Day 27: Lake Superior

I said my goodbyes to everyone at the campsite then dragged my tired body onto the road and headed north. One rest day can't undo 2000km of riding and I really felt the weight of my luggage today - I have been informed of the lack of useful shops for the next few days, so I'm carrying a lot of food.

Today is the first of many along the north shore of Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world. It's the size of Ireland! You can sail out into in until you can't see any land, then scoop a cupfull of lake water and drink it!

I'd been warned about 'the mile hill' that I was to come up against today. What I hadn't realised was that I would be going down it rather than up! So after gradually climbing to 300m over the course of 2 hours, I crested the hill and started to accelerate at an alarming rate. Wow, the views! I pulled on the brakes as I approached 50kmh then turned a corner and saw the rest of the hill. Eyes wide with excitement, I let the brakes go and did 60kmh, then 65kmh, tucked my head down, 70kmh!! A car overtook me slowly and a bloke gave me the devil horns hand gesture out the window. I gave him one back and laughed all the way down, adrenaline glands working overtime. Woooohooo!

The rest of the day was gently undulating with awesome views, a tailwind and very hot sunshine. I chatted to a tourer called Werner coming the other way and after lunch, I stopped at a pretty waterfall.

I'm camping at Pancake Bay tonight, 80km north of Sault Ste Marie. I'm a bit put out that I already paid $40 for a campsite that doesn't have wifi because I just got an offer of a lakeside garden pitch by someone who works at the cafe I came to for wifi. Ah well, you can't win them all.

Day off

After breakfast with Linda and Eric, I got a tour of their basement. Eric is a cyclist and ironman triathlete who competes all over the world (in addition to his full time job)! He made to Kona twice! So his bikes were amazing and I had a good oggle.

Jennifer gave me a lift back to the bike shop and I set up my tent before heading into town. I visited the locks, the art gallery and lounged around in the shade of the trees in the park for a nap in the afternoon. 

On my way back, I stopped at the bushplane museum, which was pretty cool. The fire alarm went off and the fire truck came zooming into the driveway! The firemen checked all was clear before we were allowed back in. Then I watched a film about tackling wildfires with bushplanes.

This evening I'm reunited with the gang at Velorution before heading into the mountains and remote highway tomorrow. We have carbonara, beer and a campfire :)

Day 26: Dinner party

I packed up early then we all had a tasty breakfast together. Once my belly was full, my legs were hungry for the road and I felt like I was setting off late at 9.30.

It felt good to be riding free again, although strangely quiet after two days with the tricycles. I was on quiet roads almost all day, up and down hills, into the headwind with no buffer and over 20km of rough gravel road with nobody to complain to. But I saw some bison with their baby bison, watching me with the same quietly confused expression that horses and cows adopt when I ride by.

It was so hot by the afternoon and there wasn't anywhere to stop. After 65km, I ended up sitting outside a DIY store on a display bench under the shelter of the awning. People looked at me funny whilst I made and ate my sandwiches, but I didn't get asked to leave.

On my way into town, I waved at two ladies cycling the other way on their racing bikes. A while later, I saw them in my rear view mirror and when I pulled over to don my helmet before getting on the highway, they stopped for a chat. Then I headed for my campsite.

There is a bike shop in Sault Ste Marie called Velorution that has a free campsite for cyclists. I arrived to ask for a pitch and the guy behind the counter said there was a message for me. "Are you sure? Nobody knows I'm here!". It was a message from Linda, one of the cyclists, inviting me to have dinner with her and stay at her house! Yes please!

Jennifer, the other cyclist, came to pick me up and we all went for dinner at Linda's house. We sat in the sun looking out on the river from the garden - America is just the other side of the water! 

So instead of a campsite and pasta for one, I have been treated to a delicious dinner, fine wine and delightful company in a beautiful house. It was a much better way to celebrate passing my 2000km mark this morning. Thank you Linda and Jennifer :) 

Day 25: Cruising

We had a lazy morning and set off around 10.30 as it was only 52km to our next warmshowers destination in Thessalon.

We rode the highway for a bit then came off onto a gravel road and bumped our way through some amish communities. The girls were in their long dresses, the men wearing straw hats, out ploughing the fields with horses.

Another short section of highway and we made it to Tome's house! We pitched our tents on the lawn, the chickens clucking around and cats hankering after some hugs. After a tasty pasta dinner, we gathered in the evening sun and heard Michelle play guitar whilst snacking on marshmallows. 

Now we're enjoying a full screen session of Crossroads before bedtime. Apparently another cyclist is yet to turn up, although it's nearly dark...

It's been nice having people to ride with. I was behind the tricycles yesterday afternoon and this morning - so good to have that headwind buffered! And when we're off the highway, we can chat on the bikes. And I don't have to go to diners to find company, we just eat at roadside stops.

Having said that... and I hate to say it because they're all good company... I miss being the master of my own destiny, travelling at my own pace, talking to 10 different people every day... So whilst the others are taking two days over the 90km to Sault Ste Marie, I will do it all tomorrow. I'm itching to make progress, and I will see them when they get there. Can't wait for my day off!

Day 24: And then there were five

I had breakfast with Alan, a welder who'd just come off the night shift. I was in the breakfast diner for about an hour, it took me so long to get through all my food! So we had a nice chat about the area and its wildlife and I set off later than usual at 9.30.

I had 30 glorious kilometres of back roads before I had to take the highway. Then there was a mix of headwinds and tailwinds for a while.

