Day 63: Montreal River, ON -> Sault Ste. Marie, ON

Date: Monday, July 17, 2023
Start: Montreal River, ON (Twilight Resort)
End: Sault Ste. Marie, ON (Hotel)
Distance: 121km

All of those days when it was supposed to rain and didn't end up raining?  Well they'd finally caught up to me.  I woke to the sound of raindrops on the tent, and a storm had passed over the night before.  Thankfully, the rain was supposed to stop around 7am and so I sat in my tent planning for the day and sending messages.

At 7am I packed, tore down, set things out to dry in what little sun was managing to shine through, and ate breakfast.  The campground manager dropped by and offered to let me use the dryer at the campground but it was only really my tent that was wet for so thanked her for the offer but passed.  I oiled the chain and checked the tire pressure.

It was about 9am before things had done any drying and it was clear it wasn't going to get any better than this.  I packed in such a way as to limit the contact between my dry sleeping bag/sleeping pad/pillow and the soaking wet rain fly.  I snapped a few more pictures of the rocky beach as I stood out looking at the bay, the clouds, and a pair of loons that floated and fished nearby.  Then it was time to go.  I hit the road.

The goal was Sault Ste. Marie, a city that was big enough that any campgrounds were far off on the periphery.  I'd booked a hotel the night before because I was expecting a long rainy day and knew it would give me a chance to dry out and rest.  I'd also emailed a friend - Anthony - who I knew grew up in The Sault (sounds like "The Soo") and asked for any recommendations he might have while visiting.

I set off from Montreal River and the clouds began to clear off.  Soon enough, I was cycling in the sun again.  The hills of the previous day were now firmly behind me, and there were only a few modest climbs in the first 50km.  The highway continued to follow the coast and the views were better and better as I went along.  I enjoyed every kilometer of that road, and every bay and scenic view was one of typical Superior majesty.  Islands, rocks, beaches, trees hanging onto rocky outcroppings.  It was all so overwhelmingly beautiful.

At about 50km into the day I reached Batchewana Bay.  This is the location of a place called The Voyageur Lodge which makes fresh apple fritters all day and had been recommended to me by several people in the previous days.  I stopped, ordered lunch and two apple fritters, and tucked right in.  It was a busy spot and many people quizzed me about my trip and told me about their own adventures.  After eating my fish tacos I ate two apple fritters with a cup of coffee.  I wasn't going to repeat the same mistake as Wadena, SK and miss out on a second signature pastry!

After an hour of sitting and gorging, I got back on the bike and started to pedal.  I'd been warned about a few hills going into Sault Ste. Marie but it was now about 1pm and I had 70km to go.  As I continued I stopped occasionally to take in the sights of various bays on Lake Superior.  I won't try to paint you a picture with words, but it's been one of my favourite places so far on the trip.

At about 2pm I reached Chippewa Bay where a plaque marks the approximate half way point of the Trans-Canada Highway.  If I were going the direct route, this would be the half way point.  Because I'm taking a lot of detours and making so many visits, it was difficult to know where half way will be for me.  As it stood, I had 5586km on the odometer at this marker.  I took a minute to consider this might be over half way and hopped that I wouldn't have to do much more than 10,000km!

I continued riding towards Sault Ste. Marie and snapping the odd picture.

At some point I became aware of the increasingly threatening clouds in front of me.  They were stretching out into the open sky.  I was pretty sure that as I kept going south I was going to run into a storm.  Sure enough, I did.

The rain started as a trickle as I climbed some longer hills (only a few kilometers) and eventually turned into a downpour.  I put the blinking light on to make sure I was seen, and at some point stopped at a general store just outside of Sault Ste. Marie.  The rain was so heavy that I was having trouble seeing in my bike glasses.  I grabbed a chocolate milk and waited out the storm.  While I waited someone asked where I was going, and revealed she'd biked across the United States only two years previous!

The rain cleared, and I continued on into The Sault.  Not as many pictures of this part as the phone got put into a waterproof bag to keep it safe!

When I reached the sign for Sault Ste. Marie, I stopped and snapped a few photos.

