Last Ride of the Season

I haven't been riding much since the middle of September. The weather got a bit cooler than I expect, and I was, quite frankly, just tired of freezing while riding. Today the temperature was up to about 11 C, and even though I had lots of work to do, I knew I had to take this opportunity to keep the battery charged and fill up the tank. So out I went.

This time of year I don't fool around with just wearing rain gear. Today I wore my thick, heavy winter coat and pants. They would actually be almost perfect for snowmobiling, if I had a snowmobile and actually liked the snow.

I took the bike out for about 45 minutes, just toddling around the city streets. I saw only two other riders out. I guess most riders have put their bikes away for the winter and it's just us hard-core people out on the roads.

My last stop was the local gas station, where I topped up the tank. I hope I'll be back riding again during the first week of March. But I do have a bit of work to do on the bike. It still has a few bug spatters on it, so it needs a heavy duty scrub, then I'll dry it off and put the cover on it.

Goodbye 'til next season

Getting my Full M Licence

One of the first things I did when I returned from the Big Trip was book my exit test to get my full M (motorcycle) licence. Today was the big day.

I read the ministry's motorcycle handbook this morning as a quick refresher. But there is no use studying for this test as it is all about riding. I knew beforehand that highway riding is part of the test, as is riding through both residential and business areas of a city.

I think over the course of the summer I'd put in enough practice and now it was time to find out if I had the skills needed to pass the test. All the test centres were booked and the closest one was in Stoney Creek. I wasn't going to wait and hope for more dates to open up, so I took the opportunity while I had it.

The first hurdle for me was riding over the Burlington Skyway. The huge bridge is sometimes closed because of strong winds, and that is the reason I'd avoided going over it. Today was another nice warm and sunny day, so I knew wind wouldn't close the bridge.

I arrived just in time for my 2:45 appointment. I filled out the required papers and then met the examiner who showed me how to hook up the ear piece in my helmet. Two examiners were going to follow me in their car and give me directions as I ride.

My only concern was the helmet that I'd picked up in Calgary. It meets European standards, which I understand exceed DOT standards. However, the helmet has not been DOT tested so it is illegal for me to wear in Ontario. I didn't want to show up for the test wearing a safer, yet non-DOT helmet and have them tell me I can't ride the test. As a precaution, I used several bungee cords to hold my first cheap, $80 DOT approved helmet to the back seat.

They didn't ask about the helmet and I didn't say anything, so off we went. The test was about half an hour long, and it covered highway, residential and business zones. I passed without a problem. So what's the difference between having an M2 and a full M licence? I can now drink and ride. Hmmm, there is just something so very wrong with this. The government should really re-think this system.

So, I received my M1 licence in June 2008, and my M2 licence on September 17, 2008. Because I took a rider training course back in June 2008, I was eligible to ride my m2 exit test in June 2010. Instead, I hit the road and took the test after I knew I would pass it with flying colours. What better training ground than riding through five provinces?

Ride through Huntsville

Kilometres: 547.3

Time: seven and a half hours, including stops

Weather: Sunny, 20 C at 10 AM

What a beautiful day for a ride. It’s sunny, warm and perfect riding weather. I had only a light jacket over my riding gear, but of course I had all my rain gear with me just in case.

I’d heard about the twisty roads up north towards Huntsville and headed east out of Toronto along the 401. It was a bit trafficy, but lighter than I expected. I rode from one highway to the next and finally put the speedy traffic behind me as I rode off the 115 onto 35.

Highway 35 was my destination, as I’d heard that it is really twisty the further north you ride. The area around Lindsay is dotted with pastures of horses and cows. There are also few farms, but the harvest, for the most part, has be brought in.

The ride from Lindsay to Coboconk was a bit twisty, but overall it was just a nice quiet ride. It felt good to be out of the city traffic again. After spending all of August on the open road, I discovered that I really missed just getting away from all the cars. This quiet ride is probably as good as it gets in Southern Ontario.

I’d been up this way a few times before, but never all the way to the top of 35. I just had to stop the Kawartha Dairy in Minden.That has to be the best hard ice cream I’ve ever had and I always stop there if I’m in the area. I washed down my homemade egg salad sandwich with a double scoop of chocolate cookie dough ice cream. I think I could feel the calories settling in as I continued to ride north.

The road north of Dorest had recently been paved, so I knew not to lean too much as I road. After the Rockies, this was a bit disappointing, but at least I was gliding through corners, moving my weight on the bike and doing some real riding.

Unfortunately, that section of the ride was too short and time was running out, so I didn’t have time to do it again unless I also wanted to retrace my ride back to Toronto. I opted for a new road, hoping for some more twisties.

The ride into Huntsville brought me back to civilization. I passed by Dearhurst Inn where the G8 Summit was held in June. No barbed wired now. I turned on my GPS just before getting to Huntsville. I really didn’t want to get turned around and lost in the town. There were so many tourists and cottage people (this means horrible Ontario drivers) there that I just wanted to get out as soon as possible - and without getting hit.

I quickly found Highway 11 and headed south towards Barrie. Highway 11 is typical two-lane highway, so that means there is little opportunity to take in the scenery unless I want to get run over. Just south of Hawkstone, I looked over at some pastureland. I was gobsmaked because there were bison grazing in the field. I’d been all over the Prairies; I’d run my hands through thick bison hides, I’d walked on bison rugs, but I had not been able to find one living bison. And here they are; not in Manitoba, where the bison is on the provincial coat of arms, but in Southern Ontario. There is something so wrong about all of this.

Highway 11 merges with Highway 400 near Barrie. As I road home I realized that I was riding the same road I’d ridden last Satruday, at almost the exact same time. Today, I was 15 minutes earlier than I had been last week. What a difference seven days makes. The weather is better today, but I must admit, I’d rather be heading out on another adventure than returning home.

But the season isn't over yet and I hope to put a few more good trips under my wheels before I have to put the 950 away for the year.