Around lunchtime, I pulled over for a break at a picnic spot and bumped into two other touring cyclists - going the same way as me! Valerie and Alexys are a French couple riding tricycles with trailers, and one trailer has their huge dog Boyd in the back!

We rode together to a warmshowers destination they had organised for the night in Blind River. We pitched our tents in the huge garden with two other cyclists (also going west), Colin and Michelle. Our hosts Muriel and Wayne have a great place - the garden backs onto the river and there was a feast of spaghetti meatballs for 10!

So tomorrow we ride as a group of five to our next warmshowers destination, only 55km west. It should be a fun, chilled out day after today's 100km.

Valerie and Alexys have a website too. Google translate if you don't speak French: http://www.tricycletour.com/

Day 23: Headwinds and dogs

I had fun last night. The girl behind the bar is sick of small town drama and plans to move to London. A young man who works in the mines and is a rapper in his spare time loves Sudbury so much he has its smelting towers tattood on his arm. And a young lady is going through a divorce, out for a drink with her friend. So we all had a nice chat until it was time for me to go to bed. "Bye Anna! Good luck!"

Today was slow. My legs are tired and the headwind was ever present. I only did 75km and I'm knackered.

I took the busy highway out of town before a small Trans Canada Trail sign took me off the road. Ahh, to hear the birds and the rustle of the forest instead of traffic. The road was in a bad state, a crazy paving of potholes filled in over the years with different shades of tarmac. Bumpety bump, clatter, squeak. At least the bears would hear me coming.

The road wound it's way through the forest alongside the railway and next to a river - a river so lazy it was really just a long, meandering pond. Rushes blending the river with its banks and lily pads sitting quietly on the surface.

One section of new road near a mine was so wonderfully smooth! No shoulder but no traffic either, save two mining trucks with prism-shaped loads.

Most of the day was spent on a fairly remote road, just the odd house or driveway every few miles. On those roads, the level crossings don't even have lights, let alone barriers. Mile-long trains clatter along slowly, blasting their horns all the way. And the dogs on those roads are scary. They're not chained up and they bark and chase me along the road, getting too close to my bare ankles for comfort.

I had lunch in a truck stop and chatted to a few people. One delightfully eccentric lady who was driving to Vancouver on a 'spiritual quest' gave me a banana and a homemade muffin and said a prayer for me. A retired couple said "Vancouver, golly! Do you know you're riding into the wind?". Oh is that right? I hadn't bloody noticed.

Tonight I'm in Espanola. "That town stinks!", everyone keeps warning me. But the paper mill closed down and it smells just fine now.

Day 22: Flatlands

I had breakfast in a cafe and chatted to a local policeman and a construction worker over french toast before I hit the road.

It was windy today. And the first 50km were flat. Give me a flat road and a tailwind any day, but flat with a headwind? You can stick that where the sun don't shine. It was both difficult and boring, and that's a rare combination reserved for maths tests and cycling flat roads into the wind. It's so noisy in the ears! Just bugger off! And give me some damn hills if you're going to throw the wind in my face, then at least I get to freewheel occasionally. 

It was so busy, I stopped bothering to look in the mirror. The constant tyre noise and turbulence rattled my eardrums and my nerves. The truckers are the only consistently considerate drivers. If half the cars were replaced with trucks, the road would be a safer place to cycle.

My hated of certain drivers is rivalled only by dogs' hatred of cyclists. You could track my progress across the country by listening for the angry dog barks. I've got used to them going nuts as I ride past, tearing at their leashes or running along their garden fences. But today, a little Jack Russell ran across the highway to chase me, the jappy little shit. All the cars had to slow down to avoid running him over! A little way ahead, there was a dead beaver in the road. Shame someone didn't slow down to avoid him.

Google told me there was a 0% chance of rain today, so I'm not sure what the wet stuff falling from the sky all afternoon was. Drivers are less considerate in the rain and I was glad to leave the highway with 20km to go. I took the bumpy old minor road, my ears enjoying the lack of traffic and the still air.

So yes, I didn't enjoy myself much today. My eardrums feel black and blue, my legs ache, my hands get more sore every day and I'm really tired. Looking forward to a bath and dinner. 

Day 21: Biker gangs and a free lunch

Last night after the thunderstorm, a mist crept in over the river and hung in the valley. This morning the world was grey, the mist flowing across the road and blotting out the sun and mountains. It was cool and still when I set off in the mist but by 9.30 the sun has burned through and it was hot and humid as ever and the breeze was picking up.

Previous weekends have been enjoyable because there are more people out and about. On the highway, more people just meant more traffic and I wound my way up and down the hills to my lunch stop in North Bay, obsessively checking my rear view mirror and occasionally skidding into the gravel verge for safety.

Just outside North Bay, a massive gang of bikers came past. There are a lot of bikers in Canada, but this lot went on for miles! People stood by the roadside waving at them and they tooted their horns and made peace signs. I started to cheer up about the weekend.

In North Bay, the main street was closed to traffic and filled with classic cars on show and bikers and pedestrians wandering among them in the sunshine whilst music played on street corners. What a lovely weekend sight! 

I went into a busy cafe and chatted with the couple behind me in the queue, Debbie and Heath, who bought me my lunch! Such kindness towards a total stranger! On my way out of town, a biker called Paul who'd passed me earlier in the day stopped for a chat too, and lots of people gave me waves and smiles. I passed a jogger with a full white beard and sunglasses and we exchanged pleasantries. 

