Huntsville to Whitney, Ontario

I began my day with a walk in the rain to the laundromat several blocks away to get my laundry done. Not only did I want clean laundry, but I was also hoping the rain would let up some if I delayed starting. That only sort of worked, and it remained a damp day for my whole ride. 

Despite the rain, I was excited for this stretch of riding, all on Highway 60, because it included 60 kilometres through Algonquin Park, which I reached at noon.

Just a few minutes into the park I encountered my first wildlife--a snapping turtle!

Just over an hour later, about halfway through the park, I joined a crowd on the side of the highway watching a moose.

The rain was intermittent and it was not cold, so while it certainly could have been nicer, I was not going to complain, and the scenery was spectacular even with the cloud cover.

I stopped for the day just past the park's east gate in a place called Whitney, for a 105 kilometres of riding. I checked in at the Rolling Rapids Motel, where my host was kind enough to take my wet riding clothes and wash them for me. 

Apparently all dining options in Whitney are closing on Mondays at the moment, so I had to raid the small grocery store for food. I suppose you could say my eyes were bigger than my stomach, as this is what I cam back with!

Needless to say, I filled up, and had plenty left over to make some nice sandwiches for tomorrow's ride.

Callander to Huntsville, Ontario

Sunday is my "big day," the only imperial century I intend to ride this year. I rolled out of Callander at 7:33 and started off on a pretty good clip. Highway 11 connects North Bay and Huntsville fairly directly, but it is limited access, which means no bicycles. 

So, the route today involved a lot of secondary highways and back roads, crossing Highway 11 several times, and the route looks more like a zig zag than a straight line! 

I was on highways 654 and 534 for the first stretch, both of which were quiet and nice to ride on.

Around a place called Wolfe Lake I left the highway and started out on some gravel back roads. I was anxious about what this would be like, but after a kilometre or two I was feeling as if this would be the nicest part of the ride!

Things became a bit more hairy, however, when Google told me to turn down what is really just a snowmobile trail. In fact, I ignored the directions at first, since it did not seem to be a road. However, I realized this was in fact what Google wanted me to do, so I started down the dirt path.

At the point I took the photo it was not especially awful, although certainly slow. But eventually the trail narrowed, and descended into a swamp where it was flooded out in places. I was too focused on getting through the mud/water/stones/swarms of bugs to take pictures, but in retrospect I should have. What is now a snowmobile trail was once a stretch of the Rosseau - Nipissing Road--referred to as a "ghost road" in places (http://www.nipissingroad.ca/)! The stretch I was on is described as "abandoned," and certainly only a very rugged, narrow 4x4 could get through nowadays. Thankfully I knew from Google maps that I only had 3.5 kilometres on here, so even when I was forced to dismount and push my bike I was not too distraught. I did take a tumble descending over some boulders at one point, but I was going so slow that I landed without any injury. My only souvenirs from this experience were some nasty bug bites, including blood running down my left calf!

As I came off the trail, I was back on a gravel road, and passed this Catholic church.

A few kilometres later, I briefly joined Highway 522, before once again heading south onto gravel.

These stretches were always beautiful, although the condition of the roads I was on varied widely, and in many places it was hard to maintain 20 kmph.

At the intersection above, I stopped to eat the last (fourth!) of the muffins I had brought. I was a bit surprised that I was finishing these off and it was only 11:00! I photographed the nutritional information to note that I had consumed 1,760 calories of muffins in four hours!

I reached South River, where I joined Highway 124, at noon, and I was halfway done. I had to buy more water here, as I was nearly out of the three litres I had left Callander with. This surprised me as well. 

I continued more or less parallel to Highway 11 from South River down to Burk's Falls, where I crossed the Magnetawan River . . .

. . .  and straight along Main Street.

Shortly after Burk's Falls, I headed west, back into the woods!

This time the stretch on gravel was minimal, and I joined Highway 518 to go west to a place called Sprucedale. At Sprucedale it was south again, on what turned into Huntsville's Municipal Road 2. I was getting close now, but also getting very tired! Somehow I also ran out of water, which feels like a really rookie mistake. I was also surprised that there were no chances to buy more for the last 20 kilometres or so. 

Anyway, almost nine hours after leaving Callander, I reached Huntsville. I was feeling very weak as I rolled through town to my hotel, but happy to have made it! My Comfort Inn was near a Starbucks and a grocery store, so I bought a large iced coffee and lots of water!