The Chi-Cheemaun

Today I rode 456 km from Blind River to South Bay Mouth on Manitoulin Island and then from Tobermory to home in Brampton. I took the Chi-Cheemaun. If you followed my last trip you will have seen the pictures of the Chi-Cheemaun. If not here it is again. The ride from Blind River to South Bay Mouth was ugly. It was threatening storms when I left the motel at 7:30 or so and I felt like I was being chased by the storm. I could see the black clouds in my mirrors, see the lightning flashes & forks and hear the thunder. But I managed to stay ahead of the heavy rain until I turned west at Espanola. I rode right into a fierce thunder-storm. I wondered why my knees were feeling bruised and sore – “wow this is heavy rain” I thought. I found out later when I stopped for gas and to wait out the storm that there was hail. No wonder it hurt.

Wade is from Cambridge and had picked up his Dad’s bike in Alberta and was riding home. Sadly his dad is very ill at a young age and can’t ride. But I am sure he will be happy that his riding tradition will live on at the hands of his son. Wade was in a panic because he had stopped in the Soo and was told it was a 2-hour run to the ferry. He found out at breakfast early this morning that it really was a 4 hour run and the ferry is on the fall schedule which means it leaves 2 hours earlier. To top it off – all of his ride was in the same storm I rode through. He took 2 hailstones in the eye – hey Wade – get some clear safety glasses at Marks Work Warehouse – $19.95 – and save those eyes! He just made the ship and was so pumped we had a great chat on the ship. After we had some lunch, we found two Muskoka chairs on the fantail and dried out in the sun. What a great way to travel.

Back to the story about his bike – I was telling him how I was not impressed with Harleys and that I would never buy one – that they were unreliable – and on and on – remember I thought his bike was a Honda. He finally told me it was a Harley and he was wondering why I was dissing his bike. I was embarrassed so I told him how great a bike they are and how I wish I had one – I don’t think he believed me. We had a good laugh about it.

When we got to Tobermory the sun was out and the temperature was near 30 degrees. Of course I had all the wrong clothes on now. I packed a few of them away and switched to my open-faced helmet. The ride home took about 3 hours – a lot of time was taken trying to get through Owen Sound – remind me never to go there again.

The ride was pleasant enough but there were high winds all the way down so I am tired and sore after fighting the constant gusts.

I arrived home around 5:15 p.m. – one day early. It is nice to be home. Pat had spaghetti and wine ready. Mmmmmm home sweet home.

Signing off now until the next trip.

Today I rode 833 km – it was a beautiful day except for the 1 C temperature in Thunder Bay when we woke up this morning. I had checked the weather for Tuesday and it said there would be rain everywhere except if I got south of the Soo – so that was my goal.

The day was perfect for riding once it warmed up enough. The sky was cloudless until I got south of Wawa and that cloud only lasted for about an hour. Then it clouded up again at the Soo and is threatening rain here in Blind River. I don’t know how long my internet connection will hold here – it has been difficult to find the signal and I guess as long as I keep holding my left leg pointing towards the big dipper and I hold my right ear I might be ok.

I took a number of pictures but will just post a couple because they are a lot of the same magnificent views of Lake Superior. The drive up and down this shore is well worth the effort.

I wore almost everything I brought today to stay warm. I had 2 pairs of pants and my rain pants on the bottoms and 5 layers on the top. I was pretty toasty once the temp got over 10C.

I had lunch in Marathon (A&W) and talked to a couple of guys from Michigan who are doing a circumnavigation of Lake Superior on Gold Wings with trailers. They are camping so they wanted to find a place they could buy air mattresses. The old backs just aren’t what they used to be.

The Wawa Goose

Lakeview Hotel - Wawa

I stopped in Wawa (home of the very badly carved goose) to see if it had changed much since I worked there 39 years ago. Yes it has but the Lakeview Motel is still there. This is where I had my first legal drink on my 21st birthday. I was doing lake surveys and had been handling fish all day. I flew back into town (all our lakes were fly-in lakes) and headed straight to the bar with my work-buddy. The waitress said – you guys been fishing – meaning we really stunk of fish. So we had one drink and slinked back to our hole.  In those days, when the Ministry of Natural Resources needed forest fire fighters they would back a baddy wagon up to the back door of the hotel and then walk in the front door. A great recruitment technique.

