Back into Canada

I set out today determined to cross back into Canada by midnight. After being caught by a storm the day before, I have over 175 km to get to the bridge between the US and Canada and the two cities of Sault Ste. Marie. It is a hot day and I take several breaks along the way to stay hydrated including a long lunch to eat a large pizza.

I get to see several Sandhill Cranes along the way, a bird I have not seen before.

20120723-110405.jpg

Outside the relatively small town of Newberry, they list an amazing array of choices for formal worship.

20120723-114057.jpg

And someone has placed a mailbox in front of all the signs that only a supernatural being could deliver mail to. Even Dikembe Mutumbo could not reach this.

20120723-114207.jpg

I follow route 28 most of the day but as it gets closer to Sault Ste. Marie, the shoulder gets narrower so I cut up north on route 123. Like the urinal with the Jane Fonda sticker in it, signs continue to suggest this is conservative territory.

20120723-115935.jpg

This also leads to a peaceful scenic drive along Lake Superior, the Whitefish Bay Scenic Byway through the Hiawatha National Forest. I find the historical plaques leave out a lot of history. They make no mention of any inhabitants of the area around the lake before it was discovered.

20120723-113439.jpg

The scenic drive leads to a US Indian reserve and is completely free of traffic.

Then one arrives at the massive Bay Mills Casino and a little while later to a sacred burial ground. What contrasts.

20120724-112600.jpg

20120724-112651.jpg

I keep pedaling towards Sault Ste Marie well after sunset. My plan is to go over the bridge close to midnight when there is hardly any traffic. There are no lanes for bicycles and there is no shoulder so that, I think is safest. The lady at the bridge toll booth agrees with me and sends me over with a wish of luck.

20120724-113213.jpg

And here is another amateur attempt to capture something by video as I cross the bridge.

Stats – for Sunday 15 July 2012

Start: Seney, Michigan
Finish: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Distance: 178 km
Time on Bike: 9 hours 8 minutes
Average Speed: 19.8 km/hr
Distance to Date: 4,945 km

8 thoughts on “Back into Canada

  1. Fantastic submit, very informative. I’m wondering why the other specialists of this sector don’t understand this. You must proceed your writing. I am confident, you have a huge readers’ base already!|What’s Taking place i am new to this, I stumbled upon this I’ve discovered It positively useful and it has aided me out loads. I am hoping to contribute & assist different customers like its helped me. Good job.

  2. Hi David,
    although I cannot make it to Café Santropol, I am there with you in thought and for the rest of the road. Wishing you all the best on this wonderful périple!!!
    Kathye Bélanger, year 6

  3. I am amused about the apostrophe in the “Obama suck’s” sign. Is this command of English that escapes the foreigner, or is it also an indication of spell-free territory?

  4. Hello David
    It’s Stewart Johnson, Chloe Houle Johnson’s father. Chloe is still in Central America but you should be riding near our place in the next day or two (we live in L’Assomption, Qc, just east of Montreal, right on the Route Verte #5). If you are in the vicinityThursday morning or anytime Friday I will see if I can ride with you, provide some nourishment, whatever you need to continue your journey. Let me know et Bon Voyage au Québec!
    Stewart

    • Hi Stewart – I just had a nice alumni gathering in Montreal and I will be in your area late this afternoon. If you pick up this message, give me a call. It would be good to get some local knowledge and to see you. David

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s