Seeing wood for trees: Forging into Ontario

I realise it's been a wee bit longer since my last post, but then I have officially entered northern Ontario, a place for people to disappear...

Leaving Winnipeg, I decided to take things easy for the next week: I had held a good pace so far, and I knew my legs would appreciate a lighter spin for a few days.

So back out on highway one, I passed a plain yet hugely monumental sign proclaiming to be the longitudinal centre of Canada - officially halfway! I took my standard selfie whilst cars zipped past me, totally uninterested in this, quite frankly, auspicious occasion that was taking place just feet from them.

The following morning I awoke to the sound of a gentle drizzle on the roof of my tent - I managed to grab my dry kit from my bike and set off, thinking the the bad patch of weather would simply blow over. Sadly it was not meant to be: the rain got progressively more heavy, I could barely see through the dreary haze. I managed two hours, when I decided enough was enough. A sign for a lakeside resort loomed out of nowhere, and I turned off the highway to search for the office.

Taking shelter from the rain first thing

The first place I found to stop (this was taken the following morning...understandably, I wasn't in the mood to take pictures on the day I arrived!)

I was greeted by two dogs barking at the obvious intruder, and a lady appeared to see what the fuss was about. She took one look at me and my attire (I really know how to pull off the drowned rat look) and practically threw a towel at me to start the drying process.

Irene offered me a log cabin to stay in for the night, provided me with tea, gave me a lift to the closest grocery store to buy lunch, and then had me join her family for roast beef dinner that evening!

I later found out that she actually has the same tea pot as me (!!!!!) so I have decided that meeting her and her wonderful family was simply meant to be. Call it fate, or workings of the above and beyond, she was my fabulous guardian angel who picked me up when I was soggy and my mood was as dreich as the weather raging outside my window.

My home for the night

Having a bit of chill time 

So I eventually made it Kenora after three variable days of cycling. And I made the most of my time there, restocking on supplies and enjoying a taste of the local tipple at the brilliant Lake of the Woods brewery, my skills at chatting to the slightly more interesting clientele getting put to good use.

New province comes with an immediate improvement in road quality - instant bliss!

I felt buoyed leaving this beautiful little town, ready to tackle the next leg of my trip. I chatted to another cyclist on my way out of town; he was just on a Saturday morning spin, but had done the cross-Canada cycle with his now wife (also an avid cyclist) back in 1981. As we shook hands and went our separate ways, I felt enriched by my chat with him, yet another complete stranger who imparted useful knowledge of the road ahead.

I peeled off the main highway to head south on 71, preferring the more scenic if slightly longer route through to Thunder Bay. This was generally considered the better route for cyclists, as the road is quieter in terms of traffic, and also has more places to stop at along the route.

And what a day of cycling. The road wound its way through boreal forests which would open up to reveal a beautiful deep blue lake, the occasional jetty and log cabin set at the water's edge. I worked hard up hills and sped down sweeping curves of smooth tarmac (the roads had improved almost instantly on the crossing into Ontario from Manitoba) enjoying the warm sun and cool breeze. As my grandma used to say, it was one of those 'good to be alive days'.

I stopped to stay the night at a lodge right on a lakefront. The owner, Kevin, said to make the most of the communal building, where I stumbled upon a group of people from the States. It turns out they spent every summer there fishing, and were all just getting together for a potluck dinner as they had just arrived the previous week. When I told them about my own trip, they immediately insisted on my joining them for dinner. Well, I certainly wasn't going to turn down hot sandwiches, homemade potato salad and fresh brownies and cookies!

The cycling continued to be hilly, but much more worthy than I had been used to in the prairies - harder work for the legs but much more enjoyable for my mind.

This week I've spent a lot of time thinking about this trip in general. Maybe it was passing the halfway mark, or maybe because I've been out by myself for so long that I'm running out of things to think about, but I had a wonderful moment of realisation and a great mindset shift.

It may have taken me over 2000 miles to let go of the factors beyond my control (so weather, road quality, the questionable campervan drivers who clearly aren't used to driving larger vehicles), but I finally feel like I've got to the stage of truly enjoying this journey I'm undertaking. And it's not the case that I haven't been enjoying this adventure so far, more that I've reached a heightened appreciation for it.

The beautiful simplicity of spinning my way through stunning surroundings, and not rushing for the sake of making up the miles each day. If I want to push it, I push it for that gratifying feeling at the end of each day. But if I do want to take it easy, I don't panic, I simply enjoy the shorter day, trusting in the knowledge that I will reach my end destination.

So my rather deep thoughts were interrupted when I stopped for lunch at Emo...yes, the timing was pretty impeccable!

I had a couchsurfing stay in Fort Frances, a border town with the US. Matt was a great host. He, along with his friend and neighbour Jeff, fed me wonderful food, good beer and had a plentiful supply of chat about their own travels. We even had a bonfire on the lakefront by their house, talking into the evening and watching bats and birds swooping low over the water.

