Tour de Superior: Day 5 Sault Ste Marie, MI to Wawa, Ontario (RUSA 438)

Scenic. Today's ride was gorgeous. The pictures I took didn't come close to capturing the beauty. On the coast, the sandy beaches, the towering cliffs, and the windswept trees were a sight to see. Inland, the countless lakes, streams, and meadows in the endless forest and towering hills were dazzling. It was well worth the ride.

We started out at 6:45 AM from Sault Ste Marie in Michigan. When we got to the toll bridge to go to Canada, the highway department had all lanes blocked just before the toll booths - they were painting the lines. Well, two guys in one truck were. There were a dozen workers standing and watching. After a few minutes, we decided to work our way around the traffic and highway trucks blocking the road ... we went and paid the toll and were on our way. Our reward was we were able to cross without any vehicle traffic ... that was a nice treat. Other than that, the first 15-20 miles were rather mundane as we worked our way through the two Sault Ste Marie's and the first part of 17.



By Pancake Bay at about mile 52 the scenery was picking up. There was a lot of truck traffic along the route ... and not much of a shoulder. It was often non-existent. Most of the truckers were pretty good about giving us room, but there was a DHL driver who basically drove us off the road. Not a fun experience. Fed Ex and UPS drivers were much better! We updated our weather outlook with the Pancake Bay Weather Station (above).

After Pancake Bay the scenery became even prettier and the ride much hillier. Total climbing was 5,800 feet over the 148 miles. We finished at 6:45 PM ... a twelve hour day. We were tired and ready for a nice soak in the hot tub. They do have one, right? Yes, but it is a portable one that you have to reserve 24 hours in advance. Oh well.