Just Couldn't Stop

Today was one of the best days of riding that we have had on the entire trip! It started out like most other days with us getting up, packing away the gear and setting out for the day. There was a huge hill leaving Mattawa that slowed our progress a bit, and as a result I got really hungry after about 20km. We stopped for breakfast and then got back on the road.

Thankfully it was a Saturday, so the construction that we had seen on the drive from Sudbury to Ottawa was on hold for the day. That made the ride much easier than it would have been if they had been working on the road, and it allowed us to make good time.

Once we reached Blind River, we stopped for lunch at Tim Hortons, and then we decided to continue riding and look for a campground along the highway. We spotted one shortly after leaving Blind River, but we were still feeling good, so we decided to push on for a little longer.

We continued as far as Pembroke, and then stopped for a Gatorade at the Irving Big Stop. This brought back fond memories for me as Irving Big Stops are very common in Atlantic Canada, but I believe that this is the only one in Ontario. As we were drinking our Gatorade, we discussed whether or not we wanted to ride into Pembroke and look for a place to stay, or continue on and try to find a place along the highway. We both agreed that we wanted to keep going.

We continued riding, and at around 8:30pm we pulled into Cobden just as it was starting to get dark. At this point we had covered over 200km for the day, and we had set ourselves up to reach Ottawa tomorrow - the dream of getting to Ottawa in four days would be a reality!

We ate dinner in a restaurant along the highway, and then set up our tent in a municipal park just across the street from the restaurant. It had been a long day, but we were both feeling great with what we had accomplished. I will sleep well tonight!