Missed by THAT much.

This was the scene on SATURDAY, October 1 near Saskatoon:

A flock of snow geese, gather for the trip south.

This was yesterday, Wednesday October 5, a mere four days later:

Looks nasty.

A True (Canadian) Hero

This was not the longest ride we have done by any means. At a total of 2,263.3 km, this is just a jaunt around the lake. However, the entire trip for Nan and me represented a lot of time on the road: total driving and riding distance was 6,682 km. Notwithstanding there were long stretches across the prairies where it took a long time for the scenery to change, I think it is still a worthwhile exercise to see what our country has to offer. For both of us, it was the first time to drive east of Saskatoon, so we saw a lot of country that we might not otherwise have had an opportunity to see.

But, before we can get on the road, we have to load the bike.

Since the bike is pretty heavy, it is helpful to have lots of hands on deck. On our rest day between arriving back at Bob and Cathy's and departing for home, while Nan and I were at the gym Bob added an insert to the ramp to keep the tire lifted enough to not get wedged, thus preventing some of the challenges we experienced while first loading the bike for the trip out. One of my brand new tie down straps fails so Bob provides me with a couple as insurance.

After we say our tearful goodbyes on Thursday morning, it is a 10 km drive to our first stop. Right in Bob and Cathy's municipality of Shuniah is the spot where Terry Fox concluded his Marathon of Hope run September 1, 1980. There is a beautiful and fitting tribute to this heroic individual near the spot on the highway where Terry Fox ran his last steps on his attempt to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research.

The monument looks over The city of Thunder Bay.

The view from the monument.

The following pictures are of the inscriptions on the monument. The pictures are not compressed so that you can easily expand them to see the detail.

We spent the night in Portage La Prairie, just over 800 km from Bob and Cathy's. We saw six motels in Portage and as many now do, relied on TripAdvisor to make our selection, though not without some apprehension. We went to the number 2 ranked place, and there were several favourable comments that started out with "Don't judge a book by its cover", a cinder block building close to the highway. The motel lobby has two very friendly cats so we are guessing the place is "pet friendly". Plus, we get a cat fix. We pay for the room, a relative bargain at $95 in Portage, but when go into the room, it smells very strongly of cigarette smoke. Who smokes in a hotel room nowadays? Even though we were not told to not smoke, I just figured that was a given. We ask for a different room and we end up checking out three more rooms, two of which smelled very strongly of smoke and the last not made up from the previous guests, so we would have to wait until he could get around to cleaning the room. We decide we will try our luck elsewhere, so we get our money back. At this point, we have already spent about an hour in Portage so we end up at a chain hotel that caters to curlers. In fact, there are eight sheets of ice right in the hotel. This place is not a bargain at $135 and get this: the room has no outside window but rather, a window looking out into a hallway. The king bed has queen sheets and no mattress cover (so they don't tuck under the mattress and thus, come off). The room could use a good vacuuming and the walls and switches could use a good wipe down. The air conditioner has two settings: "arctic" and "off" and while it will cycle between the two, when it is running, there is a really cold breeze blowing onto the bed and when it is off, the room gets pretty warm. The room smells, probably because it would be impossible to get fresh air in there. Initially, I thought it was cigarette smoke again but in the morning, I decided that it was just musty. When I checked out, the front desk clerk asked me how everything was for our stay. I said there were some issues. I couldn't complain about the window because, even though I wasn't told before I paid for the room, I was told when we checked into the place so I figured I owned that issue but I identified the other issues; a management type, who is over hearing my comments, without even looking at me instructs the clerk to take $25 off the room price. The front desk clerk was very apologetic and was clearly exasperated by at least some of my whining but somehow, the manager failed to make eye contact.

My last attempt to photograph some colour on the trip.

It is not a maple, but still an interesting example.

The next day we drove to Saskatoon. It turned out to be a good day's drive and we were into Saskatoon early enough to see what we were doing. We ended up at the Best Western and while it was $9 more than the place in Portage, it was a whole different world. Totally first class and clean.

Snow geese gathering for the flight south.

Our last day on the road it is pouring rain once again. Most of the way between Saskatoon and home it is raining so hard that it is difficult to pass the big trucks for all the water being thrown. I am glad not to be riding because it is cold, too.

And so, we come to that bittersweet moment: arriving home. The holiday is over but as always, we are homesick for our animals and they are excited to see us.

That is Kisura on her hind feet, Malaika on all fours.

We both get the treatment, but Nan always gets it first.

Obi gives us the treatment too. The "silent" treatment.

It's always the same: the dogs are out of their gourds for our first 20 minutes home and Obi is so happy that there is someone there to let him outside.  Then, after that initial 20 minutes, the dogs are ready to be fed but Obi can't leave us alone and uses every opportunity to find his way into a lap.

