Day 19: Sault Ste. Marie, ON: 728 km

July 17, 2013

Today was an awesome riding day! Weather, you were so good to us today. Our local meteorologist, Dendog, nailed our get away perfectly. He obsessed over watched the radar for 2.5 hours until he figured we could leave between the current band of showers and the next band. He then forecast that by the time we got to Nippigon the weather would have passed to the south. He was right on all fronts. We had a few drops on the way out but that was it.

Early in the ride we passed by the Terry Fox memorial and mile marker 3339. He was a real hero. I can’t begin to imagine what he went through in life, nor during the Marathon of Hope.

Like most of the journey, I had never been to this part of the country. The north shore of Superior is beautiful. The hills, the vistas, the lush greens, the enormity of the lake. Had me in awe.

We stopped for snacks and at a few other rest stops. Gas prices in this part of Ontario are similar to the prices in remote BC.

The temperature change was really interesting. Near the lake we got as low as 17 C up at the north part of the trip. We were as high as 30 C inland. Once we got near the lake again we would drop 6 or 7 degrees. That was really welcome as today was much more comfortable.

Some pictures:

Tonight is the last night we spend together. Tomorrow we break “camp” early to try and make the push home. We may ride together to Espanola, ON but Dendog has a ferry to catch so he may have to leave first. We will see. We both have options to stay at if the weather is crappy or if we are too tired. But we both look forward to seeing our people too.

Because it is our last night together we did a video summary that we can torment our families with later. So far, this has been an amazing trip. Plenty of miles, no major mishaps. We have seen a lot.

Tomorrow we will re-enact the scene from “Strange Brew” when Bob and Doug separate in the Elsinore Brewery. Not sure who will be Bob and who will be Doug.

For those following on Spotwalla, it stays with me. Dendog’s peeps know how to track him.

Neither of us will likely blog tomorrow. The summary of the last day will follow soon. We will even write some equipment reviews. I may write a restaurant review: OK, here it is: Eat anywhere but Smitty’s!

Tonight we had DQ for dessert.  It’s important to get your dairy!  For the first time on this trip, they got my Peanut Buster Parfait Blizzard right!  The dietary consultant that took my order fully understood that it was just chocolate sauce and peanuts.  That’s it!  Thank you Sault Ste. Marie DQ!

We look forward to a safe return home.

Peace out.