Blind River to Toronto

Day 30 – Saturday September 4, 2010

Kilometres: 569.4

Time: 7 and a quarter hours (including stops)

Weather:

Blind River: Light rain, 9 C at 9 AM

Barrie: Steady rain, windy, 12 C at 3 PM

Toronto: Overcast, windy, 17 C at 4:15 PM

I don’t think I will ever warm up. I heard that Toronto was in the middle of heat wave a few days ago. I guess I brought the cool weather with me all the way from Tete Jeuane.

But let’s start from the beginning of the day. Last night I had put the left over pizza in the fridge with the intention of have it for breakfast this morning. Unfortunately, I forgot to check the temperature in the fridge and discovered that the pizza was frozen solid. I packed up my bike, put on all four layers of clothing and hit the road.

I stopped at the Tim Hortons in Espanola for a quick breakfast. I must have arrived during rush hour, as it was quite busy. May of the people were heading south to catch the ferry to Manitoulin Island. I briefly thought out doing that too, but decided against. The ride through the First Nations’ hunting ground south of Tobermory is a really boring ride with hardly anywhere to stop if the weather turns bad.

The ride around Georgian Bay was uneventful. However, the rain was slowing becoming more steady and harder.

Around one o’clock I pulled into service centre. The rain was really coming down and I needed a bit of break. I was also hoping that the weather would improve after I had a bight to eat. I was so fortunate that there is a Lick’s Burgers at the service centre. I really have missed their nature burgers. Having the burger made me realize that I was back in familiar territory. The Big Trip was nearly over and I was now riding the roads that are in my backyard.

I started to look back on how different the people are, not only in each province, but also in different parts of the same province. The one thread that was common to everyone I met was their friendliness. Most people wanted to talk, help, offer suggestions, or just pass the time with me. Some people, like the woman who invited me into her car during the sever thunderstorm in Saskatchewan, went out of their way when they didn’t have to.

Everyone was friendly, which is something I am very grateful for.

Here are my observations about the some of the provinces.

Without a doubt, Ontario has the worst drivers. It’s not the speeding that bothers me, it’s the “me first” mentality that endangers everyone on the road.

I’ll always remember the Manitoba for the golden fields of wheat and sunflowers. Even though it’s a Prairie province, it’s not all flat. Although the roads are very straight in the forests in the eastern part of the province have, riding through woods was very tranquil.

If you want to buy an old car, go to the middle of Saskatchewan. Many of the farmers have old – think 1940s – cars just sitting there. I met a number of fans from Rider Nation, who were really nice people. Now I really understand how the word “fan” originated from the word “fanatic.”

Alberta drivers are all speed freaks. Not that they are bad drivers, they’re just fast drivers.

BC is full of friendly people, even in Vancouver. The roads were twisty through the mountains and I don’t think I can get back there soon enough.

I guess the north and the east coast are next.

After lunch, I jumped back on the bike and knew that I would only stop for gas and to unload the bike when I get home.

The further south I road, the windy it became. The rain came down really hard for about an hour after lunch, then it let up and the wind picked up.

The gusts of wind started pushing me all over the highway from about Barrie south to the 401. I just stayed hunkered over the handlebars for about two hours fighting the wind.

I made it home just after 4:15 PM. I rolled my bike into the underground garage, hauled my gear up to the apartment and was greeted my cat who had probably thought I’d abandoned her.

During my 30 days on the roads, I put 11,689.1 kilometres under my wheels.

I had a fantastic trip of a lifetime and am so looking forward to my next Big Adventure.

Schrieber to Blind River

Day 29 – Friday September 3, 2010

Kilometres: 675.6

Time: eight and a half hours (ride time)

Weather:

Scheiber: Heavy rain, 13 C at 9 AM

Blind River: Cloudy with passing showers, 20 C at 6 PM

Yet another day of rain and cold. I woke up in the middle of the night because the rain on the motel’s roof was so loud.. The parking lot was flooded when I looked outside this morning. (See pic.)

In an attempt to drain the water, the hotel plugged in a water pump, that is what the electrical cord in the pic is for. I turned on the Internet and looked at the forecast. More heavy rain and the temperature will drop to 8 C by the afternoon. Hmmm, how fast can I get out of Schrieber? I packed up the bike, had a coffee and was gone in half an hour.

It didn’t long before the showers turned into heavy rain and I had to slow down just to see the road ahead of me. The one good thing is that there aren’t as many trucks on the road today. I guess all the truckers have gone home for the Labour Day weekend.

Nonetheless, my two favourite rides in Ontario were not nearly as much fun as they could have been because at times it was just too dangerous to go above 80 kph on a road that I would normally do about 100.

I stopped in Wawa for gas and a quick lunch at Tim Hortons. There isn’t any gas between Wawa and Sault Ste. Marie, which is about 230 kilometres to the south. My bike can go about 300 before dipping into the reserve, but I really like to play it safe so I try to fuel up by 225, just as I had to with my old bike.

On a motorbike, the rider can very quickly feel the change in weather. Today I knew immediately when I finally broke through the cold front. Unless you’ve experienced it, you would think I’m exaggerating when I say that the change from cold to warm is almost instantaneous. It’s like going indoors to a warm house after being out in the cool fall weather. My thermometer on the bike shot up a few degrees really quickly, and my hands didn’t feel as cold. The downside to this particular change in weather was that the wind picked up.

I’d just reached Agawa when the change in weather occurred. For those not familiar with the region, it is right on the eastern shore of Lake Superior. The wind came rushing in straight off the lake, which meant it was cold and gusty. The gusts at times were strong enough to push my bike and I had to fight against it to stay in the blocking position, which has now turned into almost the centre of the lane. I quickly figured out that the trees were blocking the wind from the lake, so when there wasn’t a line of trees, I braced for a strong guest.

This stretch of road is in a provincial park. If you recall from my blog posting from day two of my Big Trip, I really didn’t know how to describe the landscape. After seeing much of Canada, the only place I can compare the park to is the foothills of the Rocky Mountains west of Rocky Mountain House. Those foothills went on forever when compared to the foothills leading into the Crownest Pass, and into Jasper.

