Day 65: Blind River, ON -> South Baymouth, ON
Jeremy eats a mighty breakfast, almost gets sprayed, and pushes his biggest day yet
Date: Wednesday, July 19, 2023
Start: Blind River, ON (Marina campground)
End: South Baymouth, ON (John Budd Memorial Park)
Distance: 212km
NOTE: I'm hopelessly behind on blogging, so you're going to get a few posts that are just pictures with captions and maybe the odd story tossed in there.
This day started out well, and kept going well...so I kept riding. My goal for the day was at least 10-40km shorter for the day, but I ended up going all the way to the end of Manitoulin Island to catch the ferry the next morning!
This was my longest distance of the trip so far. I don't really want to try to top it because these long days are pretty punishing!
The day started at the marina with everything soaking wet! Camping by the water means the temperature is lower, and the dew settles harder and just covers EVERYTHING! Towns with marinas that double as camping spots has been a trend along The Great Lakes and I REALLY like it! This is the building with their bathroom, shower, and laundry facilities.
Blind River itself was a surprisingly nice town! I'd expected it to be smaller, but it had wonderful parks, lots of space for children, and lots of beaches. I found a restaurant in town that all the locals seemed to be at that was simply called "17". I had their hungry man breakfast and I think it might be my favourite breakfast of the trip so far. Three eggs, sausage, ham, bacon, toast, hashbrowns, and two slices of VERY well made French toast! I chatted with two retired locals about the trip (Susan and Denise) and hit the road pretty quickly.
I did some groceries and got back on the road, bound for Espanola. The shoulder was good, the day was warm, and I was back to a place in the country where there was a small town every 20km or so. After about 70km I stopped in the town of Massey, Ontario and got an iced chai latte at a place called The Little Brew. It was owned by a young woman whose dream was to run a little bakery/coffee shop in a small town. I was really happy she did because I needed the break and the baked goods were a wonderful treat!
Later down the road I reached the turn for Highway 6. This would mean I was officially exiting Highway 17. And - if you've been playing the home game - you'll know that Highway 17 has been the only road I've been traveling since entering Ontario on July 9th. This means I've been traveling this highway for just shy of 2 weeks (12 days total). I checked, and I'd done a total of 1512km on this highway. Leaving it felt like a big moment!
It was also a big moment because this is a major detour from the usual cross-Canada route that most cyclists take. Everyone else I'd met would be continuing on Highway 17 until Ottawa. I stared ahead imagining that if I stayed on this road I could be in Ottawa in 3-4 days. Instead, it would take me about another 2 weeks with all the visiting I was doing. I smiled and wished my fellow travelers well as I turned and started South.
I rode into Espanola, Ontario. The first thing you see upon entering the town is a giant paper mill!
I decided not to spend any time in town and started out. I did a few more groceries for chocolate milk and banana chips on the edge of town, and started out again! Immediately, the road started to present a LOT of hills! This next section of road would bring me to the town of Little Current, Ontario which is the entrance to Manitoulin Island. I didn't know it yet, but this section was VERY hilly!
Manitoulin Island is one of the places I've always wanted to visit. It's notable for being the largest island located in a lake in the world! It's so large that it contains over 100 lakes in the island. Many of those lakes contain their own islands. One of those islands - Treasure Island - has the distinction of being the largest island in a lake on an island in a lake in the world. If this is confusing...good! It's like a nesting doll of islands and lakes. This gives you an idea of how big Manitoulin Island is!
It's mostly farmland, which I loved! It DID contain a number of longer climbs, nothing on the level of British Columbia or Lake Superior but as I'd already done 150km they were definitely a challenge.
It was 62km to South Baymouth where I would catch the ferry the next day to Tobermory. I decided to push to South Baymouth to try to catch the first ferry the next morning. I had a slight tailwind and it was nice out. It was promising rain the next day and I didn't want to have to wake up and bike in a panic to a ferry in the rain.
The day had been hot, and I needed to stop and fuel up a bit more. That hungry man breakfast was really getting me though the day though!
Watching crops grow and hay fields turn into fields of bails of hay is partially how I know how far into summer I am!
I was riding late into the evening. It had never occurred to me, but the wildlife was going to be changing again as I went South. The first big reminder of this was when I was biking along the shoulder at speed and came upon a skunk standing beside the road. It surprised me as much as I surprised it. It raised it's rear end...and thankfully didn't spray me! That got my pulse racing though!
Fun fact: This happened a second time about 5km later. Exact same scenario.
I reached the town of South Baymouth and immediately went to the campground. Sundown had been at 9:12pm and I reached the town at about 9:30pm. There was still some light but it was fading. It was supposed to rain overnight, and I found a kind of pavilion space where I setup my tent and it was covered (pictures tomorrow). I was lucky that the town maintained a bathroom and shower for the camping area and showered off. I had a dinner of crackers and mackerel and turned in.
212km. The longest day yet. I was utterly spent. The day had been warm, but the winds were favourable. I'd been excited to see Manitoulin and though I did it all in an afternoon, I was happy to be closer to my goal of Guelph where I would take a break and visit friends. Northern Ontario left me VERY tired and - at this point - it had been 2 weeks since I'd taken a day off. I was really feeling worn out and was now doing everything I could to get to Guelph where I'd take a break!