posted by gavin on Jul 12
Alex was out of cell phone range for the past two days, so he wasn’t able to send me his updates. I’ve been trying to keep track of the places he’s riding without cell phone coverage so I know in advance when he’ll be out of touch, but the coverage maps are either out of date or imprecise, so it’s hard to tell sometimes. I just talked to him online and got a big update about what he’s been doing the past three days, so here goes…
On Thursday he biked from Rennie to Rushing River provincial park with Theo and Caro, two of the seven other cyclists he met in Rennie. They stopped in Kenora, ON to look around and watch seaplanes in the harbour. Alex also briefly met up with Dave again, but they split up again and Alex thinks he’s probably further ahead now. Alex, Theo and Caro camped in the provincial park that night.
On Friday they biked from the provincial park to Nestor Falls, ON. They stayed overnight in a motel and were glad to be dry, since there were thunderstorms all day. Supposedly that night a tornado touched down about 40 kilometers from where he is now in Fort Frances, so Alex is keeping an eye out and being vigilant. He wants to thank Brian for picking them up and giving them a ride for the last 5 kilometers into Nestor Falls, because it was raining like crazy.
Right now Alex is at an internet cafe in Fort Frances, ON with Theo and Caro. They’re taking the southern route to Thunderbay via Fort Frances, avoiding the main Trans-Canada route (Highway 17) in favor of Highway 71 and Highway 11. There’s less traffic that way, though Alex says he did see lots of big American trucks pulling boats. That area is a popular fishing destination, I guess 🙂 Tonight they’re probably going to camp somewhere around Fort Frances. Alex is estimating that it will take him about 20 days to make it back to Ottawa.
Alex also uploaded a video of him and the other 7 cyclists riding together shortly after leaving Rennie. Here it is:
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