June 25 – Richer to Kenora (ON)

Bike log: 154.6km, 597m of vertical, avg. speed 29.5 km/h

Wow – we are in Ontario! Once again, a noticable change at the border – the scenery here is completely different. We got off to a really late start today – about 11 before we were on the road – and we almost stopped in Falcon Lake (still in Manitoba) at around 3 because it looked pretty nice. However, we decided to press on and we’re really glad that we did because Kenora (pop. 16,000) is a beautiful town, and the change at the border was worth seeing. Kenora is right on Lake of the Woods, with a happenning little dowtown and some old buildings to give it some charm.

Within about 10-20km of the border, we started to get into some hills. Nothing huge, but the biggest ones we’ve had since BC, and more or less continuously rolling. Very much like the terrain around Victoria, but with smaller hills. I am really enjoying the change and the opportunity to tackle the hills. Riding on the straight windy flats requires a different mindset. You just have to put your head down and go til the next rest stop, and try not to think about anything related to progress! With hills and curves, it is kind of the opposite – you are always watching what is coming up, getting ready to gear up or down or stand up and peddle. It challenges you in a different way, and I find it inspires me to attack the hills.

It’s been six days straight since the last rest, so tomorrow is a rest day. I feel lucky to be having that day off in such a nice place. I have to say that in terms of the bike trip it feels great to have the prairies behind us. I really did enjoy the scenery, but dealing with either a massive headwind or tailwind every day made it challenging because you never really knew how far you were going to get that day – or even how long it would be to the next rest stop.

I learned an interesting factoid. The northernmost part of the US excluding Alaska is located on the shores of Lake of the Woods! There is a weird bit of land that sticks up above the 49th parallel for 20km or so, and is not attached through land to the rest of the US! Kind of like Pt. Roberts near Vancouver, but above the 49th parallel.

More to come tomorrow – we’ll get lots of photos of Kenora!