What Have We Been Up To?

Hi everyone,  Lucas here!

We apologize that our website and blog have been down for almost a week; on the other hand we are happy and excited that it is back and running again.  Sorry for any inconvenience.

Back to the real news though.  We have been having a terrific time lately, meeting new people, seeing amazing sights and learning new things.   We have been making our way up the Bruce Peninsula for the past 5 days or so, and yesterday we crossed via ferry onto Manitoulin  Island.

We have been very busy through the last week so I will give a quick update on what we have been up to.

View Directions to Manitowaning, Ontario in a larger map

When we last checked in we were staying near Orangeville in a community named Whole Village.

The next day we made our way northwest towards the Beaver Valley.  It was a long hot day of riding but enjoyable nonetheless.  One of the highlights of the day was riding through the fields north of Shelburne and seeing the giant wind turbines soaring majestically among the nature surrounding them.  By the end of the day we were tired and sweaty when we landed in Markdale.  We lucked out and ended up staying at the farm of a lady named Riley who showed us some amazing things about sustainability and the quest to achieve sustainability.  We stayed up late into the night talking and sharing stories which came back to haunt us the next morning when she woke us at 5:30 to teach us how to milk the sheep. Let me tell you it was not easy, though Riley made it look natural.  For breakfast I had some of the milk with fresh eggs we had collected that morning.  Living sustainably has never tasted so delicious.  After loading us down with jars of delicious honey and other preserves, Riley's family sent us on our way.  We were so lucky to stay with them and are so thankful to have been allowed to share their home and their knowledge. 

We proceeded to make our way to Kimberly, down through the beautiful Beaver Valley.  We seemed to soar down and I even found myself applying the brakes quite hard due to the nature of the hills (I am from mountainous BC - so for me to concede that those hills were steep is quite a testimony to the slopes).  When we got to the Kimberley General Store (a local food store recently opened offering healthy, delicious, sustainable options) we were in for another surprise:  Riley and her friend Meagan had joined us on horseback to ride with us for a little while.  It would have made a good photo opportunity I am sure.  We had some frozen treats at the General store, then said farewell to Riley and Meagan and made our way towards Meaford.

We were riding along when suddenly I saw the mailbox of someone I recognized from Katimavik, (a program I was in before this where I lived three months in Collingwood).  We decided to stop in and say hi - and ended up learning a few interesting things about sustainability options in the Beaver Valley area.

We proceeded closer to Meaford where we met up with a friend named Carelyn  (man I hope I have the correct spelling of her name).  She escorted us down to Meaford - one a scorcher of a day.  We stopped frequently it seemed, swimming when we needed to, or picking cherries when we were hungry.  We arrived at sunset at her house - where a large pot of chili was waiting for us.  We couldn't have been happier.  That night Justin, Carelyn and I went down to the waters of Georgian Bay, where we brought her telescope to gaze into the heavens - and talked about that wonderful philosophy that always seems to come up when you stargaze.  Later that night we enjoyed some late night children's books.  The next morning Carelyn took us for a swim in Georgian Bay, a trip to the local market, and some berry picking.  We got rained on a little and slowly but surely our plan to take off to Owen Sound got put off another day.  We once again shared a great night of stories with Carelyn and made a delicious cherry pie with the cherries we picked.

The next morning we rode with Carelyn and said goodbye on the outskirts of town; once again we were left with many delicious preserves.  We all wished she could come along with us, however her pottery business and teaching career is keeping her busy.  So we were finally off west.  We rode on back roads all the way to Owen Sound and stopped at a beautiful waterfall just outside of Owen Sound.

When we got into Owen Sound we stopped at a bike stop to get some repairs and supplies.  We met a man named Carlo who had taken a bike trip across Canada about 6 years ago.  He kindly invited us over to his house for dinner and to stay the night - and we happily accepted.  He shared stories and we ate delicious pickles.  That night Kristi, Justin, Garrett and I enjoyed a walk along the pier.  The next day we were off, saying goodbye to Carlo and his wonderful family.  We made our way north out of town, finally up the peninsula we had been working towards.  Once again, it was a scorching hot day - but we were all happy and other than a few bike problems made great time on a big day.  We made our way up towards Lions Head.  Viera met a couple who offered to let us camp at their cabin up in Hope's Bay.  When we arrived their neighbours were having a family reunion and graciously invited us over for dinner, with the agreement that we would play some music afterwards.  We kindly obliged, though I think we got the much better end of that deal. 

The next morning we worked hard to get to Tobermory.  We stopped for lunch outside of Ferndale at a fabulous bakery.  We were just back on the road when a van pulled up and a man named David offered to let us stay the night in Tobermory at his house.  He toted, some of our gear up there for us and we were left with the open road and a lighter load.  We stopped at an amazing place called the Grotto, where the beach looked like a tropical paradise.  The highlight is walking along the rocky cliffs.  Suddenly Garrett stopped and jumped through a small hole between gigantic rocks.  I overcame my phobia of being underground and followed quickly after.  We came upon a cave with a beautiful clear pool of water in it.  It was the most clear water I had ever seen and under the water you could see light shining through from Georgian Bay.  Apparently you can swim through the hole in the rocks out into the bay but it requires a good amount of breath in the freezing water.  It sounded like the coolest thing ever to me.  And yet, like everyone else I chickened out.  Garrett got some footage of the descent through the rocks so look for it to be posted soon.  That night we arrived at David and Kathy's house and set up the tents.  We talked into the wee hours and listened to music.  I especially admired their lovely guitar collection.

The next morning we woke to rain and piled on the rain gear to make a mad break for the Tobermory Ferry.  We made it with plenty of time to spare and upon arrival met a man named Phillippe, from Montreal, who is on a trip to Regina.  We took the scenic ferry over to Manitoulin Island and ended up riding with Phillippe for the day, until we came to a town named Manitowaning.  Looking for a place to stay we came upon a spot Justin had been researching called the Natural Building Institute.  It is an amazing place where we are currently staying.  It is about as close to a purist sustainability model as one could strive to be, and yet Gino (the organizer) is quick to tell us that purist is not what we are striving for, but to be as sustainable as you can with the local resources you have.  It is an amazing model for what we can achieve - right here in the backyard of Ontario.  The Community is off the grid - so no power.  They pump their own water from a pond they made with natural purifiers of the earth itself, and they grow their own food.  You could put up a fence around this place where nothing outside comes in and I bet it could carry on sustaining itself for a long time.  Garrett will have much more on this lovely place.

Well, my apologies for the novel but I hope you enjoyed it.  We will get back into the habit of updating this every couple days or so, and sorry about all the website problems. 
Please keep reading,  please post replies,  and take care out there wherever you are!

Lucas and the PEDAL Team