Cross Canada on the Bonnie

Hey Toro , you still in Ottawa ? are you riding back to BC as planned , pretty warm now in Ontario ....

Yeah, I just noticed he's gone silent & running deep too. Hope nothing went afoul.

Cooling my jets in steamy Ottawa. Likely to begin return journey next week following long weekend as all campsites will be filled and roads clogged til then.

I hear you , 31C here .... sitting in basement watching ‘toons with 6yr old grandson right now , haha! ..forgot how funny some of them are , just finished an animation”Surfs Up” from ‘07 some big name voices and good theme .... hope you post up your ride back to left coast !

Return journey starts tomorrow. Thinking to take more Northern route after Thunder Bay.

First off...You be careful. Have a great ride and put up plenty of pics because I'll never see the great North again in this life barring a substantial miracle.

The northern route is a real nice ride , enjoy !

Made it to Blind River for the night in a two bit motel. Had a few long stints of rain today, some pretty heavy. Had the rain gear on, off, on and off again. Stopped as Nibblers fish and chip wagon.

Looks good , ..... I like the Klim goretex gear , put it on ,if warm open vents if rain close them up , have never even got damp after entire day of rain ride , plus you need to pack rain gear ....

Been out of comms two days. Nothin at camp sites Eh!

I'm finally out of Ontario after four days of hard riding. Spent lastnight at Sleeping Giant provincial park on lake superior. Quite a superb park indeed.
That last shot is from this morning at end of Thunder Bay Trail on my way out of park. I'm on a very scary cantilevered platform overhanging this massive cliff edge. Likely a 500 ft drop.

Day before I stopped in at a petroglyph trail and took a few shots. To get to the petroglyphs you need to negotiate some pretty slippery angled rocks along the shoreline. I only had enough courage to get to the first set.
Saw this guy trying to mate with the bonne when I got back.

At least you didn't catch it in the face.... Beautiful pics. Quite a scenic excursion.
Maybe I'm behind the time, but I'm used to seeing Triumphs with puddles. You have no puddles.

Thought you might be impressed , Ontario is just plain huge ,eh

jbruney said:

At least you didn't catch it in the face.... Beautiful pics. Quite a scenic excursion.
Maybe I'm behind the time, but I'm used to seeing Triumphs with puddles. You have no puddles.

Click to expand...

No puddles and it's a bike that can do 100,000 trouble free miles and still no puddles.
Hard not to like that!

Glen

Been a wild few days. Had loads of rain yesterday crossing Manitoba. Before the rain stopped at center of Canada for photo op.


Vintage farm display next door.


Saw this ahead and stopped to put rain gear on.

Then the rain began less than one minute down the road.
Managed to drop my phone while rummaging in my gear bag. Smashed up the display something wicked. Schards of splintered glass but somehow still kept working ok save for cutting my fingers while swiping.
Rain stopped and sun out upon crossing to SK. Got off highway for a break and ended up taking a designated scenic route north. 201 I believe. Liking what I saw, kept going and came to big down hill and turning into a huge valley called Qu' Appelle beautiful eroded slopes as far as eye could see.

Couldn't believe this was still SK. Kept going northish. And came to a first Nations camp ground to camp up at on a lake called Crooked Lake.
Stayed on this path whole day today. Headed to Saskatoon to find a phone repair. After that, met up with forum member 850Commando for coffee and coconut cream pie. Heading toward Drumheller tomorrow to hunt me some Trex.

Drumheller is awesome !

Shot a tagged pintail hen that flew in from Saskatoon in '88. They sent me her birth certifications and made be feel bad about my meal 2 weeks prior. I felt like a cannibal when it was said and done. You may have seen her decendants flying about as you passed through.
Beautiful countryside....I should have moved to Canada as I considered when younger. I really like the open country. Be careful.

I got gas in Ft QuAppelle ... got my iPhone for trip , my wife bought me a life proof protective box for phone , expensive but had paid for itself many times since ....

Been a hectic few days with little access to net. Did drumheller on Tuesday in day long drizzling conditions. Not great for riding nor photos. Had a strange problem crop up as I approached the badlands. Wanted to hop off bike to snap a few shots of a nice canyon. While still sitting on bike went to put SS down and it would not budge no matter how much force I could apply with heel of boot. Tried to step off bike anyway. Big mistake as my leg caught on the rear drybag and bike started to fall over. Some adrenalin kicked in and I was able to halt its free fall. Gave up photo idea and continued on trying to figure out how I would eventually get off bike without the ss deployed. Anyway I pulled into the Royal Tyrell museum and found the stand working fine again. Must've been some stone or grit jamming it.
A shot of the badlands on this gloomy day.


Tiktaalik found on Ellsmere island. One of the key transitionals from water to land.


Allosaurus diorama.


And the centrepiece of the exhibit, Black Beauty. A nearly complete fully articulated trex. The minerals that replaced the bones gave it the black colour. These are the actual fossils not casts, save for the original skull which was too heave to mount and is seen below.

After the museum I had to find a place to stay that didn't involve tents in such fugly wet conditions. All rooms within drumheller and surrounds either fully booked or hugely expensive. Decided to head towards Calgary and found a place in Airdrie some hour and half from drumheller. Was a great deal for a new high rise hotel at $85 with breakie. That night made decision to head home via Banff instead of Southerly highway 3.
Weather much better next day. Came across a real live cowboy at a fuel stop. Full Stetson hat, boots, jeans, belt with huge buckle and a great big mustache to complete the picture. He chatted with me about the bike wanting to know the horsepower. I said about fifty more than his two horses in his trailer.
Met up with in laws for lunch in banff, then pressed on. Goal was to end up bottom end of Kootanay park on the BC side of border to camp as weather looked good. Some shots along the way



Made a stop to hike a glacier trail and get a few shots.


Hike was much much longer than expected. After two plus hours climbing and still no where near the glacier end decided to declare victory and head down.
Got into campsite outside Radium Springs town. Looked like lots to see and do but it was late and I still had to tent up and make something to eat so no more exploring. Next morning saw these guys as I rode out.


Was thinking to maybe try for home some 900plus KMs. By just under 500 I was whacked and had to stop. Not keen on another camp up so found a hotel/bar/pub in a place called Rock Creek. Was quite happening place for Wednesday afternoon. Several bikers and seemed the place had an old motorcycle theme going on with a vintage HD and Suzuki tracker on the walls. Also lots of stuffed dead things.



Added bonus the rooms were only $45. Added added bonus, they opened for breakfast at 8am.
Signage next to place


Left at 9am this morning to do the 445 km to home. Passed through Osoyoos.

Unlike last time I did this three years ago, no spike strips were run over.
I was home by 3pm

Thinking you glad to be home and had a really nice ride ! Thanks for posting up your Ride notes and photos , get some rest and enjoy !