It's not cycling all day that gets me out of bed in the morning. It's the amazing views, the wildlife and the wonderful people. The moose, the bears, the blue jays, skunks and hawks. The Debbies and Heaths, the Jessicas, the Marie-Lynes and Louis's, the Andres, the Jocelynes, the Annas and Kyles, the Adams, and all the other wonderful people who have shared their homes, food and beers with me, chatted to me in cafes or on the road. There are people who have talked to me or cheered me on whose names I don't even know. The lady driving with her kids, who called out the car window "where are you coming from?" and I shouted "I'm riding coast to coast", and the whole family cheered and pumped their fists out the windows as she drove off tooting the horn. I felt a huge smile spread across my face as I waved at them, and Jo Lester's words rang in my ears, 'just remember, the whole of Canada is one big friend!'. Haha, yes it is.

Tonight, I am in Sturgeon Falls on Lake Nipissing. Maybe I will go into town for a beer :)

Fundraising

On my ride, I'm raising money for Nature Conservancy of Canada, a wildlife conservation charity.

Since I'm riding through the forest, here's a forest fact... Canada is home to 10 percent of the world’s forests, covering one third of the country. NCC works to protect forest habitats, especially in areas that are being developed, where human impacts are a threat to wildlife.

If you'd like to support the ride by donating to NCC, please visit my fundraising page: https://e-activist.com/p2p/yolkyq

Thanks to everyone who has already donated!

Day 20: Highway and wilderness

I packed up my wet tent in a small cloud of midges and hit the road in the calm and relative cool of the morning. There was no escaping the highway today. There were beautiful forests and lakes all around, but no lovely backroads. It's strange that there's endless wilderness in every direction except for one narrow strip of road with the occasional town along it. It's pretty remote now, I only passed a few houses all day until I got into town.

My tiny hard shoulder was pitted with what looked like construction vehicle tyre marks made before the asphalt set. It wasn't until I went over them going fast downhill that I realised it was a rumble strip. Luckily it only lasted half the day because it wasn't much fun to ride on when the trucks came past.

It was a hilly one today - not a flat piece of road all day! I hit a new speed record of 53kmh on a particularly long downhill section. It got breezier over the course of the day and I was suffering a bit with the headwind by the time I came into Mattawa at lunchtime. I'd done 70km and a thunderstorm was passing through so I decided to call it a day and get myself and my kit cleaned and dried.

Since I left Pembroke I've been riding alongside the old railway. In Quebec, they turn their old railways into cycle paths. In Ontario, they just rip up the rails and sleepers, leave them on the side of the track and let the quad bikers have at it. At least someone is enjoying it, I suppose. I just selfishly feel sad that it isn't me!

Day 19 photos

Day 19: Introducing Highway 17

I'd been dreading today because it was the first day of weeks and weeks of Highway 17.

After a good breakfast, I set off in the hammering rain at 8.30. I had 20km on the glorious roadside cycle path for the last time before meeting the highway. I was told it would be busy and that there was no hard shoulder.

I suppose it was busy by Canadian standards, but it wasn't like riding along the M1 or anything. One lane each way, with a paved shoulder varying from 6 inches to 6 feet. 

I rode along for half an hour before google maps took me off the highway into a research forest. A slightly longer route but I'm so glad I did it! It was beautiful and there was nobody else around. I even saw another bear! He was on the small road ahead walking away from me. I didn't want to startle him, so I talked loudly from a distance and rode slowly. When he spotted me, he walked a little faster, and when I kept riding, he ran off into the trees. Bye mr bear!

Once back on the highway, I stopped in a coffee shop for a tea and had a long chat with Jessica who worked there. I even got chicken and chips and an offer of a place to stay! But alas, I had to do at least another 20km to feel like I'd made progress, so on I went.

I got to the motel I'd planned to stay at and it looked pretty run down. A fat man with some teeth missing answered the door; we had a chat about my journey and he leered at me before telling me it wasn't a working motel. "I like blondes though, I could offer you a room if you like?"  Erm, I'm alright thanks, there's a campsite 10km down the road. Bye!

So I rode to a nice but midge-ridden campsite where it rained and there's a 100Mb limit on wifi (why?!) so no pictures today! I had my skype call with Dave cut off and literally had to beg for another wifi password from the grumpy, harassed looking woman in the office. The campsite is bloody empty, for god's sake! 

Anyway, I am an island of calm. And I shall route plan for less than 100Mb, however much that means in browsing terms. 

Day 18: A bear!

The sun was shining and there was a gentle breeze in the right direction, so I made it all the way to Pembroke today, through 143km of beautiful rolling countryside. And I don't even feel more tired than usual - my legs were just eating up the road today.

The mozzies chased me out of camp nice and early and apart from a 20 minute breakfast and a half hour lunch, I didn't really stop all day! It was awesome.

I saw my first black bear this morning. He was quite a small one, only about the size of the biggest dog you've ever seen (unless the biggest dog you've ever seen in a lab, in which case you need to google Newfoundland hound) and he was just hanging out in a cornfield about 100m away, minding his own business until I scared him off trying to get my camera out. Sweet! I've seen a bear! And he didn't maul me :)

Tonight I'm staying with Amba and his wife Fely who are friends of my great aunt. They're lovely! I have a nice room, there's wifi (yesss!), home made banana cake and dinner is being prepared before my very eyes. Ahh.

