Day 47 - Havilland to Sault Ste-Marie (The Soo)

38.9 km - Total so far 4,243.53 km - http://ridewithgps.com/trips/5658284

Day 45 the video has been added

We left Havilland Shores at 09:45 am for the Soo about 40 km away. Yesterday afternoon, we had debated reaching the Soo but decided against that. Turns out that was a good decision, as we had a few climbs that would have taken the 'fun and relaxed' out of yesterday's ride.

Hélène got hungry and we stopped for a second breakfast after only 12 km. Normally we would have reached into the kitchen and had a snack but the kitchen had been cleaned out the day before. We were travelling pretty light as compared to any other day.

With not much scenery to share with you today, we created a montage to take you through a hill climb. A climb, such as this one, might look daunting but they are actually not as bad as you might think. We are able to hold a conversation as we go up and normally don't stop till we reach the top. Below is Hélène at the bottom of the hill and we plan to stop for a picture where the road turns to the left.

Shoulder narrows as we reach a passing lane that you can see starting on the left

 
Below Hélène has stopped where the road starts to curve, As you can see she is quite a ways up. She is looking in her mirror and checking for traffic. We have been riding with mirrors for ever and find them indispensable. Not only do you see vehicles behind you but as you can see here, you can look at scenery as you go up hill. The truck has moved to the passing lane, giving her lots of room and the camper behind also did the same.

Foot down and waiting to go

In the video below, Helene is pedaling up the hill and making it look easy. She has another 1.5 km to go before she reaches the top and stops for a drink. It was pretty warm this morning and we had to hydrate regularly.

With the last climb behind us it was pretty much downhill to the Soo. I spotted an orange flag and picked it up, I can use with for a certain someone (who shall remain nameless) who has a tendency to loose a lot of them.

It might even use it myself as mine is looking pretty tattered

We had not planned on stopping till we got to the bicycle shop but the moose below made it impossible not to stop. The moose is one of a number of displays in the most tacky plaza we have seen on our trip. The pictures below speak for themselves.

What can I say!

Not Santa but a big friendly bear

A few of the buildings in the plaza...gagging!

Not as official looking as the one from yesterday but I bet just as effective

It was a long ride from Thunder Bay... what a relief to see that sign

As mentioned above, we were on our way to Velorution, a bike shop that provides touring cyclists with a place to camp, cook and shower. We checked out their guest book and there was an entry by a cyclist who has pedaled 28,000 km. I saw Hélène's face light right up when she read that. I wonder what she is planning now!

The display showing the way to the bike shop,,,difficult to miss!

Once settled in at the motel, we went grocery shopping for enough to sustain us for our 2 days in the Soo, We will get around the Soo on our bikes tomorrow, pretty much like we did in Thunder Bay. We have a few places we want to see and will tell you about them tomorrow.

Cheezies are getting more difficult to find and they are made right here in Ontario...go figure!

24.17 miles - Total so far 2,636.80 miles