Thanks for coming along with us on the trip and reading the blog. Next year's trip is well into the planning process and starts after work on Thursday, August 17th and should be epic: The Great American Solar Eclipse Motorcycle Tour and will take us down to Oregon to see the total solar eclipse of August 21, 2017, then through Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. This will be the first total solar eclipse in North America since 1978. We are planning to try something different for that trip, which will be to incorporate camping, something I have wanted to do with Nan for many years. That won't be for every night but it will be a meaningful addition (as Nan keeps reminding me).

Until then, thanks again.

Howi

The Pot of Gold (and Why Americans Hate Canada)

Distance travelled: 357 km
Maximum speed: 123 kph
Temperature range: 8.0 - 13.8 C
Motorcyclers who waved: 0
Motorcyclers who didn't wave: 0

Typically, when on holidays, it is just Nan and me. That being the case, generally only one of us appears in pictures from our holidays and that is usually Nan because I tend to be the picture-taker. The exception to that is when we are motorcycling because Nan is taking the pictures from the back of the bike.

There was once a time when we would return from holidays and the uninitiated might reasonably believe that Nan was on holidays by herself given that I would rarely appear in any picture. It has occurred to me that maybe Nan was just embarrassed to be seen with me but I eventually concluded that that is probably not the case.

That situation has largely been corrected however, when I see a couple where one is taking a picture of the other or when a couple are trying to take a selfie, I immediately feel their pain, so I offer to take the picture. Hence:

The Gang of Four.

I saw these four gals trying to arrange a picture of themselves at this very lovely lookout so I offered to step in and they could all be in the picture together.

Now, in learning a very hard lesson some 28 years and one month ago, which is that no matter how cool, trendy or stylish your glasses are, at some point in the future they are NOT going to be cool, stylish or trendy because, as we all know, fashion is fleeting. Therefore, when you look back at those pictures there is almost a certain probability that you are going exclaim out loud "what was I thinking? ".  Therefore, when I am taking pictures for people, I get them to take their glasses off so that they will be saved from future embarrassment. I also get them to take their hats off because a hat will either obscure their faces or cast a shadow.

I realize that this is a long setup but you will see why it is that Americans hate Canadians.

Anyway, the gals pose for the picture but grumble about being instructed to remove their glasses despite my telling a funny anecdote about how I learned the lesson the hard way. The gal who grumbles the most is wearing her glasses AND her sunglasses at the same time. As if that wasn't going to create a future wtf moment.

When we are done, they thank me. We set about taking our own group shots and afterwards, the four gals are standing about so we ask them where they are from and where they are going. Three of the gals are from various points in Minnesota and the other is from Florida and they are heading back south across the border.  We explain that we are Canadian and on the last hour of our one week motorcycle circle trip around Superior.

Then it happens. One of the gals pipes up and says she hates Canada.

IMMEDIATELY my hackles are up. She is a guest in our country, I have just offered to take their picture and engaged them in polite conversation about their visit so that their experience will be better and now my impulse is to do something that will land me in the slammer to do hard time.

Choking down my incredulity, I ask why. It seems she was just in Wal-Mart in Thunder Bay and wanted to buy $2 worth of antacid and handed the teller a US $20 bill. The teller handed change IN CANADIAN DOLLARS, SO SHE HATES CANADA. Forget a future wtf moment, I was living in one. I said, ,stating the obvious, "If I am shopping in the U.S. and I pay with Canadian money, will I get change in Canadian dollars?". Doh.

Then the gal from Florida tells us how bad is the Canadian health care system because she knows quite a few Canadians who spend the winter in Florida and they all say the Canadian is terrible and way worse that the US health care system. A health care system that excludes one third of the nation's population is better because they get to choose their own doctor. I think she must mean from a list provided to her by her insurer.

This was our own group shot, one of the few with all five of us. From left, Bob and Cathy, our tour hosts and organizers, John, Bob's lifelong (literally - I saw a picture of the two of them when they were 3) friend from Ottawa, Nan and me.

The viewpoint shot.

It is plain there is no point getting into a debate and end up in jail. However, I can't resist getting in one more point, which is that the reason Canadians wintering in Florida are complaining about the Canadian health care system is because they are waiting for a hip or knee replacement. However, they never complain when they have a heart attack or have been in a car accident. She has nothing to say.

The rest of the ride back to Bob and Cathy's is without incidence - even the border crossing. It has rained off and on through the day but for the most part, it is all good.

Getting instruction from Bob about the route.

To my amazement, Bob and Cathy have put on an amazing display for our return to their place. Not sure how they pulled this off but as we are riding down the highway, there is a spectacular rainbow over the highway just before we turn off to their neighbourhood.

The view gets better as we approach the house.

