ABBN40: Port Huron, MI to London, Ontario

Last night at dinner I learned from Canadian cycling friend Joe Hill (more on him later) that the US is testing a balloon with a surveillance camera pointed at the border. Citizens of Sarnia don’t take kindly to this and so they are planning a “Moon to Balloon” event for August 15. For more info see http://www.theobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1678317

Today’s departure was en mass and precisely timed. We were lined up behind one of the support vehicles at 8:20 so a call could be made to the bridge authority at 8:25 stating we’d be at the bridge at 8:30. We were greeted by a bridge person, given instructions (which we already knew) and then the traffic into Canada, all 3 or 4 lanes of it, were closed and we paraded across the bridge.  Twice we had to stop and walk our bikes, actually carry them,  across expansion joints.  At the other end we were greeted on the road by Canadian passport officials who looked at our passports and verified we were on a list which had been provided.  I’m guessing everyone was through passport control within 10 minutes.  It will be interesting to see how this works going back into the US.

As soon as each rider was through passport control, he/she was welcomed to Canada by Joe Hill (on left in photo) and his friend Mike.  I met Joe, a friend of Jim Yuhn,  a couple of years ago at Hell Week.  And last March, under a shade tree in Luckenbach, I told Joe about the cross country ride and he said, “Let me know when you’re in our area.”  So I did.  Joe and Mike rode with us for 70 miles; they were then going to visit Joe’s daughter in London and then cycle back to Sarnia.

Day	Miles today	Feet climbed	Hrs in saddle	Miles so far	Miles to go	Days to go
40	81	803	5.5	3,038	702	10

   The group before we went into Canada. I’m seated on far right.