Everything else seems different in town. The office where I worked has been torn down and replaced by a seniors home – hmmm seems fitting. The dock that we flew in and out of is gone but the waterfront has been cleaned up nicely.

We Take the Rock Cuts for "Granite".

The rest of my ride was just hour after hour of enjoying the scenery. Even the road with its big rock cuts and great vistas are a treat. I saw the same eagle I saw on the way up soring over the White Lake area.

Another Ho-Hummm View!

I will sign off now and research my travel options for tomorrow. I can either take the ferry from South Bay Mouth to Tobermorey like I did last time or ride around. It will depend on the time and weather.

I hope all are well. I hear the long weekend in southern Ontario sucked. You should have been in Thunder Bay.

TT4N

Today we did a variety of things but let me finish off last night. Aly and I went out to a restaurant called Gargoyles that was recommended by our good friend Roy Sherman. It is a downtown bar and grill but upscale. We enjoyed a great dinner, some refreshments and music by a quite good jazz quartet with I young girl singing 3 songs – she made a good effort but she was not a powerful singer. 

Silvia went of to a party at her boss’ house (Aly dropped her off before we went to supper). When we finished dinner we went back to Aly and Silvia’s place and watched the movie 3-10 to Yuma while we waited for Silvia’s call to be rescued from the party. It turned out she really enjoyed it and Aly and I went to pick her up after the movie – around 12:30 a.m. The party was at this neat house on Lake Superior. The owners were great people and welcomed us in. I had a glass of wine and spent the evening talking to a guy that went to Guelph U the same time Pat and I did and used to ride motorcycles. He was a bit under the influence but it was fun talking to him. We got home around 2 a.m. which meant a late start this morning. 

In the morning, I decided to make one last effort to get some warmer clothes for the ride home and headed up to the Harley dealer while Aly did my laundry (with hers of course). Unfortunately the dealer was closed for the holiday so I will make do with what I have. 

Terry Fox Memorial

When I got back and while our clothes were in the dryer, Aly and I headed off to the Terry Fox memorial. This is where Terry’s Marathon of Hope for Cancer Research ended when his cancer returned and he had to head home to B.C. for more treatments which as we know were unsuccessful. To this point he had run 3,339 miles from St. Johns Newfoundland on one good leg. The view of Lake Superior from this vantage point is fantastic. 

When we got back and while Aly finished the laundry (what a girl), I took Silvia for her first ever motorcycle ride and she loved it. It was a beautiful day for a tour. 

After lunch we headed out to Kakebeka Fall. It is quite a spectacular waterfalls about 35 km west of Thunder Bay. The water of the Kaministiquia River cascades over the edge of the precambrian shield, dropping 39 meters to the canyon below.

Kaministiquia River

Kakebeka Falls

After spending about an hour here, we grabbed some ice cream and then headed off to check out a river tubing adventure that the girls wanted to do tomorrow. Unfortunately it was closed for the weekend or the season – we are not sure which. 

Mt. McKay Casts Its Shadow

We headed back into the city and grabbed Mr. Subs for supper before heading off to Mt. McKay. This  rock outcrop is on the Fort William First Nation lands and towers 1000 meters above Thunder Bay. We drove up to a lookout that is 1/2 way up and provides a fantastic view of the city. We had planned to do sunset and see the city lights but the sun set behind the mountain. We could see a bit of it but not what we had hoped for. We did want to do a hike. We heard there was a trail up the mountain from the lookout. We found a trail head and walked for a ways and then had to climb straight up. The slope got pretty steep and the shale scree was precarious so we eventually abandoned the climb. I was concerned about the difficult climb down in the dark. 

Aly & Silvia Climbing Mt. McKay

 I later found out as I am writing this that we did not have the right trail and that  I could have downloaded the waypoints for the correct trail into my GPS. GRRRRRR. 

