Day 40

Monday, August 2nd
White Lake to Wawa
127km

Pretty easy day heading into a rest day. Since Rick was cooking breakfast, I invited Paul to ride with Rosalyn and I. Thus, for the first 80km or so, we were racing along the flats and charging up the hills. Jonny and Roger also joined our group for most of the day, which gave us a 5 person pace line. We made great time, but I think I would have preferred a somewhat more leisurly pace.

The only city between White Lake and Wawa is White River. (For the curious among you, all of the eater that I have seen around here has been regular water coloured.) White River's claim to fame is that the black bear cub “Winnie” (short for Winnipeg) which inspired A.A.Milne's Winnie the Pooh came from White River. It also once held the record for coldest recorded temperature in Canada. Consequently, the town boasts a Winnie the Pooh statue, a Winnie the Pooh gift shop, and a giant thermometer with -70 degrees on it. It also had an A&W resteraunt where we had a lunch.

It was overcast and threatening rain all day, but we only got a few drops worth on the ride.

I was on galley duty tonight, so from 4pm to 7pm I was cooking, eating, and cleaning up dinner.

After dinner, Rosalyn and I walked into Wawa. It was very misty and dark, and we were hoping to see some wildlife, but didn't see any. I forgot to include it in my blog, but we actually saw a small bear yesterday. It was sitting at the side of the road, and we got a really nice photo. I didn't want to stop for fear that a bigger mama bear would charge out of the woods and eat us.

We met up with the rest of our group at a pub in Wawa. The story of the night was Ryan, who was flirting with a local girl when she told him off loudly, in front of our entire group. Rosalyn and I weren't there in time to see it, but every person told us their version of the story once we arrived. (It was like the Kennedy assasination...everyone remembers what they were doing at the time.)
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Daniel Longo
CIBC Corporate Development
(416) 956-3831