Wednesday, June 18, 2008

A hot day to Thunder Bay

Weather certainly changes moods.

All through the Prairies, the rainy, windy weather got us a bit dejected. It made for some short days and some miserable mornings getting out of bed. It's been a completely different story in Northern Ontario, as we've had sunny weather with winds at our backs all the way through. As a result, the last three days we've pushed 145km, 160km, and 200km, capping off our push to Thunder Bay with a 140km day today. It's been a really nice change, and a really nice feeling.

As we get further into the province, the terrain is starting to get hillier and hillier. We started to encounter some pretty steep climbs up Ontario's hills just short of Thunder Bay, and from what we've heard the terrain is here to stay until Sault Ste-Marie. It's been nearly three weeks since we've encountered anything close to the mountain climbs we had, so we'll have to get back into climbing shape! The weather is also starting to heat up tremendously, as this was our hottest day since the Fraser Canyon, and it will only get worse as we get closer to Southern Ontario, renowned for its hot and humid weather.

Once in Thunder Bay, we were set up in the Valhalla Inn, courtesy of the city, and particularly thanks to the work of Steve Demmings and Paul Pepe. We grabbed some dinner at a nearby Boston Pizza before heading back to our rooms at the hotel. They gave us three double rooms! Steve came to meet us later on in the evening at the Valhalla, buying us some beers and nachos. He was really keen on the ride, being a cyclist himself, and has been all across the country (in a car). We then retired for the night to our queen-size beds on the second floor.

Tomorrow we will be treated to breakfast before we head out on the road. We have three days to make it to Marathon for a rest day, so we will likely take our time in the morning, taking care of some errands before heading out of town.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Prairies are starting to seem like a dim memory. Great progress!

M

Anonymous said...

WOW are you ever moving! Don't forget the sun screen! xxxx's to you all and we will be seeing you soon at the rate you are going.

Anonymous said...

Your tone indicates that you were really looking forward to a night in nice comfortable beds, in nice screened rooms where the beasties can't get at you.
Enjoy them - you've certainly earned them.

Wicked Uncle

Anonymous said...

What happened to Lisa?

xoxo