The girls did feel a sense of pride having ventured to the brink and back again. 

We checked out the memorial to the elders which was a female and male elder carved from a tree. At first we were not sure they were not both female but then the clothes, the hands and the butts helped us to determine who was who. 

Elder's Memorial - Mt. McKay

The female elder had some good junk in her trunk! 

The day was a great way to finish my stay in T-Bay. I head out home tomorrow. The morning temperature is expected to be around freezing but it will warm up. I will wait until the frost is off the roads before I leave. 

Thanks to Aly and Silvia for making my stay so special. 

Bye for now. 

The Dynamic Duo at Mt. McKay

We slept in a bit this morning – me to catch up on lost sleep and Aly because she did not sleep well on the lousy couch they have. We had breaky and stood around while we waited for Enterprise to pick us up for our rental car – which they never did.  While we were waiting the bear came back for a visit and looked in the back door. It is a cub – likely this year’s. His curiousity does not bode well of a long life. I am sure the campus will do something to move it out.

I also didn’t mention that the administrative staff at the University are on strike and I got stopped by their picket line when I arrived yesterday. I was not pleased to be held up by them while I shivered in my wet clothes. They got a sense of that when they spoke to me and quickly passed me through.

So after waiting for Enterprise, we gave up and called Budget and finally got a car. It was now too late to go to the market that we wanted to hit. So we went downtown to see if I could find some insulated pants for the ride home but alas – it seems that they won’t be brought into the stores for another couple of weeks. Oh well I guess I will have to make do with what I have.

We then had a nice lunch at an Italian restaurant and then went down to the waterfront.

Here is a picture of Aly and me with Sleeping Giant in the background. Aly and her friends

Thunder Bay Waterfront with Aly

 climbed up to the top of the Sleeping Giant last weekend but I was not going to try that.

Aly’s roommate Silvia is really neat and made all the arrangements for the car so that we could tour around. Silvia is off to a party with her work colleagues  tonight, so Aly and I are going out for dinner. I hope the restaraunt won’t mind my jeans as my beige pants are badly stained from my wet chaps. I hope they wash up.

I have been using the oven to dry out my boots and leather gloves. It seems to be working but the odor from cooking boots is not very appetizing. I have one more day to get things dry before venturing back out into the elements. It looks like I will experience rain on the way home – I think I will rethink fall riding after this or more likely re-tool my wardrobe.

Enjoy your long weekend everyone. Here is Aly and Silvia.

Aly & Silvia

Today was a 384 km ride from the birth place of Winnie the Pooh to the top of Lake Superior (aka Lakehead). It rained hard all night long and I had a fitful sleep wondering what the ride would be like and what I should wear. I got up at a little after 6 and had a hearty breakfast before fuelling up and setting off. The sun was trying to come out as I headed up the road which was good but I had packed away my sun glasses – it turns out I did not need to worry. The first 150 km or so was great. Not too cold and the weather was dry. I sang songs which in my full faced helmet sounded … well lets just say I could hear myself. I also thought it was a good thing a brushed my teeth well.

The ride was great in that the road keeps bringing you back to Lake Superior and you see some breathtaking views – well they would be if you could see them. Actually the moody sky and wet rock cuts made them look great.  I had packed my camera because I didn’t think I would be taking pictures so here is one I took on my cell phone.  It does not do the view justice.

Just as I was thinking that I had missed the storm the sky darkened and the heavens opened. I had put on a t-shirt, long-sleeved shirt, leather jacket with the liner and my rain jacket on top – and pants, chaps and rain pants on the bottoms. I also had my winter boots and gloves.

Well by the time I got to Thunder Bay I was soaked through and was shivering so hard I could hardly talk when I finally caught up with Aly. My teeth were chattering for the last 100 km so I am glad I took one cheek pad out of my helmet or I would have shredded the inside of my mouth. This new helmet is so tight that the cheek pads push my cheeks between my teeth so I can’t close my mouth. By taking one pad out it is more comfortable and I can get my headset inside my helmet.