Day off

Today I finally got my chores done. I have a new pair of summer cycling boots - ahh, so nice and breezy! I stocked up on sun cream and posted 3kg worth of winter kit home. Not that the bike feels light as a result.

Once all that was done, it was 1pm. Usually I've done 50km by 1pm, so I didn't fancy starting my day then. I just rode 40mins down the road to a campsite and set up for a chilled afternoon in the dappled sunlight. If only the mosquitoes would bugger off! I'm already covered in hard lumps from yesterday's bites.

So I rode into town for a drink in a mosquito-free zone where I can wile away my time reading, blogging and skyping before having dinner and going to bed. My legs are glad of the rest, they've been struggling on the hills the last few days.

Day 17: Ottawa

I like riding at the weekend. And today is a holiday Monday, so it still feels like the weekend. There are lots of people around, walking, cycling, out with their dogs, mowing their lawns. Everyone seems more chilled out, too, and friendly. 

I found the cycle trail I should have been on yesterday and set off towards ottawa. At first the trail was paved and I cursed myself for missing out on it yesterday. But of course it didn't last and I was back on the fine gravel thinking that the riverside road yesterday was nice too. 

Some sections of the trail had cresent moon craters where people had ridden horses on it, and I clattered along through the divvits. Where I was sheltered from the wind, I couldn't stop for a rest without being munched alive my mosquitoes! So I put my trail mix in my bar bag and ate on the go.

I was going in a straight line along the trail for so long that I almost rode into a ditch when it suddenly ended in the middle of nowhere. What?! Ahead, the train tracks were overgrown, where they hadn't bothered to turn it into more cycle path. I rode 2km back to the last road junction and saw a miniature 'dead end' sign. Bastards.

There were a lot of recreational cyclists out today. The lycra-clad ones overtake me but I coast past the plain clothes riders. One couple were making a meal of riding into the headwind, legs pumping, heads down, trouser legs flapping, and I soared past them with all my luggage and waved hello. They saw me and laughed at themselves. 

I chatted with a few people at rest stops. It's funny how people look at me, like they can't reconcile winter boots and muscular, hairy legs with long blond pigtails. I feel like one of those picture books where you can swap people's heads, torsos and legs around to make firemen in high heels, lumberjacks with mermaid tails, and young women with touring cyclist legs. 

The headwinds only got me down for the last 10km when I was rumbling uphill along the pavement into the hot afternoon sun. Seriously, riding the other way across Canada must be a walk in the park!

I'm staying with my great Auntie Joan tonight in Nepean, Ottawa. She's 89 years old and welcomed me into her lovely home with hugs and home made orange cake! After dinner, we're doing a tour of the town with her friend. 

Day 16: Milestones

Yesterday I passed the 1000km mark, and today I left Quebec and entered Ontario! Ontario is long though, so don't hold your breath for Manitoba.

It was another glorious day but not crazy hot. I cycled through a nature reserve, crossed the river in a small ferry and took the waterside route on a cracked tarmac road past huge, ugly new mansions with fantastic views. Then suddenly the quiet road I was on joined the highway. Huh?! I looked at the map to find I'd taken the wrong road. Not a disaster in terms of extra distance, but I had to choose between backtracking 10km and doing 3km of illegal highway then a lovely riverside road... 

The riverside road was gorgeous! I've almost forgotten how terrible the highway was. I continued through twee villages where mansions and retirement homes were next door to graveyards and grave stone engravers (happy times) and stopped for lunch by the river with the touring motorbikers. I saw a black squirrel having a tiff with a grey squirrel in someone's oversized garden (the black one won).

I had headwinds all day again but I only got annoyed with them once or twice on the straight sections of boring highway. If the wind was that strong the other way, I would have sailed into Ottawa around lunchtime. But it wasn't. Still, today was pretty, with fields and forests and the river, and little fluffy white clouds.

I spent most of the day below sea level! It was weird going uphill, watching the numbers on the altimeter go down. Was a while before I noticed the minus sign. I was as low as -45m at one point, which is confusing because I was by a river that presumably flows into the sea..?

My slight detour added a bit onto today's journey and I did about 90km to the town of Alfred, halfway between Montreal and Ottawa.

Day 15: Montreal

The wind changed direction in the night so I'm very glad I did a long ride yesterday. 

I had a bunch of chores to do this morning but it's Saturday and most of what I needed was closed so I will save chores for Ottawa.

The past few days, I have been getting tingling in my ring fingers and they are now totally numb. I found out that is called cyclist palsy and is a result of having bent wrists and pressure on the hands for 8 hours a day. I went to a really cool bike shop in Montreal called Mechanocycle and Steve fixed me up with some new handlebar grips and sorted a few niggling issues like a rubbing front brake pad.

Riding in cities is not fun. Constant navigation is required, not to mention all those traffic lights! I spent ages navigating the small streets and huge hills in town but I did get to stop for lunch and people-watching in the Philippino quarter. Then two hours of riding through suburbia and I was back on the cycle trail and made it to my campsite. 

Short day today, back on it properly tomorrow. 

Day 14: What goes up...

I woke up with aching muscles, saw the wind tearing petals off the potted plants outside my window and buried my head in the pillow for half an hour, putting off the inevitable. I struggled with my breakfast this morning (unheard of!) and got out on the bike.

