From Fog To Thunder (Bay)

Mornings around the top of Lake Superior seem to be foggy. Very foggy. Today was no different. On the upside, at least I didn’t have to pack up a wet tent this morning. The benefits of sleeping indoors.

Despite the fog, today would hopefully be a somewhat significant day as Thunder Bay was officially in reach. Only 108 km away. I say “somewhat significant” because Thunder Bay is the last big city on my way out of Ontario. Then again, the 15 day, 1,450 km journey to this point still leaves me over 500 km from the Manitoba border. And it’s a border I’m more than a little eager to reach. But for now, the focus is Thunder Bay.

Rather than stop in at Tim Hortons for breakfast, I opted to go over to Robin’s Donuts & Deli. I know, I know … a pretty monumental decision. And it seemed like a good idea at the time. However, a heavily microwaved egg sandwich is not exactly as appealing as it sounds. Actually, it’s probably exactly as appealing as it sounds. Oh well, it would be enough to get my day started.

After doing 280 km in the past two days, my legs were feeling a little sluggish this morning. Plus, the aforementioned fog always makes things a bit more interesting. It really doesn’t drastically affect my visibility, but the bigger concern is how visible I am to the traffic. However, I figured if there was one day where I don’t get to complain about anything, this would be it. Why? Well, shortly into my ride I passed the sign indicating the start of the Terry Fox Courage Highway. Personally, I think that trumps any complaints that might possibly come my way today.

And so I pedalled. There were some hills. But nothing major. There was some wind. But I managed. The first highlight of the day actually came at the 65 km point when I arrived at the Flying J rest area. There was a restaurant. There was a store. But most importantly, there were chocolate popsicles. The first chocolate popsicles I’d seen since this trek began. Yes, today was shaping up to be a very good day.

From there, I was only 45 km from Thunder Bay. Despite the strong, gusting headwinds (not complaining, just a fact), I arrived in Thunder Bay about 2.5 hours after leaving the rest stop. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a big “Welcome To Thunder Bay” sign to mark my arrival. I’m sure such a sign exists but it’s probably along the Trans-Canada Highway – but bicycles (nor pedestrians) are not permitted on the section of said highway that leads into Thunder Bay.

And so, my grand entrance into Thunder Bay wasn’t so grand. Although, I made it a bit more grand by stopping at a Dairy Queen for a “Welcome To Thunder Bay” hot fudge sundae. No, there isn’t an official “Welcome To Thunder Bay Hot Fudge Sundae” but there’s now an unofficial one. And I had it. And I’m not going to lie, it was pretty great.

What wasn’t so great was the lack of WiFi at the Dairy Queen so, after consuming my sundae (in potentially record setting time), I headed two blocks west and stopped at Tim Hortons. And, despite just having eaten a sundae, I ordered a donut.

With my WiFi tasks completed I was ready to ride over to meet my Warm Showers host, Annie. It was at that moment that I saw another cycle tourist arrive at Tim’s. It was Moritz. So, I delayed my departure and Moritz and I recapped our day. Short version: We both had good days. Long version: Well, you’re reading it!

When I eventually arrived at Annie’s, she was in the neighbour’s yard with two other cycle tourists (Alex and Caity), a hitchhiker/couch-surfer from Germany (Janik? I’m sure that’s not spelled correctly), and her neighbour (Gary). The group introductions were made, beer was had, and trips were discussed. But eventually, we needed some food. Destination: Sushi Station. No, that’s not a typo. Yes, I went to a sushi place. And yes, I survived – and not just because I ordered Sweet & Sour Chicken … I also had some sushi. And for the record, I even used chopsticks (somewhat successfully). Sadly, I didn’t have my camera so there is no proof.

From dinner we capped off the night with ice cream at Merla Mae’s. Sure, I had a chocolate popsicle earlier in the day. And yes, I had ice cream upon arriving in Thunder Bay. But can you really ever have too much ice cream? In my experience, the answer is, “No”. A very definitive, “No.”

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 108.90 km
Ride time: 5:35:10
Average speed: 19.49 km/h
Maximum speed: 41.48 km/h