June 27, Day 37. Thunder Bay to Nipigon, Ontario. 108km

Problems, problems! Not serious ones, just stuff that has to be delt with. Last night was the last glorious night of pampering and meals on wheels in Willy and Rebecca’s RV.     We slept in the Walmart parking lot in bustling downtown Thunder Bay. This city is actually bigger than I had expected and it’s situated in an astoundingly beautiful setting.

After breakfast   Willy and Rebecca drove us back to the Terry Fox Memorial     because that’s where we had cycled to the day before. EFI. That’s our plan and we’re sticking to it. Off we went, Charlie and I, Willy planning on catching up with us a bit later. He’s fit, a decade younger, rides a road bike and is unencumbered by the weight of panniers. Also, I’m slower than him and Charlie paces himself according to my speed, thank goodness! Charlie noticed that his front wheel felt a little off, so we had to go back to “Rolling Thunder” , the bike shop we’d gone to the day before.  Can you think of a better name for a bike shop in Thunder Bay? Nah, me neither! These guys are awesome! Yesterday when I was in with broken fenders, the owner recognized that they had a lifetime warranty and replaced them for labor costs only. They also screwed in something by, he said, 2mm, and that made a huge difference when changing gears. They had done some work on Charlie’s back wheel yesterday but the problem today involved his front wheel. He had just purchased a brand new tire in Moose Jaw and this bike store owner, Dan, said it should be under warranty and he replaced it for free!   Charlie gave him some money though for his efforts. We were very impressed by this bike shop, “Rolling Thunder” in Thunder Bay, Ontario. We will be writing a glowing review for them.

By now it was almost noon, so Willy and Rebecca drove us back to the Terry Fox Memorial and we said our goodbyes, after Rebecca emptied her fridge into our panniers. I would never have accepted all that she gave us, except that I’m feeling a little uncertain of the land before us and accessibility to groceries. We gratefully accepted and we went our separate ways. 

My bike felt so heavy, unwieldy, unbalanced. How quickly we soften up, or perhaps I should speak only for myself. How quickly I have softened up! With no panniers for almost a whole week, I had gotten used to easy riding! It wasn’t long though before I was used to it once again but that first bit was tough.

We rode east in the beautiful sunshine. The locals are complaining about the weather but we appreciated the cool breeze. As we were climbing a gentle slope we saw another cyclist, alone and headed west towards the city. We waved, then noticed him scrambling to get off his bike. Meeting in the middle,on a grassy stretch between the east and westbound highways, we were surprised to find out that it was Keigo, from Japan, who we had first met in Tompkins, Saskatchewan.   (I thought his name was Kingo, but no, it’s Keigo). He said that he had been headed east out of town but was so tired that he needed a rest day and was headed back to Thunder Bay. We talked for a few minutes then wished him well before continuing on our journey. On we went. Rolling hill after rolling hill. Nothing herculain but not easy either. Suddenly we heard a loud “Hi” from behind us and who was there but Keigo!! He said he had decided to go to Nipigon after all. Probably he saw us old fogies and figured, , hey, if they can do it, I can do it. So we rode together, the three of us. Occasionally he’d pull out ahead but then he’d  stop, dismount and we’d see him waving at us and rushing to remount his loaded bicycle. We passed the Marathon of Hope End and we explained who Terry Fox was and what he had accomplished in his young life.

Well, he hit the gravy train with us. We stopped for a snack and all he had, all he’s been eating was white Wonderbread.. Snack was Rebecca’s banana chocolate chip muffins and a banana and we gave him a Cliff bar too. He was so happy, fist punching all over the place. A few hours later we pulled out Rebecca’s sandwiches. We had 6 of them. He and Charlie split 5.    The kid was dancing in the street. When we got to Nipigon we told him we were staying at a motel and that it had 2 beds and 2 attached rooms. When we asked him if he wanted to stay with us, I expected him to do backflips, he was that excited. We had a very nice evening with Keigo, sharing once again Rebecca’s fully cooked bratwurst sausages and some canned food. We all had showers , I taught him how to floss, (and then he asked me to teach him to brush too), and we all slept well. The next day we were headed off in different directions, but, if we are fortunate, we will see Keigo again.

Thank you Willy and Rebecca for your amazing love and support on our trip. Thanks to you we were also able to bless another cyclist., 22 year old Keigo of Japan. Charlie and I look forward to more wonderful times with you and that starts again in September!!!! Yay!