Back on the road and back in the hills, but much more down than up today. The wind was all over the place! I had headwinds, sidewinds, tailwinds and sometimes all at once; mini tornadoes of dust swirling across the road and me swerving along the hard shoulder like a drunk. I was thankful that the little fluffy clouds of the morning had knitted themselves into a nice blanket by 10am. Still hot but bearable.

I made good progress, so I must have had more tailwinds than headwinds. The gusts from the side would push me off the road when I didn't have enough forward momentum. But the wind would also push me straight up hills at 25kmh and down them at a terrifying 45kmh, unwilling to pull on the brakes when I was making good progress. 

At midday I was half way done and stopped for a burger, chips and chocolate milk (lunch of champions). At 1.30 I went past an orchard that had a shop and I filled up my empty water bottle with delicious fresh apple juice and ate apple pie.

I flew along in the afternoon with a tail / side wind and by 3pm I got to my designated stop for the day. But there was a sign saying 'Montreal 40km' and I thought 'what's another 40 when the wind is at your back?' and carried on. I was riding fast but kept having to detour on the magical disappearing cycle path and spent a lot of time on the pavement. Du-dum du-dum du-dum. It was raining hard by the time I got to the outskirts of town and I spent 20 minutes riding around a park in a rage, soaking wet, trying to find a way across the river. Once in town, I was on hotel-hunt and saw a Hilton up ahead. Yes please!

So today was good and I did 127km in total. Woohoo!

Day 13

Rebecca and Gerald were great hosts. I had another delicious dinner and went to the pub with Gerald to watch Montreal beat Boston in the playoffs (in ice hockey of course). 

I set off around 9.30am and it was already too hot. I made slow progress into the wind under the hot sun and by lunchtime I had only done 20km. I got to a junction with the cycle trail going one way and google maps telling me to go another way. I followed the cycle trail for a few kilometres but it turned off the wrong way and the highway had a no bicycles sign. I turned back to the google route and went straight up a steep hill. My legs were exhausted and about half way up I got off and started to push. I knew I still had 65km to go and I was feeling emotionally delicate.

A bloke in a van asked me whether I was going to the campsite. No, I said, to Granby. Granby? That's an hour away by car! And this road turns into a gravel trail up ahead, you should take the highway. It was all I could do to hold back the tears.

I went back (again!) and headed onto the no bicycles allowed highway. It was insanely hot, the road was hilly, there was no hard shoulder, and the wind was ridiculous. I was being pushed backwards and onto the soft verge alternately by headwinds and sidewinds. I walked up hills and pedalled down them, the wind slowing me to 10km/h on the downhill sections.

By 2pm I'd spent about half an hour in tears. They kept streaming down my face and the wind kept blowing them into my ears. Gusts of wind brought on pathetic sobs and I would stop on the roadside to hold my head in my hands and have a drink of water.

I didn't eat enough today. The heat made me lose my appetite and I knew I didn't have time to stop, so I pushed on oh so slowly.

I managed to drag myself to a town at 4pm, baking under the relentless sun. I was 30km from my intended destination but I didn't care, there was no way I was doing 30km more. I spent half an hour finding and getting to the only motel in town. I cried and ate, had a cold shower and skyped Dave. I feel a little better but still very fragile. Oh that there will be clouds no headwinds tomorrow...

Day 12: Lazy skunk day

I had such a nice evening with Marie-Lyne and Louis. They made delicious dinner and there was red wine and travelling talk until we couldn't keep our eyes open any more and went to bed.

After a good breakfast, I headed out onto the trail, glad of the thick blanket of cloud after the heat of yesterday. Spring is definitely here now! The woodland floors have bright green shoots and leaves emerging from the leaf litter and ferns are uncurling themselves by the side of the path. Some trees are already covered in tiny bright green leaves.

The birds are chirping away happily as ever, courting and gathering nest material. It's been a good day for wildlife - I saw another chipmunk briefly before he ran into his burrow, a musk rat scurried away as I passed by and a skunk sauntered across the trail so close I had to slow down! There are little violet butterflies warming themselves on the trail and neon blue flying bugs that draft along beside me, an entourage of shining jewels. I saw a hawk, a huge eagle and lots of lovely little birds - my favourite is a little blackbird with incredible bright orange and yellow semicircles on the tops of its wings.

The farms are coming to life all around. I thought I was going to pass out once or twice from the smell of liquid chicken shit being spread on the fields ahead of me, but I made it out alive.

It's been a lazy day because I only had 60km to cover, so I've spent a lot of time at trail stops and cafes just chilling between short rides through forests and farmlands. Ahh, this is the life.

Tonight I'm staying with couchsurfing hostess Rebecca in the town of Danville. Tomorrow I will be making up for today's laziness with another 100k day.

Day 11: Wonderful, glorious

Today was awesome!

I slept well last night and set off with fresh legs and content derrière on a tarmac cycle trail in the sunshine with the wind at my back. What a day! It's so warm and I've had a tailwind all day.

The cycle trail went through fields, bogs, woodland and towns,  sometimes tarmac, sometimes hard packed trail, always beautiful and easy to ride.

I did 50km without really noticing and stopped for a long lunch in the hot sun and chatted with passing cyclists. I even saw a chipmunk!

The birds are singing and the brooks are babbling. And today there are buds on the trees - lovely little parcels of red, orange and green, full of the promise of summer. What a beautiful day! 