I rode to Aly’s house because I got to T-Bay at around 1 p.m. which was when she was hoping to be done. It turned out she had a late patient and would be slightly delayed, so I unloaded the bike, changed socks and shoes and dug out my fleece. That helped me to warm up a bit until Aly got home and I could take a hot shower. She made me hot chocolate and Finish pancakes – mmm I am gradually feeling human again.

While I was riding through the White Lake area I had a high and a low. The high was I saw a bald eagle soaring overhead – what a magnificent bird. That excitement was dashed a little ways down the road when I saw a full-grown black bear dead on the side of the road. It must have been hit in the night. It was so sad to see.

Here is a picture of a bear that Aly took outside her back door in

Black Bear – Just Visiting Aly

Thunder Bay. It must be on campus getting an edumacation!

I didn’t mention the sight I saw yesterday. I came around a corner and saw a Turkey Vulture in a dead tree with its wings fully open. The wingspan must have been 4-5 feet. I am not sure what it was doing but it was facing west so the sun was on its back. It was the strangest thing. 

 We are having dinner tonight with Aly’s friends and then going to have a bit of a tour over the next couple of days. I may try to find some warmer pants for the ride home since the temperatures are going to be just above freezing in the mornings and there is going to be more rain. I can’t believe how wet I got – I hope everything dries out over the next couple of days.

OK enough of blogging – going to go visit with Al – after all that is why I am here – oh and now that I am dried out I can deliver all those hugs.

Bye for now.

Today was a great ride although there were gas pains again. I rode 554 kilometers from Espanola to White River. The day started with me talking to a contractor from Fredericton via Ottawa who was staying next door. He is doing an environmental clean up in the area. Then I ran into a guy at the Tims where I had breakfast who is from Elliot Lake via England and rides a V-star. He is around my age and going for his license. We discussed all about family relationships (he is married 2.5 times – not sure how that works) and what not to say about daughter’s boyfriends – it seems he made a comment and he thinks as a result his daughter married the wrong guy. It seems I am winning on all fronts. Interesting guy though. The ride to Sault Ste Marie was nice. I realized that I love riding west in the morning. The sun is at your back and the shadows and lighting makes everything look great. It was cool with mist rising off the marshes but it was nice to wear leathers again and feel the extra safety. 

I stopped to warm up and have a coffee at the Tims in the Soo. There I talked to another older guy (like me) who had a new Honda shadow and was just heading off to do his M1 test. Boy am I glad I signed that paper when I was 16. He is another guy whose marriage broke up so he bought a bike. Seems to be a theme here. 

From there I headed north – WOW that is a spectacular ride. Great

Parked at Batchawana Bay

views of Lake Superior as you come over these huge hills. Unfortunately there are very few pull off’s at the best spots. The traffic was heavy with lots of truck. I  passed one wide-load truck 3 times – I did stop at some places. There was also a lot of construction – I talked to a lot of flagmen/girls. One spot I was at the head of the line and had to wait about 10 minutes so I shut off my bike and chatted with the flagman. He had more piercings than a nineties rock star. The good news was that once we got going again all the traffic ahead was long gone and I could cruise along brand new pavement as long as I left the people behind-behind. 

View of Lake Superior

Lake Superior Provincial Park is huge and no gas stations that I could see – although the ladies in the White River Liquor Store (I needed wine) says there are gas stations in the park.  I was at 220 km when I pulled over and filled up just outside the park. Remember my 200 km rule of thumb! I was hoping that I had more downhills than uphills. I was running on fumes. 

I was going to stop at Wawa but because tomorrow’s weather is supposed to be so bad I decided to push on to White River and knock off another 80 km. Emily (aka GPS) says I only have 288 km to go to Thunder Bay – however the ladies in the Lickbo - (LCBO) said its a 4 hour drive – hmmmm. Either Emily is lying, they drive slowly or they were sipping the wine. But I think they should know how far it is to T-Bay.  If I get on the road early I should be there by the time Aly is off work. He boss is letting her out at 1 p.m. for good behaviour. 

Aly don’t count on me being able to pick you up by 1 – I hear there is a lot of construction and the rain will slow me up. I don’t want to be in a hurry. So I will meet you at your house. If I am going to be early I will come by the clinic to see your peeps but will need to play it by ear. 