This is also where I saw my second 18 wheeler overturned. The first one on my way out west and happened between Terrance Bay and Marathon. It had just occurred because the OPP went whizzing by me to get to the scene. By the way,on my way home I noticed that the that truck is still there and has yellow police tape around it. You’d think that someone, such at MTO or the trucking company, would have removed it. Anyway, I saw the second overturned truck today. It was an Atlas Moving truck. I don’t know if it was hit by a gust of wind, but it had cross over into the oncoming traffic and gone into the ditch. Some poor family’s household goods were thrown out of the truck. I saw a mattress and some furniture in the ditch or halfway out the back door of the truck. I really felt sorry for these people. A couple of other 18 wheelers were there. A couple of people were clearing up the household contents and loading them into another truck.

I was soon in Sault Ste. Marie, where I filled up with gas and immediately left. The weather had pushed me behind schedule. It was almost 4:30, which was much later than I had expected to arrive in the Soo.

I rode from Sault Ste. Marie to Blind River in about an hour and a half. It rained lightly a couple of times, the wind continued to blow, and the clouds always looked threatening.

Blind River is tiny. I pulled into the hotel and almost immediately asked about food, after noticing that the motel doesn’t have a restaurant. I’d noticed the Tim Hortons, but I can’t do Timmy’s twice in one day. The guy pointed to a street opposite the motel and said, “That’s our downtown.” It looked about two blocks long and there wasn’t a person in sight.

I unpacked the bike and walked, in the rain (surprise) to downtown, which was mostly closed. I noticed only three places open, a pizza parlous, a bar, and the liquor store. Now, I may be wrong, but I usually have a good sense for this sort of thing. There was no way I was going to go in that bar. It just looked like trouble. I kept walking and went into the LCBO, picked up a bottle of Italian red and then went to the pizza parlour.

Back at my motel room I taste tested the wine and pizza. The leftover pizza will be breakfast in the morning (I wonder how cold pizza and coffee go together?)

This is my last night on the road and I am thankful for it only because I just want to be warm and for the rain to stop. I haven’t seen the sun since last Tuesday in the Okanagan Valley.

Dryden to Scheiber

Day 28 - Thursday September 2, 2010

Kilometres: 584.2

Time: seven and a quarter hours (ride time)

Weather:

Dryden: Rain, 17 C at 9 AM

Upsala: Heavy rain, 12 C at 12:30

Schieber: Rain 16 C at 5 PM

I need only one word to describe today's ride: wet. If I were asked for another adjective, I'd say, "cold."

It rained all day from start to finish. What really bothered me was the temperature fluctuations. East of Upsala, it went down to 10 C and hovered there for too long. I was just frozen by the time I pulled into Thunder Bay around 2 PM.

I have now ridden on the most horrible roads imaginable. From Kekabeka Falls, which is about 15 km west of Thunder Bay, I rode on scraped, grooved pavement, gravel, and then for about half a kilometre I rode on dirt. Well, I'm sure it started out as dirt, but with all the rain it turned to mud. It was about 10 kilometres of hellish riding. To make matter even more interesting, it was one lane only - both east and west bound traffic were using the same lane. Groan. Signal people let traffic through at a snail's pace. Unfortunately, when the signal person says, "Go," the front car takes off and leaves me behind to hold up traffic. I can't drive too slowly or the bike will get caught in the groves and go over. If I drive to quickly, the front end starts to shake uncontrollably. I'm usually pretty good at 60 kph, but the cars behind me think it is way too slow.

The only good thing about all this is that if I do have an unplanned dismount, the construction people will probably pick my bike up for me as I can't lift the thing by myself. They don't want to hold up traffic on the account of an upturned motorcycle.

I went passed the Eastern/Central time zone marker, but I didn't stop. There was just no point in stopping because it was raining so hard. The same was true for the Terry Fox monument. It's also a scenic lookout, but I really couldn't see more than a couple of kilometres ahead on the road, never mind looking at Lake Superior.

I arrived in Scheiber, cold, and hungry. At least I was dry. Most of my stuff is soaked. I've even propped my helmet up on the motel's ice bucket so I can get some warm air under it to dry off the padding. I'm sure it will take a few days to dry out everything in my luggage once I get home.

Speaking of warm, I'm finally at a hotel where I have control of the heat. This is the first time since Edmonton that I've been warm. I hear that Toronto is still having a bit of heat wave. I hope it's there when I return home in a couple of days.

I have one more stop, in Blind River, and then the following night I will be home. I hope the weather improves for tomorrow's ride as I will be riding two of my favourite Ontario highway sections. Currently, Scheiber and the surrounding areas are under a heavy rain fall warning. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the weather will finally co-operate for the final two days of the trip.

Finally, today I passed the 10,000 kilometre mark on the trip. I think the bike deserves a good wash, an oil change, and a new air filter after such a long ride in 28 days.

Winnipeg to Dryden

Day 27 - Wednesday September 1, 2010

Kilometres: 355.0

Time: four and a half hours (ride time)

Weather:

Winnipeg: Mostly cloudy, 16 C at 10 AM

Dryden: Scattered clouds, 23 C at 3 PM

It was a rather uneventful ride today. I retraced the roads I ridden only a few weeks ago. There is more construction, though, which is challenging. In one section just east of Kenora, there was about 7 kilometres of scraped pavement, which is really dangerous for motorcyclist if the grooved pavement is deep. The wheels tend to follow the grooves and take control of the direction of the bike. Fortunately, only a portion of it was deep. Another part of the same construction zone reduced the road to gravel. It's not as bad as mud, but there were a few white-knuckled moments.

I know I'm back in Ontario when I have to share the road with dangerous drivers who should never have been issued a licence. So there I am, trying to negotiate a gravel road (that is a highway) and I'm doing the posted construction zone speed limit of 60 kph. I'm following good motorcycle safety procedure by riding in the blocking position, which is roughly a metre or so to the right of the centre line. Some idiot decided that I'm not going fast enough and that I shouldn't impede his speed. He drove on the gravel shoulder to pass me on the right.

This is the fourth time this has happened to me this summer. One idiot woman decided to pass me (in a school zone outside of the Toronto police college) by driving in the bicycle lane. Only in Ontario has this happened to me.

