Total around the world bicycle miles 24,372 (39,223 km)
August 12, 2016
I finally had my front derailleur replaced in Sault Ste. Marie. While riding through Central Asia two years ago I fell onto rocks and bent the cage. I didn’t know it at the time but it was also cracked. Shifting was getting more difficult in South America and the last several days of large hills north of Lake Superior I sometimes had to get off the bike and manually shift the chain. I also had to do that on our first tour across the U.S. on my old Raleigh. The derailleur cable was also frayed. At first the bike shop just replaced the cable but then on a test ride it still wouldn’t shift properly so the mechanic changed out my cracked and bent Shimano Deore XT derailleur with another one that was two levels in quality below mine. We didn’t want to wait for a like replacement so I had that installed. It worked well on the bench and on an unloaded test ride but for the last two days I have been tweaking cable tension and almost have it dialed in for working hills under load.
It has been raining most of the last two days but in the late afternoon we rode into the cool little town of Thessalon and found Lakeside Park with tent sites right across the street from Lake Huron. We found the LCBO in town for some beer then set up camp. There are many people that live here during the season and we found a new friend Ivan who had a trailer there with his wife. After dinner we enjoyed sitting in his comfortable chairs and enjoying a beautiful fire. It was another fun evening.
The morning found us setting out in the rain to find the town’s only breakfast spot for a huge stack of fueling pancakes. All the regulars there said it wasn’t going to rain but it did, sometimes heavy, all day. It was a rough day with narrow shoulders and heavy traffic. I still don’t understand why Ontario has such poor roads. In fact, we have talked with many local cyclists about this and they all say they cycle in the U.S. and other Canadian provinces but that they will not cycle across Ontario. The other provinces have more sections of four lanes on this Trans-Canadian Highway 17, while Ontario has only occasional 4 lane sections and sometimes passing lanes. It really is bad and can be very frustrating in the rain as most drivers, whether cars or trucks, will not slow down on the two lane roads. If the oncoming lane is clear they will move away from us but if it not, they refuse to slow as they pass within inches. We have actually been flicked off by drivers while we ride the white line or directly inside of it. We just cheerily wave back to them. Common sense dictates that when approaching a bike and you cannot move over, just slow down a bit. But that doesn’t happen here. The government goes to the expense of grading the shoulder but only pave a few inches. We have ridden on the unpaved parts at times but that too is dangerous as it is sometimes deep and loose.
By late afternoon we were struggling then stopped at a country store for a cold drink. This place also sells many flavors of smoked rainbow trout so we bought that and some beer as the proprietor told us about a campground a few minutes down the road. We found that and quickly settled down on a lakeside campground. After a swim in the lake we had a delicious dinner of rice and rainbow trout.
August 15, 2016
Yesterday was the first sunny day in the last three but the traffic was terrible on this Sunday. We finally got off of the Trans-Canadian Highway and found another nice campground near dusk. It was a long but good 70-mile day.
Last night we camped next to a Canadian that was on a mission for a fast ride from Victoria to Montreal. He wants to beat his friends time of 25 days and he rides 14 hour days and usually about 150 miles per day. He was gone at 0530 while we were sound asleep.
After three days in the forests camping we passed an LCBO and motel. So we quickly settled in the motel and got to the LCBO before the 6pm closing time. A storm was brewing so this was a good call.