I'm getting better at one-handed on-the-bike operations like putting on sun glasses, drinking water, scratching an itchy leg, etc. Today I did a successful on-the-go application of sun cream without so much as a wobble. Ah, small things.

Tonight I'm staying with warmshowers hosts Marie-Lyne and Louis and their baby girl Flavie in the small town of Plessisville. I had a lovely warm welcome to their gorgeous house, I have a beer in my hand and dinner is in the oven :)

Day off

The pub crawl last night was great fun and ended in a karaoke bar (no, thankfully I did not sing), and I got to bed at 4.30am. So I felt a bit worse for wear today. 

I wandered around the pretty old town, stopping in cafes for waffles, baguettes and maple syrup products and read my book in the sun. It was nice and relaxed, I didn't really want anything else from today.

This evening I did some food shopping, planned my next 4 days to Montreal and went out for dinner. I felt a bit melancholy after my dinner for one, which is unusual - must still be the hangover.

I'm so tired now but looking forward to getting back on the road tomorrow after a good night's sleep. 

Day 10: Quebec City

Back on the road, back into the headwind, through pretty villages along the river, still with the geese flying overhead.

It was a lovely ride and I enjoyed the day (with the exception of a very long slow hill into the wind). I stopped at cafes and patisseries along the way as I only had 60km to cover today. There were loads of other cyclists out and about and they all gave me nods and waves. Two blokes on a tandem cheered me up with their big smiles, friendly waves and big curly hair blowing in the wind.

Once I was near Quebec, I got a ferry across the river and started chatting to Andre, a local cyclist. He admired my bike, "shimano xt's, nice!" (I hear that more than you might expect) and we talked about touring. Andre did trans-Canada in the correct direction (west to east) in the 90s and has also done Alaska to Quebec! He offered to show me to the hostel, so we rode up the crazy steep hills of the beautiful city together and he pointed out important buildings along the way.

I feel so good to have made it here and earned my first day off! Next stop, hostel pub crawl! I feel like I might be starting to get a bit old for hostel pub crawls, but what the hell.

Day 9: How headwinds are a pain in the arse

There was a thunder storm in the night. I woke to a flash of light, followed by a long, low rumble, shuddering its way along the valley. Then came the rain. And it was still raining when I wormed my aching body out of my tent in the morning.

The rain gave way to drizzle, then to mist, and it was damp and warm. My nemesis for the day was the wind. Oh, it was windy! I struggled my way to my breakfast stop and gobbled down a macdonalds breakfast for the first time since I was a kid. It was actually very good! Two muffins to go and I was back on the road.

My legs never stopped hurting today. The wind was slowing me down and making me work harder. And in working up a sweat, I could feel my saddle sores getting worse - rubbing salt into the wounds, as it were. The worst thing though was the incessant howling of the wind in my ears. I imagined it screaming at me Stop! Go the other way! The grasses and reeds were bowing down, dead leaves and debris hurtling past me, flags flapping angrily and sheets on washing lines billowing like vast sails. And always the howling in the ears.

Around lunchtime it brightened up and I saw beautiful coastlines packed with geese. There were geese in the sky too, flying in great lines or v-formations over my head. Looking out across the water, I could see ghosts of the blue mountains the other side of the strait, their faint outline blending with the blues of water and sky.

And so I battled on through pretty villages along the coast, waving and smiling to passing cyclists and pedestrians, until I got to a motel in Montmagny to nurse my aching muscles in a bath and disinfect my sores.

Tomorrow, to Quebec! I'm very much looking forward to a day off.

The picture of the baby cows is for you Mum, I know you'll love them! And the other picture is a sky full of geese - look closely!

Day 8: Woohoo! Back in the game!

Today was brilliant! Possibly one of the best riding days I've ever done! I set off along the road (the wonderfully flat-surfaced, snow-free road with a cycle path at the edge) and pedalled my way along the st lawrence strait. There were even other cyclists around! And I actually chatted to one - in English! 

Mostly the route went through farmland and was flat enough to see the next village 10km away. On one side of the valley, forested hills with huge rocks jutting out of them. On the other side, the calm strait with blue mountains behind. Sometimes the cycle path hugged the water and was gently undulating, a perfectly smooth surface with awesome views and the occasional steep hill that would have me panting, struggling in my lowest gear. I didn't walk up any though :)

There was very little traffic, it was a lovely sunny day and after 65km, I found myself a nice campsite! So there we have it. Rain forecast for tonight and looks like it will come, but hey ho, it can't be sunny all the time!

Day 7: Another shitty trail day

I did 60km today, about half of it on the trail. At one point, I trudged a full kilometre through the snow, tyres sinking, feet slipping, arms groaning. Even on the snow-free patches, I couldn't get much above 6mph, slowing to half that going uphill. Who makes a cycle trail out of fine, unpacked gravel?!
It was still beautiful, but the state I was in today, I could have been cycling past the grand canyon and not given a shit.

The trail was often so far from the highway that I couldn't hear the traffic any more, and I cycled through the tunnels of trees, not a soul in sight, trying not to wonder whether there were bears or coyotes around.

It was bizarre pushing through the snow whilst getting sun burned and sweaty. My hands, face, left ear and calves are redish brown but the rest of me white as ever!

The signs were mocking me today. "Riviere-du-Loup 4km", then 5km later "Riviere-du-Loup 2km". Sigh. It was a further 6km to the hotel. 