I rode into town on a mighty stroad, passing many big box stores.  This usually isn't a great experience, but it was the first real city I'd seen since Thunder Bay and it felt good to be back in a populated place with lots of services and options again.

I checked into my hotel and showered.  Then it was time for a visit...

I mentioned that I'd contacted my friend - Anthony - who grew up in Sault Ste. Marie for recommendations for what to do.  I knew Anthony would be a good source of recommendations as he loved his home town and area, but the reply that I got was more than I was expecting.  He gave plenty of recommendations, and then also put me in touch with his parents who live in Sault Ste. Marie and recommended I meet them for dinner.  I'd called them earlier in the day and made arrangements, and they chose a wonderful Italian restaurant to go to.

Aside: Sault Ste. Marie has a rich Italian heritage and culture from the many Italians who immigrated here.  It's visible in the names of the people, the businesses, the culture, and the neighbourhoods of the city!

Anthony's parents came to pick me up.  We drove to the restaurant where we spent time getting to know one another and trading stories.  When Anthony had made the offer to meet his parents I was immediately curious because Anthony is such a wonderful and sociable person.  We'd worked together and known one another for years and I was curious to meet his family!  The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and his parents were both wonderful people.  I'd forgot, but Anthony was an active member of his local Rotary Club growing up and this came - at least in part - from the involvement of his parents, who are very active Rotarians.

For those who don't know, The Rotary Club is a non-religious, non-political service club whose goal is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders."  Anthony's parents are active in the club and this means they are very much dedicated to improving their community and strengthening connections between their city and others in the world.

And so - completely by accident - I had once again stumbled into two pillars of the community.  Two people who love where they are from and were happy to introduce me, guide me, and teach me about their piece of Canada.  I don't know how I keep doing this, but I was so happy to have two champions of Sault Ste. Marie to welcome me and show me around.

Anthony's brother joined us for part of dinner and I was happy to finally meet him.  Turns out we're only 4 days apart in age!

And that's how I met Donna, Bob, and Adam.

They recommended a meal called "The Tour Of Italy" which had a bit of everything and was a massive serving of food.  I think much to the surprise of the server at the restaurant...I ate the entire thing!

As we ate we traded stories of my travels and stories of their experiences traveling the world as Rotarians and visiting other countries.  Out of respect for their privacy, I won't share too much...but it I was overwhelmed by their generosity and kindness.  I'd just rolled into town and here they were taking me out for dinner and welcoming me to their city.

After dinner, Bob (Anthony's father) drove me around town (in a Tesla...another new and notable expeirence for me) and showed me different areas of the town.  He had grown up here and knew it's history and could explain what was there now and what had been before.  A steel mill on the edge of the city is one of the primary employers and we got to see it.  We also checked out the locks that allow ships to transit between Lake Huron and Lake Superior.  The architecture of the town was wonderful and many buildings used a type of stone I'd never seen before and that glowed in the evening light.  Sault Ste. Marie was VERY impressive!

Donna and Bob had offered to host me at their house for the night, but I already had a hotel.  It was a pity I hadn't reached out sooner because they really are incredible people and I was sorry I had to say goodbye so soon.  But after the tour I thanked Bob for everything.  Again, I'd been on the receiving end of more than I felt I deserved in terms of warmth and generosity.

Thank you to Anthony for putting me in touch with  Bob, Donna, and Adam.  But especially thank you to Bob and Donna for adopting me, feeding me, and touring me around The Sault!  I hope to come back and give this town the time it deserves and visit once again!

It was a BIG day!  Reaching Sault Ste. Marie meant that I had reached the end of the Lake Superior section of the ride.  For some context, I'd reached Lake Superior at Thunder Bay on July 11th.  It had taken a solid 7 days to go around the Northern half of the lake!  It's been one of the most beautiful parts of the ride thus far though, and I don't regret a moment of it!  In my mind, Sault Ste. Marie is also the end of the "Northern" section of Ontario.  From here on in, I'll be pushing further into the most densly populated part of Canada.  Time to start a new piece of Canadian geography in terms of both the natural and human landscape!