I reached Thunder Bay over the next couple of days, cycling through more forests and wildlife spotting - another bear to add to my tally, and finally some moose! It was remote cycling, with very few buildings on the highway and even fewer that were up and running, many of them deserted and boarded up through lack of use.

Any guesses on how to pronounce this?!

Sara from Saskatoon had organised for me to stay with her family at Thunder Bay, and I'm so happy this has happened. They are Persian in origin, but the whole extended family seems to have decamped to this great little city.

I have had the privilege to meet Sara's mum, brother, cousins, grandma, aunt, and Maha's (a cousin) husband, brother and father in law, who, incredibly, got married to his wife in my own home town of Shrewsbury in 1973! When I learned this, I was utterly gobsmacked - the world is getting smaller and smaller by the day!

New favourites to go with tea - sohan and sweet date cookies

So much good tea!!

At kakabeka falls - 'the Niagara of the north'

With some of my new Persian family

Aside from this rather fantastic revelation, I got to experience proper 
Persian tea and Iranian food...how have I lived without this before now?!?

What an incredible week, full of deep thoughts and beautiful strangers. I'm finally seeing the wood for the trees, and feeling all the more refreshed for it. I've got a long way to go still in Ontario, may the warm glowing feelings continue!

A Numbers Game

I left Saskatoon full of energy, revitalised after my early break, and my cold finally waning. The weather was on the up, and, although the magical tailwind was still yet to make its presence known, I was happy to pedal along as before.

The next chunk of my journey took me southeast towards Winnipeg. It was, in theory, effortless cycling: long flat straight roads, undulating at worst, downhill at best. And yet I would say it has been some of the toughest since I've been here.

 

Maybe it's because the initial novelty of cycling daily has worn off, and that buzz of excitement that comes with starting a new trip has faded a little: cycling, after all, has essentially become my full time job for the time being.

Or it could be because everything looks the same and I feel like I've been pedalling the same 10km on a continual loop! The landscape and surroundings of unbroken fields stretching into the distance, the railway line running parallel to the road, the odd pocket of reed-ridden wetland providing the only change over hundreds of kilometres.

I really don't want to sound ungrateful for having the opportunity to complete this trip, and I always knew this section would be tough (enough people, cyclists and others had told me about the mind numbing dullness of this part of the country) but this was making cycling really hard work.

I have found myself racing between every small town, counting telegraph poles to pass the time, and refusing to look at my odometer more than once an hour to stop myself from going insane as every mile crept by.

The 'visitor centre' at Sheho, which apparently is the native meaning for prairie chicken, so the lady told me in the general store...

My poor pasty upper arms have had a (nearly literal) baptism of fire. Until this week they had been covered by my base layer, but with each day getting warmer, I thought it was high time they had a bit of exposure. Five killer hot days later, they are now permanently pink no matter how much suncream I slather on. Another great tan line to add to the growing collection...

Hot work and no shade in sight

I crossed the border into Manitoba and expected (I don't really know why) to be heading back into a more familiar world with bigger towns and better roads. Indeed I was lulled into this by my stop at Russell - a subway, pizza hut and Tim Horton's all at one service stop!

New province!!

My excitement was short lived. The next day I rolled out to of town to find that Manitoba, having such a small population, can't afford to pave a lot of the hard shoulders beyond highway 1. So for the best part of the next two days I had to share a single lane highway with all the traffic for the first time on my trip. There was a good half foot drop off the tarmac onto the gravel hard shoulder, but hey, at least there was no rumble zone to deal with!

A change in gradient I felt was worth a photo. It was possibly the first since Saskatoon!

Hurray for new scenery!

I was constantly alert, listening out for traffic approaching from behind. It's interesting how people react differently to cyclists: some of the smaller cars pulling right over to the other side of the road to pass me, waving jovially as they did so. Yet I've also had two opposing trucks decide that there was plenty of room to pass me whilst passing each other at the same time...luckily this has only happened twice... exhilarating for all the wrong reasons!

Enjoying the view with a brew 

Perked up my morning no end!

The crossroad with highway 1 was an important moment for me: it signified my rejoining of the more traditional cross Canada route. As I bid a fond farewell to highway 16 (we've been through a lot together!) I half expected to be inundated by a bunch of fellow tourers, at last finding some people as crazy as myself to chat weather, bicycles and food with. But alas, it's still just me. I've heard rumours of one tourer who has been ahead of me on a trip from Edmonton to Montreal, but I've yet to catch up with him yet...

Highway 1, it's been a while since I saw you

So I've made it to Winnipeg! It feels like a significant landmark in my trip, although that could simply be because this was the point I had reached in terms of planning...the east of Canada felt so far into the future it seemed pointless to plan for it, the western fringe of Ontario being the furthest east I could picture on a map before it places and distances grew indistinct in my head.

I've tried to be productive with my time in a big city: I've had my bike checked over at the wonderful Alter Ego Sports. They pushed other bikes aside when I told them about my trip and gave her a free service, so grateful for that! I've spent time number crunching for the next leg of my trip, and replenished my food stocks ready for the next section of my trip.

