Day 48 – Espanola to South Baymouth (T.D.: 117.5km; S.T.: 7h06min)

We were roused from precious slumber by the sounds of twigs snapping outside the tent. Unfortunately, we were too drowsy to be bothered, and missed out on the sight of an adult female moose traipsing around the trees mere feet from our sleepy heads. She was in the lake a hundred yards away by the time we stumbled out for our morning stretch. Nice to see a moose finally though!

Today we would be riding onto Manitoulin Island, where the scenery is just enough reward for the endless hills you’re forced to climb. The real action began after crossing the bridge onto the island. During a stop at the visitor centre in Little Current, we discovered Caroline’s 7^th (8^th? – not sure) flat tire.

Luckily, we were within walking distance to Farquahar’s Homemade Ice Cream, where Caroline and I enjoyed the vanilla and cookie dough varieties, respectively. We followed up the ice cream with a proper lunch at Mickey T’s, next door. We’d been told not to miss the fish and chips at Mickey T’s, and while we found them to be entirely misseable, the spectacle of gulls that hovered like vultures around the picnic tables waiting for their chance to devour any greasy remains left by unthinking patrons was quite entertaining.

Back on the bikes, we found more hills, which equated to tired legs, and we stopped for a rest at a picturesque lookout near Manitowaning. Here we talked to a German-Canadian road surveyor, who had helped build roads all throughout north-western Ontario – a most inhospitable place to build roads, we were told, and could easily imagine after our relatively brief experience on some of the main thoroughfares in that region.

Our hope was to arrive in Tehkuamen for dinner, but as it turned out Tehkuamen isn’t really the sort of place where you can buy dinner. So we ate our last couple of bagels on some church steps, and gave ‘er down to South Baymouth in order to reach our campground before dark. The ride was actually quite lovely, and some threatening clouds made their way north, leaving a beautiful sunset in their wake.

Stats:

Av. Spd.: 16.5km/h

Mx. Spd.: 47.0km/h

Best place to boycott on Manitoulin Island: Garden Gate Restaurant – Don’t be fooled by the “back to the earth” philosophy they’ve adopted in creating their menu, nor the quaint rural charm of their farmhouse setting; this place is run by bona fide lame-o. We showed up in time for dinner after biking more than 4500km, and were treated like a couple of foul-smelling vagrants (I’m sure we couldn’t have smelled all that bed). We left to eat bagels on a staircase.