Marathon to White River We had coffee with Paul and Joe before leaving Marathon.  We had left Lois’ bike computer in our room in Rossport. Luckily, they had stayed at the same place and kindly brought it with them. After a steep descent and climb at the beginning, followed by 10 kms of flat, the terrain was ...

Rossport to Marathon Trees and rocks, rocks and trees, and HILLS…and water. It was a good day, but a tiring one. The winding road and hilly terrain continued, with many challenging steep climbs. It feels like the Rockies all over again! The rain had stopped by morning, but we left in a thick fog and ...

Nipigon to Rossport It was a much hillier ride today, giving us great views of Lake Superior, even in the rain and mist. The shoulder remained narrow or non-existent, but was less of a problem today as the weekend traffic was lighter. We had some very long climbs, some of which were on a long ...

Thunder Bay to Nipigon “Fear and Loathing on Highway 17” The day began well, at a small Italian coffee shop close to the motel. The latte and espresso were good and we left with fresh cinnamon buns and sandwiches for lunch. We  headed back down Highway 61, the Thunder Bay Expressway (Highway 61 starts in Thunder Bay ...

The City of Thunder Bay is very spread out. The centres of the constituent communities of Port Arthur and Fort William are 7 kms apart. Although they were amalgamated in 1970 to create Thunder Bay, we were told that the communities remain fairly separate. It was certainly confusing to get around and we spent more ...

Shabaqua Corners to Thunder Bay The morning was bright, the sky was blue, breakfast was very good, there was a tailwind and hard shoulders. Fitting for a birthday! Lois was particularly excited about the hard shoulder! We visited Kakabeka Falls, the “Niagara of the North”, which are quite spectacular. The falls are on the Kaministiquia Rivera, which ...

Upsala to Shabaqua Corners The Black Spruce Motel, just outside Upsala, was yet another breakfast haven and the vegetarian Denver sandwich that we took away for lunch was delicious. The server said that she often gets asked what time it is, and she responds with “that depends on which direction you are travelling” to the surprise ...

Ignace to Upsala The Tower Hill Truck Stop in Ignace was a good place for breakfast, except for the coffee. “Espressos are few and far between on Highway 17” Lois Leslie 2013 Today was an easier day – fewer hills, a constant tailwind and cooler weather – but the terrain was less interesting. The land is characterized by ...

Dryden to Ignace It was hot,  but we had a tailwind most of the day. The hard shoulder was only about half a metre for the majority of the  day and will be like this for the next three days. Paul remarked on the colourfulness of the rocks, flowers, lakes and sky but Lois was ...

Vermilion Bay to Dryden We were awake early by the drone of mosquitoes and didn’t want to wait  around until the local cafe opened at 8:00, so we prepared instant oatmeal using hot water from the motel coffee maker (not a good idea!) and shared a cinnamon bun we’d bought last night.  The rain had just ...