Robin

Yesterday I got a slow start. I left Iron Bridge around 10:30 and then there was a torrential downpour. I stopped under the first roof I could find, which was at the Yellow Butterfly Trading Post. There was a chip truck there, where I ordered a hot dog. I sat in a gazebo watching the rain and eating the hot dog. The chip truck owner's wife saw me there and offered to dry all my wet clothes and give me a blanket I waited. I said no thanks. The chip truck owner said to her "don't worry, he's been on the road 25 days, he knows what he's doing!" and then to me, "don't worry, she's just acting like a mother."

In the early afternoon I was wandering near the the of Thesalon looking for a campsite. I happened upon another cycle tourist named Robin. She told me she planned to camp at Bruce Mines which was about 20km in the same direction I was going. She went on and I went into the town to hit the LCBO and the grocery store.

I met up with Robin again in the campground in Bruce Mines. We stayed up for a while and chatted about bicycle touring and drank some beers. She's is also 29 years old and is heading on a similar route as me for most of Canada. How serendipitious. We decided we'd pedal together the next day.

The ride from Bruce Mines to Sault Ste. Marie was nice. We mostly stayed on a road paralleling the highway, which started as dirt and then became paved. We then moved to 17B shortly before stopping at a market for lunch. At the market we also met a German guy on a gap year who had left Vancouver on 5/1. We all chatted for about an hour.

The last 20km to Sault Ste. Marie had a stiff headwind. Robin and I took 10 minute turns drafting though, and we managed a 22 km/hr pace despite the wind. Without a partner I probably would have been at 12-15km/hr, but drafting and peer pressure are great.

Robin and I got a big pizza with pepperoni and sausage and roasted red peppers and ate it in the backyard of a bike shop called Velorution, which provides free camping spots for bike tourist, and is awesome. However, we walked away from our pizza box for a few minutes and a flock of seagulls ate the few remaining slices!

We also decided that we will pedal together for the forseeable future. It will be nice to have the company!