Date: 2007-07-23
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Miles today: 0.0

7-18-07Massey, ONT.62 miles today2439 easterly miles6524 total milesI set my beautiful coffee brewing machine for 5:50am. That was too early!! I need more sleep now for some reason...maybe because I've been on the move for so long again...I dunno. :-))I'll try setting it for 6:30am tomorrow and see if that helps.We got packed and started riding at 7am. I was ready to go about 20 miles to Blind River before we ate breakfast, but Mrs Gorp was hungry and pulled into an open restaurant about 300 yards from the motel.I had a good breakfast there...and the owners were nice to talk to.We rode on....and on, and on, on Rt 17. This is the worst road we've rode on this whole trip. The road has such narrow shoulders and from the sounds of it, they don't get any better all the way to Ottawa. They are only about a foot or so wide most of the time and the traffic doesn't slow down...and there is a LOT of big truck traffic.I spend my whole time on this road watching the traffic coming at me in the front and at me from behind. It's not much fun and if we stay on Rt 17, we will be on it for another 5 days.We got to Blind River and stopped for a soda, then rode on to Spanish and stopped again for a soda.Mrs Gorp told me about the clouds building. I had been so busy watching traffic that I hadn't noticed them.I finally saw the first whitetail deer I've seen in Canada on this trip. She was just standing by the side of some woods looking at us ride by.We came up to a west bound rider who had just gotten on Rt 17 today. He wasn't liking it too much and he's going all the way to BC from Niagara.We pulled into Massey, ONT and drove through town. This is the first town we've been through here in Canada that seemed like they were trying to cater to visitors. It's a small town, but has most things anyone would need.This town also has steel animals all throughout the main street. I didn't think too much about them until I got close to one and saw they were all made from plate steel. There was a lot of work put into each animal.I think that the stress of the traffic tired me out because when we got the room, I fell sound asleep for about 90 minutes. That felt great!!I woke up hungry. :-)) We walked to the local grocery at bought a package of hotdogs, buns, chips, potato salad and lemonade for dinner.That was a much better dinner than our $56.00 dinner we had last night...and this one only cost about $12.00. :-))We heated the hotdogs in the room microwave. Mrs Gorp taught me how to do that so the hotdogs come out really nice.You put a hotdog in the bun, wrap them up in a napkin and nuke them for 35 seconds. It comes out great!!The rain and thunder did hit here, but it wasn't until late in the afternoon.I also found out that it was Dman who put me up to the coffee taste test. Thanks Dman, that was fun. :-))All in all, it ended up being another great day on Stumpy's version of the Northern Tier Bicycle Trail. :-))7-19-07Massey, ONT.Zero miles today2439 easterly miles6524 total milesIt was raining when I looked out this morning...and I wasn't going to ride on Rt 17 in the rain.I had a pot of Starbuck's, then went to the motel continental beakfast at 8am. Their breakfast wasn't anything special, but the coffee was surprisingly good.We hadn't made up our minds yet on whether to ride or not. We watched the Canadian Weather Network and it looked like another band of rain coming in after this one left, so we did decide to stay.I took advantage of the time by getting my hair cut. Mrs Gorp had her hair fixed...whatever that means. :-))It took a lot longer to "fix" her hair than it did to trim mine, so I walked around the town, checking out the river and all the steel animals.It ended up being a good zero. I got lots of rest, then had a very good dinner at a local restaurant.I see my ol' buddy, Chief, defended himself right nicely in my guestbook against an attack from Superstar. Proud of ya Chief!! ;-))Another great day on Stumpy's version of the Northern Tier Bicycle Trail. :-))7-20-07Sudbury, ONT60 miles today2499 easterly miles6584 total milesThe morning started off with Starbuck's once again. :-))We didn't wait around on the motel to put out their continental breakfast. We wanted to get moving after taking the zero yesterday.We headed east. I was looking forward to getting to Sudbury and knocking off another portion of Rt 17.We rode about 15 miles and came to an old bank building that had recently been converted to a restaurant.There was a very nice lady that waited tables and her son was the cook. They served a really good breakfast and were fun to talk to. I think they'll do great with their small place.The traffic had been heavy again and these drivers up here don't know how to slow down.We headed on after breakfast. I spent my whole time watching the cars and trucks coming from behind. Once I knew they weren't going to hit us, then I'd start checking out the vehicles behind them. It was non-stop.We passed by Espanola and stopped for a soda at a small store.We were riding along and Mrs Gorp was right behind me. I had told her that if she ever saw me go off the road, that she should follow me without thinking about it.A big truck wasn't slowing down or moving over. I decided it was better to run off the road into the gravel.I was real proud of Mrs Gorp because she followed me without thinking.I really have a hard time understanding how a vehicle can come up on bicycles and not slow down when cars are coming from the other direction at the same time.We headed on and eventually got to where the road turned into 4 lanes. I had been watching the cars coming from behind...and it was non-stop traffic. I missed the sign that said no bicycles allowed.Well, an OPP pulled us over to remind us this 15 mile section was limited access.He was a nice guy and told us about an exit coming up and how to get to Sudbury from there. He also said the road just gets worse with traffic the farther east we get. He said an 18 year old