 28 it was very pleasant, rolling country, some hills, but with every up there was always a down. A lot of sandy beaches along the lake, pretty little towns. Singleton to Seney was a long straight stretch of 34 miles (about 3 hours by bike). Most of the countyside was a nature preserve, so we were able to see and hear a lot of birds, look at a lot of marshes and absorb the wonder of nature. There wasn't anything else there and the road didn't turn. If you were ever going to get a sore crotch, it would happen on this section.

Arrived at Seney and were treated to luxury. We were able to shave 10kms off our trip by staying at a motel for the night (yeah!!). We had a senior's buffet dinner ($6 per person)and a buffet breakfast the next morning. It was great!! No dishes to wash, lots of good food and when you were finished you just got up and on your bike.

Friday, July 7th, Seney to Saulte Ste Marie (Canada), 160kms (100 miles)

This has been our longest day. Again it was a nice sunny day and cycling was pretty good except for some bad shoulders. Today we left the States and entered Canada. What an experience!! We had to ride over the International Bridge that connects Canada and the States. It is 5kms long and there is no riding path for bikes so you have to ride with the cars and logging trucks. As you are riding across the bridge you really have to pay attention to what you are doing, but you can't help looking around because just below are the locks that the ships pass through from Lake Superior to Lake Huron (which is quite spectacular), the rapids of Mary River, the nature reserve, etc. Sault Ste Marie is a lovely town with beautiful old brick buildings. Once we got to the campsite, up the tents go again and after such a long day it was too late to cook so we ordered pizza. James had a birthday, so we all sang Happy Birthday to him in French and English, drank to his health and had birthday cake. I even stayed up until 9:45pm, which is a real late night for me!

Saturday, July 8th - Day Off

A day to do whatever you wished. Some put their bikes into bike shops for repairs, some did sightseeing and others did nothing. We went into town and had a look at the bridge we rode across - amazing. When I saw it I couldn't believe that I actually rode across it!! Some stayed in town for dinner, but we went back and had leftover pizza - nice and crunchy when heated up on a grittle. Others had beans and weiners. Very relaxing day!!

Sunday, July 9th, Sault Ste Marie to Bruce Mines, 70kms

It poured rain last night with thunder and lightening, but by morning the rain had stopped which made it easier to pack up our wet tents, etc. The weather was humid and misty starting out, but by the time we got to Bruce Mines the sun was out and the humidity had disappeared. Some took the scenic route and some took the highway. We stopped at old stores, some 100 years old for coffee, etc. One place sold everything from soup to nuts. Ken, our bike mechanic, worked on quite a few bikes putting on chains and adjusting gears and brakes. The cooks are busy in the kitchen cooking pork chops with all the trimmings and pie and ice cream for dessert. It is a good thing we exert a lot of energy during the day or we might end up looking like pork chops ourselves with the amount of food we eat!! We were treated like royalty at Bruce Mines!! They were having a problem with their water, but instead of asking us to boil our water (like every other town), they gave us bottled water to use. We also received a surprise visit from the Mayor of Bruce Mines, Jean Kettles, to personally welcome us to her town. She visited with a lot of the riders and gave us each a pin.

Monday, July 10th, Bruce Mines to Spraggs - 102kms

Sunshine, dry tents to pack up and a short riding day. What more could 28 riders ask for?? Well, it was only 10kms down the road when our bubble burst. The next 30kms of road was under various degrees of construction. It ranged from gravel to new paved roads taht we had to share with lots of lrge trucks. At times they got too close for comfort!! Very stressful!! But we all made it through and enjoyed the beautiful lakes, rivers and countryside. Some riders met a lady riding a three-wheel bike and it was pulled by six huskies. She is travelling to Newfoundland.

It seems that almost every day I am helping someone fix a flat tire. Rachelle had one two days in a row and Noreen the day before that. Ken spent a lot of time yesterday tuning up bikes and installing new chains. We sure would be lost without his knowledge about bikes and his willingness to repair our bikes. We all had a head wind for most of the day today except Jack. He normally comes in later than the rest so he had a tail wind for the last 20kms. We had hamburgers tonight. When Bud tried to attach the hose to the water faucet, the faucet fell over and the water sprang everywhere!! We had our own little water park. The campground owner was over in a flash and fixed it all up for us. We were expecting fireworks from the owner, but he apologized to us!! Very nice and extremely different than some other campground owners.

Tuesday, July 11th, Spraggs to Whitefish Falls - 93kms

The black horse and deer flys of Ontario are living up to their reputation and the mosquitoes are nothing to sneeze at too!!

We left this morning in bright sunshine shortly after Peter filled his coffee cup with porridge instead of his bowl. Down Hwy 17 for 25kms and then more construction. For the next 10kms ungraded, gravelly, washboard, bloody awful road. Big transport trucks speeding by, not giving an inch or a damn about the cyclists. But again, the old folks survived. We stopped in Massie at the Tourist Information Place and they told us about a nice quiet road that would take us through to Espanola. Another 23kms and we are camped at Whitefish Falls. Many riders went swimming, kayaking and just horsed around. Great finish for the day and somehow you tend to forget about the bad roads.

Wednesday, July 12th, Whitefish Falls to Miller Lake - 128kms

Because we had to catch a ferry at 1:30pm, we had an early start at 6:30am. The next sailing, if we missed the 1:30pm was 5:30pm. It was a beautiful day for riding, stopped off at Little Current for donuts and coffee. These bike riders might be from the older generation, but get them into the donut shop and they sure are a rowdy bunch!! Rachelle bought 30+ day old donuts for $4. I thought we would never eat that many, but they didn't last long.

We had a super ride and arrived at the ferry terminal at South Baymouth by 12 noon. We all laid around (eating) in the sun waiting for the ferry to arrive. We do a lot of eating and cycling. Being seniors, we were able to get a discount rate on the ferry, and had a nice two hour ferry ride to Tobermorey. The Ferry is similar to the old BC ferry. We landed in Tobermorey, had a look around the town and then continued on another 30kms south to our camp at Miller Lake.

We had quite an exciting time in the night. The raccoons raided our camp, seeking out fruit, vegetables, trail mix and power bars. They were very successful, but tomorrow night we will be ready for them!

Jack got up in the night to go to the toilet. Everything went well until the return trip. It was quite dark and Jack missed the turn into our camp and didn't realize it until he got to the front office, 1/2km away. He was more careful on the return trip and eventually found his tent.

Thursday, July 13th - Day Off - Miller Lake

Dennis, Noreen, Bud and Bosco cooked us up a big pancake and bacon breakfast. We all did our own thing, fixing bikes, swimming and tourist things. We negotiated with the camp to make us a big roast beef dinner with all the trimmings and dessert, coffee, tea for $12.95 each. We don't cook on our days off unless they are volunteers. The dinner was lovely. Very nice campsite with a nice sandy beach.

go to - Part Six