Victoria Beach, MB >> Atikokan, ON 395 miles ridden/7.5 hours
Thankfully, I woke up in one piece this morning, so I figured I should assess the world-class beach nearby. Apparently, it’s one of the Top 20 white sand beaches in North America, although for all I know, there may be only 20 white sand beaches in North America… Anyway, I was in the neighborhood, so why not check it out? My main goal was simply to get out of there before my neighbor began his day.
The mission was semi-successful: I’d visited the beach (which was surprisingly empty on a weekend) and was breaking down my tent when Creepy Campsite Guy emerged from his and suggested I stay another day. I reminded him of the ferry I had to catch two provinces away, so he tried to tempt me with the promise of topless sunbathers and free-flowing booze.
Again, he wouldn’t take no for an answer. But I never stopped packing as he laid out his grand vision of bar-hopping, laying on the beach and checking out babes (perhaps not in that order; I wasn’t taking notes or paying too close attention), so as soon as I strapped down the last of the bungee webbing to my bike, I bid him the best of luck and got out of there as quickly as my two wheels would take me.
Once I felt danger was far enough away, my escape became a leisurely cruise through the adjacent lakes region Rene and company had recommended; it reminded me a bit of Myles Standish State Forest in Plymouth, Mass., albeit with a slightly less well maintained road.
Due to recent rain (and inadequate drainage), water levels had risen and parts of the road were fully submerged! The night before I’d been told Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn own property up here… Maybe. While there were some lavish houses in the area, it didn’t seem like a spot where you’d get the Hollywood treatment. But maybe that’s what they were after. If so, this place would fit the bill nicely.
At Kenora, Ontario, I followed Route 17 to Route 622 and ended up at Atikokan, hometown of Ed Kryzanowski, who skated for the Boston Bruins in the late ‘40s and early ‘50s. The stop was recommended by locals I met while filling up my tank, but by 6p, Main Street was a ghost town: every storefront was vacant and no one was out. Atikokan definitely goes to bed early. Got some food at a hotel restaurant and shortly thereafter became dinner for a swarm of vicious mosquitos… Could they be worse than the ones in Alaska? As hard as it seemed to believe, it was a close call; unfortunately, I was the one to judge and not very eager about this responsibility.
Without the fear of being murdered, I should sleep well tonight. Seems like making it to Baie-Comeau, Quebec, in 3 or 4 days should be feasible at this point.