A massive storm wakes me up at 4:15 am and it has everything including hail.  I can’t get back to sleep so I get up and pack up all of my gear.  Its still belting down with rain so I have breakfast and play a waiting game for it to clear.

Shelly is up early as well and checks the weather map – the news is not good as the storm is virtually on the same route as what I had wanted to ride.  We have had 1.7 inches in just over 3 hours.  The good news is that it should clear enough for my escape in another hour or so.

Bob gets up to go to work and we have a coffee and a chat.  As predicted there is a break in the rain just after 8.  I am quick to get the gear on Stan, say my farewells and hit the road.  I have had a lot of fun with these guys and for a second time my mate Bob saved the day in giving Stan a service.  (a side story is trying to get Bob out to Australia to put my VF1000 back together)

I get to the State line and enter back into South Dakota – the road is dry and blue sky above.  I am forced to go back over old ground to avoid the rain and travel the same road until the Hot Springs turn off.  The next section to Sturgis was new to me and a lot more fun.

I ride through Sturgis and cannot believe the difference.  Everything is now packed up and it has gone back to being a small country town.  There is only the odd motorcycle rider who now looks out of place.

As I head to North Dakota the temp drops and I am so cold I have to stop and put on more clothing.  The landscape is open and I have no traffic;

I reach the border and get greeted with this;

Stan is low on gas and I have been on the look out for fuel for a while.  I go into a small town ‘Reeder’ but no luck.  A local tells me the nearest fuel is 10 miles west in Scranton.  I make a detour to get fuel and was able to head north again from Scranton with only an addition of about 25 klms.

The temp drops even lower and I can’t believe how cold it is between Hoover and Dickinson.  Apparently this time of year the average temp is 90’f (32’c) but its no where near that.  It seems every time I set myself to camp the weather has a big say in not doing it.  I end up taking the soft option and book into a hotel for the night.

I go around to the local PD and swap a patch – I try and get one at least from every state that I go to.  I swing by Walmart to top up on supplies and then home.

Next morning I check my route and decide to try the border control at Fortuna and not Portal as the change of direction the day before had made it now the closest one to me.  I had also read that Fortuna was a lot quieter and therefore may be easier for me to sort out any dramas that I may have in getting into Canada.

Everything is packed up and I ride Stan across the street to grab a coffee at McDonalds.  I go in and find that the majority of staff are quite experienced (read old).  Not sure what is going on but when I try to place my order I nearly have to shout as my operator is deaf as a post.  Clearly there is no ageism in Dickinson.

Back on Stan and I get stuck into churning out the miles.   The landscape is flat and the road straight for most of the ride.  I did see a lot of oil pumps over the farm land which I am sure the farmers back home would like;

The scenery did change when crossing over the Missouri River;

After 300 klms I arrive in Fortuna which is only a very small town and not much there.  The port of entry into Canada is another few miles further on;

The road on the other side of the cones is for traffic coming from Canada into the US – there is a US border agency post just to the left of the photo.

I pass the US post (you don’t have to do anything with the side you are leaving) and pull up in the Canada checkpoint.  A young lad comes out and asks for my passport.  He takes a look at Stan and I explain how I have shipped him over from Australia to the US for a tour.

I get asked the expected questions re alcohol, cigarettes, drugs and firearms.  He asks me about my intended trip in Canada and is surprised when I tell him that I am heading over to Nova Scotia – its funny as he thinks that I must be lost and confused as to which side of the country I am on!  I tell him what I do and if I could swap a patch and he is all for it.

I hand over my passport and we go inside so he can scan it.  He gets another colleague and we have a good chat – patches get swapped.  I get back on Stan and roar off into a new country.  All the angst I had about getting Stan in was for nothing as it was sorted in less than 10 minutes!  I will worry about getting him back into the states when the time comes.

Its hard to explain what the feeling is like when you ride your bike in/into a different country.  I know that it is common place overseas but not in Australia.  This was my first border crossing and hopefully it will the first one of many.  You just can’t wipe the smile off your face.

The ride to Moose Jaw was straight forward and I arrived around lunch time.  The funny thing riding in North Dakota was the different time zones and then when I entered Canada it changed again.  I stop at a coffee shop and have lunch whilst checking google maps as to the next move – I had intended to stay in Moose Jaw but that was based on having a delay at the border crossing.  I decide to push on and online I book a room in Medicine Hat which means I have to ride another 400 klms to add to an already decent day. 

After about 110 klms I notice very dark rain clouds to the left and right of me.  I think that I am going to be ok until the road starts slowly angling left straight for the storm.  All I can hear is rolling thunder and see bolts of lightening everywhere. 

Only 10 mins later I am in the rain and everything has turned so dark you have to have your headlights on.  I pull over and the rain stops which makes me realise the storm is travelling in the same direction as me.  I weigh up what options I have and came up with NONE.

I get going and within 15 mins I am in the thick of a brutal downpour.  I get absolutely saturated.  I ride for another half hour before pulling up to get fuel.  I go inside to pay and I am sorely tempted to just stay inside out of the rain but I knew I couldn’t leave Stan to suffer by himself.

Given that it was impossible to get any wetter or colder, I remounted and took off.  After another 30 minutes I had finally got through the storm and out into clear sky.  I was only just starting to dry off when the heavens opened up again (sun shower) and drenched me for a second time.

Fortunately the rest of the ride allowed me to dry off and warm up.  Just short of 7:00 pm I arrive in Medicine Hat and pull up at a Tim Hortons (Canada’s Starbucks) and have a much needed hot coffee and toasted sambo.  I have to get on the internet again to look up where I booked the motel as the bit of paper I had written the address on was now wet pulp.

I finally pull up at my Motel and think that my hard day would just not end as it looked like something out of a B grade horror movie.  Lucky for me the outside was deceiving and the inside was fine;

I checked the news and found that the storm I went through is known as a ‘prairie storm’ and is quite common.  Really looking forward to my next one…..NOT.

All up I rode 989 klms in the day.  Somehow I don’t think that I will ever forget my first day in Canada. 

Next stop is Calgary on my way to Jasper.

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