It is a fitting end to the ride. I remark that it is one of the best rainbows I have seen because the colours are so vivid and it turns into a complete double rainbow, then Bob reminds me about what was truly the best rainbow ever, which we both saw when we were on the Utah on Motorcycles ride five years ago. That was a 360 degree rainbow, which was possible because the sun was shining down into the grand canyon from behind us.

Worshipping at the House of Aerostitch

Distance Travelled: 256 km
Maximum speed: 126 kph
Temperature range: 8.8 - 13.0 km
Motorcyclers who waved: 1.0
Motorcyclers who stiffed us: 0.0

We woke up to a grim morning. It is pouring rain outside and I am concerned that we will get flooded somewhere along the way but we gamely set out, hoping for the best. As it turns out, we do not get flooded and we don't need pontoons for the bikes. The fact is that we have great rain gear so we stay dry and warm, so it is not too bad.

It was wet AND fresh.

We check out of the modest but quaint Indianhead Inn in Ironwood. Notwithstanding all the copper in Yooperville, there is iron around these parts as well and we went by an extremely large iron processing and shipping facility.

Give credit where credit is due: there is a lot of interesting infrastructure.

The big treat for this day is the visit to Aerostitch in Duluth, Minnesota. For the uninitiated, Aerostitch is a motorcycle supply store and manufacturer of quality motorcycle clothing (and t-shirts). Their clothing is really high end and quite beautiful stuff, and the prices are set accordingly. It is made in-house and we are offered a tour of the manufacturing facility upstairs but we all decline. We are all geared up for rainy, cold weather riding and we have all shed only a modicum of our gear so nobody accepts, though it would have been interesting to see. There are leather one piece and two piece riding suits with armour and as well, ballistic armoured suits, both one and two piece. It actually looks quite bomb proof as the leather is really heavy; in fact, it is so heavy that I wonder how comfortable or easy it is to wear. Suits are off the rack but individually fitted for the purchaser. This is what you get in a U.S. $2,200 motorcycle suit.

Motorcycler's entrance to Aerostitch.

That is Bob and me in the "motorcycles only" parking area. Bob's big grin is because it is his first time not parking with the heathens.

This is the most excited I have seen Bob on this trip. I did have a couple of fairly big ticket items on my shopping list and I had been thinking that I would check them out at the store, get checked into the motel and do my research then go back the following morning to make the actual purchases. This idea delighted Bob because it would allow him two visits to the store on one trip. Even if it screwed up our timing for getting home the next day. As it turns out, the things they have that I want are totally out of my price range, so the point is moot. But, I did buy a t-shirt and some weather-proof glove covers. Now, these are not just any glove covers. One of the techniques of motorcycle riding is to hold the hand grips and use one or two fingers to hold the hand grip and use two or three fingers to squeeze the clutch or front brake. I have dragged around some mitt covers for some years that were for skiing but had long since last their ability to shed water. What Aerostitch offered were some glove covers with two wide fingers so that it was possible to put the index and middlel gloved finger in one of the cover's wide fingers and the ring and pinky gloved fingers in the other finger. This allows the motorcycle rider to more safely operate the clutch and brake levers, something that proven a challenge for me when using my now discarded mitt covers.

That is Nan walking to the chase vehicle to drop off our purchases, only to witness what appears to be Cathy driving away and thus, re-living a life-scarring experience from my childhood.

NAN'S purchase were strings of Christmas (i.e. "party") lights of motorcycles.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the visit to Aerostitch might be Bob's sole agenda for the trip. Bob had a close look at a lot of stuff, much of which he already owns, but was quite keen to identify it for me so that I could share in his glory by acquiring it for my own collection. However, I am not a collector of Bob's magnitude, and most of the stuff I decline, though does look like it would be fun to own.

Found some good motorcycle roads up Yooper

Distance travelled: 396.1 km
Maximum speed: 126 kph
Temperature range: 16.2 - 20.8 C
NO other motorcyclers!

Our day started out at the gas station and we're greeting by this scene:

You can watch TV while you are filling up with gas.

None of us were entirely sure of what to make of a television being built into the gas pump. I'm sure you can draw your own conclusions but I think maybe those people should consider reading something. Anything.

We had our big ride up to the tip of Upper Peninsula (let's call it Yooperville)  and in the process, rode some very twisty and scenic roads.

Does this tell you anything? It was wet.

