8/1 - Richmond, MI to West Lorne Canada - Day 47
 

The theme for the day is: "the crossing".

Today is the day that the trip leaves the US and heads into Canada. We finish the week in Niagara Falls, ON. The boarder crossing occurred about 20 miles into the ride today. We left the school at about 7:30 after breakfast. The skies were clear and sunny. The temperature was about 70. By 16 miles in we could start to feel the temperature warming up. We reached the town of Marine City by 8:45 and had cool drinks before boarding the ferry. This ferry, unlike the SS Badger, was small. It held a couple of trucks, cars and our bicycles. The river we crossed was about a mile and we were in Canada in less than 15 minutes.

We got on our bikes and headed out. To get to our destination (about 51 miles further) we only had to make a couple of turns, but we were too busy talking a missed the second turn. Jim noticed after 4 miles that he had not seen any arrows on the ground for a while (Cycle America paints arrows on the ground for us to follow). After asking a road construction worker if we had seen any bicycles today (his answer was no) we turned around and found the correct route after 4 miles. I guess since this was the first time that we got side tracked the entire summer that it's to be expected.

As the day worn on we started to feel the heat. We reached the picnic stop at noontime. Had a bite to eat and headed out at 12:45. The remaining 30 miles was a search for something cold to eat or drink. However there were lots of farms, but very few towns. In the town of Newberry we were able get a cold drink at the Firehall Cafe. By now it felt as if it was 100 degrees out side. Outside of West Lorne ( http://www.library.elgin-county.on.ca/wlorne/ ) we finally found a gas station that sold ice cream. An ice cream sundae later we were back on the rode for the remaining mile to the school. The schedule shows a 98-mile ride tomorrow. I hope that it's going to be cooler and that wind is to our back.