girl was doing a long distance ride two weeks ago when she was sucked under a big truck that passed too close and she was killed instantly.We told him we weren't riding this road any farther than Sudbury. We planned on renting a car and either heading to Niagara or Ottawa and get off this road while we still could.It was nice on the side road for about 2 miles, then it got just as bad as Rt 17.We got to Sudbury and stopped for a sandwich. We found out where a car rental was and rode there.There was a $500.00 drop fee to go to Niagara, so we rented it to Ottawa. The drop fee was $150.00.We left right away and drove to North Bay to get a room.It took a while, but we finally found a room for $90.00.The first motel wanted $140.00 for a plain, ordinary room. We found out later that they were charging $60.00 for the same room last year.We went out for dinner. We stopped at a steakhouse and went in.When I looked at the menu, I told Mrs Gorp I couldn't eat there.They wanted $25.00 for a chicken breast, $38.00 for a small sirloin and $64.00 for a lobster tail.I don't mind paying for stuff, but I don't want to be taken advantage of.We went to a grocery and got a rotisseri chicken, some watermelon, a salad and a bottle of wine...and all that was less than a chicken breast would have cost at that steakhouse.We are skipping ahead to Ottawa and that will take us off this insane Rt 17. We will miss about 300 miles of riding, but we will be alive...a much wiser choice in my opinion. :-))7-21-07Ottawa, ONTZero miles today2499 easterly miles6584 total milesWe finished driving to Ottawa, found a room, then I took a short nap.We went downtown to have a look at Ottawa after I woke up. It's a big, busy town with lots of people.We went out to an Outback Steakhouse...thinking that would be a more reasonable place to eat. I dropped $90.00 before walking out the door.I am really looking forward to getting out of Canada tomorrow.7-22-07Canton, NY83 miles today2582 easterly miles6668 total milesWe are back in the United States!!I had my coffee this morning. Mrs Gorp was moving slow, so I made another pot...and it was sooooo good. :-))I had some danish from the motel and finished packing up. We had to return the truck to Enterprise which was a few doors down, so Mrs Gorp just rode her bike there. I put mine in the back of the truck and drove.Enterprise was closed. I knew that no one was going to be there on Sunday, but I was supposed to park the truck and put the key in a key drop.I parked, took a few pictures of the truck sitting in their lot, unloaded my bike and stuck the keys in the drop box.Mrs Gorp got there and I was just about to get on my bike when she asked me where my gloves were. I reached for them in the spot I always keep them, then it hit me...I had just locked my gloves, helmet and mirror in the back seat of the truck. :-((I was having a Liteshoe moment. ;-))All I wanted to do was get riding and make my way back into the great US of A. We had a back-road route mapped out from Ottawa which would put us back in the USA in about 60 miles, but I had part of my gear locked up in a truck.I called the 800 number for Enterprise and got no help. I asked the clerk at the motel for a locksmith and he got me a number of a guy that takes care of their customers.I called and twenty minutes later and $85.00 less in my pocket, we were on our way...woohoo!! :-))Way back when I was buying my gear for this trip, I saved about $85.00 on my helmet compared to what Mrs Gorp spent. Well, now my helmet has cost the same as hers. Ha!! :-))It was a beautiful morning to leave Canada...but then any morning would be a great day to leave Canada. I couldn't afford to live there.It was really nice to be riding and able to enjoy my surroundings again. I saw a few turkeys in a field and came up on a doe and twin spotted fawns.We were riding down a fairly affluent area next to a river. There were some beautiful homes. They must own motels and restaurants to be able to afford living like that. :-))We were getting near the St Lawrence River and we were getting hungry. We found a restaurant and went in and had another breakfast, even though it was already almost 1pm.After we ate, we rode the rest of the way to the St Lawrence River, then headed west towards the bridge to the United States. The bridge was another 7 miles....remember, we were heading west for those 7 miles and we had tailwinds!!...heading west!!Where were those tailwinds when we rode over 4000 miles west a couple months ago??We got to the bridge and found it was a grated bridge. I kept on riding, paying attention to the bike on the grates. I didn't realize that Mrs Gorp decided to walk her bike. It was over a mile across the bridge, so I waited about 15 minutes for her on the other side.When she got there, we went through Customs. I had pre-drilled her on what to say and how to answer, so we made it through with no problems this times. ;-))I felt soooooo good to be back in the United States.We rode some backroads through Lisbon. On the way out of that small town, I got a flat. That was my first flat since way back in Washington State...and it was the first flat either of us have had on a front tire.We had about 6 or 8 people stop by to ask if we needed any help. Thanks!! :-))We even had two other bicyclists stop and offer help...after we were all done fixing it. :-))They told us about a store at Morley, so we rode there and talked to them a little longer while we had sodas.We decided to head on to Canton and get a room. It was another 6 miles down the road.We got a room, then went right over to a Pizza Hut and had a small dinner. It was too warm today, so I didn't feel very hungry.Mrs Gorp will be done with her adventure in 3 days when we pass by her home in Vermont, then I'll head on to Maine all by myself. I'm going to miss her. :-(( She's been a great friend on this trip and lots of fun!!Sure hope she decides to do her wash one more time before the next 3 days are up. ;-))Another great day on Stumpy's version of the Northern Tier Bicycle Trail.