When I pulled into the motel in Whiter River there was a kid with a loaded up bicycle surfing the net – pirating me thinks. I talked to him a bit. He left Cape Breton about 40 some odd days ago and is riding to B.C. Wow quite an adventure. I had enough challenges doing those hills up from the Soo. I can’t imagine doing it on a bicycle. 

White River is the origin of the bear that A.A. Milne wrote the Winnie the Pooh stories about. I recall that when I worked in Wawa in 1971 I came to White River and there was a little bear cub in the MNR office behind the radio. The mother had been killed on the road and they were trying to find a zoo to take it. 

I am off to eat something. I didn’t have lunch today so best get some food in me.  

I trust everyone is well – oh by the way – the fleece is not doing much for butt sores and now I have a packing issue with the rain tomorrow. Oh well! 

TaTa4Now

I am heading to Thunder Bay, Ontario to visit Aly who is there finishing up her final placement before joining that ranks of the work-a-day crowd. I thought it would be fun to ride up and spend a couple of days over the long Labour Day weekend with her.

Today I rode 324 km which took me up Hwy 27 to Barrie and then Hwy 400, 69 and 17 to just outside of Espanola. Pat- that is where the Spanish River is that you and I did the white water canoe trip BK (Before Kids!).

As I was riding up Hwy69 I got tired of riding the main road so took a detour to Big Chute and saw the marine railway. They use it to lift boats up a large hill rather than using a lock.

Big Chute Marine Railway

It was built in 1917 and still operates. It connects the Severn River to Georgian Bay and forms part of the Trent-Severn Waterway that connects Georgian Bay to Lake Ontario at Trenton.  I saw it move but did not see it with a boat on it. The deck does not hold water so the boats must just sit on the deck.

The ride up past Parry Sound and on to Sudbury reminded me why I love this part of the country. The huge granite rock cuts, large lakes and deep river gorges are great to see. And I checked out every marsh as I passed by in hopes of seeing a moose but so far no wildlife. When I stopped at the visitor centre at the French River there was a sign to yield for snakes (sorry Brenda) and I was reminded I am in Rattlesnake Country. I did hope I would see one. The roads are good – although the one I took to Big Chute was so rough my tube of suntan lotion bounced out of my pack. I double back for a bit but alas- it was gone.

I have had some worries over gas. I was sure I was going to run out on Hwy 69 – it seems when they built the new road they forgot about gas. I ended up pulling off and finding a gas station run by a local first nations fellow. There was a guy there who was having lunch outside and I saw an old Suzuki bike nearby so I talked to him. He is from Montreal and has ridden to BC and back and is heading to Mississauga before going home. He asked me what kind of tires I had, how big my rims were etc. I think he got frustrated when he kept hearing “I don’t know” from me. I guess I will have to study up the specs on my bike. He is heading back to work and when I said I was retired he said – “yeah you look retired”. Hmm is that good or bad.

So I decided to have lunch there as well and struck up a conversation with a lady from Toronto. Cute, wearing a little black dress, driving a BMW …… hmm I digress. Then when I was about to leave 2 bikes pulled in. One ridden by a lady who said they were from Hamilton and had been to Bayfield and all over. The bike her husband rode was a gold wing with a side car that had a lift up cover in which their two little kids rode and watched TV and played games. Check out the pic.

Kids With A Life

I was starting to get low on gas again around Sudbury and was relieved to see a Petro Canada station but when I pulled in it was only for people with petro-passes. It seems its a commercial outlet. So I saddled up and headed further into town to find gas. I will have to be careful heading from Sault Ste. Marie to Thunder Bay because I can only go 200 km on a tank. Well it seems I can go 210 thank goodness!

Tomorrow I will head up through the Soo and up the east shore of Lake Superior. I am looking forward to the part just north of the Soo where its a big climb and you can see Superior. I will try to get some pictures.

Aly says she will be done early Friday but it took me a long time to go 324 km today and I still have over 613 km to go to Aly’s clinic s0 can’t dilly dally.

