As the server took my payment and asked me about my ride, she mentioned "oh, you'll have to ride up Mile Hill!" I had not heard about Mile Hill, so I played it cool, then quickly Googled it. It is not quite the climb that Montreal Hill is, but any climb that has a nickname is obviously going to be a challenge!
I rolled out at 10:30, to what was my nicest weather day yet. Again the route was beautiful, with lake views, but also views of hills full of trees with changing leaves.
After about 45 kilometres of riding I reached Mile Hill, pausing beforehand to eat the apple fritter I had taken to go from The Voyageurs Lodge.
Mile Hill should really be called 1.5 mile hill, because it was 2.4 kilometres from the bottom to the top. The shoulder was lousy, but luckily there was little traffic on the climb, so it was not too bad.
After about 10 more kilometres on Highway 17, I left the highway and came into the Soo on back roads.
I will actually be in Sault Ste. Marie for two nights, but I will definitely not want to ride my bike tomorrow!
I reached my hotel just before 14:00. I was done!
An hour later, I was showered, had a rental car, and swung by Velorution, the Soo's bike shop that had tuned me up two years ago when I rode Sault Ste. Marie to North Bay.
Velorution had a bike box for me, and soon I had my bike broken down and ready to fly.
With my errands complete, I headed down to St. Marys River to enjoy a celebratory beer on the waterfront.
With this ride done, I have now cycled between the Pacific Ocean and North Bay, Ontario, and from Ottawa to Moncton. That leaves me with the gap between North Bay and Ottawa and then from Moncton to the Atlantic Ocean--so perhaps as little as two more summers to go before my ride across Canada is complete!
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