Through the website for Soo Locks, Sue found
marinetraffic.com, where ships can be located along the Great Lakes
water routes. We checked the site before packing our last couple bags in order
to get a general idea of what might be present when we arrived at the locks in
a few hours.
There was a particular souvenir Sue had
spotted in a Marquette shop that happened to be closed over the weekend, so
after a quick stop, we were on our way. I assume most people in the area work
at the university or along the commercial corridor along U.S. 41 west of the
city, but traffic was very light as we made our Monday morning departure.
The drive back to Sault Ste. Marie was uneventful – always a good
thing – and we really lucked out, as not only was the large Saginaw
cargo ship in the nearest lock when we arrived, but the mammoth Roger Blough
was due in about 45 minutes! The locks had a really nice covered viewing
platform, which was appreciate greatly when a light rain started shortly before
“the biggie” pulled in.
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| A bird's-eye view of Roger Blough leaving Soo locks |
It was incredible to think this massive ore
carrier had only about two feet to spare on each side as it slipped into the
second lock, which is longer than its counterpart in order to accommodate ships
of this size. We learned that there are plans for an even larger lock to be
built on this site.
Knowing there would be a limited selection at a store that was anywhere near our cabin, we made a stock-up grocery stop in (Canadian) Sault Ste. Marie. When we reached the small community of Desbarats,
we laughed at the fact that there wasn’t a supermarket, but there were two
hockey rinks within a few miles!
We passed a couple of Amish farms along the gravel
road north of town that led into the hills and then bounced and shook our way
up a STEEP, rough and rocky “driveway” into a collection of small properties
that fit into this particular space along the cliffs and stone outcroppings
that surround the lake.
I parked our van in what I thought to be the safest angle on the huge rock surface up above the cabin, and we made
several trips to unpack. Smaller loads with sure footing seemed to be the most
appropriate method, not only to avoid injury but also to keep anything that may
be accidentally dropped from rolling down the slope into the water!
From the wonderful view off the back deck (photo above) only a handful of homes could be seen, and only during a later canoe trip could
we find another dozen or so properties, and many of those were obscured by the
surrounding forest. The frequent, strong breezes were stirring up small waves,
and the sound of them washing onto the rocky shore was often the only sound
heard. Peace and quiet indeed, though we suspected things might change a bit
with a Canadian Civic Holiday weekend coming up.
I had nearly forgotten the hot/humid
Pennsylvania July, and Sue mentioned that it was supposed to get into the low
80s here but only later in the week. I was immediately thinking of Desbarats as
my summer temperature heaven! However, we actually had more of a taste of
autumn the next day, since it never got out of the 60s down near the water.
Although I really consider myself a cold
weather cyclist, I certainly don’t want to be cold when I ride, and I’ve
learned to come prepared with appropriate clothing on these northern trips. I’d
rather be a little sweaty and not shivering, and it turned out to be the right
call, as I could feel the cool air on my arms through the thin sleeves – just
comfortable enough!
The nasty climb up away from the cabin was
breathtaking, literally, and without much warm up beforehand, quite unwelcome.
It did have a couple of plateaus where I could wind up a bit of speed to attack
the really steep spots. This became absolutely necessary in being able to keep
turning the cranks over - standing on the pedals wasn’t going to be an option,
since taking weight off the rear wheel resulted in a complete loss of traction.
The bumpy, rocky surface required a moderate
level of bike-handling skills on the way up, particularly because there was
little chance to pull my foot out of the pedal and get my foot down before
sliding backward. More advanced skills were necessary on the way down, and I
learned to let the rear wheel do all the brake work so the front could move
freely to navigate the tricky slope.
I tried to put this part of the return trip
out of my mind as I rode out the gravel road to (finally) meet the asphalt on
Government Road. I headed west to begin a clockwise loop around the lake on the
roads that form a grid (although a very spacious one) in this area of Ontario.
Emerging from the shelter of some trees, I
was hit by a wall of wind. I’m estimating from personal experience it was 15-20 mph, and it lasted the whole ride. Not
that this circuit was in any way flat, but fighting the gusts made the first half of the route
feel like a twenty-mile hill climb!
Trying to keep as compact and aerodynamic as
possible, I had my head low at an angle that provided just enough sightline in
front of me for safety. Traffic was almost nonexistent out here in Tarbut & Tarbut Additional (couldn't find much on this strangely-named township) and
intersections were about a half-mile apart, so I shouldn’t have been overly concerned, but
I was startled a bit when, in my peripheral vision, huge, dark brown shapes appeared
close by. I then realized they weren’t cows, but bison (not buffalo - look it up)!
It’s disappointing when your legs feel like rubber
only about a 1/3 into your planned route, but as I finally turned north from
Pumpkin Point Road, that is exactly the sensation I was getting. Luckily, I was
soon hitting a section with a long, gradual downhill, and I recovered pretty
well. I was now speeding along Lakeview Road, logically enough with Lake Huron
in sight on my left.
As I weaved
my way through a detour to Bar River and Fords Roads, I found the area reminded
me a lot of the Upper Perkiomen Valley, as the roads around Green Lane
reservoir combine some flats through farmland with a few twisting, steep climbs
– only here the flats are longer between much worse climbs! Fords Road had a
little uphill warm up exercise before I met a crippling ascent on Watson Road
that had me in the lowest gear, nearly at a walking pace for a few hundred
feet.
I had to
laugh as the next intersection was with what seemed to be appropriately named
Cemetery Road, after that last climb. I hung a left and soon reached Route 638,
which didn’t give me too much time for recovery, as it included a couple of
long inclines, before reaching Gordon Lake Road and the turn towards “home”.
I was a
little concerned with my initial view down this road, as it led right into some
intimidating hills, but it turned out to be a wonderful route, following a
creek that weaved rather harmlessly through the terrain. Funny enough, as I
moved back into farmland, I was met by a dastardly duo of climbs – the steep,
straightaway-type where you can see the top and just say “ugh” to yourself.
I had a bit
of wind at my back to help, but I was practically toast from my earlier
efforts, so I just dialed it back to survival mode. The last few miles included
a couple of Amish buggies with friendly waves from the passengers and one final
deadly turn into the headwind – crap!
Not sure if I
was in some form of shock, but I really don’t remember the awful ride over the
hill to our cabin, though I do have a brief vision of hitting low gear very
early in the process. Perhaps I was so focused on the rocks and not sliding
out, that I was ignoring my screaming legs.
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