Last Day – Rollin, Rollin, Rollin – Man My Ass is FROZEN BRRRRRR

3856 km

My last day was a long cold ride. It was a shock when I went outside in Blind River to load my bike. The temperature was 8C or 46F. I put on the only two layers I had on the bottom and 5 layers on top. My legs and hands were the only areas that got very cold. I should have packed my fall gloves. The restaurant wasn’t open that early so I had coffee and a couple of cookies to get me going and headed down the road. At Espanola I stopped at Tim Hortons for breakfast. It was nice to warm up a bit. I met a couple from Quebec who were heading to Montana to see Yellowstone Park and then down to Sturgis South Dakota. I am not sure they will be there for this year’s rally since it is in August and they said they were only gone for a month. I also met a guy who was heading to B.C. to see his sick mom. See – no matter how rough a bike might look (and he looked rough) – they all love their mom. It will be a long ride for all of them – I hope it warms up.

Little Current Swing Bridge

Whitefish Falls

The ride from Espanola to the swing bridge at Little Current was great. There were some amazing rock cuts and views from high up. Unfortunately I didn’t get any pictures of the rock cuts to share with you. I stopped at Whitefish Falls for one picture. I love this country with all the rock, trees and water. I guess we don’t take enough time to appreciate it – we just take all this rock for granite (ROFLMAO – get it GRANITE).  The swing bridge that takes people to and from Manitoulin Island is one lane and swings open to allow boats through. It was closed when I arrived so it was a short wait to get across.

View of the North Channel

I stopped at a lookout on the way to South Baymouth where I would catch the ferry to Tobermory. When I arrived I had some time to kill so I went for lunch and talked with a guy that used to ride with the Ontario Provincial Police Golden Helmets Precision Motorcycle Team. They rode harleys but he said the first thing the mechanics would do when they got a new bike in was add extra welds to cut down on the vibration and increase their riding life – hmmm doesn’t sound good. He also said they used to put newspapers inside their pants to stay warm – I should have gotten a Globe and Mail.

Chi-Cheemaun

The Chi-Cheemaun (Big-Canoe) was the ferry that took us across to the mainland. All the bikes are sent to the front of the line so they can be loaded first. When I pulled in behind a bunch of other bikes I struck up a conversation with 3 guys who had been up fishing at White River. One thing led to another and I found out that two of them went to school with Pat – although they remember her brother Don more than her – which is probably a good thing.

Tony, Neil and Dave from Clinton

I will add this to the small world file. They had some good stories about having to ride in a logging road when their ATV broke down. Their bikes (2 Vulcan cruisers and a gold wing) need a bath now. They make Amy’s bike look sparkling clean. Tony was hauling a trailer with the fish, fishing gear, camp stove etc – but he left his warm chaps back home like I did. Who knew winter was going to set in so fast. Welcome to Canada EH! Where are those newspapers?

The other bikers were 3 couples from Cambridge who came to Manitoulin Island for over night. They were a bit disappointed that the roads did not follow the shoreline so the ride was not as interesting as they had hoped. I tend to agree that this was not as interesting as I had expected. When we loaded the bikes onto the ship we had to tie them down with ropes and then go up on deck for the ride. Neil was smart, he had ratcheted tie downs that were perfect for this. The rest of us used the ropes provided by the ship – which worked well.

I found a Muskoka chair on the fantail and had a little sleep until a couple woke me up to take their picture.  I wanted the old girl to stand up like in Titanic – but I thought better of it and just snapped the picture. Even though Georgian Bay was rough the ride was smooth.

5 Layers of Warmth

Cruising Past the Light House

The trip took an hour and a half so it was a nice break and the chair was fairly comfortable – still no fleece for my butt though. When we arrived at Tobermory it was quite the show – 7 bikes rumbling off the ship first – all heading down Highway 6. The Clinton boys pulled off early – Tony, who was pulling the trailer seemed to have a need to stop. I am not sure if his bike was having trouble or if he just needed gas but his buddies who were well ahead of him saw he was in distress and pulled off into a Tims and they got back together. I trust they made it home ok. I gave them my blog card so we might see a comment here from one of them.

I followed the 3 couples down Hwy 6 through the construction, crappy pavement and traffic until I got fed up and peeled off to find a different route. I ended up on a great road with brand new pavement and no traffic – winding through the countryside. Eventually it swung back to Hwy 6 at Wiarton and I saw the 3 couples again – pulling off into Tim Hortons. From here on down was a long ride – the last 2 hours seems to take forever.

 

Dundalk Windmill Farm

As I came to the Dundalk Plateau I was amazed to see this massive windmill farm. There were hundreds of windmills stretching as far as I could see. I stopped to get this picture even though it was all I could do to hold the camera still – I was so cold.

 

On the journey today I spoke with a client from New Brunswick who wants me to do some salt work for them. Then as I was riding through the granite rock cuts I got a call from a guy looking for salt information. I guess my trip really is coming to an end. And then Pat called me to get a read on my estimated time of arrival so that the burgers could be timed right. I have a Scala bluetooth headset that allowed me to hear Emily, listen to my MP3 and take phone calls. Even while riding people could hear me fairly well on the phone – although I pulled over for safety and so I could hear them better without the roar of the bike and the wind.

 

I got home around 7 p.m. and had a nice dinner with Pat. Then Erin arrived and we hit the hot tub with wine. Chills Begone! This morning I slept in and took my time getting to writing. Aly just arrived home from school after her last exam. Life is good when surrounded by family.

 

This is my last entry of my trip. Tomorrow is Canada Day. I will likely post one more entry about reflections on my trip and maybe some things I learned for people who want to go on a bike trip.

 

Pat and the girls have been planning a 60th birthday party for me to be held on Saturday. Twenty six or so old friends and family will be there. It will be great to see them all. I will also remember the Joy and the Friendship that I experienced on my tour – but more about that tomorrow.

 

Thank you for riding with me on my last day of travels. My thoughts and memories of you all warmed me throughout the trip.

Warmest regards

Bob