Ontario down! Quebec and the rest to go? maybe?

Ontario was big, long, difficult, and taxing on all the riders. From one end (Kenora) to the other (Ottawa) it was nearly 20 days of hard cycling. Big hills, lousy roads, humid weather, and cycling apathy set in as we trekked across the Canadian Shield. In short, Ontario is beautiful; cycling through Ontario was pretty damn tough.

Ontario started off well, getting from Kenora to Thunder Bay we traveled through Trans Can Hwy #17 to Dryden, Ignace, Upsala, and then T-Bay. The ride was hilly but not too difficult, the weather was overcast most days so it was alright. Many of the towns you see on the map in that area of Ontario have actually dissappeared in recent years. I remember one day we were going to meet for lunch at Martin (a city on the map) only to get there and find 1-2 buildings almost completely abandoned. Then we went through English River (I think) and everything was closed or borded up. It was interesting to see and a little bit sad as well. Upsala is kind of a spooky town. Aside from the Giant Man-Eating Mosquito at the Can-Op in Upsala, there isn't much to see in the entire stretch from Kenora to T-Bay, well aside from the trees, rivers, lakes, hills and whatnot.

After arriving in Thunder Bay we took a well deserved break in the city. Stocked up on rest and essential things like BBQ burgers, we set off for our next day-off destination Sault Ste Marie. The T-Bay to the Soo stretch of the trip was probably the hilliest most mountanous rides we had had since B.C. some of those hills were killer, the downhills were always sweet after the climb, but funny thing about downhills is they last only a fraction of the time you spent climbing the hill in the first place. Anyway, we finally arrived in Sault Ste Marie after a quick stop in Pancake Bay, which has a few wicked shops that need to be checked out if you are in the area.

After a day in the Soo, we headed East in the direction of North Bay and beyond it, Ottawa. The rides were pretty good. good weather throughout, although the spirits of some group members were starting to sag. It's hard to be in good spirits when there are 'personality conflicts' going on all around you. It was bound to happen nearly two months of close quarters and camping everyday with little to no rest or respite from one another, people were not getting along. Additionally some members did not make as much money as they had wished prior to embarking on the trip (ah yes the uncertainty of treeplanting), and wished to quit the tour in Montreal. So as cut to the quick and avoid the mumbo jumbo and all that, Mike and Raluca went their separate way in Ottawa, with Me (Dom) Kristen and Vanessa to continue the tour on Bike to Montreal.

So that is where we are right now, myself and Kristen are relaxing with my family in Montreal and Vanessa is resting with hers. Both Kristen and Vanessa will be going home to the 'Loo in the next few days while I try to figure out the logistics of continuing to NFLD alone on my bike. Its too bad the trip had to be cut short for some, but what happens happens, and you just have to continue onward. If I can get out East and back in a reasonable amount of time, I'll update this again shortly. Until then, uhh, wait or something. It's been an awesome experience and I had a blast with everyone right to the end.

Take it easy
Dominic