More of Canada eh!

I woke up in the nice little camping spot I had in the city of Sturgeon Falls right next to the river and I set off in seek of some wifi. I found a Tim Hortons in town and spent some time there checking out my route and catching up on some emails. I met a great guy named Claude as I was walking out the door. He rides motorcycle, but we had some great discussions on the similarities of bikes and how you always have to be aware of other people on the road. He made a donation to Cycle to Recycle and we headed off. 

I rode about 25 miles and then I stopped at another Tim Hortons in North Bay. There I got to talking to a woman about her farm and how she grows organic and sells to local buyers. We talked about the benefits of your own garden and how much better the food is. We also talked about schools and the differences between American and Canadian schools, it was a great conversation. I got back on the bike and continued to ride in the heat. I found myself talking a lot today and not doing too much riding.

There were a lot of hills today and that makes it tough to get 100 miles in, also taking to everyone who walks by makes it tough as well. I also found a nice little lake to cool off in, it was very refreshing. The rest of the ride went well and it was hot. I found a nice camping spot at a roadside stop which had a pavilion for the picnic tables, which came in handy over the hint because it started to rain. 

I met a guy named, Frank, who has been traveling since 2013 when he was diagnosed with cancer and not given long to live. He adopted a dog and they started walking across Canada. After he started walking he no longer felt his arthritis or needed the morphine for his cancer. It's amazing what exercise does for the body. Now he rides around the country with his dog, Sheila, and raises awareness about animal abuse because he rescued Sheila. Good on ya Frank!!

Canada day 3, the heat

I woke up about 5 miles outside Espanola and I had a great sleeping spot in the woods. There were so many needles on the bottom of the forest, it was like an extra mat. I rode into Espanola and found a McDonald's to check my email. I hit the road about 9am and they were just as bad as the day before. The shoulders are really small and  there are all kinds of potholes in the shoulder, which doesn't make for nice riding. 

I wasn't really feeling the riding, I don't know why. I had to take about 4 breaks before noon, which is more than usual. I did meet a guy at one of the breaks who owns an organic farm and we had a great discussion about sustainability, organics, school, WOOFing (willing workers on organic farms) and then we shared our contact information and hopefully he will help with the greenhouse. 

It was a very hot day, well into the 90s and it's even hotter on the pavement with all the exhaust, so that made for a long day of riding as well. I made sure to stay well hydrated though. 

I took a few back roads and they seem to  be much more rough than the highway, but there is fewer cars/trucks which is nice.

I did get my 100 miles in today and I found a nice spot next to the river to camp in the city of sturgeon falls. The river is not flowing fast, so I didn't go in it to cool down, which I was hoping for... 

Long day

I woke up and I was still alive from the animals that were all around me that night, but I had 135 miles to ride to get to my Warmshowers host. I rode all day and didn't stop much that day. I left Minnesota and entered Wisconsin. Route 2 (the road I have pretty much ridden from Seattle) combined with a highway and it was fast and busy just outside superior, WI. The bridge I was going to cross on was under construction, so I thought I would just ride on it until I could ask someone if I could go across. I never hit anyone on the bridge, so I just rode it the whole way across and it was a little sketchy, there were small metal bridges I had to go over which looked straight down at least 100ft to the water... But I got across and was still about 20 miles from my host. I rode and rode and when my gps said I was there, I couldn't find the correct house number. I called Scott and realized I was on the wrong road, I was on county road E and I should have been on county road P... So Scott drove the 6 miles to come and pick me up because it was 10pm and completely dark out. Scott and his wife, Holly, were excellent hosts. They had dinner waiting for me and they allowed me to do some laundry and shower up. They used to host their nephew and his hockey friends, so they're used to having a lot of people over. We had so w great conversations and Scott gave me a very generous check for "Cycle to Recycle" when I left in the morning. There was also a guy from Germany there, he is also biking across the country. 

