Days 14 – 15, Canada?

I should have just lied. I was sitting in the processing area at the Canadian border while an agent was in the back room with my passport doing god knows what. They had asked if I’d ever been arrested. Well, I have for an OWI. I was aware that it could potentially cause a problem, but I’d checked into it a bit and it looked as though it was long enough ago that it wouldn’t be an issue. I’m generally of the opinion that honesty is the best policy, and felt that lying was probably more risky than being forward about it. The guy at the booth looked concerned when I said yes and asked some follow up questions, but then seemed ready to send me on my way. One additional question: “Carrying any concealed weapons – firearms, pepper spray, etc”? “Yes, I have pepper spray with me.” “That’s a concealed weapon in Canada, you’ll have to leave it with us”.

He directed me to the audit area to turn it over. I realized it probably wasn’t actually pepper spray since it’s really just a dog deterrent, and I told the guys in the audit area that. “Oh yeah, this is fine, you can keep this”, they informed me. “But you’ll have to come inside for ID verification since he sent you over here”. No problem, a few minutes and I should be on my way, right? Well, 15 minutes of waiting later, the new officer who had again asked the same questions emerged and very worriedly summoned me over. She tepidly explained: “Well, in Canada we have to equate the offense to what it would be according to our laws, and in this case an OWI is what would be equivalent to a felony which makes you inadmissible to Canada”. Yup, should have just lied.

Long story short, they didn’t let me in. They said I was eligible to apply for a permanent exemption since it was long enough ago, but that process takes 6 months to a year and there’s no way to expedite. They pointed me back across the bridge to the U.S., and watched me leave to make sure I went the right way. The Canadian border isn’t the most secure, and I was pretty tempted to just turn right and pedal away into Canada instead of left which took me back to the U.S. I thought better of it and took the very depressing ride back over the Sault Ste. Marie Bridge and pedaled to a campground I’d noticed earlier.

Luckily the campground had Wifi, so I spent the evening researching Canadian entry requirements and whether there was any real option for me to get in. There were a few possibilities, and one of the top contenders was simply riding back over in the morning and trying again like nothing had happened. This could get you arrested and barred permanently from Canada though, which I figured was probably not worth the risk. The other possibility was a Temporary Residence Permit, which seemed to be suited to exactly my situation. You can even apply for it on the spot at the border. It sounded like the odds were slim, but it was probably my best option.

I got up early the next morning and took the wonderfully scenic but now tainted ride over the bridge again. The lady at the Canadian booth assured me that I would not be getting a TRP, but sent me inside anyway. I spent some time explaining the purpose of my trip and the benefits it could bring to Canada (part of the requirement of the TRP), then sat down for another long wait. Eventually the officer returned to explain that her supervisor had denied my request. I spoke with him for a bit and we discussed the merits of me coming to Canada, and the reasons he was denying it. Basically, he explained, there was neither economic justification nor a compassionate reason for them to grant the TRP. If I had booked an expensive fishing trip, say, and wouldn’t be able to go if they didn’t let me in, that might be enough justification. Unfortunate that it so often comes down to money.

There are always things you wish you would have said or done differently in a situation like this, but you have to forget about that and move on. It seems the odds were not in my favor, and it didn’t work out the way I’d hoped this time.

I rode across the bridge for the fourth time, and waited in the long line for U.S. customs. After explaining that I hadn’t had any better luck today, I returned to the downtown area which I was also now quite familiar with, and found a restaurant to get some real breakfast and regroup. I had started thinking about how I could alter my plans to fit these new circumstances, and turning the trip into a large Lake Michigan circumnavigation seemed to be the best bet. After some time updating my trip timeline and reviewing Google Maps, I settled on heading down the Eastern shore of Lake Michigan at a leisurely pace, meeting Melissa again in Champagne, Illinois for a wedding, then heading back up to Waukesha to complete the trip where I started.

It was early afternoon by the time I got on the road to head toward the bridge to the Lower Peninsula, and I was ready to put the town in my rearview mirror. I had been looking forward the day before to the strong wind out of the South, but now I’d be riding into it instead of with it. The trek down to St. Ignace was slow as I rode into the pounding headwind, but it felt good to at least be back on the road and continuing on. I had a campground picked out short of town, and I planned to cross the Mackinaw Bridge and exit the U.P. the next morning.

Not sure what this route is, but I like it!

As I reached the spot where Foley Creek Campground was supposed to be (as indicated on my official Michigan DOT Cycling Map), I found only a chained up gate leading into an overgrown abandoned road. There was a clear path around the gate, so I followed it and checked out the deserted and forgotten sites. There were no other campgrounds listed in the area, and it was clear that people had recently camped here despite the grounds being closed. It seemed like as good a spot as any, so I picked a sheltered site which I hoped was as bear-free as it appeared, and set up camp.

Deserted remains of a campground.

Picnic table graveyard.

The mosquitoes were aggressive and plentiful, so I hastily got my food hung and retired for the evening. It was an appropriate end to the day, as I didn’t much feel like socializing with other campers anyway. As I sat on my Therm-a-Rest and got ready for bed, anxious to put the day behind me and get a fresh start in the morning, I heard the unmistakable pop and hiss of a leak in the pad. Great, just what I needed. Fitting though, I guess. I didn’t have a repair kit for it, but a bike tube patch got the job done and seemed to hold through the night. I settled in for the night and popped open my computer to put in notes and mileage for the day. I entered the info from my trip computer and couldn’t help but smile as I looked down at the total mileage to date and noticed that I’d just broken the 1000 mile mark. Bittersweet indeed.

I think it will be a bit difficult to get back into the swing of things, since for the time being the excitement of the trip is deflated. There’s plenty to see along the new route and I’m sure it will still be a great trip, but it’s sure disappointing to not be able to do the ride I had planned. Oh well, I’ll make the most of it I guess. Who really wants to go to Canada anyway?

Day 15 Route

Mileage at Day 15