Rest Day: Sault Ste. Marie

If I thought yesterday was amazing, I had no idea what was in store for me. Jill & Ted had put a ton of work into the day and we had an absolutely amazing time today.

I started the day bright and early with a meeting with the mayor, followed by a photo op & interview at the hospital. I then did my usual 'day off tasks' of bike maintenance, catching up on emails and groceries.

I had heard some unfortunate rumors about cycling not being allowed on highway 69/400 south of Sudbury, so I decided to give the ON ministry of transport a call. Sure enough, after being transfered 7 times, I eventually spoke to someone who was able to tell me that from Sudbury, there really was no good way to cycle into Toronto which wasn't either:

A) Illegal

B) Suicide
C) All of the above

As such, I had to do a bit of research and make a tough, last minute decision. My route for the last week of my journey has been changed and unfortunately, I'll no longer be passing through Sudbury. This will mean me missing out on a number of media and hospital opportunities as well as a chance to stay with the family of my friend Lynn.

What I will be doing instead is turning south before Sudbury and venturing onto Manitoulin island (I've updated the 'Route' section for a more accurate map). From there, I ride to the tip of the island and catch a ferry from South Baymouth to Tobermory. Then I will turn east at Owen Sound and ride along the coast to Collingwood and towards Barrie, before taking Yonge street all the way to downtown Toronto. The difference in distance is only about 15km shorter, but I assure you, I'll be well over the promised 3500km (in fact, it looks like I'll be closer to 3700km after all is said and done).

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While I'm dissapointed to be missing out on Sudbury, I've been told great things about Manitoulin and the Nottawasaga Bay. In addition, I love boats, and I'm looking forward to getting to ride the ferry across the lake!!

Tonight, we had the most incredible time. Jill & Ted invited over a group of friends and we sat around eating, drinking, singing and enjoying everything there was to enjoy about life. It was a great change after being isolated in the woods for a week and I could not have thought of a more perfect evening before kicking off my last week on the road. We even had a cake to commemorate the occasion, spelling mistakes and all!!