Bike Trip 2011 Day 13, June 5 Batchawana Bay, 1398 km

After watching the Canucks beat the Bruins last night, we got an early (6:20) start because this section from Wawa to Montreal River has a reputation for hills that are tough on bicyclists.  The morning was cold, requiring us to dress warmly.  In fact it was cool to cold the whole day with the air coming off Lake Superior.  Oddly enough, although we felt colder on our bikes as we came closer to the Lake, the vegetation changed; the conifers beside the road gave way to hardwoods- mostly maples.  This was a great day be on our bikes; it was sunny and there were no headwinds today.  The winds that we noticed came from our right off Lake Superior; they brought us lots of cold air.  This morning we saw two moose close to the highway; from their sizes, they looked like a cow with her yearling offspring.  They cooperated nicely and gave me an opportunity to take pictures.  To add to the Canadiana, there was a goose in the foreground (forepond ?).  We arrived at Batchawana Bay around 4 pm and checked into the Voyageurs Motel, a small room with fridge, microwave, coffee maker and internet.  The outside of this motel looks better than the inside.  There was a small general store that had everything we needed to polish off the food we had on hand plus they have an LCBO licence which allowed me to pickup a can of Rickard’s Dark (quite similar to the Quiscana Negri that I liked in Peru).  We walked across the road to the beach so that Susie could immerse legs in the lake.

Cow moose and yearling?

While this section has a reputation for tough hills, we did not find them to be a problem.  This is way, way easier than the Rockies and Purcells.