Day 34 - Kenora, Ont. to Dryden, Ont.

June 16, 2026

Start a time: 7:15 am

Stop Time: 3:00 pm

KM Travelled: 138.6 km

Elevation: +1,128/ -1,079 m

Special Stuff: The person behind every hotel reception wall

I woke this morning feeling well rested and ready to go again. The weather looks favourable. It feels like the days earlier in the ride when it was okay to finish 3:00 or 4:00. I have a long ride ahead, but there are no thunderstorms in the forecast, and I will be finishing in a bigger city centre (Dryden).

The Kenora hotel is filled with men, who sound like businessmen. There’s a lot of talk about fishing. Given the massive fish that goes with the Kenora city sign, I would not be surprised if Kenora is an epicentre for sport fishing. Ah, quick internet search – “Walleye Capital of the World” – there you have it!

There are notably fewer vehicles on the road today, which makes me wonder what other ways there are to get into Ontario. Highway 17, which I am on, is called the ‘northern route’. I’ll have to check into what would be the ‘southern route’.

About 32 km from Kenora I see a big rig pulled out at a pullout. It comes back onto the highway and continues going east. I come up to the pullout and see an object on the pavement. As I get closer, I see the object is a red and black checkered jacket and there are bare feet sticking out of the bottom. In front of what now is obviously a person are two bottles of water. I quickly keep riding along for 10 km putting distance between me and the person on the ground. I ponder about, what circumstances would bring a person to that place.

I come across a rest area about 20 km later and meet an older couple travelling west. I mention the person I saw at the rest stop on the ground. The woman tells they have been travelling from Toronto, and they have seen several people walking along the highway. This information I add to my databank after I decline their offer of a bottle of water.

Riding along today, I notice the terrain changing again. The land has changed to farmland, but there are big rocks peaking out. These rocks must make farming a bit challenging – you really need to know the land you are farming to prevent damaging your equipment. Sheep farming makes a lot of sense here.

I get to Dryden, it smells like Quesnel. There must be a pulp mill here.

I get to the Best Western Plus and they tell me they have no rooms left – they have already sent other people away. “Oh no, not again”, I say out loud. I ask hesitantly about other options in town. The receptionist says, “Just let me just check on something.” She goes behind the wall to ask someone a question. (I’ve learned there is always a powerful being that decides the fate of weary travellers behind the reception wall in hotels). She comes back an it turns out, they actually do have a room, and I get’ the last’ available room in the hotel.

Unfortunately, the room is not clean, so I head back out of the hotel to go to a public laundromat (first one on this trip). In order to wash all the clothes that need to be washed, I get to live out my personal nightmare of wearing just my shorts and rain jacket while the washing gets done. I can check that off my bucket list now.

Getting back to the hotel requires that I cross a busy highway. Straddling my bike, I make a decision to “go” and then change my mind. The shift throws me off balance, my bike falls away from the traffic and I’m thrown to the ground landing flat on my back! I jump up and wave to the semi driver who has just witnessed my most humiliating biker moment. I assess the damage:

-              Bike pump had broken off the frame (thank goodness Inoticed!)

-              Left big toe has a piece of skin scraped off the top and the tip of my toenail has lifted – both are bleeding (but it doesn’t hurt because my big toe has been partly numb for about a week)

-              My left leg is scraped in two places, but the skin is intact

-              My left hand hurts a bit

-              My biggest injury is my bruised ego.

 I’m grateful that I did not get injured more with my silly mistake.

It is now late in the day and I’m in desperate need of some food – and now, a beer!

After dinner, I get to strategizing how I will tackle the ride from Dryden to Thunder Bay. ThunderBay is 350 km away with only a few small towns for re-stocking supplies. At first look, it appears that camping may be required.

Time for a good rest.