Day 41: Nipigon (5km)

Wow, how did we get to day 41 already? It feels both like we've been on the road forever and like we've just started. Mind you, we still have about 4700 km to go so the longer we can keep that 'new' feeling the better. It helps when you have friends looking out for you, and the Mangoff's definitely took good care of us (Great thanks to Steve, Loretta, Connor, and Kaleb).

This morning we woke up to scrambled eggs already prepared by Kaleb who later rode part of the ride for rehab tour as he led us to the Nipigon hospital. While there we had a tour of the rehab facilities and had fun taking pictures of ourselves looking out from the telehealth technology. These sets provide instant connection between Nipigon and other centres, particularly Thunder Bay, which helps share resources, knowledge, and staff time between programs while expanding access for residents living in smaller communities. The Nipigon rehab centre takes in about 25-30 participants annually, which is pretty significant in a town of 1800 residents. This is largely because Steve stays on top of local doctors to make sure heart surgery patients are referred to the program. It's still a struggle, even in larger centres, to increase awareness to the point where referral and registration in rehabilitative programs is automatic. In the meantime it helps to inform the general public about the existence and benefits of cardiac rehabilitation. Before leaving the hospital we had an interview with a reporter for the Nipigon newspaper and made sure to get photos done with Steve and our riding partner, Kaleb.

After our hospital visit Kaleb took us as far as the grocery store before leaving to go to swimming class. We took a few moments to debate what to do with our day, whether to ride into Rossport or stay in Nipigon. Since we have another rehab visit in Marathon on Monday morning and need to arrive there on Sunday night we had a free day to be used between now and then. Upon learning that Rossport doesn't have a grocery store, and that the Nipigon Cafe serves pizza, it was an easy decision to spend another night in this pretty town.

We found our way to camp at the marina and have had a restful day eating cookies and cleaning the bikes. In the process we met Scott, who was on a break in his cycle from Montreal to BC. We were also reunited with two other road friends, Jason and Isabelle, who we met back in Ignace and are on their way to Montreal. You never get lonely on the road!