Sudbury

Day: 39
Destination: Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
Route: Highway 190 across the international line; Highway 400 through Toronto; Highway 69 through Barrie and Parry Sound
Miles Ridden: 321   Total Miles: 8,795

Notable Quote: Trying to explain why he didn't want to walk the 500 yards to see Niagara Falls..."What's in a forest? Trees. What's in a waterfall? Water. If you've seen one, you've seen them all."            ~Mike "Hammer" Oliveira

Notable Quote: Explaining why we were wasting time in putting on our rain gear after leaving the border inspection center, 30 minutes before Noah and his ark floated by on the freeway..."I'm pretty sure we have clear weather ahead."    ~Ulysses "Bud" Early

Points of Interest:

• Niagara Falls State Park
• Highway 69 north of Barrie, Ontario

We looked out the window this morning, and saw a wet parking lot and dark, dark skies, but it wasn't raining, so two of us walked over to the Niagara Falls State Park about 500 yards from the hotel. There is a sidewalk alongside the rushing waters which ends at the observation deck. From the observation deck, you can see the falls from the US side, literally from the edge of the falls, as well as the pool below. Three of us had seen the falls before, although not from this side. It is an amazing sight, and something you can't get tired of seeing. The roar of the water is unforgettable. 40,000,000 gallons of water per minute go over the falls, and the water falls 162 feet to the pool below. And to think that lunatics have gone over the falls in barrels!

 

Two of us were detained and "checked out" at the border, which delayed our departure, but we were finally on our way by 10:00 a.m. It was drizzling as we left the inspection station, but we decided to put on rain jackets only because the forecast put the heavy rain south of us. So much for the weatherman. Within 30 minutes, we were experiencing constant, heavy rain. There was as much water coming up from the road as from the skies, and visibility was very poor. To make matters worse, Obama (and the Secret Service) were in town, there was a huge demonstration at the summit in Toronto, and highways and roads were closed, all to make our lives more difficult. After a few hours in heavy rain, we stopped at Barrie for lunch, the skies began to clear, the rain gear came off, and we continued to Sudbury. The highway between Barrie and Sudbury just got better as we went. It is a two lane highway which often runs between rock walls on both sides, and often in the center divider. The walls are black and brown, with marbling of reds and whites, all twisted and contorted from the ages. We found out later that the rocks were nickel and copper, the major industry in Sudbury. People had stacked rocks in many areas, looking like stone sculptures and even Japanese lanterns. The area is very rocky, covered by forests, lakes and marshlands. We saw a bunch of critters, including another swamp donkey and a large elk feeding a couple hundred yards to our ride.

 

Other than the linkage of one bike disconnecting, and the rain early in the day, another great ride.