Day 34 – Wiarton, Ontario (Thursday, June 4, 2015)

I started out from Little Current at 6:19am to be sure that I could get through Manitoulin Island and made the ferry at 11:10am from South Baymouth.

I had a beautiful ride.    Perhaps the best ride of the whole trip so far.   Manitoulin is quite flat.  I had always thought the beauty of the terrain was sub-par compared the outcrops of the Canadian Shield but the during the serene morning ride everything looked just about perfect.

When I arrived at South Baymouth I had time for a serious, French toast breakfast at about 9:50am.

I had a bit of lunch on the ferry – fresh fruit and a muffin and I had supper at Irish Pub in Wiarton – yet another local recommendation.

I stayed at the Waterview Inn in Wiarton which was recommended by the proprietor at Irish Pub.  I was unhappy with room #11 which smelled like a rodent.   To be fair the owners had done quite a bit of work upgrading the Inn.  It is likely an unfortunate issue that will be rectified.

Day 33 – Little Current, Ontario (Wednesday, June 3, 2015)

I had breakfast along the way, had a late lunch in Espanola, and settled at Anchor Inn in Little current.    Anchor Inn was recommended as the best restaurant in Little Current by a girl at the ice cream place at the north end of the town.

Anchor Inn had pretty good food and was well maintained by I did not have a good sleep because of soft sound of running water that even my ear plugs couldn’t stop.

Little Current was much nicer than I had remembered it from previous visits.  The town and the marina were all well maintained making it a good place for visitors.

Day 32 – Blind River, Ontario (Tuesday, June 2, 2015)

Had lunch in Thessolan at Subway.

Good ride.  Relatively good wind.

I wanted to stay at a place called McIvers but I didn’t have it plugged in correctly in my GPS.   I ignored my rule about asking people when I entered the town and ending up driving right through.   I ended up staying at another place that did the job but I was disappointed.

Itching to get home.  Little time to write.

View of Lake Huron from a restaurant near Thessalon.

Someone with a love for bicycles.

Lake Huron looking south.

Day 31 – Sault Ste Marie, Ontario (Monday,  June 1, 2015)

Felt good in the morning. Made good pace in spite of the ~10 mile/hour head wind.

Stopped a nice restaurant just east of McMillan for breakfast. Chatted with a guy named Brad from McMillan on his bicycle who had ridden to get some pastry.

Had a conversation with another couple who had connections in Ontario and visit Stratford regularly. I recommended Niagra on the Lake as an alternative.

I had lunch in Newberry only 6 miles after the restaurant I had breakfast at.   Apparently that was the last significant stop before Sault Ste Marie (40 more miles) so I had to take advantage of it.

I reached Interstate 75 about 5:30pm and headed North. Late but ok given the late start and doddling. I stopped at a road side rest area for my usual water and stuff. As I was leaving I was greeted by a state trooper then he told me I was reported by someone. I couldn’t ride on the interstate. So I was escorted  2 1/2 miles to the exit.  I would have liked to point out that the cities are much more dangerous than the interstate but no one would have listened.

I managed to cross over the bridge into Sault Ste Marie, Ontario without mishap and am now staying in yet another hotel for the night.   It was too late to look for camping spots so close the city.

I was happy to be in Ontario.

Day 30 – Seney, Michigan (Sunday, May 31, 2015)

Hard day. Didn’t feel like getting going.

I had breakfast in the Perkins restaurant and set off against a tough North by North Eastern cross wind bringing cold air in from the lake.

At a rest stop not far from Marquette I met a “serious” cyclist on a time trial bike.  He was on his way to Munising and back for a four hour workout.  We both complained about the cross wind but it didn’t do any good.  At the same stop I met another fellow who was planning a trip across North Dakota.

The wind made the trip tough and I made Munising for a late lunch and met a man who owned a bike shop in Esanola (south somewhere).  There were certainly a lot of cyclists in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

After Munising the highway runs further from the lake and the wind subsided.   I originally wanted to make Singleton but I felt fine at Singleton and in good time so I kept going to Seney.

Given the tough morning I was happy to have made Seney by the late afternoon.  As I entered Seney I met some ladies at a general store all bundled up and asked about a restaurant they could recommend.  They mentioned a bar/restaurant down the road and a campsite (they couldn’t recommend the restaurant because they doing go to bars).   I went to the bar/restaurant and stayed at an old motel with a nice room in the rear.

Ralph taking a rest.

View of Lake Superior from the rest stop just east of Marquette.

Sand dunes beside the road to Munising.

Day 29 – Marquette, Michigan (Saturday, May 30, 2015)

It was still cold and wet from rain in the morning.  I packed up the tent and made my way to the coop for breakfast; a wrap and sandwich – not very satisfying.

As I set off I discovered that my rear rack had broken.  A fellow cycler happened by and fixed me up with some wire.

It was about 9am before I was on the road.  Much later than I would have liked to make Marquette.

Lunch was not memorable.

I arrived in Marquette in the late afternoon and stopped at a DaysInn with a laundry, a pool and a good Perkins restaurant adjacent.    Throughout the restaurant there were tributes to the pioneers that had established the surrounding area.