Day 38 - Thessalon to Spanish Ontario - 107.3 kms
Day 38 - Total Progress - 4,027.5 kms
Someone put their panniers on backwards... We don't want to imply that Cam is a slow learner, but today was Day 38 of our adventure, and he was ready to roll his bike outside to get going, and he realized he'd put his panniers on backwards. Ken took some responsibility as he was holding Cam's bike and watching him and didn't catch the error either... We both agreed that it's amazing that we've made it 38 days without our wives here to help us! In any case, we quickly swapped the panniers and headed off to check out.
Photo Credit - Susan Weigel As we were about to leave just before 11AM, we ran into Susan Weigel, who along with her husband Andrew owns and operates the Carolyn Beach Motor Inn where we spent a very comfortable evening and enjoyed an excellent breakfast. Susan took a picture of us for their Facebook page and we got her to reciprocate by taking a picture for our blog. We were very impressed with the personal service that we received from the Weigels and the attention to detail that we saw throughout their beautiful property. Our room was extraordinarily clean and very comfortable. We had an awesome stay - thanks Susan and Andrew!
 The Serpent River | While we found the landscape on Day 37 between the Soo and Thessalon to be quite nondescript and boring, the countryside began to get far more interesting. The humidity was extremely high again today, and we were thankful for the cloud cover as it would have been a very difficult ride in the sun. |  Lilypads are quite plentiful |
Cam does his best strawberry impersonation. Around 12:30PM we were close to Iron Bridge and saw a U-Pick strawberry field, which couldn't have come at a better time! It took no debating for us to turn our bikes into the field and before long we were filling a large bucket (and our mouths) with beautiful strawberries, benefiting from a bumper crop according to the field's owners. The bill for half a pail was....$3.90(!), but we told them to keep the change from a $5 as we had sampled the merchandise while picking!
After lunch at the Seventeen Restaurant in Blind River, we passed another milestone reaching 4,000 kms! By the end of the day, we were approximately two-thirds of the way to the end of the trip! We shared a high five and got back to business.
At the turn to Elliott Lake, we started to feel some sprinkles and they grew into a light rain. This broke our streak as we have not seen rain since Day 28 from Cass Lake to Grand Rapids in Minnesota! Fortunately, the rain only lasted for about 15 minutes, and Cam didn't even change into his rain gear. The humidity had already done a good job of moistening everything he was wearing, so the rain wasn't a concern to him!
At the turn to Elliott Lake, we started to feel some sprinkles and they grew into a light rain. This broke our streak as we have not seen rain since Day 28 from Cass Lake to Grand Rapids in Minnesota! Fortunately, the rain only lasted for about 15 minutes, and Cam didn't even change into his rain gear. The humidity had already done a good job of moistening everything he was wearing, so the rain wasn't a concern to him!
Our cozy cabin overlooks the Spanish River We arrived in Spanish at about 5:30PM and followed a bit of a maze through the town to find Vance's Resort at the far South end of town on the Spanish River. Just to be clear, the "Resort" refers to a "Fishing Resort", which should immediately alter any mental images that you had developed... Our cabin is a 2 bedroom suite (a "fishing" suite!) and so Cam and Ken will learn tonight if they can sleep without being in the same room together.
After a very refreshing swim in the river, and a very soothing sauna, we headed back out to the highway for dinner at the Spanish River Inn. We were the only guests in a very large dining room. We were surprised by the condition of many of the houses as we rode through town. It appears that the area is struggling economically. Perhaps if the TransCanada highway had more than 1 - 2 feet of shoulder through this region, they might generate more revenue from other cycle tourists...! (The shoulders continue to be too narrow, so we are keeping a very close eye on our mirrors as we ride.)
Ride Details:
- Distance: 107.3 kms
- Riding time: 4 hours, 44 minutes
- Average speed: 22.7 kms
- Wind: Variable and light
- Temperature: 25 degrees
- Cumulative: 4,027.5 kms
Tomorrow's Destination: Sudbury, Ontario - 115.0 kms (then a rest day!)
For more ride details see Strava and for more of today's ride photos see the Photo Gallery.
After a very refreshing swim in the river, and a very soothing sauna, we headed back out to the highway for dinner at the Spanish River Inn. We were the only guests in a very large dining room. We were surprised by the condition of many of the houses as we rode through town. It appears that the area is struggling economically. Perhaps if the TransCanada highway had more than 1 - 2 feet of shoulder through this region, they might generate more revenue from other cycle tourists...! (The shoulders continue to be too narrow, so we are keeping a very close eye on our mirrors as we ride.)
Ride Details:
- Distance: 107.3 kms
- Riding time: 4 hours, 44 minutes
- Average speed: 22.7 kms
- Wind: Variable and light
- Temperature: 25 degrees
- Cumulative: 4,027.5 kms
Tomorrow's Destination: Sudbury, Ontario - 115.0 kms (then a rest day!)
For more ride details see Strava and for more of today's ride photos see the Photo Gallery.