I think being in the French speaking part of Canada for the last few days has been adding to my bad moods. A lot of people don't speak any English, so I have to dredge up my terrible French and not understand the replies I get. It's quite isolating travelling alone, surrounded by people you can't talk to.

Still, after that bastard of a day, I am rewarded with a sweet hotel that has special cyclist rates and individual bike garages! I cleaned and oiled the bike before cleaning and de-oiling myself and having a bath. Ahhhh, my aching muscles are feeling better already. Now for a 3 course meal :)

Route map

This is roughly my route. Google maps has invented a few short cuts but you get the idea. I'm at point C by the lake and should be in Quebec city on Saturday or Sunday.

Day 6: New time zone!

Today was a day of firsts...  I crossed my first time zone, rode on my first cycle path, saw my first deer, followed my first detour, attempted my first short cut, broke my first Canadian law, pushed my bike through snow for the first time and had my first mid-ride cry. 

I spent all morning riding into a head wind. I stopped for a gigantuun breakfast, got onto the gravel cycle path and battled the wind, scorching sun, minor detour and the sinking bumping road surface until I stopped for my massive lunch. I was pretty tired but I had made it to the next province (Quebec) and was two thirds done for the day. Oh, and I got my shoe fixed on the way - bonus!

Then the cycle path left the main road and went along the side of a lake through the woods. It was beautiful! And I finally had some shade. I pedalled along at my slow pace, still on the sandy gravel, until I came across a patch of snow. Impossible to ride on, I had to get off and puuuuush. Then back on riding. 200m later, another snow pile. And so it went on for 3 gruelling hours. The sun slowly slanting its way down the sky, my legs and arms begging for it to be over. 

It's illegal to ride on the highway in Quebec, but I did it anyway for 3km in a bid to get off the lovely but strength-sapping trail. I hoped a police car would pull me over and give me a ride but none came. Alas, the highway was awful and scary so I gave up on it and found my way back to the trail. When there weren't snow piles, there was sandy sinking gravel or leaf mulch, all of which were shit and tiring. With 10km to go, I felt a wave of self pity roll over me and I cried, still slowly turning the pedals in a bid to get up a tiny slope. What a sad sight I must have been! But there was nobody there too see. I hadn't been past anyone for hours. I slogged out the final kilometres and made it to the Cabano campsite with just enough time to set up camp, shower and skype Dave.

So yeah, fuck today, it was shit. Maybe I will attempt less than 90km tomorrow. 

Day 5: Logging trucks and a moose

Today has been a beautiful day! Sunshine and beautiful fluffy white clouds!! I only saw a few patches of melting snow today and now all of a sudden, it feels like summer! I think I even got burned through two applications of factor 50.

The road I set out on was smooth and pretty, winding gently through a hilly forest. There was more traffic than yesterday (including a lot of logging trucks) and my hard shoulder was only about 1' wide, but it was such a lovely day and location, I didn't mind too much. I even saw a moose about 20ft from the road that got a bit startled by me. He had a gorgeous glossy chocolate brown coat and a kind looking face and he just stood and watched me pedal slowly past, undecided about whether to stay, run or get annoyed. 

So all was well with the world! Until the hard shoulder disappeared. The trucks kept zooming past and when they came from both directions at once, I had to ride on the soft verge, my wheels sinking into the gravel almost grinding me to a halt. The road surface got worse and worse, potholes and great seams and fissures across the road. The trucks clattered and their loads flailed around as they bumped their way along at 100kmh, noisy MACK monsters ready to turn me into road kill. I just wanted to get to the end of it.

20km later, when I was thinking to myself that I would rather have done yesterday again than endure this (no longer true), the nice road surface was back! And complete with mini hard shoulder. Woohoo! I laughed with joy and powered my way down the hill with a big grin on my face. Phew!

I passed a few campsites around 1 and 2pm but felt it was too early to stop. When I was ready to stop, the campsite I found was closed. Bummer. 15km further to a motel. A flat but very windy 15km that took ages! The headwind didn't just slow me down, it also meant I couldn't hear what was coming up behind me and I got surprised by a few trucks. But hey, I made it and I have 75km under my belt today :)

Every night, I clean and oil my bike before I have a shower, which is a nice wind-down routine. Just a shame I can't get the blasted shoe off it! It makes turning the pedal to oil the chain pretty annoying.

Day 4: 100k day

It was a long day today! Adam had warned me that I would be taking the 'windy mountain road' today and it lived up to its description. I'm bloody exhausted! 

This morning I googled accommodations and only found one place en route so called to book before setting off up the first of many hills. I started at sea level and wound my way up and down, up and up and down and up to 450m. Then back to 300, then back to 400... you get the idea.

I learned a few lessons today...

1. If you're going to stop for curry before cranking up a big hill, don't wear your buff for a bit because you'll be forced to re-breathe your own curry burps. 

2. If you haven't been able to get your cleats clipped in for several kilometres, stomping your feet on the pedals and screaming FUUUCKING BASTARDS! will not help the situation. 

3. Don't bother trying to power it up the last bit of the hill if you can't see around the corner.

4. Canadian truck drivers are extremely considerate, I love them! No scary moments yet.

After 75km, I was tiredly peddaling my way through the last settlement before the one I would stay in when I went past a huge sign that read Motel Vacancies. Good job I didn't see it, I might have cried.

