Monday August 3, 2015

The temperature this morning when we woke up was very chilly, about 12 degrees. The high today was supposed to be 17 degrees, but the average temperature was 13 degrees. Even with the cycling I didn’t really warm up all day.

This is for Jim Dyment, my old boss and friend, a hug.

Ralf and I could not understand the logic of the road builders in Northern Ontario. They seemed to add passing lanes where they weren’t needed and take them away where they should be. The same with the shoulders. The shoulders started of wide and paved, then they went to narrow and paved, then disappeared altogether, then we went back to wide and paved etc. etc.

We expected the road to be fairly busy today, due to people going home from the long week-end holiday. The roads were not too busy, but what did surprise us is the amount of moving company trucks heading east – we saw at least six trucks.

We arrived in Ignace cold and hungry. As we were leaving the Subway, we noticed a guy wearing a t.shirt advertising the bike shop that we had used in Nelson. We mentioned what a great store it was, his best friend is the manager. We chatted to him outside as he was trying to get three little ones into the car. He said it was like herding cats. The questions they were asking us was hilarious: What’s that for? Do you have a bell? What does that do? How many questions can little kiddies ask in a short period of time – Answer: a lot.

The Dad wished us luck – we returned the sentiment. He needs all the luck he can get.

Needless to say we are in a motel tonight. I am now the defacto negotiator for cheaper rooms. I will always ask if there are any discounts, today I asked if there was any discount for ex-military! Yep got $10.00 off, the owners son-in-law has just retired from the military.

Finally we have got a good wi-fi connection and the blog is up to date.

Another long ride tomorrow, with tail-winds all the way.