Day 2

July 21: The good news is that the sandpaper-grip rubber gloves I picked up at Tractor Supply work really well. The bad news is that this afternoon I really needed them to work really well. While I was waiting in line to get through Canadian customs, it started to come down hard. Fortunately I had my rain gear on because it had been sprinkling off and on all day. By the time I got into Sault Ste Marie, it was raining so hard the streets were flooding (just about up to the floorboards), so being a smart guy I pulled over. And then being not so smart, went back on my way. When the sun finally came out, I shed the gear and of course ran into more deluge. Just about all my stuff is wet, but drying nicely in the last hotel room in Marathon, Ontario.

But what a ride! 597 miles altogether. Rode US 23 along Lake Huron. I75 was like a country road, I pretty much had it to myself. Then CA 17 along Lake Superior. Just really nice scenery. And then there was the bear that ran across the road in front of me. And then the bears in the back behind the hotel. (The clerk suggested no one go out back.)

Even the Ontario cops that made sure to pull in to the gas station across the street to remind me that Ontario has a helmet law were very nice. And yeah, I saw them--I was just too tired to walk back up to the room for my helmet. Oh well...

BTW: That last tank of gas was $6.63 a gallon! America is next!