As I found out at my last stop before I got to the motel, the reason I couldn't get my cleats in very easily today was that the cleats had come loose. I found this out because I couldn't un-clip my right shoe. It is now still attached to my bike and may remain there for some days to come, which is just dandy. I can live with 'one cold foot' lunches until the other screw works its way off too. No probs.

I made it to the motel by 5pm - not bad going! I walked into reception, hair matted, face salty with sweat, helmet still glued to my head, cycling gloves on, and the receptionist started asking for my details. Name, address, etc... then "and what's your licence plate?". I just stared at her for a moment but she waited for me to say "erm, I'm cycling" before putting a dash in the box. Maybe she meets a lot of helmeted weirdos...?

Day 3: short and sweet

I woke up Sunday morning feeling tired and sore, pulled back the curtains to find it was raining and decided to take my time getting ready. I only had 30km to go, which was just as well.

Feeling less than enthusiastic about putting my bum back on the saddle, I geared up and headed out, straight up a hill in the grey drizzle. To be fair, the breeze was with me, so it could have been worse. And my sore muscles were taking my mind off my achy arse.

I actually made good progress im spite of all that! Possibly because I knew it would be over soon for the day.

I got to Adam's house (my next couch surfing destination) around 1pm, showered and we headed out for late breakfast before chatting, watching movies, having home made curry and drinking Canadian craft beers. So mostly it was a pretty sweet, chilled out day. Who said cycling across Canada would be hard? Should probably have gone to bed earlier though, I've got a big day ahead of me now and I feel a little hung over.

Day 2: success and pain

I'd planned to do just 50km a day for the first week to ease into it, but it's still winter and many accommodations are still shut and I'd rather not camp my first few nights! So I had 80km to cover today at make it to a cabin in Charlo.

Anna and Kyle waved me off after a good night's sleep with a belly full of oatmeal and I rode through villages and towns along the coast, stopping every 10km for food and water. I enjoyed the change of pace from being in the car and felt pretty relaxed, despite my sore bum. My school French finally came in handy when I pulled over at a bibliotheque for wifi and a phone call to book my cabin.

I emerged from the towns into the countryside and cycled past Brunswick Smelter, conspicuous and ugly in its huge clearing in the forest. I got a good look at it too, since I was doing 8km/h into a head wind at that point.

After 40km, I stopped at a bridge and had lunch overlooking a lovely little estuary, listening to the sea birds and the occasional zoom of a car. The sea here is a channel and the mountains of Quebec are on the other side, blue in the distance.

Another 10km and I could happily have called it a day. I'd adjusted my saddle at every stop and it just wasn't making a difference any more. Why I brought my new saddle instead of my old, known-to-be-comfy one is totally beyond me! I'm sure there was a good reason at the time. 

I stopped by a church for a stretch of the legs and another macaroon when I realised I needed a wee. The towns I'd been going through were populated enough not to have any wild wee spots but not busy enough to warrant cafes or public toilets. So I walked behind the church and found a quiet corner that the geese had been using as their personal bathroom anyway and went there. I haven't been smited yet...

All day the weather, the road and the people have been kind to me. It was overcast and not too windy, the road had a wide shoulder most of the way and I have been greeted by pedestrians, joggers, cyclists, motor bikers and drivers with various pleasantries, waves and toots.

I made it the last 30km even more slowly than I'd done the previous 30km but here I am in my lovely 4-person cabin looking out onto the channel, trying not to sit on the sore parts of my tender derriere. Ahhhh... 90 down, 6,110 to go.

Xodus support crew :)

Start at the east coast

OMFG

So today, I drove to the coastal town of Bathurst, dropped off my rental car and got all my stuff out to assemble the rig and set off. That's when it dawned on me. I don't know the first thing about cycle touring! What the hell am I getting myself into?!

I loaded up the bike and put on my (brand new) cycling shoes and decided to do a few laps of the car park before heading off. The bike is so heavy with all that stuff hanging off it, I was wobbling around all over the place! And I couldn't get clipped in - holy crap, I've never used MTB cleats before and I'm about to do 6000km in them!

So once I'd done a few laps and not fallen off, I headed for the beach, via a small hill. I was in my lowest gear, cranking up it, sweating despite the cold air temperature,  ready to be overtaken by a granny with a walking stick at any moment. I stayed on the pavement, which was safe from traffic but very potholey and at every pothole my front panniers came loose and I had to put them back. My bum was sore and I was out of breath and way out of my depth!

I pulled into a side road to sort my panniers and adjust my saddle and found a bit of downhill to get clipped in on - only to panic and swiftly unclip to avoid falling over if I had to stop!

After about 40 mins, I had wobbled the 3km to the coast and dragged my bike through the snow and sand for my starting photo. Then I turned around and headed to Anna's house (Anna and Kyle are warmshowers hosts putting me up for the night). Forunately the return journey was slightly quicker so there is hope. 

I felt a bit of anticlimax starting the journey on my own but I got a message from Xodus wishing me well with a lovely photo of everyone!  It was so nice, I felt a bit emotional seeing it. So that made me feel like my journey has begun. Thanks guys!

I arrived at Anna and Kyle's house to a warm welcome and some pizza. So I haven't done much riding today, but I think that's just as well. It's going to be a long journey!

[Photos tomorrow, I forgot to bring my camera's memory card to the coffee shop that has wifi!]

This should be interesting...

I headed out for final supplies this afternoon and have just had my first practice pack... I'm not going to lie, it's very heavy. Test ride in the morning when it hopefully won't be pissing it down.