I hit rain today just north of the French River. I saw it coming so I stopped to suit up and a bike when by and we waved of course. Then as I was heading north the heavens openned up and there he was on the side of the road – in the rain – putting his suit on. I am glad I learned to read the sky. He later passed me. He was in a bigger hurry than me.

The forecast is for thunder storms tonight and rain tomorrow so should be an ugly ride but I will just take it easy. By the looks of the forecast I am instore for rain and cold all the way to T-Bay – yuck. Oh well I will make the best of it.

Aly – I might be later than planned – I will let you know tomorrow night how I am doing – It seems to me when I did this ride about 40 years ago it was raining to0. Dang

I hope you are all well – here is one more pic from Big Chute.

Love this Country

1. http://saltmanbob.wordpress.com/2010/05/27/hello-world/
2. http://saltmanbob.wordpress.com/2010/05/26/the-getting-ready-starts/
3. http://saltmanbob.wordpress.com/2010/05/28/where-am-i-going/
4. http://saltmanbob.wordpress.com/day-1-rollin-rollin-rollin-man-my-ass-is-swollen/
5. http://saltmanbob.wordpress.com/category/day-2-fathers-day/
6. http://saltmanbob.wordpress.com/category/day-3-a-date-with-daniel-boone/
7. http://saltmanbob.wordpress.com/2010/06/22/day-4-a-mammoth-day/
8. http://saltmanbob.wordpress.com/2010/06/23/day-5-long-run-to-indiana/
9. http://saltmanbob.wordpress.com/2010/06/23/i-ate-at-french-lick-mmmm/
10. http://saltmanbob.wordpress.com/2010/06/24/happy-birthday-bill-from-nashville-ind/
11. http://saltmanbob.wordpress.com/2010/06/25/day-7-covered-bridges-and-laundry/
12. http://saltmanbob.wordpress.com/2010/06/26/day-8-the-sue-shannon-tour/
13. http://saltmanbob.wordpress.com/2010/06/27/day-8-storm-chasers/
14. http://saltmanbob.wordpress.com/2010/06/28/day-10-red-white-and-blue/
15. http://saltmanbob.wordpress.com/2010/06/29/last-day-rollin-rollin-rollin-man-my-ass-is-frozen-brrrrrr/
16. http://saltmanbob.wordpress.com/2010/07/01/happy-canada-day-the-last-post/

Canada Day - July 1, 2010

Happy Canada Day to everyone and an early Happy Independence Day to my American friends (As Obi Wan Kenobi always said – may the 4th be with you!).

I am well rested, have a new hair cut and my sores are healing – well except for the bug bites I got in the last hotel I slept in. I don’t think I slept alone that night. I now have a bad case of raccoon eyes.

As I reflect on my travels a number of words come to mind but I think the one that best represents my overall and most powerful memory of the trip is “JOY”. The joy of the people I met, of the places I saw, of the freedom of the ride and of the bounty that we have in our two great countries.

I admit to some apprehension when I set out on my Vision Quest. People warned me about all manner of un-pleasantries that could befall me in my travels. None of these materialized. Of course no one warned me about Blind River Bed Bugs.

I want to thank all the people, named and un-named who brought joy to me on my travels. Everyone from the impromptu tour guides to the men and women who stopped to ask if I needed help when I looked lost or in trouble. From the old men on the street corners in small town America to the Amish boy on the buggy who waved to me – just because! And to all my friends and family who sent me messages along the way to remind me of home and those closest to me.

My blog got close to 1000 hits and I received close to 70 comments. What a great way to stay in touch. I hope you all enjoyed my ramblings.

So bye for now – I will not be posting anymore messages here until the next trip. I will still receive any posts that people make. Enjoy your respective country’s birthday’s and take time to reflect on how lucky we are to live in a country that is mostly peaceful, filled with mostly nice people, and have a vast bounty of beauty to see around every corner. I hope we can all take some moments out of our busy lives to experience the JOY of what we have.

