Ontario Pt. 1(6) - Eastern Standard Time

We entered our fifth province on August 22, a month after departure from home. We mused that by this point we’d have visited probably 20 countries if we were travelling in Europe.

As with other provincial border crossings, the scenery changes almost immediately and Ontario brings a return to the trees …..and hills. 

Around every corner is another beautiful lake. The highway winds through pool after pool on both sides of the road and you feel as though you’re visiting an entirely different planet. 

Our first port of call is the pretty downtown of Kenora and we set up camp at a provincial site along the Lake of The Woods. 

The pricing is way up from Manitoba, at $45, but the campsite was a lovely space to watch the sky go by and crush a couple of pizzas….. each.  

We cannot. Believe. How much. We can eat.  

We’ve had a few cold nights now, down to 5 or 6 degrees, and we’re feeling the limits of our camping gear. The cool riding means extra calories burning.

Loading up on supplies in the morning is when we met Sophie. She is cycling from Vancouver to the East Coast and has been on the same route as us all along, staying at some of the same stops and experiencing the same weather.  It’s amazing we haven’t encountered her until now.  

We rode with Sophie for a bit, sometimes ahead and sometimes behind, leap-frogging from stop to stop and meeting up for snack breaks.

The highway shoulder was nicely paved and truck drivers were offering plenty of space. This section of highway is really the only way through for both tourists and transport trucks, so all traffic funnels down to two lanes, but it did not feel unsafe. 

A baseball dugout offered a quick shelter from a downpour that turned into an overnight. The cycling has been great in Ontario this far, but we’re being treated very coldly and wetly by the camping conditions.

We stopped at A&W in Dryden to dry off and get out of the rain. It’s 9am and the ‘All Day Burgers’ sign has some appeal.  

Full meals crushed and we’re charging our phones. An hour or so, the rain hasn’t let up.  Fine.  We get breakfast.  2nd full meals crushed.

We cannot. Believe. How much. We can eat. 

Cycling and camping in the cold and wet conditions uses no petrol, but the fuel cost is certainly not free. 

We scampered into town for some wool socks and mitts to try and stay warm at night. It’s mid August and we had not planned on being this cold at this stage of our trip. 

The highway rest stops through here are set up at some fabulous locations beside lakes and waterfalls. It’s worth stopping at all of them.  (Sometimes to set up a tent). 

We met up with Sophie again at Raleigh Falls after a 125km day and she had a good laugh when we told her about our double breakfast. She had done the same thing at the same A&W, arriving probably minutes after we left.  Not sure how we missed her.

We all enjoyed the sound of the waterfalls overnight as a welcome relief from the highway noise.

The sky cleared for a bit and the lighting made for some fascinating colour. It was like riding in a cartoon. 

More food. This time a fantastic butter chicken. The newly opened Indian restaurants along the roads are a nice change from the fast food burger chain franchises in every town.  

We don’t really want to be eating “out” this much but we can’t seem to carry enough food on board right now for how much we’re needing. 

A 174km day got us to the Eastern time zone marker where we set up camp with a bunch of other travellers in a busy rest stop.  Sophie had arrived a short time before us and we shared the flat grassed area and espresso in the morning. 

That was our first night with sub zero temperatures and we woke up to a crispy, frosty tent. It’s fine for riding in, but this is ridiculous. C’mon August. What gives?!

We’re enjoying how very social this activity is despite the vast and remote locations. We’re both introverts by nature, but the conversations and camaraderie at every stop are becoming a big part of the fun.  

We’ll push for Thunder Bay tomorrow with a much anticipated stop at the Kekabeka waterfall.

 

Ontario is huge, this is going to take multiple posts!

READ NEXT:  Ontario Pt. 2(6) - Kakabeka Falls