Day 60: Neys, ON -> White River, ON

Date: Friday, July 14, 2023
Start: Neys, ON (Neys Provincial Park)
End: White River, ON (Information Centre Free Camping)
Distance: 118km

It was supposed to rain overnight, and while it had drizzled a bit...there was no solid rain like had been forecast.  I was happy for the forecast to have been wrong!  I packed, set the tent to dry, and went to start breakfast...but John came over and immediately invited us over for coffee.  I charged my electronics at their cabin while we went in and had coffee AND BREAKFAST!!!!!

John and Colleen had toast and fruit and eggs.  I usually eat a lot of eggs, but on this ride they're a bit of a luxury so I was happy to have them.  Egg yolk and toast is such a treat!

We sat and talked with John and Colleen for another hour or two.  They're wonderful people.  For the sake of privacy, I won't share the details with you.  But they're adventurous, creative, curious, multifaceted, parents,  history buffs, and lovers of their area of the country.  I've found that the key to learning about an area is to find the people who have lived there for a long time and genuinely love their area of the country.  They're usually happy to share and let you know what makes their area special.  John and Colleen are two such people.  And to be able to see a local area through their eyes, you learn why people settle there and why their area of Canada is unique.  This is a tough thing to learn, but this country is spoiled for natural beauty...so to find what makes an area unique is a real treat.

They pointed out the features of the area from the beach and it was a shame we couldn't stay longer because I wanted to know more and actually explore the area.  It'll have to go on the list of places to come back to.  At about 10am it was time for us to hit the road.  We exchanged contact information, snapped a few pictures with John and Colleen on the beach, packed, and headed out.

These kinds of encounters are what have made this trip really special.  They really saved us the night before and had sent us off with full stomachs and the joy of new friendships.  I hope to see them again in the future and wish them all the best.  You two are amazing people!  THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH!

The day started with 30km to Marathon.  The hills were still with us, and the morning was misty and cloudy.  At times I put my blinking light on to make sure people could see me in the fog.  We didn't get the far off views of the previous day, but it was replaced with some really gorgeous views of misty forests and lakes.

At 30km I reached Marathon and stopped for chocolate milk, chocolate bars, and some bagels I had.  Still another 90km to go and it was still feeling damp and sticky outside.  I'd wanted to go into Marathon to see the town.  I went to university with someone from here (if you're reading this, hi Dave!) and I'd always been curious to see it.  But the town was about 5km off the highway and very sharply downhill.  I didn't want to climb 5km out of the town to get back to the highway, so I had to skip it.  After eating and a 30 minute break, I took a deep breath and hit the road again.

Immediately it was all down hill.  And the sun came out.  I removed my jacket and the day became sunny and warm.  The road also flattened out.  Gone were the hills and turns, replaced with looooooong flat straight sections.  And as the day went on....headwinds.

The headwinds were really challenging.  I'd rather climb hills all day than bike into headwinds.  But you play the cards you're dealt...and so I biked into the wind.

There's not a lot I think I need to say about this section.  After Marathon the highway gets off the coastline and goes further into Ontario.  Lake Superior was gone and replaced by smaller lakes that dotted the landscape along the highway.  Some were reedy and thick with grasses that grew out of the water.  Some were large with islands in them that were covered in coniferous trees.  They were all wonderful sights, straight out of a postcard!

I passed a former hotel/gas station that had been abandoned and was in the process of falling down.  There are many such places here.  You could drive this highway and do a photo essay just on the hotels/motels/gas stations that have been abandoned and are falling down.  It would be an interesting study!

At about 90km into the day I caught up to Gavin again.  I passed him as the headwinds blew so hard that I could barely hold 17km/h.  As I passed him I belted out the chorus of Oklahoma from the musical Oklahoma...because Gavin had studied musical theatre!

The rest of the day was a slog.  The last 20km seemed to take forever as the winds kept my speed low.  I just kept telling myself "this is someone else's tailwind..." as I rode along.

Eventually I reached White River.  It was about 4pm.  This town is famous for the fact that the real life bear that inspired Winnie The Pooh was from here.  The bear had been bought from a trapper in White River, Ontario and taken to England during WWI and left at the London Zoo.  The bear was named Winnie after Winnipeg.  A.A. Milne and his son saw it and Winnie The Pooh was born.  The town makes sure you know this!

Gavin rode in right behind me and we went to A&W for dinner.  A&W has a "beyond meat" burger that Gavin can eat!  We ate and found a spot to tent.  I went to the local library to write a blog post, but didn't get far into it before the mosquitoes came out.  The library was closed and I was sitting outside.  White River was a small town.  I went back to A&W, wrote a blog post, and ate some more.  After it was done I went back to my tent in a local park where cyclists are allowed to camp and went to bed.

Overall, a good day!  Nice weather all things considered, and we'd made it about half way through the Lake Superior section of the ride!  The roads were only hilly around Marathon, and the long flats felt like a nice reprieve from the hills.  The headwinds made sure it wasn't too easy...

I'd also got to spend more time getting to know Gavin and it really helped in this remote section of Ontario to have a friend.  I was happy to trade stories and hear about his experience on the ride.  The people that do this kind of ride are from all kinds of different backgrounds and walks of life...but we all have this shared experience of cycling day after day.  And because of that, we have shared experience that bonds us.  It's nice to be able to see the pannier bags on the bike and know that there's someone you have a lot in common with no matter who they are, where they're from, or what they've done in life.