Some pics from a recent Canadian tour from Saskatchewan to southern Ontario. Round trip was 6634 km (3996 miles), 5 riding days there, a 3 day break visiting family, and 5 days home.
Main preparations were a full tune-up, new tires and tubes, Vetter Windjammer and a Crampbuster, $20. Kijiji used soft saddlebags and a MEC dufflebag for the camping gear as well as new leathers for the dude.
Windmills around St. Leon in southern Manitoba. Bike is the dot on the horizon to the left of the tower.
Out of the prairies and into the Canadian Shield near Kenora Ontario. Lighted flashing sign warns of moose hazard at night.
Saw and smelled much evidence the warnings were legitimate.
Thunder Bay on Lake Superior
Rugged country around Lake Nipigon
Neys Provincial Park on the north shore of Lake Superior. The campgrounds were nearly empty at this time of year. Mosquitoes, no-see-ums and blacks flys were thick already though.
Being the two weeks before kids are out of school, there was little traffic except for big trucks. Almost no camping trailers or motorhomes.
Old Womans Bay, Lake Superior Provincial Park
Out of the Shield and into rural southern Ontario, early morning.
Half time with family and a oil change and tune-up tweak. Bike ran perfectly, 66 mpg (Imp) average and 500ml oil consumption for the 2000 mile run.
The first day of the return leg included a 30 mile ferry ride from Tobermory to Manitoulin Island. The 365' Cheemaun took about 2 hours to reach South Baymouth on the island. Met two good guys from New Hampshire touring north of the border who had no Rs.
Motorcycles were first on and first off. Their spot in the bow had rings in the floor where we tied guys to stabilize the bikes.
Backing out from the dock at Tobermory. Crystal clear blue water of Georgian Bay, Lake Huron
A typical scene on the 1000 sq. mile Manitoulin Island. The relief is low and the thin alkiline soil over dolomitic rock makes for mostly grazing land.
The cold water of Lake Superior causes cold mists. Even wearing all the layers wasn't enough to keep warm. Somewhere out near the horizon in 530' of water lies largest of the lakes freighters at the time, the Edmund Fitzgerald, which went down with all 29 American crew in a gale in the fall of 1975.
The pink granite in Lake Superior Provincial Park, the most scenic part of the trip, to me.
Not far inland from Thunder Bay and away from the Great Lakes is the divide for water flowing to the oceans. Not too important for todays travellers, but a milestone for the paddlers of the fur trade era.
Tens of thousands of bogs like this in northern Ontario and through the Canadian Shield
Motorcycling is like wilderness canoeing in that the weather can make or break a pleasant days travel. Road leads under the bank of clouds. I learned to put on the raingear
before getting to the rain.
After days of dark,dreary and wet bush, hitting the prairie near the Ontario-Manitoba border and seeing the light and space open up was like reaching the gates of heaven for this prairie boy.
Last day and ugly weather. the wind was so strong a speed of 45mph for the last 200 miles was neccesary not to be blown off the road. This pic is an hour from home at the Qu'Appelle River valley.
F3 ran flawlessly, old fellow had a few creaks.
