Day 63: Kakabeka Falls to Nipigon

Not enough sleep. Not enough rest.

Kevin and Martin

I said goodbye, and thank you, to Martin and we rolled out of the camp at 0830. I spun the legs loosely as I wound through town, I needed to get my legs working quickly as today was to be a long day.
Thankfully the 11km to Thunder Bay was mostly flat, so that helped. I bypassed the actual town by taking Highway 11/17 (I later learned that cyclists were not allowed on this stretch of road due to narrow roads and construction).

Sleeping Giant

I stopped at the Terry Fox Memorial and took a few pictures, and had my first look at Lake Superior and the Sleeping Giant. Nipigon was still 100km from here.
Terry Fox lost a leg to cancer then decided to attempt to run across Canada, starting on the east coast. He got as far as Thunder Bay before cancer forced him to stop again.
Little did I know it at the time, but Terry would be a big motivating factor for me today.

I kept eating and drinking but the energy levels kept dropping. I was shovelling food into myself quicker that a stoker on a steam train, but to no avail. I was getting slower and more tired, and the hills kept coming.

Terry Fox Memorial

I kept thinking of Terry. If he could do it with a prosthetic leg and cancer, I could certainly complete today! Come on Kevin!

A little moment of WOW came when I heard rustling in the bushes along the roadside. I stopped and had a look at where the noise came from and saw two moose, my first of the trip.
I was overjoyed. It was a mother and calf and they were grazing on the roadside, about 20m away from me. The calf quickly vanished into the bushes when I stopped, but the mother stayed and eyeballed me, seemingly agitated.

Motivation?

I quickly moved on, but now had something to focus on besides the road, and before long I rolled into the Info centre in Nipigon.
Campsites were at the Marina and were $10 a night, what a bargain.

I haven't seen any other cyclists on the road for a few days, but then I arrived in camp, there were another 3. Happy days indeed!

Tent was quickly setup, shower done and I headed into town for Chinese food for dinner.

Distance: 145 km
Time: 7:25:37
Height gained/lost: 881m /-942m
Calories: 4203

Post-Chinese dinner sunset