Friday 18 June 2010

Day 29 Sault Ste Marie to Newberry

Thursday 17th June
Daily mileage 71miles Average Speed 11.2mph Ride Time 6hr21min
Total Mileage 997

We enjoyed a delicious bacon and egg breakfast and left at 8am. We cant thank Chris and Chrissy enough for taking us in off the streets for the night and making us feel so at home. A special thanks to Chrissy for the gift of her necklace that she brought back from Cuba, that was extremely kind!

We cycled up and over the bridge crossing back from Canada into the USA and was on top of the world until we hit customs. We were told we had to be out of USA by 18th August where our flight does not leave Vancouver until 29th August… big problem. We were referred to the office upstairs where the atmosphere was bad. We were called to the desk one at a time and told that our initial 90 day visa issued when we entered New York was still valid whereas we were under the impression that this ended when we left USA and we would be issued with a new 90 day visa when we re entered but it appears this is not the case.

We were told by Bill that we would need to visit another Canadian border later in the trip to get it reissued and there was no way he could do it today as it would look like he was fudging the system! This was ridiculous and our route does not take us anywhere near the border again until after 18th August. We left the office absolutely fuming and sat over in the visitor centre for a few minutes to gather our arguments then went back over to the Customs office to ask to speak to his supervisor. This lady was lovely and said I understand why you are doing the trip and issued a new 90 day visa with no problems. Basically Bill was on a power trip, could not be bothered to do the paperwork and should have retired years ago! As we left we gave him a look that described all those things but had to be a bit careful as he was armed and we had to bite our tongues!

We cycled hard for the next 25 miles to Brimley State Park absolutely steaming! We attempted to build a bridge and get over it, at least now our plans are back on track. It was lunch time in the park and the sun was glorious and all we wanted to do was sleep! There is a headwind today and the road is long and straight. This meant that each and every mile is well and truly earned today. We followed the M28 West and intended to stop at Raco for a drink but it consisted of one closed lodge so we had no choice but to keep going to Strongs Corner battling with the many wasps and flies that were following us all the way.

At strongs corner we stopped in a bar where 4 men were doing shots at the bar, lets hope they get on the road before we leave. We cycled a further 3 miles up the road to Eckerman Corner where we stopped for a burger and fries in a restaurant. We basically wanted to stay out the sun for a while and hope that the wind died down. Back on the road we put the music on and plodded the remaining 24 miles into Newberry. We were shattered after today’s efforts as we arrived at Americas Best Value Inn about 7.30pm. We intended to stay in a hotel tomorrow night due to the England v Algeria match and considered staying tonight as well. When we said we could not really afford 2 nights Heather said we could camp round the back for the first night for free! Perfect.

Just leaving reception to set up camp we bumped into Barb and her son Chase who were holidaying in the area. They had passed us earlier on the road and wondered where we were heading. After a long chat we were invited to join them for dinner at Pizza Hut and they kindly took us up the road into town to an AGM. Thanks guys and we hope you enjoyed the pictured rocks.
 









2 comments:

  1. Hey Guys! We are glad everything is going okay. I am terribly sorry that you have such a hard time at the border. For now on, whenever I go across to U.S. and I meet Bill, I'll give him a dirty look......what a jerk! I'm kinda sorry that you skipped the scenic route but I know that it is important to "cut corners" and get the best for mileage....so happy you get to watch your game. By the way, we've often stopped in that Pizza Hut too! All the best to you both and Chrissy says hello!
    We really miss you guys! Keep the rubber on the road!
    Chris & Chrissy in the Sault

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  2. ya...too funny...those border people are tough !
    glad you made another attempt and got a nice lady to help you along...rest well xoxomo

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