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<\/a><\/p>\nSome jerks the other day had scared Rett with tales of people they knew getting denied entry into Canada, so suddenly that was an added concern. I figured living so close to the border, they’re simply aware of far more crossing experiences, and thus disproportionately remember the still-exceedingly-rare denials, and repeat horror stories about them to poor tourists. <\/p>\n
But those jerks also made me check the web to reconfirm that we could bike across our intended bridge, since they were skeptical about that too. A website about bike touring in the region confirmed it was rideable, and critically added “beware of the expansion joints!” <\/p>\n
The first couple of expansion joints we passed on the climb up the bridge were like tightly meshed steel teeth clenched together, so no big deal. But the third one was more like giant steel fingers, and very loosely meshed, with the giant gaps between them perfect for swallowing our tires. So we had to stop in the middle of the two-lane bridge, walk our bikes across the joint, and even then my rear tire still dropped anus-clenchingly into the gap before I could drag it out. And the next joint was the same deal, but also actively screaming as the bridge expanded under the midday sun. After that we rode safely down the other side, but it could have been a lot worse for us if I hadn’t seen that warning. So sorry, no pictures, but the view was nice up there! <\/p>\n
The actual border crossing was then the easy part. Unlike on the way to Niagara Falls where we went through at a regular booth, here cyclists walk into an air conditioned building where a friendly agent asked the basic questions, told us to sit for a minute while he ran whatever magic database scans they run, and sent us on our way. <\/p>\n
And we were through! Canada! <\/p>\n
So while the border crossing was quite efficient, it was the previous and next steps that burned a lot of time and made me thankful for the short day. Before crossing I had to call Capital One to figure out how to get my never-used debit card working (since it has no foreign transaction fees!). Then after the crossing we had to find an ATM to actually get cash, figure out the alcohol situation in Ontario (wine sold only in government shops), get groceries, and finally continue along our way. It was a bit frustrating for Rett that even on our “easy” day we didn’t make it to camp too much earlier than normal, but I find that somehow bike touring days just expand to fill the available time. <\/p>\n We had been in Canada at Niagara Falls on our last tour, but I realized we had not really ridden <\/i>anywhere in Canada until now. Is there right on red? What does that flashing green light mean? What’s the km to miles conversion? Still don’t really know, but I guess riding a bike is basic enough that there isn’t too much we really need to know. For half a day we would be in Anglophone Ontario before crossing into the distinctly more French province of Quebec, and I think it was nice to have that transition zone. <\/p>\n We got our fourth waterfront campsite in four nights, this one on the opposite side of the St. Lawrence River, where we could see the Adirondack Mountains rising up in the distance back in the USA. Not only is sleeping four nights in a row outside of a house a likely record for Rett, but it’s also equal to the total <\/b>number of nights we camped on our last tour. Some practical things like a better tent, a more-comfortable sleeping pad, and coffee in the morning have helped make that possible, but mostly it’s the result of Rett’s lack of pain and exhaustion compared to the last tour. <\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n