The next day started out with a cool ride up Highway 11, warming up to 19 degrees later in the day. I found the first roadside attraction that I had read about, just south of Iroquois Falls. It’s a 20 foot tall statue of a lumberjack, named Guy-Paul Treefall, a Canadian version of Paul Bunyan, sitting on a stump.
After a quick bike selfie, I continued to Cochrane and found another bike selfie opportunity at the train station. As soon as you arrive in town you’re greeted by the town’s mascot, a large statue of Chimo the Polar Bear. This marks the starting point of the Polar Bear Express, the train that travels to the town of Moosonee, near James Bay.
I’ve never been this far north in Ontario before so I was really excited just being there. I didn’t stop to explore the towns I was passing through, but I can always return to the towns that left the biggest impression on me. I would always enjoy another ride to this part of Ontario.
Before leaving Cochrane, I stopped at a Tim Hortons for a quick lunch. I sat and chatted with another biker, Steve, riding a big beautiful black Honda Shadow. He was from the area and had some great stories to tell. Tim Hortons is always a gathering place for bikers, especially in northern towns, where they meet up in their perspective groups before a ride.
I continued west along Highway 11 towards Kapuskasing and stopped for a quick pic in the town of Moonbeam. I thought this was an unusual name so I did some research and found out that, as rumour has it, this town got its name from the pioneers who often saw flashing lights in the sky they called “moonbeams.” Those lights eventually came to be known as the Northern Lights.
I continued west and about half an hour before arriving in the town of Hearst it started to rain. This town has a really interesting, unique wildlife display at the Visitor’s Centre, featuring two giant moose facing off against two giant wolves.
I stayed the night at a motel along Highway 11 and planned my next day’s ride and briefly considered continuing to Manitoba to visit friends in the western part of the province. But looking at a map and the distance still needed to cover, coupled with the drastic change in weather, I decided not to continue west and instead start heading south the following day and hope for warmer weather. Up ‘till now, the weather has been too cold to sleep in a tent. At least too cold for me.
After riding for many hours each day I was beginning to notice that my ears were ringing when I took my helmet off and was worried about potential hearing damage. I had intended to purchase ear plugs but every time I went into a store it completely slipped my mind.
The next morning’s ride was very cold. It was time to put on my cold weather gloves. They helped a lot but my finger tips still got cold and numb. The weather app on my phone showed the temperature as 8 degrees, but the temperature gauge on my bike showed 6 degrees. It was also raining and very windy. The wind was so strong that it kept blowing me towards the outer edge of the road and had to fight to remain upright. And every time large vehicles passed me from the opposite direction it was like being struck by a solid wall of wind. In cases like this I did reduce my speed for safety. I slowed down to 80km/h.
I headed south on Hwy 631 and experienced much less traffic and even some nice sweeping turns, which would have been much more enjoyable in better weather conditions. 631 ended at White River and I continued south along the Highway 17 to Wawa, then a scenic ride along Hwy 101, to the town of Chapleau. In my hotel room, I tested out the first bit of new camping gear: a laundry washing bag. It seemed to work well, better than just washing in a sink.
To be continued…
The Drifter 