Day 54: Kenora, ON -> Wabigoon, ON

Date: Saturday, July 8, 2023
Start: Kenora, ON (Acinabe Campground)
End: Wabigoon, ON (Wabigoon Lake RV Park)
Distance: 161km

I'd gone to bed late AND drank more beer than I usually do (usually I drink none before bed).  So I woke up quite early at around 5:30am.  Beer before bed does that to me.  I decided to try to get an early start to the day and got up, packed, and made breakfast.  As I was eating someone asked me which way I was going.  Remember those bikes I'd spotted the day before?  Well they had also noticed my bike/gear and were waiting to find me too!

They'd left Vancouver at the end of May and were going West as well.  They'd gone a more southern route in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, but Winnipeg and Northern Ontario has a way of concentrating all the bike traffic onto one road and so we were in the same place now.  We exchanged stories and I went to check out their bikes (which were both beautiful machines).  They were wonderful, funny, energetic, friendly, and I'm sorry I couldn't spend more time with them.  They were doing a slightly less intense pace than I'm on, and also were taking a different route to Thunder Bay.  But I may get to see them down the road as they may leapfrog me in Ontario!

And that's how I met Shaun and Phil!

My early start was delayed with all the socializing, but I'm not complaining.  I'm always happy to make some new friends!  And so I left at about 9am (still early by my standards) and immediately set off from Kenora.

Before I left town however, I stopped at a hotel.  Back in March I'd driven with my friend Emily from Calgary to Montreal as I helped her move across the country.  We'd stopped in Kenora on the first night of our trip and I'd left a t-shirt and pair of shorts at the hotel.  I stopped in to see if they still had them, because that would be a great story!

But they didn't.  They toss it all out after 60 days.  And so that's the story.  No payoff....sorry!

I started out of town.  Immediately my legs felt sore and tired.  I hadn't had a big day the previous day, so I wasn't sure why I felt like this.  Surely it wasn't the 2.5 pints before bed and the less than usual amount of sleep.  I don't have to pay for these things!

But it probably was.  I biked 10km till I rejoined Highway 17 and started towards Vermillion Bay.  It was still 80km away.

The road went up and down for almost the entire day.  I'm not going to complain though, because this was a delightful change of pace from The Prairies!  There was some payoff here though, as the highway went through dramatic rock features where the highway was literally blasted through rock and stone.  The lakes also didn't stop all day.  One after the other, signs along the highway gave their names.  It was a tragedy of riches as far as water goes!

I also passed a fair number of "dead" hotels, motels, and gas stations.  They'd once run profitable businesses but for one reason or another had been left to decay.  I saw many such places throughout the day.

At one point about an hour and a half into the ride, I yawned.  I couldn't believe it.  I was tired!  I hadn't felt "tired" as in lacking sleep for the entire trip!  Clearly I need to allow myself some more sleep!

At about 11:30am I also was starving.  This was earlier than usual, but then I remembered that I'd also had breakfast early.  So I pulled off at a rest area and enjoyed a lake while I ate my crackers, cheese, and salami.

After about 45 minutes I got back on the bike feeling refreshed!  I continued on...

At some point I passed a guy walking his bike and heading in the opposite direction.  I stopped and asked if he was ok.  He gave me the thumbs up and kept walking.  I hope he really was ok...

At about 2pm I rolled into Vermilion Bay.  For context, my father had worked here for a few years and there's an alternate reality where I grew up in this town and not Southern Quebec!  I remembered he'd worked quarrying granite and when I passed a granite operation I snapped a picture of it and sent it off.  Sure enough, it's the place he worked!

I rolled into town and grabbed an orange soda at the gas station.  I then biked into the heart of the town and grabbed a chocolate milk at the grocery store and some gummy bears.  I biked around town a bit to get a feel for it and then set off.  Vermilion Bay is a quiet but pretty little town.  The lake it sits on gives it a lot of character, and I enjoyed visiting it.

I set off from Vermilion Bay with the goal of Dryden, just 50 more kilometers to go.  It was now 2:30 and if I made decent time I could get to Dryden by 5pm.  As I went down the road I passed signs that reminded me that pulp and paper is a major industry here!

I made it to Dryden in about 2 hours.  Much faster than anticipated.  To make it in that time, I had to have a tailwind.  I hadn't been paying attention but enough the wind was carrying me.

In the distance I could see Dryden's enormous pulp and paper mill.  I stopped and took a picture with a sign celebrating their star hockey player.  To be fair, even I've heard of Chris Pronger!

I took some pictures in the town.

I scoped out the campground that I was planning to stay at and noticed it seemed neglected and run down.  Sure enough, Google reviews seemed to indicate that no one was taking care of it.  I decided not to stay there and found a place just 20km further down the road that had fantastic reviews.  Before leaving Dryden I decided to grab a few groceries as it was 350km to the next major population centre: Thunder Bay.  I stopped in at No Frills and grabbed some sausage, but they didn't have my brand of cracker.  And I won't go without my Toppables.

Aside: If the good people of Toppables crackers want to sponsor this ride I'll happily endorse your product and take payment in either crackers or currency with which to buy crackers.

There was a Wal-Mart across the street so I decided to try it.  And sure enough, I was saved.  My relief was palpable.

I jumped back on the bike and headed out of Dryden.  It seemed like a nice town, but their camping left much to be desired!

It was only 20km to Wabigoon Lake where the campsite was.  I biked it along at a pleasant little pace and made it there in 45 minutes.  Again, the Wind Gods were with me!

I checked in with Frank (the owner) and he mentioned another guy on bike who was also staying there.  Turns out that guy was sitting right behind me.  He's biking from Montreal to Vancouver and was here for the night.  We talked for about 45 minutes about our trips and he's a great guy!  He's from Germany, but has done MANY bike trips throughout Canada.

And that's how I met Axel!

I went off to put up my tent as it was 7:30pm.  I ended up fighting off mosquitoes as I did so, and must have killed upwards of 50.  I retreated to the indoor seating area where Axel was and he turned in for the night.  I ate and typed up this blog post.

At just after 10pm, I went to bed.  I was feeling VERY tired from the early wake up and was looking forward to some sleep.  The forecast is calling for rain for the next two days, so the upcoming blog posts might not have very many pictures!  But we'll find out...