Day 24: Mackey, Ont. to Pimisi Bay, Ont.

If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail.

Unfortunately in the heat my bike computer conked out and reset itself, so no stats today.

Looking at the map, it's hard to know what is a small town and what is just a sign in the middle of the highway with a place name on it; probably to name the nearby forested area I suppose. I swear, in this part of the country, they put place names on the map and signs on the road just for the hell of it.

I left my campground at around 10 am after having some oatmeal. I was intent on getting in around 30 kms before I took a break at possibly a convenience store where I could get some snacks and juice (just like recess in Elementary!). 75 kms later though I finally stumbled upon a reasonably large town - large enough to have a store. Mattawa, boasting 2500 residents, bears no resemblance to it's rhyming counterpart, Ottawa. By this time I was exhausted and after lunch I grabbed a couple of winks of sleep at a picnic table. After gaining some energy I wanted to get to North Bay, another 60 kms. Unfortunately this would not happen. The heat was intense, the roads were probably the worst, worst roads I have ever been on. Not probably - they were. And this is suppose to be the Trans-Canada Highway? On top of this, the wind was gusting right in my face.

I got about 24 kms out of Mattawa and saw a sign for a rest stop ahead. I turned in, but I ended up at a small campground so I swallowed my pride and asked about a site for the night. No sites available! It was Friday, I had forgotten. However,  the owners of the campground offered me a guest room that was more like a private trailer, for $30. I'm sure they were taking pity on me as it could definitely be rented for $50 - 60. I was sure they were taking pity on me after they offered me a cold beer and water too. My thanks to their kind souls; I'll get one excellent sleep tonight.

Oh there was one cool thing that happened on the road today: I saw a red-tailed hawk hunting. Neat.


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