Take off

I woke up and hit the road early, heading east just like everyday. I had about 40 miles in by 10am which is pretty good and then I was passing a small airport when I saw two guys walking around a plane that was running. I figured I would to talk to them and see how the flight was and maybe if I was lucky, I could get a ride. I went over and they had just landed and said it was beautiful up there. We got to talking about the trip and how great it was, then I popped the question "would you mind giving me a ride in the plane?" The owner of the plane, Ray, said "it's already primed, I guess I could give ya a ride". So we got in and buckled up, the engine would start. Ray said they don't start well when they're warm. So I spoke with the other guy, Shep, while Ray worked on the plane for about 2 hours. Shep and I had some great conversations and then Ray said it was time to fly. I got in and this time the engines fired right up. We went up for about 15 minutes and Ray let me fly the plane. He let me control it and do some turns and go up and down, it was pretty amazing to have control of the plane, definitely a once in a lifetime experience. We landed and I thanked them for allowing me to go up and for everything. I rode all day with a huge smile on my face and it was an awesome feeling. I finished the day with about 120 miles and found a great little camping spot in a national forest. The mosquitos were aweful and they don't make it easy to set up the tent while you're being attacked by so many of them, but I got it set up and had just fallen asleep when I was awoken by these loud footsteps and they were close. I sat up and put my flashlight on to see if I could see anything. I knew the animal had hooves, because I could tell by the sound they were making while they walk, so I wasn't worried about a bear. I thought it was a moose, who are pretty aggressive. I sat up and opened the tent and started yelling and clapping for the animal to leave. He was making a blowing noise and he was about 15-20 feet away. I was getting attacked by mosquitoes the second I opened the tent, so I climbed back into the tent and spent the next 30 minutes killing all the mosquitoes in the tent... The animal was gone and I slept well the rest of the night. 

The rest of North Dakota and into Minnesota

I left Rob's house later than I would like and headed east. There was a very strong tail wind and that was pushing me right along, which was awesome. I rode all day and the land was still very flat and there were more and more lakes that I was starting to notice. There really wasn't much that happened that day, just a lot of riding and flat grounds. I did find a pretty awesome camping spot on Devil's Lake which was on a beach and there was no one around. I woke up early and rode into Minnesota.

Minnesota started off nice and flat and then came the hills again, along with the hills, came the mosquitoes, there tons of mosquitoes when I stopped to set up the campsite.  I stayed just outside Grand Forks, in a town called Crookston. I found a nice little field off the road to set up the tent. 

Unhealthy Land

I woke up early and started on the road I was dreading the most... There were lots of trucks and there were a lot of oil fields. It didn't feel like a healthy place at all and I didn't enjoy riding at all. There were a ton of rocks on the road and the trucks did not move over for bikes. There were oil well everywhere and it didn't feel like I was out in Mother Nature.

 After riding for about 3 hours in the "battle grounds" I broke a rear spoke on my bike, I had to hitchhike again... I stood on the side of the road for about 30 minutes and a truck pulled over and I loaded my bike into the back. His name was Tim and he was headed to Stanley, ND which was about 20 miles away. He was a good guy and we talked about his business and how he is trying to sell it and focus on farming and his family. We got to Stanley and he dropped me off at a gas station, I thanked him for the ride and I started asking people if they were going to  Minot, ND which is about 55 miles away. The second guy I asked was heading all the way to Minnesota, so he was going to pass through Minot. He told me to hop in and we had a great conversation the whole way to town. His name was Darrin and his father owned a small oil company and he was heading to Minneapolis to pick up his girlfriend who was flying in. We had some good laughs and he brought me almost right to the door of the bike shop. As I was saying goodbye he handed me $100 to go toward "Cycle to Recycle". I thanked him very much for the ride and the donation, it was pretty awesome!

The bike ended up taking a lot longer than expected and I contacted a friend of a friend who lived in Minot and he offered his apartment for me to crash for the night. I walked around town and checked out a Scandinavian village while I waited. I contacted Rob and we ended up going to the state fair and looking at some of the local attractions and then we went to watch a local band play that night. It was a great time and Rob treated me to an awesome dinner at his house and made a killer breakfast.