Now this was a day we were looking forward to. Way back last fall when we were planning this trip in detail, not as a “maybe sometime” but as a for sure thing to do come next spring, I leaked our plans to Rebecca. Charlie was not pleased; he’d rather do something and then talk about it rather than talk about it and maybe not do it. But I was excited and I spilled the beans.
Well, it actually worked out extremely well as Rebecca, our sister-in-law and Willy, Charlie’s brother 
decided to take some vacation time when we got to Ontario. They drove their RV up from Normal, Illanois and met us as we were headed south from Kenora to Fort Francis. Willy will ride with us every day and Rebecca will drive the RV. She has a “boot” on her right foot as it is healing from a biking injury. We will meet up with the RV for lunch and again at the end of the day. Talk about being cared for!!!
Today was sunny and bright from the moment we got up. It had rained so much the night before, everything looked shiny and clean. The landscape is different again; much rougher, rockier. I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for the first settlers when they came across the country. Also difficult for those who later paved the roads, blasting through solid rock as they came. There is a lot of very interesting rock too. 
I was so glad that we’d stayed in a motel last night. It was money well spent! We had been considering the different routes to get to Thunder Bay. One, the Trans Canada , or the northern route would take us through Dryden. The pavement /shoulder was supposed to be good up until Dryden and then poor beyond it and as it was the #1 highway, busy with many trucks and traffic. The Fort Francis route was reputed to be quieter and very up and down (whereas the more northern route was supposed to be flatter.) The Canadiens Biking Association suggested the Fort Francis route. Even so, we were still trying to figure out the best way to go. What did decide it was that Charlie awoke and bolted up at 4:30am with the very certain feeling that we were putting ease above safety and then we both decided to do the route suggested by the CBA.
The shoulder, for the most part was pretty good all the way down to Caliper Lake.
It was very exciting when we saw the RV and knew that Willy and Rebecca were in it. We pulled over into a rest area and hugged and talked. Willy got his bike out, we unloaded all our panniers into the RV and we rode off. 
Wow! So much lighter without all our stuff! Rebecca rode ahead 40km and made us lunch. Yes! It was wonderful! After lunch we three biked another 35km while a Rebecca drove ahead, found a free place for us to camp tonight. We will be sleeping in the RV too Thurs night through to Monday night. So wonderful! Rebecca made us a dinner of chorizo sausage, buns, sauerkraut and broccoli. We had just finished dinner and we were sitting around checking email , chatting and blogging. Charlie jumped up! ” There’s a bear outside!”
The bear, a big black one, walked very confidently across the roadway and into the bush, paying absolutely no attention to us. We scrambled to get pictures but only Charlie got a photo. I was all thumbs but I felt safe as we were in the RV. 
When we got ready for bed, I had a very weird sensation. The camper was rocking with the wind and with the transfer of weight by four people within it. I suddenly had vertigo. Everything started to move, up, down, sideways. I wasn’t nauseous but knew I would be if it kept up. Willy gave me a bucket. Fortunately I did not have to use it, the sensation went away and I slept well.
Wendingourway:Across Canada by Bike 2017 
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