We got a very late start again today. We had a chance to sleep in a little since Joe's wife Barb offered to make waffles in the morning. There was no way we were going to pass that one up so we stayed for a fabulous breakfast. After that we took a quick walk down to the shore to check out Lake Superior with Joe and his niece, then back to the house to pack up, and finally stopped at the grocery store on the way out of town. As we were rolling out of the grocery store parking lot I noticed a bike loaded up with panniers so Lucy and I went back to chat with the person. It was a French Canadian girl named Marie Claude who has started in Saint John's and was heading west to the coast. We shared contact info, stories, and places to see and stay for a while before we departed ways. I have a feeling I'll be seeing her again if she passes through Nelson since I'll be back home before she makes it there. It seems like a funny idea to meet a cycle tourist in the middle of Ontario heading the opposite way and have the chance to meet up with them again near the end of their journey in BC. After all of our time killing in the morning we ended up starting our ride around noon.
I knew we were in for another day of mixed weather. It was chilly and windy when we left Marathon and the clouds were looking menacing. We managed to only get very light rain and inconsistent wind for the first 65km before we stopped for lunch. At lunch it slowly started to come down harder and when we left to finish the final 35km it just got worse. It never poured down particularly hard and it had some breaks in it but there was certainly enough to soak me completely through. Lucy told me to ride off on my own since I have nowhere near enough rain gear with me. We decided that I would get to town ahead of her and have a hotel booked for us. I put the hammer down and gave it all I had for the last 35km mostly just to keep my temperature up. I had to stand in the hotel office for at least 10 minutes before my hands functioned well enough to barely legibly fill in the form for the room. It looks like tonight is supposed to get the majority of the rain and it should lighten in the morning. I certainly hope that is the case but we're almost certainly going to get soaked again. Lucy has somebody already lined up for us to stay with in Wawa tomorrow so at least we'll be able to dry out over night again. It might be another late start in the morning as we try to wait out the worst of it.
Breakfast at Joe and Barb's
Joe and Lucy
Lake Superior looking grey, cold, and windy
on our way out of Marathon
Marie Claude
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