ready to go quite early this time. - 4:45AM!! Got to get to work on getting across Ontario.

that little tube thing (assembly #16156) in the photo had been causing me some concern... because it was missing from my bike. It fits inside the oil filter and helps control the flow of oil to and through the filter but when I went to change the oil just before leaving, it was missing. They didn't have one in Moncton and I didn't have time to order one so I decided to try and source one somewhere along the way..

I stopped here for some Ben's bug spray and a couple other things. they had none of what I needed and I left, disappointed.

This bike makes a lot of annoying noises and there's one particular vibration noise that sometimes kicks up quite a racket. It's from somewhere in the plastic or other bodywork and i'd decided it might be the skid plate, so I stopped at this rest stop and worked on it a bit. It didn't help but I did get a nice coffee break out of it.

These were pretty stinky, people that stopped said the ladie's was the better choice.

all done working, time for coffee.

pretty handy to be able to take a little break like this.

Time for a look at the reality of my bike trips, this was a long, hot drone across the Ontario wilderness somewhere north of the great lakes. I was getting pretty drowsy so I stopped for a break. Peanut butter on a WalMart tortilla with a water chaser and ibuprofen for dessert is what gets the job done sometimes. I did a bunch of stretching, laughed at some kids playing and before long, I wasn't drowsy anymore. Time to hit the road again.

I didn't know there was a campground here but Pancake Bay provincial park on the shores of Lake Superior was just what I needed. Since my birthday was the next day I gave myself a day off to celebrate and booked the site for two nights. I didn't do much more than relax while I was there but it was great.

trusty KLR shot

Nice little spot, there's supposedly an "active bear" in the park so we had to be careful not to leave stuff laying around. I never saw a bear while I was there.

this was a recommendation from the nice lady at the LCBO. She said it was "full bodied", I found it markedly less impressive than that.

I wasn't expecting a nice sandy beach.

it was beautiful, though, the water was like ice.

it's a nice place, you should go.

looking the other way toward the "dog swimming" area.

it's pretty, but the sun is in the wrong direction for a nice sunset.

obey the rules, please.

what a great place to visit.

how I spent my birthday.

so not a bad day but cooler than I'd expected, not much chance of rain, though.

I walked to the beach to check out the sunrise but as I was facing south there wasn't much to see.

there were tons of geese and ducks at this park.

tracks

it's kind of a cool place.

back to my home away from home.

I used to wish that I'd be able to do this on my birthday every year.

A cake wasn't feasible so I celebrated my birthday with some Daniele-inspired snacks.

ready for a 7:45am departure

last shot of the beach before I leave

I stopped for groceries in Wawa, I followed the sign for "downtown Wawa" and ended up here. Great little store and very well staffed.

Is it really possible that someday all gas stations will look like this one?

it's too early to stop but here's a motel/restaurant and they have vacancies

interesting esthetic they're going for

I usually prefer a ground floor room

an extra bed is always handy

not sure if the maid's been in yet.

too gloomy

if I was hungry the resto is right over there

too early for lunch so I didn't even check the menu.

the excellent free camping at Nipigon. I met a cyclist there doing the same route as me but West to East. Wow, and I thought my bike hated hills.

across the river from the free camping

I crossed that bridge earlier

The cyclist I chatted with getting some much-deserved rest.

it was a peaceful evening

the water was crystal clear but I filtered it anyway.