Eric's Richmond to Chatham, Aug 20

Today we rode 56 miles from Richmond, MI to Chatham, Ontario, Canada. 20 miles into the ride we arrived at the U.S.-Canada border along the St. Clair River. At 9:45 am we all meet to take the ferry across into Canada, about 70 of us at a time on the flatbed ferry. This is how all our support crew vehicles including the gear truck crossed. The border crossing went very smooth. All we had to do was show our passports. Right when we got off the ferry there were people lining the streets cheering. They surprised us with droppies, cup cakes with white frosting and maple leaf-shaped sprinkles, fruit, homemade bread, Canada stickers and pins, etc. Wow! The whole route today in the U.S. and especially in Canada was completely flat. We had a brisk 10-15 mph headwind that we had to work against. We took a photo shoot at Tim Hourton’s in front of Tim Hourton’s and going through the drive through. When we got into camp in Chatham we were welcomed with yellow watermelon, red watermelon, cantaloupe, apples, and oranges. At camp a map was posted with six locations that might be of interest to us bikers in the area like the homes with pools, computers, laundry, etc. Shuttles were also available to where ever. I had my first Canadian junk food the other day – passion flakes and Joe Louis. This afternoon a group of us went to a neighbor’s pool. It was a blast and we thank that couple so much for their open arms and hospitality. We had a great time visiting, swimming, and just hanging out. Johnny got $107 in bike repairs paid for by some nice guy at a bike shop. Thank God for these good surprises and these great people in Canada. For dinner we had a lavish potluck hosted by 3 churches from Chatham. So good. Thanks a ton to those churches! Looking forward to our second day in Canada. We have heard of great things ahead here.