Eighteen hours later I disembarked in Thunder Bay, drowsy due to the bumpy roads but well caffeinated and ready to get back to it. My bike made it through in better shape than I did, so I set about unpacking and rebuilding in the Greyhound parking lot. I had barely begun when a guy strolled over from having dropped off a package and started chatting about the trip. As it turns out he had ridden cross-Canada last summer and was chock-full of helpful info and interesting stories. He hung out for nearly two hours while I tinkered, and right before he took off for work he asked if I had plans for the evening, and invited me back to his place for dinner with him and his girlfriend, and one last shower and food sleep before setting off in to the Ontario wilderness. Such opportunities are too good to pass up, so I said of course and exchanged numbers. I then killed off the day with a nice movie (Brave, very enjoyable), found a bulk food store and stocked up on dry goods, then surfed the net on my phone in Starbucks. It was nice to have a relaxing day- also it was crazy hot.
When Trevor got off work, we bikes back to his place and grabbed curry makings on the way. He was a little ways out of town, so I got to see quite a bit of Thunder Bay throughout the day. He and his girlfriend Tanya were very welcoming, as were their multitude of pets (cats, dog, snakes, and chickens). After a lovely dinner and some much needed socializing with chill people, I curled up to sleep and then slumbered for around 12 hours, totally missing any semblance of an early departure time. Also when I was packing a cat peed on my sleeping bag, necessitating the purchase of a replacement (which now matches my tent- so snazzy). Overall a great time was had, this was my first chance to stay with kindly strangers. Only made it 40km out of town before settling on a campsite on the water, it was beautiful but I'm pretty sure I wasnt supposed to camp there. The locals who found me said I should be able to camp where I want if, so maybe it balances out.
Pictured: Trevor building a new skunk-proof chicken coop
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