Nipigon to Rainbow Falls Provincial Park, Rossport Campground
On the road by 7:15 with and overcast sky and rain gear at the ready. Ontario showed us 'her hills' today. A steep climb out of Nipigon and then 2 more major climbs of 4 km and 2 km respectively, made today's ride challenging at times. These grades are as steep as anything that BC's mountains can throw at you just shorter. Breathtaking views of Lake Superior made this ride well worth the effort. The highway was decent with reasonable shoulders and the traffic after Hwy 17 split from Hwy 11 was much lighter, particularly the truck traffic. It was a great day for a ride as the temperature never made it above 13 or 14 and the sun shone off and on with the exception of the brief rainfall later in the day. Yes it is hard to imagine but we had some rain again today!
We are camping in Rainbow Falls Provincial Park (Rossport Campground) on the shores of Lake Superior. Our site is about 50 feet from the water and protected from the strong winds. Really 'not' very hard to take.
Today on our ride we went around the northern most point of Lake Superior, Kama Bay. As well, while having lunch/breakfast at the Gravel River Motel (in the middle of nowhere), we talked to fellow 'Cross Canada Cyclists' who were crossing 'east to west' from St Johns Newfoundland to Vancouver. One of them has been cycling for 8 months and had a Chile licence plate hanging from his bike so we assume he had been touring in South America before embarking on his cross Canada trip May 10.
Daily Distance = 80.53 km. Time on the bikes = 5 hours 31 minutes. Average Speed = 14.96 km. Maximum Speed = 64. 94 km. Wildlife Sightings = Chipmunks, Red Breasted Merganser, Common Merganser.
Kevin = 3 Sue = 0.
P.S. Days like today with the 'beautiful' ride, 'friendly' people, and an 'amazing' campsite are what this trip is all about!!!