It is late in the season and at the very end of the road in Copper Harbor (I think they meant "Harbour"), they looked like they were rolling up the red carpet. We stopped outside a "general store", a euphemism for a fudge shop with other curios, and an employee emerged from inside to point out where a few things were locally. He commented that after Labor ("Labour") Day, it pretty much dies up there and businesses get shut down for the winter.  Normally, I just wait outside of these places while Nan goes in however, because we stopped outside the building, essentially in their parking lot, out of pity I went inside. It turns our there were about six employees in there all just waiting for an unsuspecting group to wander into the building and buy something. They were all pretty eager and it is mostly the same sorts of things you see at every tourist place but the one thing they had that I had not seen slesewhere was copper nuggets. This is a region with a long history of copper mining; in addition, the copper has been traded for a couple of thousand years, as evidenced by trace elements in the copper identifying the source, found in central America. Parrot feathers have been found in the Upper Peninsula region; seems like a fair trade.

This turns out to be our best day of seeing the trees changing colour. Because the change is a little late this year, there are only small pockets of red but it is very pretty nonetheless. I keep thinking to myself that I want to do a Grade 1 project of picking a couple of red maple leaves (not to be confused with Toronto Maple Leafs) and ironing them between two pieces of wax paper. I still haven't given up on the idea and maybe between now and the drive home, there will be an opportunity but even many of the red maples we have seen have been too high to reach the leaves. Bob tells us that the flipside is having red leaves much more plentiful.... but on the ground, having fallen off.

But the ride up to Copper Harbor is some of the best, funnest riding of the trip. Tight corners and undulating roads, covered in a canopy of yellowing trees. Our only regret is that the roads are not perfectly drive, which prevents us from riding the road a little harder.

Here is a picture of Nan taking a picture.

The motorcycler's favourite road sign!

And favourite colours.

Weather was a real mixed blessing this day: sun shone at times and other times, liquid sun.

This is the actual Copper Harbor.

There was certainly still evidence of past mining operations on the peninsula as well. Near the town of Hancockth, there was the old Quincy Mine with many historic building associated with the retired mine.

Hancock

Part of the old Quincy Mine

Looks almost like a scene from the 30s

The Quincy Mine, a very prolific copper mine and at times, the best producing copper mine in the U.S., operated from 1846 to 1945 and formed from the amalgamation of two companies, both of which believed they had bought the property upon which the mine was later built. Since there were no phones in those days, they got together and decided that rather than fight about it through the pony express they would merge the companies. Isn't that nice! Let's be friends!

It is like old home week

Distance travelled: 439.9 km
Maximum speed: 122 kph
Temperature range: 13.4 - 21.0
Motorcyclists who waved: 44
Jerks: 7*

*In fairness to the jerks, one pair riding BMers passed us and as they went by, one guy waved at us but the other DIDN'T. We also saw a group of 16 riding in tight formation and most waved but it was on a curve and it would have been impractical for a few of them to wave. I think they would have, if they hadn't been sissies.

As a Canadian with an inferiority complex, it is easy to think that a large number of place names here are named after Canadian place names. We went through the town of Alberta yesterday. That was after we turned onto Jasper Avenue. And then went through the Ottawa Forest. Before settling in Montreal Landing. After riding down Presque Isle Road that went through the village of Lacombe. After turning at Willian H. Smith Junction. OK, maybe not that last one, but there are many place names that are coincident with Canadian place names and every time I try to tell a local that, hey, we share a name, they ask "What's a 'Can-EEEHH-dien'?" So I say, "Canada is your neighbouring country to the north, about 50 miles from here; the world's second largest country and your biggest trading partner" and they say, "You mean Alaska?". Sigh. Still, there are many names that either reflect a Canadian connection (not likely) or were U.S. place names, perhaps with a Canadian connection but later, the Canadian place name was lifted from its U.S. predecessor (more likely). Either way, it makes us feel a little nostalgic for home.

Speaking of names, we have been riding through the "Upper Peninsula" for several days. You remember the big suspension bridge from yesterday's post? That bridge connects to the "Lower Peninsula". You will note that I have capitalized these place names, notwithstanding they may not appear by their names on your map however, I have verified the veracity of these place names by Googling them and indeed finding descriptions. We didn't travel to the Lower Peninsula but I presume they have the same kinds of quirks as up here in the Upper Peninsula. In particular, I think what has happened is that Michigonians (?) have just taken to shortening their name to "U.P." -  a sort of nickname they have given themselves. OK, but what they have since done is given themselves a nickname from their nickname: "Yoopers" which, somehow to me, just seems wrong, especially to see it in media or on large billboards driving down the highway. I have not entered into debate with any Americans on this subject.

A big part of the timing of this trip was to see some leaves changing colour; not just from green to brown like we see back home but from green to yellow, to orange, to pink, to magenta, to lavendar, to salmon, to red, to crimson, to blood, to brown and then fall off the trees and die. However, leaves are about a week later than usual here (apparently) and while we are seeing stands of trees turning yellow, that is not quite as interesting to us since we see that at home. BUT, behold! Trees are starting to turn here and I don't mean into zombies. We have the trees above starting to show their dwindling production of chlorophyll and increasingly, we are seeing deeper shades of red.