The best drivers are in Saskatchewan. They pull over and slow down to let you pass. They'll let you merge with traffic without trying to push your off the road. They follow the rules the road. Drivers in Alberta are all just speed freaks. The posted highway speed is 110, but to keep up with traffic you have to do about 130. Some go much faster than that. Red light runners are few and far between in the Prairies. I saw mostly yellow light runners in BC, but not one red light runner. I felt really out of place when I ran a yellow in Winnipeg. I was the only who did it.

After driving in many major cities in five provinces in the last month, I think Ontario drivers are horrible and GTA/Toronto drivers are downright deadly. Now I know why insurance rates are so high into Toronto.

On to a better subject, though. The weather finally improved ... but not for long. When I packed up the bike this morning it was sunny. Fifteen minutes later, it was cloudy and rain threatened. Fortunately, it didn't catch up with me. It even started to warm up. By the time I arrived in Kenora, I changed into my summer riding gloves and removed my polar fleece jacket.

It was a short ride today. I guess I planned it that way for a reason, but I can't figure out what the heck I was thinking. I finished today a bit after 3 PM, but I could have gone for another three hours without a problem. I guess there isn't a whole lot between here and Thunder Bay, which is just over 300 kilometres away.

The weatherman is calling for rain starting tonight and going into tomorrow. There is a possibility of thunderstorms in the afternoon, so I will get an early start.

I have an eight hour ride ahead of me tomorrow so I'm hoping that the forecast is wrong.

Regina to Winnipeg

Day 26 – Tuesday August 31, 2010

Kilometres: 620.2

Time: 7 hours, 15 minutes (including gas stops and half an hour for lunch)

Weather:

Regina: Rain, 10 C at 10 AM

Brandon: Cloudy, 16 C at 2:30

Winnipeg: Cloudy, 18 C at 6 PM

The weather is really getting to me. I haven’t been warm since I was in the hotel in Edmonton. None of the other hotels have the heat on, and it is getting pretty darn cold at night. It rained all night and it was also cold. In the hotel room it was 13 C. I slept in my street clothes because they are the warmest clothes I have. The hotel provided an extra blanket.

I delayed leaving in the morning in hopes that it would warm up and perhaps clear up a bit. It had almost stopped raining when I left, but the temperature had not improved.

It was yet another day of being lucky with the rain. I could see the storms, which were only regular grey clouds of rain, and, thankfully, not thunderstorms. I was fortunate to miss the worst of it. A few times I could see the raining coming down and heading southeast towards the highway … and my future path. I just pulled on the throttle harder and tried to beat the storm.

By the time I arrived in Brandon (the wheat capital of Canada) the worst of the storms were over and the sun was trying to poke through the clouds. It also warmed up noticeably. I’ve discovered that I cannot ride when it is 8 C or colder. Or at least I can’t ride in the gear that I have with me on this trip. At 10 C, I am miserable, but still able to ride. At 12 C, it is tolerable and I can almost enjoy myself. At 14 C I am a happy rider, even though I’m wearing two pairs of gloves, five layers on my top half and four on my lower half.

The wind was a bit gusty at times, especially when I went over bridges, which, thankfully, are few and far between out here.

Just east of Portage la Prairie the landscape noticeably changed. There were many more trees and at one point I rode through a spruce forest.

Just as I reached Winnipeg it began to cloud over, but it didn’t rain. I’m staying in the east end of the city and could have taken the ring road, but instead I went right through the city and found the hotel without any trouble. I think I understand the basic layout of the city and if I were here for a week I would be hard pressed to get lost in Winnipeg.

My one regret about arriving late in Winnipeg is that I won't have time to visit the Forthwyte Alive, which has bison (I have been corrected a number of time that they are NOT buffalo) gated in a natural prairie setting. I've only seen bison hides and would really love to seen one of these huge, wonderful beasts alive and in person.

I’m staying in the same hotel, and even have the same room that I had on my trip west. As soon as I arrived, I ate dinner, drank a beer, then changed into my swimsuit and jumped in the pool. As I have a short ride day tomorrow, I may have one final swim first thing in the morning. Next stop: Ontario.

Saskatoon to Regina

Day 25 – Monday August 30, 2010

Kilometres: 456.9

Time: Five hours, 45 minutes(riding time)

Weather:

Saskatoon: Overcast, 12C at 10:30 AM

Batoche: Partly cloudy, 18 C at 2 PM

Regina: Rain, 12 C at 7 PM

I really should read my itinerary the night before I ride. I thought I skipped over visiting Batoche yesterday because of weather. It was actually planned for today. This morning I weighed my options: Go to Regina early and see the RCMP Museum, or go to Batoche. After a quick breakfast I packed up and headed north to the site of the last Metis battle. I reasoned that there is a good chance of me going through Regina again, but only a small chance of me ever being close to Batoche again.

You don’t just stumble across Batoche. It is so out of the way that you have to know it’s there. I got off of Highway 11 and headed east on 312 for a while before going north on 225. Both 312 and 225 are not well travelled. I passed seven cars going in the opposite direction on both 312 and 225. If I were to breakdown my only witnesses would be the ducks on the ponds. The grain fields go on forever, but I still deny that Saskatchewan in flat. Both the North and South Saskatchewan rivers have created deep, wide valleys, similar to what I’d seen in Qu’Appelle Valley. Stands of trees break up the farmland, and I’ve often wondered if the Prairies without all the farm fields would look similar to Southern Ontario.

Speaking of similarities, highways 312 and 225 reminded me of the concessions and regional roads of Southern Ontario: farmers fields on both sides, a small road ditch, hardly a road shoulder, and quilt work patches of pavement.

I arrived at Batoche a bit before noon. I turned off onto a paved road, which quickly turned to hardpack and then gravel. Don’t these people think of motorcycles? The parking area is on grass, so I guess they don’t think of motorcycles at all. There were only six cars in the lot, so I had high hopes that I wasn’t going to be surrounded by screaming kids.