This is me done with the West of Canada. I've covered roughly 1700 miles so far, crossed three time zones and four provinces. I hear winding roads actually exist in Ontario...I can't wait to see what's around the corner!

Okay, I'm done with this headwind now...no seriously, get out of my face already!!!

So it's been a mixed week. The Rockies are well and truly behind me as I venture East into the wide expanse of the prairies in Alberta and Saskatchewan; a big positive in my life being that I can finally pronounce Saskatchewan correctly, instead of referring to it simply as 'that province between Alberta and Manitoba'.

I had a wonderful day off in Edmonton, catching up with old university friends, wandering the city, shoe shopping (one of my cycle shoes broke in my clumsy tumble last week, so I had to suffer the nightmare of shopping for a new pair...I know, what a travesty that was!) and enjoying the glorious weather that comes with Canadian springtime. Everything is finally turning a lush green, the river valley parks were positively blooming in the growing sunshine.

A breezy wander around Edmonton

Shoe issues

Beautiful evening on the outskirts of Edmonton

I had a solid ride out of the city, heading southeast on highway 14 when the inevitable happened: I got rained on, good and proper, for the first time in the trip. It was the sort of rain that caused several drivers to pull over at the side of the highway to offer me a lift. I was very appreciative, but naturally declined; I could deal with a bit of rain, being a British cyclist very much used to these conditions!

The weather cleared eventually, allowing me to dry out in time to arrive at Viking relatively dry. I was looking for a campground when a small car pulled up beside me. Gerard and Dolly, went above and beyond the call of duty, giving me directions for the campground and a good place to eat, before then returning to the campground with small memorabilia from Alberta, and an offer of dinner on them! A wonderful evening was spent eating Chinese food and being introduced to all the locals who were curious about Gerard and Dolly's new friend.

Drying out after getting soaked!

However, the next day I suffered a huge dip in confidence, as the wind continued to blow ferociously against me. Despite a stop at the Hitching Post cafe in Kinsella, where I was once again a talking point for everyone in the place, with some great words of encouragement, I called it a day at Wainwright, after my lowest day's mileage for the whole trip so far. I tried to be realistic about the situation: I was coming down with a cold and there was no point battling when I what I needed more than anything was sleep! It was fairly demoralising, and I won't deny that I was feeling disappointed with my apparent lack of resilience.

Finishing up at Wainwright

I had a house stay organised at North Battleford the following night, and although it was a tall order, I was determined to reach it by the evening. The wind had dropped slightly, and I set off early with purpose. The road peaked and troughed like waves on the ocean, continuously undulating through the wide expansive fields home to cows and horses.

The rolling prairies

Being a bank holiday, the road was my own, and the small towns I passed were dusty and deserted, everyone enjoying a peaceful Sunday. Pedalling through Cut Knife at 80 miles in, I finally found an open restaurant, and dived in gratefully to refill on water. I found a group of people enjoying a coffee and before I knew what was happening, I was among them, chatting away about my trip and finding out about the local area. Apparently the town is home to the world's largest tomahawk, and I wasn't allowed to leave until someone had taken me to see it. So off I hopped with a lady in her massive truck, and indeed, the tomahawk was quite something to behold.

I made it to North Battleford eventually, after a long tiring day in the saddle, and I was met by Tyler (a friend of a friend) and his family, who had all been enjoying the long weekend together. And what a great group of people! So welcoming to a complete stranger, and incredibly understanding of my basic needs for food (which there was in abundance!) and sleep, which was effortless in such a comfortable bed.

The bank holiday Monday dawned warm and sunny. With a belly full of porridge and toast, I left this marvellous family to hit the road, rejoining that old favourite, the Yellowhead Highway. And what a day to cycle! It just got warmer and warmer, the wind finally abating after days of being my constant cruel companion.

A chilly but bright start

A beautiful moment in any cyclist's day: seeing a fresh stretch of tarmac reaching the hard shoulder

And boy did it feel good! To pedal with such ease, to hold a decent pace with little conceivable effort, cycling became a joy rather than a chore as I raced through the miles. I took a lunch break after a mere three hours, and sat back to enjoy the glorious sunshine while I ate my lunch at a roadside service.

The last chunk of cycling down into Saskatoon flew by, and I found myself at my destination just after 4pm.

Over the Borden bridge

As my cold hadn't been shaken, I decided it would make sense to take an early rest day in the city, rather than push on. My hosts Edward and Sara have gone above and beyond, feeding wonderful food, putting me in touch with more friends further along my route, and allowed me to stay in their lovely house to snooze and stretch and slurp tea (Sara has a marvellous collection of loose leafs!) as much as I like.

The Tardis meeting new teas

Wandering through Saskatoon, the city of bridges

As a result, my body and mind feel much rested, the cold is starting to shrink away, and I feel ready to roll onwards.

Every time I look at google maps, I'm amazed to see that little blue dot way out in the middle of that expanse of green. Technically I'm behind schedule. And I couldn't care less right now. I taken a big chunk out of this country already and I'm all set to take a crack at the next bit. Just spinning it out, one day at a time.