Day 31-32 Thunder Bay to Sault Ste. Marie

Day 31-2 -Thursday, July 30-31/2009
Starting Location: Thunder Bay, ON

Ending Location: Sault Ste. Marie, ON
Distance Travelled: 591 miles or 957 km
Distance Travelled to date: 10331 miles or 16736 km


Gas:
Thunder Bay, ON $1.029/li 10.969 litres $11.29 total
Marathon, ON $1.009/li 17.08 litres $17.24 total
Wawa, ON $1.055/li 9.479 litres $10.00 total

Left for Ouimet Canyon just east of Thunder Bay,under overcast skies, to do the zip line. It's a 1/2 mile zip line that goes along the canyon which the suspension bridge crosses. Zip line cost $50/person and takes about 40 seconds with speeds up to 85kph. Was a lot of fun for the quick ride. The suspension bridges, which we walked earlier is also a good experience.
I went to visit a school friend in Thunder Bay for an hour and it started to pour for hours and as a result, I decided to stay overnight as I was unsure about the night-time gas situation between Thunder Bay and the Soo. It's also a very dangerous highway at night as moose are found a lot along the highway and they fair much better than bikes in moose/bike rendezvous.
Ride along Hwy 17 to the Sault has to be one of the best routes for riding. There was no construction at all and the roads are in perfect condition. A lot of great curves, hills and open stretches. The scenery is amazing along the route as you see the huge mountains with large red rock cliffs, the rocky shoreline of Lake Superior and the many small lakes along the way. Just a beautiful ride on a clear day.
The bike has enormous power to quickly get past any slow traffic. The problems with the route are limited gas outlets that are about 100 to 200km, so fill up when you can. You have to be aware of wildlife at night, especially moose and bear.
In Wawa, the fog was rolling in from Lake Superior making for some spectacualr views but really cooling down the air.
What a great ride on a clear, warm day.

Note: There are 24/7 gas bars in Wawa and Marathon (SPG- Swipe-Fill-Go) so if you are late at night and need gas, these are available anytime, 24/7 by credit card. Very convenient in a pinch but about $.05/litre more than other gasbars in the area.

Temperature started at 60F or 14C and got up to about 72F, but cooled off to about 55F while driving past foggy Wawa. Skies were cloudless, and bright blue.