The national park is undergoing revitalizing construction, so the reception area is in a construction trailer. I paid my $7.80 and was lead to another trailer to watch a short film about the battle. I really think that third semester broadcasting students could have done better. All the key characters were represented by what looked like hand-formed plastic figures. They probably did it this way so the narrative could be overdubbed in French and English, but it looked cheaply done. The six other people in the room were shuffling our feet and staring around presumably from inattention to a rather boring film. I later learned that we were some of the last people to see the film as it is being re-shot for next year.

After the film we were allowed to walk around the site and interact with the few period costumed interpreters. The first building I went into was the original church. Many of the statues, and other religious artefacts are original to Batoche. Beside the church is the rectory. There I met one of the interpreters who walked me around the three rooms on the ground floor. All the items in the rectory are from that time period, but not necessary from the original Batoche rectory. In many ways it reminded me of the recreated rooms I walked through in the big house at Lower Fort Garry.

On the second floor the priest kept the post office, a prayer room, a room for visiting priests and another bedroom (his bedroom was on the first floor, so I don’t know who slept in the upstairs room.

In the corner I saw a piece of furniture that look similar to the oak piece I’d given to Margo a few years ago. The two upper drawers were slightly different and this piece was maybe 15 cm taller. I asked the Parks Canada person if she could open it for me as I was interested in seeing how the handle and catch worked. Also, the colour of the Batoche pieces is white. I had stripped off five layers of paint on the oak cabinet, and I think the last one was white. Hey, Margo, it looks like I gave you something from the 1880s or 1890s. You may want to paint it white.

With my interested in the piece, the Parks Canada guide directed me back downstairs to look at another piece that was painted red. She said it was painted using milk paint, which is no longer made. I corrected her on that, and after looking at the piece I suggested that they looked in the Lee Valley catalogue, specifically for ochre milk paint. It is very close in shade, but the Batoche piece maybe slightly lighter in colour.

Here's a picture of the church with the rectory behind it. Both took shots from the RCMP's Gatling gun during the battle.

I had spent too much time talking, and had to hurry the remainder of my visit. I went to the ridge where the battle took place. It was a lovely view of the South Saskatchewan River. I turned around to look back at the church and saw this:

From there I started to walk towards the Metis gun pits, but they were half a kilometre away. Was it worth walking a kilometre to see holes in the ground with my time at Batoche running short? Instead I turned around and walked to the Batoche cemetery.

The guides told me to follow the paths to the different areas. They aren’t really paths, as the area is mostly grass. All they have done is taken a tractor and mowed down three metres of the grass. If you go off the mowed area, you will be standing in grass up to your waist. The path continued around the side of cemetery, but I always like taking the front door when I can find it.

The gates of the cemetery, which is still used by the parish, were locked shut, but the black gate had a simple catch on it. I pulled in the catch and pushed open the gate. Everyone from Batoche to Saskatoon must have heard me open the heavy metal gate. It has never seen a drop of oil in its life. Wow, was that ever loud … and I had only opened it a few inches. I paused for a second. Was I supposed to use the gate? Oh, well, I’d already started making a noise, so I may as well finish. An yes, I remembered to close the gate behind, just in case they didn’t hear me open it.

I was looking for the grave of Gabriel Dumont, Louis Riel’s military leader. I found several members of his family, including his brother and sister, but I didn’t see his grave, even though I was told he was in the cemetery. There was a plaque on a rock commemorating what he’d done, but I couldn’t find the grave marker.

I found the grave of one of the RCMP (or were they the North West Mounted Police by that time?) soldiers killed in the battle. All the other bodies of soldiers killed in the battle were returned to their families in Ontario.

There is also a wooden fence around the graves of the Native fighters who lost their lives at the battle. What I found interesting about the cemetery is the mix of English and French people buried there. Many of the French graves had the inscription, “Ici repose le corpes de …. And then ended in RIP. Generations of the same families are buried here, but interestingly, the cemetery is not divided up by family. This didn’t help me at all with finding Gabriel Dumont’s final resting place. Also, the graves are not arranged in rows. It’s a bit of a jumble.

In the end I gave up looking. The wind had dropped and the flies, especially the mosquitoes were coming out by the millions.

I didn’t see the remainder of the Batoche site, and I know I missed quite a bit, but I couldn’t stay any longer as it was getting close to 2 PM. I had at least a three and a half hour ride ahead of me.

As I stood beside my bike and started to get ready to head out, three tourists from Saskatchewan struck up a conversation with me. They had also travelled extensively throughout Canada. They said that they spent 11 days in Newfoundland and still didn’t have a chance to see everything they wanted to. It sounds like that will be a two-week trip for me and not the one-week I had originally planned. We also started talking about the geography of Saskatchewan. Apparently there are three distinct parts to the province. Batoche is on the edge of the valley. North of here it’s all lakes, trees, and wilderness. The southern part of the province is more hilly, especially the Cypress Hills, which I’d missed seeing because of poor weather a few weeks ago.

As I got on the bike, I noticed that it was 18 C, the warmest weather I’d had since leaving Vernon nearly a week ago. The sun was attempting to poke out from behind the clouds, and for a while it was winning. But as I rode south, the clouds again increased.

I stopped for gas in Saskatoon and kept going south. I knew I had to stop for gas one more time before reaching Regina, and I wanted to prolong that stop for as long as possible. If I timed everything right, I could get gas and quick bite to eat and not have to worry about food once I arrived in Regina.

I stopped at 5 PM at the small town of Davidson. My fingers were numb and so were my toes. The temperature had dropped to 14 C. I needed to warm up. I fuelled up both the bike and myself and then stretched my legs for a bit. My half an hour break would cost me, though, because about 10 minutes after I left Davidson, the temperature dropped even further.

For the next hour and 15 minutes I rode in the rain, which I don’t mind, but I also rode like a frozen Popsicle. Thank god I bought that $10 piece of plastic called a cruise assist. It slips over the throttle and I just lean on it and the throttle opens. It means that I don’t have to grip the throttle all the time. My hands were so cold that I couldn’t grip the throttle even if I wanted to. They simply rest on the grips and turn the bars when I come to a curve in the road. Once again I’m thankful I’m not riding the twisty roads in BC.