Warmest Regards

Saltmanbob

P.S. For the bikers – here are some lessons I learned:

LESSONS FROM THE TRIP

• A neat trick I learned from the Internet is to put your clothes into ziplock bags and then sit on them to expel all the air as you zip them up. They pack really flat. At first I put each shirt in a bag, all my underwear in a bag and all my socks in another bag. The trouble was that I had to open 3 bags to get a new outfit. After my laundry I put a shirt and underwear in each bag – one for each day. I kept my socks separate so that at the end of the day everything including the dirty socks go back into the bag. That way I know that if there are socks in the bag its a dirty outfit and not a clean one. This works well even if you are one of those people who gets 4 days out of a pair of underwear.
• Keep your sunscreen (lotion and lip-balm) handy.
• Stuff I took that I didn’t need. A towel – I stayed in hotels so didn’t need one. I thought I might stop along the road and swim naked under a remote waterfall. So many fantasies that didn’t come true. Bike lock – I never felt a need to lock my bike. There were times I wished I could lock my packs so I didn’t need to haul everything into the hotel room at night but then again – I probably still would for peace of mind and a good night’s sleep. Bug repellant – I didn’t run into any bugs so never used it. Maybe I should have in that hotel in Blind River. Back Brace - Thanks to the exercises Aly gave me my back was fine and it was way too hot to wear anyway. Nexis Card - The card was good for going through the border but I had my passport anyway and the speedy Nexis lines were never open. Novel and Soduko – Never took time to read. I am sure others would.
• Stuff I took and didn’t use but didn’t want to be without. Toilet Paper – there is a rule – if you don’t have it you will definitely need it – so carry it so that you never need it. Tools, Bike Manual, Extra Key, First Aid Kit, Extra Pair of Sunglasses, Flashlight - The toilet paper rule might apply here too – since I had them I didn’t need them.
• Stuff I wish I had taken. Warmer Pants and Gloves – for those last few days in the cold. More cotton t-shirts – They are much cooler riding in the heat than those supposed wick-dry golf shirts.
• My Electronic Gear. The stuff I had, kept me on track, in touch and entertained. My Garmin Zumo 660 GPS has a MP3 player and syncs with my phone and bluetooth headsets so I can listen to music as I ride and still hear Emily nagging at me. It really helped to see the hard turns ahead on the windy roads so I wasn’t caught off guard which let me look around and enjoy the scenery more. In the evening I would plan my route on the computer software and upload it to the GPS for the next day. That didn’t mean I didn’t vary the route but I knew I would get to my end destination eventually. The mug holder, which sucks as a coffee holder, worked well as a camera holder. I tied the camera to my mirror with a shoelace and had it at the ready when I wanted to snap a picture. The Scala Solo Rider headset (see the microphone on my helmet) worked well for syncing to my GPS/MPS/Phone. If need be, I could easily take a phone call when riding and the caller could hear me well. The single speaker was sometimes an issue for me to hear. I carried my phone bluetooth headset as well for when the battery on the Scala died. The battery lasts a long time if you aren’t listening to music, but won’t last a day with music playing. The pouch in front of the tank was handy for keeping all those things you need to access quickly. My netbook worked well for maintaining the blog and handling emails at night.
• Always think about what you will need out of your main bag before you strap it down. Invariably I would want something like more money, warm gloves, or a sweater and it would be at the bottom of my pack. It is best to move these to your saddle bags when packing the bike in the morning.
• Take the time to talk to people. You never know what neat story you will hear or new friend you will make.
• Things I am glad I had. Clear Glasses – for those cloudy, rainy or dark rides when sunglasses don’t cut it. Zip-off pants with lots of pockets - I wore these most of the time. Jeans were too tight and too hot during those really hot, humid days. The zip-off pants were lighter and cooler. If I put my feet on the high cruising pegs air would blow up my legs woooohooo. I could easily zip them off and back on when I was stopping for a long time, and I had no trouble getting at my wallet and stuff. Full-faced Helmet – I didn’t like the fit but was happy to have it for the rainy weather. Old packing net from a car – This worked really well for holding down my extra helmet and allowing me to make a helmet change fairly easily.

Safe Riding

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.