Oh Canada...

Algonac Ferry into Canada

We have made our way into Canada by taking a short ride on a local ferry from Algonac, Michigan to Walpole Island in Ontario.  With the help of some overnight showers the air quality had improved considerably and the temperatures were in the 80's, so it was pretty comfortable riding all day.  A small group of us took an early ferry and stopped at Big Chief's Drive-in for lunch, your basic small town burger place.  

We have been on a lot of gravel roads and trails in Ontario.  It is as flat as Kanas

Most of the group has been enjoying riding from hotel to hotel this past week.  A couple of days ago we had another minor run-in with the tour operators.  We were scheduled to do a 75 mile ride near Lake Erie, but the forecast was for rain storms on-and-off all day.  Several of the group came to me to see if I would put together and distribute a route that cut the ride down to just 53 miles from hotel-to-hotel.  I have used the Ride with GPS web tool for years and am pretty good at laying out routes and publishing them.  So I did.  

The general consensus of the group was that we were all going to ride the shorter  route.  John brought this up with the tour operator and he said that was fine, but there would be no support for the group from the tour company.  John about lost it when they said they would be providing water stops and lunch on the route nobody was going to ride.  In the end, 2 guys did ride the original route while the rest of us rode the shorter one... and yes it did rain hard a couple of times during the day.  But we had a good time anyway taking shelter in a convenience store and a very nice brew pub.

Taking shelter from the rain at a convenience store.  We ended up inside for about a half hour as the downpour passed

Our alternate route took us through a Mennonite community

The rain has helped clear the air and lower the temperatures.  Yesterday, the high was in the mid-70's, so really good weather for our long ride of  88 miles along the Lake Erie coast line which ended at Ft Erie, ON and a rest day for us.  It has been a while since have had a real rest day back in Minneapolis and everybody was looking forward a little time off the bike.  We are down to just 13 days left (just?) but some of the hardest riding yet to come in the last 5 days of the trip as we make our way through the Appalachian mountains of eastern New York, New Hampshire and Vermont.

The remains of the rain clouds hanging over Lake Erie

This next week we'll be back to camping, but the forecast is for cooler temperatures which should make it easier.  Tomorrow we ride to Niagara Falls before re-entering the US.  It has been amazing how many Canadian flags we have seen in everyone's yard.  If nothing else, our President has been good for Canadian flag sales!

Track of our rides across the continent as of 7/23/2026 - Ft Erie, ON Canada

Biking Stats:

  Location:  Ft Erie, ON 

  Miles Ridden:  3332 miles

  Ft of Climbing:  114,600 ft