I arrived at the hotel craving a hot coffee, but this one doesn’t have an in-room machine, so I had to go across the street and buy one from Tim Hortons, which means I was desperate.

Tomorrow I’m heading to Winnipeg and then I’ll retrace my steps home.

Edmonton to Saskatoon

Day 24 – Sunday August 29, 2010

Kilometres: 578.0

Time: Eight hours (including stops)

Weather:

Edmonton: Overcast, 8 C at 9:45 AM

Saskatoon: Overcast, 10 C at 5:45 PM

This was an absolutely unremarkable day. It was cold, with periods of rain throughout the day. My only stops were for gas and food, which where at the same places. The only variance was a short diversion into Battleford.

Battleford was totally dead. I only saw two kids playing on the street and one person mowing the front lawn. All the stores were closed and almost every house had a car in the driveway. It seems that no one goes out on a Sunday. The town hall was erected in 1912 and it looks like the post office building was also built around the same time. I went up and down a couple of streets and was quiet surprised to find that about 75 per cent of the homes are mobile homes that have become permanent.

There were only two places open in Battleford: one was a Petro Canada station and the other one was a Shell station. Both were on the highway. I stopped at the Petro-Can for gas. It also seems like this is the only available washroom in town. There was a lineup.

Next I drove through North Battlefords (collectively they are called “The Battlefords”), which had people on the sidewalks, cars on the streets, and open businesses.

Originally, I had planned to detour just prior to The Battlefords and visit Cut Knife, tour Fort Battleford, and then ride northeast to Batoche. Again, the weather convinced me otherwise. I really, really, REALLY hate being cold. By the time I’d reached The Battlefords, I’d lost the feeling in the tips of all my fingers. All my planned activities were outdoors, which meant I was cancelling them.

During the hour and a half ride from The Battlefords to Saskatoon, I spend most of the time hunched down over my tank trying to get a bit of protection from my windshield. As I type this out, I have very stiff shoulders and am looking forward to a visit tot he chiropractor next Tuesday.

Edmonton

Day 23 – Saturday August 28, 2010

Kilometres: 38.6

Time: Not much

Weather:

Edmonton: Overcast, windy, 8 C at 9:30 AM

The weather had not improved overnight, and after looking at the forecast, I knew I’d have a few cold and rainy days ahead of me. My first job today was to get an oil change. I’d looked on the Yamaha website prior to leaving Toronto, so I knew where all the rapid service centres were located. The closest one was 15 km away, which. After riding all this way, seemed to be pretty close.

I was in and out in about 45 minutes. I’ve learnt something very important from visiting a number of dealerships on this trip: most of them sell all the same stuff and most of it is crap. The only place that sold a good variety was Blackfoot in Calgary. If someone were really smart, and had the money, they would open up a store that stocked quality motorcycle accessories with a large variety. Yes, the items would cost more, but I really believe that people will pay for quality goods, with a solid warranty, and backed up with exceptional service.

After the oil change, the service manager paid me a very nice compliment. He called me a real rider because I’d put black electrical tape all over the fake chrome parts on the front of my bike. He said that that was an old trick that riders in the Prairies had been doing for a long time. He said that I had caught on quickly and was using my head. I didn’t tell him that I’d taped up some of it while riding in Toronto, and then the remainder of it at the Central Time Zone change turnout, also in Ontario. It was waaaay before I’d arrived in Prairies.

After the oil change I rode over to West Edmonton Mall. I arrived around 11 AM and had to park nearly in the furthest parking spot. Fortunately, I’d removed most of items from my saddlebags so I rolled up all my rain gear and tucked them away. I had the cloth bag for my helmet, so I put the helmet in the bag and slung that over my shoulder. At least I wouldn’t boil while walking through the mall and I knew my helmet was safe.

I really don’t know how to describe WEMl. I guess the closest I could come is to take Yorkdale, Scarborough Town Centre and Sherway Gardens and combine them. Then add in a giant wave pool, a hockey rink, mini putt, and sea lion show. I know that I’m missing a few things, but I’m sure you get the general idea.

When I say take the three malls and combine them, I’m also including the stores. For instance, I saw two Payless shoe stores, three La Senza stores, and three Lids stores (I thought of you Anthony). There are also the departments stores, such as HBC, Zellars, and Sears. But I didn’t go to WEM to go shopping; I wanted to see the different “streets” or areas. For instance, did Bourbon Street make me feel as if I were in New Orleans? Umm, no, not at all. I was greeted by a Boston Pizza, a Tony Rona (ribs) and Moxies (restaurant chain). This is not my idea of New Orleans. The lights were dim to give it ambiance, and the store facades were attempting to look like New Orleans. It may have worked, except for the stores themselves. They are merely dressed up versions of what I could find in most malls. It was nothing special.

Next, I visited “Chinatown.” It had the exact same problem that Bourbon Street had. All the store signs were in English and Chinese, but I really can’t buy into being in Asia when I have a Roger’s store facing me. At the end of the “street” was a Chine-inspired food market. I didn’t bother going on, but I did overhear some one say that the inside looked just like Asia only cleaner.

I stopped by to look at the wave pool. I can see why this would be such an attraction, especially during the Edmonton winters. I walked back through the mall and came across only one store that I was interested in. It is called Millennium and it sells goth clothes. Unfortunately, it sells the cheap stuff (see my mini-rant on quality motorcycle accessories), which I’d first seen in Vaudeville and Trash in New York City. This stuff will fade and fall apart in no time. I really have to take extra care with my lower end goth clothes, such as the Tripp brand, because the material is too thin and the stitching isn’t of good quality. Hence my improved hand sewing over the last couple of years. I’ll stick to Living Dead Souls, but it’s so unfortunate that it’s not available in North America.

I was back on my bike by 12:30 and cars were circling me for my parking spot. I had a lot of gear to put on so many people just gave up waiting for me to leave.

After such miserable riding weather the day before, I knew that I needed something to cheer me up while riding. I needed music. My old headphone speakers don’t fit into my new helmet so ever since Calgary, I’ve been tuneless.

