Friday, March 6, 2009

The Long and Winding Road

Yesterday we woke up in Timmons to several inches of new snow. We got ourselves together and headed out to Tim Horton's (of course) for a quick breakfast. After that we set out for Chapleau, which is 170 miles away. The new snow made it a little hard to find the trails in Timmons, as it was the biggest town so far on our journey (28,000) and there are a lot of local trails that traverse the town. Eventually we found our way and were on the trail to Chapleau.

The only incident yesterday was a minor one. We lost the trail at a bridge where it crossed a pretty big river. I did not realize that the trail crossed the river on the road, and instead we crossed the road and ended up in some pretty deep powder. It would have been very difficult to turn the sleds around, and it would have required us to dig them out manually and physically turn them around. So instead I opted to try to jump the large snow bank at the top of the hill to get back on the road. We ll the snow bank turned out to be a guard rail and I proceed to launch off it and land cockeyed in the middle of the highway, and it threw me from the sled and I landed on my butt. Craig got a good laugh but it was no big deal. Then we took it a little slower the second time and soon we were back on track. Stopped in Foleyet for gas and some lunch and then headed out for Chapleau. Passed the groomer and once again had great trails the whole way.The trail all the way from Timmons to Chapleau yesterday was all twists and turns with very little straightaways. It was difficult riding as we are both pretty sore and fatigued at this point. It was definitely the most tiring day of riding so far despite the fact that it was our lowest mileage total not including the first day, which did not really count. It was a long and winding road for sure.

We are starting to get in to some very hilly country and by then end of the day we were both delighted when we arrived at Valentine Farms, a very cool old egg farm that has been converted to a B&B.
We got here and Ross, the host, showed us around. Craig and I fixed a drink and headed for the hot tub, and it felt good let me tell you.

Soon after a large group of (10) older guys showed up who have been on a week long trip as well, and then a bit later 2 more guys from Grand Rapids MI showed up. Everyone is cool and we made a bunch of new friends, and it turned in to a little party. One of the guys is an old timer that has raced in the Derby at Eagle River multiple times, with several top 5 finishes. Frenda, Ross's wife, fixed us Shepherd's Pie, Mac n' Cheese, a big salad, and chocolate cake, and Lizzie, the resident German Shepherd, kept us all company. It was a great time sharing stories and such from the trip. This is a cool place and when we come back to Canada it will be a stop on the tour.

Craig and I have a long 220 mile ride today back to the Soo. It rained last night and is misting as we speak, so we'll see how it goes. We are going to take our time today and finish the trip with a bang. This has been one hell of an adventure so far and I would like to end it on a high note.

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