Distance Traveled: Wawa to 25km south on Hwy 17 then to the outskirts of Toronto 725km
Money Spent: $5 for Subway and $10 for truckstop goodies.
Time cycling: 1 hours 30 min
Moving Average: 15.2km/h
Total Distance Traveled: 2068 km
Sleeping in the corner of the parking lot of the information center of Wawa wasnt all that bad, but I suppose wherever Ive slept for the past couple of weeks havent really been all that bad.
I hopped over to the information center to see if I could charge a bunch of my electrical things where Nancy who worked there was more than happy to help me, we chatted for a while before I headed into town to grab some breakfast at Subway, here I met a group of Swedes where I got to unload my Swedish on them asking what is called snus; essentially snus is Swedish tabacco in a teabag that you tuck under your lip giving you that nicotine hit – great stuff and one of the guys was kind enough to give me one – I miss that stuff from Sweden.
Anyways I made my way to Canadian Tire to buy a new seat for my bike in the hopes I could make this cycling trip a little more comfortable. I found and paid for a large touring seat that looked comfortable enough and after using the tools from the shop and attaching it to my bike I then cycled around for no more than 2 minutes before this seat felt like it was tearing me a new asshole. Obviously I returned it right away and got my money back.
I checked the weather for the day and the forecast predicted rain for the evening and very strong headwinds all day.
Reluctantly I set off into the oncoming winds into Lake Superior National Park.
I only cycled for an hour and a half and averaging 15km/h when I put together some sandwiches in a pull off area. Here I met a trucker named Peter who offered me a ride in the direction I needed... this came as a very nice surprise because I need to be in Toronto on the 21st and that was the way he was headed. Peter had never picked up a hitch hiker although I wasnt hitch hiking he offered me the ride. My years hitch hiking I have never been picked up by truckers – so I suppose this is my lucky break.
I suppose I was incredibly lucky to have met him there because like I said before I needed a ride anyway and this also means I didnt need to box my bike and sit in another greyhound bus for several hours saving me around $100.
Riding with Peter was good fun, we shared the same interests and he was a good laugh too... he took me a little over 700km towards Toronto about 150km from the city where I could spend the next couple of days just having a relaxed day of cycling before Mum and Dad show up.
In return for the ride, Peter expressed interest in the breathalyzer I found earlier on this trip so I gave it to him – saves me from carrying it around.
The only issue I have now is that Highway 400 does not allow bikes on the shoulder meaning I have to now take the backroads through farmland to make it to the city.
I camped on a football field when I arrived there at 1am.
Thanks for the ride Peter
The bike seat i bought from Canadian Tire
Fixing my bike to the Tray of the truck, Peters truck
The views of Highway 1 around Lake superior
Peter and I
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