Canadian Tire solved the problem for me. I bought the second cheapest set of earbuds. Back at the hotel, I figured out how the make the new sound system work and then made sure it was comfortable by wearing helmet with the sound system for about 20 minutes. Hopefully, it will work on the road just as well as it worked in the hotel room.

Tete Jaune Cache to Edmonton

Day 22 – Friday August 27, 2010

Kilometres: 483.4

Time: seven hours, 15 minutes

Weather:

Tete Jaune Cache: Overcast, 9 C at 8:45 AM (Pacific Time)

Edmonton: Mostly sunny, windy, 18 C at 4:45 PM (Mountain Time)

I started the day with a cup of coffee on the banks of the Fraser River. (I took the picture with coffee in hand.) It was too misty/cloudy to see Mount Sir Wilfred Laurier, but I did manage to catch a glimpse of its high summit last night as the sun went down.

I had a perfect night’s sleep and I highly recommend Teet Jaune Lodge to anyone who is looking for a simple (no TV, radio, alarm clock, telephone or hot food) night’s rest in a picturesque surroundings. If you really want to rough it, you can also sleep in a real tepee, but that is too roughing it for me.

Here's a picture I took of the mist rising from the mountains that were in front of the lodge.

I ate the Campbell’s soup just-nuke-and-eat for breakfast and then rode east towards the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies – Mount Robson.

Before reaching Mount Robson, I stopped to look at Mount Terry Fox. I thought that would be nice to add to the trip as I’d stopped by his monument near Thunder Bay on the way out west. Interestingly, it was exactly 30 years ago that Terry ran the Marathon of Hope. I think (but will have to double check) I will be riding through Thunder Bay the day after the 30th anniversary of the marathon being called off.

I’d seen Mount Robsom 18 years ago on my first trip out west. I was disappointed, but not heartbroken, that the mountain wasn’t visible through the clouds. Through the occasional break in the clouds, I saw the side of the mountain, but not the summit. The Parks people told me that the rain I’d experienced yesterday fell as snow on the mountain. I’m not sure if that means winter is quickly coming or if this is normal all year around. It is, however, above the treeline so there is snow up there all year.

My next stop was Jasper, which to me is a tourist trap. I ate a quick hot meal, filled up the bike with gas and continued on. By this time the weather had turned wet and I was riding through on-again, off-again showers. I don’t mind riding in the rain, but I really hate riding when it’s cold.

As I rode out of Jasper, I looked over towards a valley to the west. It was completely black with rain clouds that had settled in between the mountains. It was also heading very slowly my way. The highways speed is 100 kph, but people tend to drive quicker. Every now and then the speed limit is lowered because the danger of wild animals on the roads.

I was lucky enough to see a big horned sheep perched on a cliff at the side of the road. It was only about 12 metre up on the cliff. The only reason I noticed it is because it’s white backside was pointed towards me. Against the rock, that part really stood out. I wouldn’t have noticed him otherwise because he blends in perfectly with the cliff.

At the same time, I kept an eye on the storm behind me. I really think it was chasing me through the valley.

A little further up the road, the vehicle in front of me slowed down to let a pair of coyotes cross the highway. They didn’t seem to be in hurry, but at least they didn’t get hit, or stop on the road.

I was all too soon out of the mountains and into the foothills. The foothills in this area didn’t seem as extensive as the ones near Rocky Mountain House. By the time I reached Edson, the foothills were behind me and the mountains were gone from sight.

As I slowed down to enter Edson, a deer was grazing at the side of the road just inside the city limits. It certainly was a day full of wildlife

As soon as I was clear of the mountains, the wind really picked up and was at times a bit hazardous. The ride from Hinton (in the foothills) into Edmonton was unpleasant because of high crosswinds and the occasional shower. When I pulled into Edmonton, my thermometer read 18 C, but the wind was from the north and had a strong bight. It really felt closer to 10 C.

I ended the day with a nice piece of salmon, a baked potato, veggies and a beer. The perfect end to a day full of ups and down.

In the news ...

I just found an article in the Toronto Star about hikers discovering the body of a hiker who was lost in 1989. The body was found on August 16, the day before I walked on the Icefield. The bus driver who took us from the excursion centre to the transfer station told us the story.

Read the article here

The body was found by two workers from the company that does excursions. It was their day off and they went for a hike in the Ancient Forest, which is on the north edge of the Icefield and overlooks the lake created by the melting glacier.

To me this is old news, but I guess the Canadian Press was waiting for confirmation of the hiker's name and notification of next of kin.

I'll go through my pics of the Icefield and try to find one of the lake and Ancient Forest and post it soon.

Vernon to Tete Jaune Cache

Day 21 – Wednesday August 26, 2010

Kilometres: 534.3

Time: 10 hours with too many stops

Weather:

Vernon: Sunny, 28 C at 9:15

Kamloops: Storms moving in, 20 C at 11:30

Tete Jaune Cache: Overcast, 8 C at 7:15

It was a beautiful hot, bright, and sunny morning. Just the kind I like. I had a quick continental breakfast at the motel and was on the road by 9:15. As it was so nice, and after baking a bit yesterday, I decided to wear my spandex bicycle shorts under my riding pants. The shorts are so much more comfortable than wearing jeans and are also cooler. But as the wind was cool, I wore my GoreTex rain jacket to keep the chill off my arms.

I continued north on Highway 97 and when the highway split, I took 97 west towards Kamloops. I was dropping in for a quick visit with Freddie, the innkeeper at Thriftlodge, to thank him for suggesting my route change. Highway 97 from 97A to Highway 1 (the T’Can) is a fun little road that isn’t laden with traffic. It’s twisty with some good elevation variations in a few sections.

As I came to the end of Highway 97, I noticed a huge thunderstorm brewing to the west (pic on the left). The anvil was forming and I saw one thermal rising. With a final twist in the road I realized that I was heading straight for it, which I’d prefer not to do. These things are beautiful to look at, but I know what they are capable of, so I didn’t want to experience the storm when it unleashed.

