Day 6

Day 6

A quick run on major highways to get to Edmonton.
Today was the hardest day so far, as I had a killer headache for most of the day. Need to remember to hydrate more often.

This is what 6 days on the road looks like from my perspective...

Dave and I have spent the last 2 days getting everything in order for the next leg,which is going to be Edmonton-Inuvik-Edmonton.

Stay tuned...

Day 5

Today I went from Rock Creek State Park in Montana up to the Sweetgrass-Coutts border crossing.

Montana is a beautiful place...

Another great day comes to a close in another pretty place.

DAY 4
From Fargo, ND I ended up in Rock Creek State Park, Montana. That was quite a long day...

North Dakota was horrendous. It is one huge oil camp along US2 now that they have started extracting oil. I have never seen so many large trucks, all going 120-130km/hr. Not a relaxing ride. I was originally supposed to stop for the night in Williston, ND but it wasn't a very pretty place.

I learned something, though. Did you know that Rugby, ND is the geographic centre of North America? They have a sign, so it must be true.

When I arrived at Rock Creek State Park in Montana, it was getting late. I was expecting an Ontario style provincial park, with some basic services....
This was the front gate of the State Park. What the hell is this...?

I was tired and the road to the camp ground was 6 miles of the nastiest, loosest gravel I have seen. As I came over a rise in the ground, I discovered why the front gate looked like it did...it's a cattle grate, because ranchers are allowed to graze their cattle on State land...

Yeah, cows on the road. I came close to dropping the bike a couple of times on this gravel, bovine infested 'road'

I met Garvil and Byron, brothers who plied me with food and beer, after questioning my sanity at having taken that road on that big bike. They were serious about camping...

End of a long day...in a very pretty place.

 Day 3

 

Today, as you can see, was a looooong day. 860 km of road...my aching butt!

I was only supposed to go as far as Bemidji, but it was only 2:30 when I got there, so I had an ice cream and considered the map.
I knew that Fargo would be a stretch, but I wanted to go there  Why? Why not? Besides, I wanted to see if they had a good selection of wood chippers...

I have never seen so many dragonflies as I saw passing through Minnesota...there are a few less than there were yesterday

Despite the long day, it was a good day. I am now in a hotel in Fargo, as they are calling for quarter sized hail tonight...so camping is right out!!

More to come, I'm sure....

Day 2

Today was Sudbury to Marquette, Michigan as per the plan.

2 days into the trip and I'm starting to get used to the routine.
Last night in Sudbury was a blast with my sister Caroline, my b-i-l Tom and my nephews Mathew and Nicholas. Much hilarity ensued.


And on a brighter note, my brother will very probably be coming along,as planned.

A picture of a pretty spot on the way through Michigan:

Day 1

My first day is done...600 kms (more or less) from Rockland to Sudbury. Ran intosome rain between Parry Sound and Sudbury, but my sister made an amazing supper and we had some laughs.

Today I learned that a fully loaded,fully gassed 2010 Suzuki DL650 has enough range to make it from Rockland to within 150m of the gas station in Huntsville.

This is Canmore...

My brother is heading out with the Canadian Forces to help out with the flood in Alberta...
I think this means that when I get to Edmonton next Friday, he will still be deployed.

Solo to Inuvik

It's the Final Countdown...leaving in 3 days.

My gear is mostly packed, and the only thing left to do on the bike is an oil change.

Clothes, tent, sleeping bag, mattress, camp chair, stove, pots, drip coffee maker, first aid kit, water filter, saw, axe, knife, bike cover, maps, rope, camera, laptop, power cords and various personal articles...

With any luck I won't even open the first aid kit...

My little girl has been taking an interest in my trip, and recently even helped with some of the preparations...
She was in charge of spraying the tire rims with Windex while I was putting new tires on the bike.
This was something that I hadn't done before, but I thought it would be better to practice in my garage than on the side of the Alaska Highway

I'm down to two weeks before the beginning of this epic trip...
I have poured time and treasure into this trip like you wouldn't believe.

A few of the companies who have benefitted from my largesse:

http://www.happy-trail.com/Suzuki-VStrom-650/Aluminium-Panniers-Teton-VStrom650.aspx

http://www.klim.com/Motorcycle/Badlands-Pro-Jacket.html

http://www.touratech.com/en/latest-news/products.html

http://www.heidenautires.com/dual-sport-tires

http://www.mountainhardwear.ca/

http://www.mec.ca/

http://www.ottawagoodtime.com