Day 43: Rossport to Marathon, ON (107.5km)

Today was full of big ups and downs through heavy fog on the way to Marathon. Even with limited sight the views were spectacular! The Superior coastline is magnificent and reminiscent of the ocean.
Our day started with a big breakfast at the B&B before we said our goodbyes to our new Wisconsin friends, Jan and John, who made our stay in Rossport an incredible experience. When we started into the fog we could hardly see ten feet ahead of us and the mist left a dew on our clothing and eyelashes. We seemed to pass in and out of the haze all day as we climbed up steep hills and plunged back toward the lake.

Although there are some sharp grades in this area that compare to what we felt on the mountain passes, just knowing that any one hill will last only a few kilometers (as opposed to seventy) helps motivate us up them. The immediate descents also help erase the memory and burn of the climbs. It's actually really fun riding. To put things in perspective, I will share some trip 'crying data'. Although we didn't release this information at the time of occurrence, neither of us have cried since BC. It's true that growing comfort with the daily distances and stronger cycling abilities contribute but I still think BC is the province with the toughest terrain (so far).

Other than big hills, BC and North Ontario also have black bears in common. We saw another one roadside today but this one was much smaller, did not have cubs and seemed unconcerned with us so we did stop to take a few pictures. I'm not sure if it was camera shy or hungry for foliage but as soon as we were ready to hit the shutter button it hid behind a tree so all we managed to capture was its backside. Later on we also saw a little red fox running down the highway on the opposing shoulder, it was carrying it's dinner and seemed to be in a hurry.

Now we're looking forward to our second indoor sleep in a row! We'll be meeting with a Cardiac Rehab Group at the Wilson Memorial General Hospital here in Marathon and Jillian Cordeiro has coordinated a sponsored stay for us at the Wayfare Inn. We're already freshly showered and are looking forward to a good rest tonight.