I got into Kamloops and Freddie greeted me with a big hug and kiss on the check. I told him all about the ride through the smoke and my favourite ride, Lillooet to Pemberton. I also told him that I really wasn’t thrilled with the ride up the Fraser Canyon, but as he said, “It’s better than riding the Coquihalla Highway” (think of the DVP and you’ll have a good idea of what it’s like).

Freddie went on to tell me about a couple of other roads that are similar to Highway 99 (Lillooet to Pemberton). All the more reason to return. But he told me that I’d better get going as the weather was calling for thunderstorms. If I hurried, I’d stay in front of them. I put on all my rain gear, except for my rain-off gloves and was soon ready to leave. I got another hug and he told to drop by anytime. Freddie waved me goodbye as I took off.

Before leaving Kamloops, I filled up with gas and food and then headed north up Highway 5 towards Jasper. Well, that was my intention, but I missed the turn off and headed southwest to Vancouver. I had to ride about 15 kilometres to the first exit and turn around. On the way back to Kamloops, I swear I saw the sigh that said 5 North, but I guess I was seeing things because I wound up on the same road I’d taken to go to Lillooet. Yes, I’d love to do that again, but it will have to wait. Fortunately, I didn’t have to ride far before I saw a turnoff into a mining operation. I pulled in and turned on my GPS. I punched in the word “Jasper” and I was soon back to where I’d almost started. My little detour had taken 45 minutes and 56 kilometres.

By now the storms looked menacing. Black clouds surrounded me, and I knew that I was probably going to get caught in the downpour. I love watching the weather. And this was going to be good storm. I could see the stormfront. These clouds formed a solid line at the edge of the black clouds, but they kinda curled downwards and rolled in the wind. Hmm, not a good sign. Some the darkest clouds (I don’t know the official name for the these things) had a few ragtag swirling clouds that had dropped beneath them. It wasn’t rainfall, but distinct clouds. These were darker but much less dense than the clouds above. They weren’t twisting like tornados, but they dropped down from the clouds above and hung there like fingers.

I kept my eye on those and the front. I was extremely fortunate because just as it started to rain (not spitting, but big fat blobs), I came to Little Fort. Up ahead was a Husky gas station and Subway Restaurant. I pulled in, turned off the engine and just as I undid my tankbag, the sky opened up. Down came the hail. A couple of piece of hail hit on the helmet before I reached the porch, and wow, did that sound cool. I pulled off my helmet, took out the camera and snapped a couple of shots as I waited out the storm. (In the pic, that's hail falling. If you look closely, you can see the little white pieces of ice.)

It passed in about 10 minutes, to the west the sky was clearing. In its wake, the storm brought cooler temperatures. I changed into my cold-weather riding gloves, got on the bike and headed north.

It soon began raining again, but not with the intensity of the last storm. I stopped at nearly every gas station, as I didn’t know when I’d find the next station.

Thirteen kilometres south of Avola I pulled into a rest station to put on my polar fleece. Again, I had perfect timing because the sky opened up with a heavy downpour. I pulled off my helmet and decided to wait out the worse of it. Just as it let up, and I’d put my helmet back on, thunder literally shook the ground. I’m a lightning rod on two wheels, so there was no way in the world I was going out to play in that weather. The thunder was so cool because it echoed and bounced off the mountains (that I couldn’t see through the clouds) the duration of one thunderclap was probably double to what I’m used to hearing.

The one thing I found really fascinating while waiting out the storm was the how the weather systems differ from those in Toronto. As the rain continued, mist began rising from the trees. At first I thought it was smoke from forest fires, but I was wrong. As the mist rose it swirled, almost like reverse tornadoes, or churning smoke rising, it began to gather and soon formed a cloud separate and lighter in colour from the storm clouds. These mist clouds reminded me very much of fog clouds I’d ridden through between Rocky Mountain House and the Banff National Park. Perhaps I’d ridden through the mist rising from the trees and not very low clouds.

The only good thing about the storms, I reasoned, is that they will hopefully help the forest fire situation, if the lightning doesn’t start more fires. I waited about five minutes after the last thunder clap and headed to the bike, which was only about three metres in front of me. I looked up the road to see how heavy the traffic was, when I saw lightning strike the mountain near the road from the direction I’d ridden from. I counted to myself to guestimate the distance. I only counted to four when the thunder again rumbled. That was way to close for me to go out and play in.

In total, I waited at the rest station for about 45 minutes. And as I waited I got colder. It was now gone 4:30, and I still had quite a distance to go. As soon as the lightning seemed to clear the area, I was on my bike and trying to make for some lost time. I flicked on my GPS and it estimated my arrival time at Tete for 6:30, but I still had to stop to eat and get gas. That along with the on and off rain, which slowed my speed to about 90 kph, I knew it was going to be a late arrival time.

These mist clouds (for lack of a better term) sat about half way up the mountains. Sometimes, as the roads rose in elevation, I drove right through them and it was like riding through fog. However, for the most part they stayed above the trees and didn’t cover the road. There were some spectacular views with the double clouds, and dark mountains. I couldn’t take a photo, thought, as my camera was wrapped up in a plastic bag inside my tankbag, which had its rain cover on it. Coupled with my double pair of gloves and still frozen digits, there was no way I was going to stop to take a picture.

To cut a long story short, I arrived at Tete Jaune Lodge at 7:15. I was cold and all my luggage was wet. I bought a Campbell’s just-nuke-it-and-it’s-ready soup at the little store and asked for an extra pouch of coffee for the in-room coffee maker. I needed to warm up. It was a chilly 8 C (add that to the 100 kph wind while I’m riding) and I’d just come from the sunny and hot Okanagan Valley. This was shock. I couldn’t feel my fingers and my toes were also frozen. I was very thankful that the road was relatively straight because I was in no condition to be playing on a twisty.

As I write this out, I am staying in a nice big, warm, comfortable room. There is no TV or telephone here. The Fraser River is perhaps 300 metres away from me. The lodge is owned my natives, and with the campfire ban finally lifted, about 200 metres from window is a campfire. One of the Indians is singing and playing a drum by the fire. Sometimes when I look up, I can see his silhouette as he sits on a log in front of the fire, with a big round drum in his hand.