I decided that I would just try and churn out the miles over the next few days to get to my mates place in Nova Scotia.  Darren and Leslie live in a small Lobster fishing village called Pubnico – both are retired now but I used to work with Darren (Fechy) years ago down in Port Adelaide.

I get off to a good early start and leave Saskatoon.  I booked an Airbnb in Winnipeg the night before which meant I had a decent ride of just under 900 klms for the day.  I have on thermals as the air temp is only 10’c.

Only a short distance up the road the cable for my GPS falls out so I stop to put it back in.  As I am getting off Stan I accidentally hit the gear lever which put him back in gear and lurch forward.  Stan and I both nearly fall over and I was only just able to save him – time to wake up!  I always say you are more likely to damage a bike falling over stationary (or at slow speed) then actually riding it.  Funny thing was I look on the ground and there is a brand new golf ball – no idea where that came from?

I have a nice 300 klm ride before I pull up and refuel.  I get going again and only just miss out on beating a long goods train that had me waiting for a while as it passed;

At least the wait gave me time to take off a few layers of clothing as the temp had warmed up and made for excellent riding conditions.  Back on Stan I find a town that I must have some sort of connection with;

Somewhere around 200 klms from Winnipeg I am just cruising along when I have about 15 Harleys join me.  These guys are all serious and the ‘real’ deal given the way they are dressed and the bikes they are on – also travelling at light speed.  Because of the road/traffic I am right in with them for about 10 klms which made me feel like I was in a Sons of Anarchy episode (they even had the black van following them).

I arrive in Winnipeg and find my Airbnb without any fuss.  After unpacking I go to the nearest supermarket (Canada Superstore) to get some supplies for dinner.  I have an early night after a good days ride.

There is a thunderstorm overnight but fortunately for me it has dried up by the time I am ready to leave the next morning.  My host suggests that I should call in on a small town (Kenora) that is a couple of hours up the road as it is right next to a large lake.  My next destination is Thunder Bay (750 klms).

It’s a nice crisp 12’c as I head off – road is damp but most of the time I have a dry line due to the traffic ahead of me.  After 200 klms I cross the border into Ontario and the scenery changes from farming land back into forests and magnificent lakes right beside the highway;

I exit the main highway and ride to Kenora where I fuel up.  I have a bit of a look around the town but decide to keep going.  I have a great ride which takes me back on to the Highway 17.   Around midday I pull up at a Tim Hortons restaurant and have lunch.

The afternoons ride is really enjoyable although I have dark clouds and rain threatening but all good as the rain held off.  I arrive at my Airbnb at 5:30 pm and meet my host Michelle who is getting ready to go camping on the weekend with her teenage son.  I laugh when I find out the camping is in her RV as there is now way she would ‘camp’ in a tent with the Canadian weather!

Stan gets unpacked I set myself up in a really nice spacious room.  I walk around to the supermarket (Skafs) and get my dinner supplies.  Later I have trouble finding my next accommodation and end up having to book it in Sudbrey which means a big day’s ride yet again.

I hit the road the next morning at just after 6 am.  I start off in the dark and it takes a while for the sun to start coming up.  The road is right beside Lake Superior which is the largest of the great freshwater lakes covering some 82,000 square klms.  The scenery is spectacular as you are at times right beside the lake and others going through rugged natural forest.

I belt out 300 klms and refuel at Marathon.  I go inside the servo and have a quick coffee before I get back into it.  I do another 300 odd klms and arrive at my next scheduled fuel stop to find that the Indian trading post is a ghost town and long since closed.  I check my GPS and nothing comes up re fuel that I think can be reached with what I have left.

On the opposite side of the road I see that a guy is using a chainsaw to cut up firewood.  I ride Stan over and have a chat to him.  I tell him my fuel issue and no dramas – there is another trading post just 10 klms further up where I can refuel.  The guy (Barry) is a retired school principal that loves Aussies as he had half a dozen exchange teachers from Australia during his career.  Barry offers to give me some fuel but no need as I can make the 10 klms.  Sure enough 10 klms up the road I find Voyageurs Post;

I have a chat with the fuel attendant who tells me that every day he has to drive out and rescue those who have run out of fuel.  Its very easy to get caught out as there are only a couple of fuel stops and everything shuts down at 10 pm.

I continue on for another 80 klms and arrive at Sault Ste Marie – the town I had wanted to stay overnight but couldn’t find anything (affordable).  I stop at my best mate’s place (Tim Horton) and grab some lunch.

Back on Stan I only get an hour up the road before I have to stop and take these photos of some local Amish that are harvesting;

I watched the guys hard at work for a while and loved how they went about it the old fashioned way – I certainly got a real life history lesson.  They were more than happy for me to take the photos and gave me a big wave as I roared off.

The rest of the days ride was really enjoyable as the temp was 24’c and the scenery great.  I arrive in Sudbury and stop and get something to eat before heading around to my Airbnb.  I meet my hosts and get shown to a great room that has its own kitchen, bathroom, etc.  The host has this old classic for sale;

The car is an old Desoto but at $35k its a bit out of my price range.  It’s been a big day as I have done 1,050 klms so I am pretty well stuffed.  I book my next accommodation and then call it a night.

After a great nights sleep I am up and away by 6:30 am.  The road has now become quite busy and its all about just doing the miles.  After a few fuel stops I arrive in Ottawa.  I have a really good run through the city and at my next fuel stop I get approached by a guy on a Harley that I had seen during the morning.  We end up having a coffee together and he tells me that he is heading to Nova Scotia for the Wharf Rat Rally at Digby (which I hope to go to as well).

I continue on and arrive in Montreal.  My initial entry into the City was straight forward until I hit a monster traffic jam that had me crawling.  The roads were completely congested and with the narrow lanes I had no way of making my way through so I was stuck.

It takes me nearly 1.5 hours before I get through the city and out the other side.  The highway traffic remains congested but at least I am up to a reasonable pace.  The other thing I notice is that all of the signs are now in French only.

I finally arrive at my Airbnb in Levis (a city located on the opposite side of the river to Quebec City).  I am in luck because although its an older house, it has magnificent views of the river.  I go inside and meet my host who speaks French and very little English which makes it interesting;

The host is a great fella who even supplies his guests with breakfast and fruit which is a first for me.  It has been a big day having done a grand total of 1,097 klms.  I get myself organised and work out that I should be able to make Fechy’s place the next day if I get off to an early start and make good time.

Next morning I am up at 5 am and have breakfast before heading off on Stan.  I only get 70 klms up the road before I stop and refuel.  I then ride a further 300 klms which takes me over the border into New England.  The road signs have returned to being in both French and English which makes things a bit easier.  I keep taking photos as I go;

I have a few more stops and sail past the turn off to Saint John.  You can catch a ferry from Saint John to Rigby which saves a lot of riding time however I knew that I could not make the scheduled departure time and had to go up and around.

I keep motoring and cross the border into Nova Scotia.  Immediately I am riding next to a wind farm and I could see that the blades were spinning quite quickly – I soon found out why as I hit side winds that were nearly blowing me off the bike.  This settled down once I got past the wind farm and back riding in between forest trees again.

I pull up in Tantallon to refuel and I also go and get a coffee at a Tim Nortons that was right next to the gas station.  I check google maps and although I have now done over a 1,000 klms, I still had another 250 klms to go.  I send Fechy an email to let him know I am on my way but would be quite late.

The next 200 klms was fantastic riding given the perfect conditions with the sun slowly going down.  The last 50 klms was quite tough given that it was in the dark and being worried about deer jumping out in front of me.

After a monster day of 14.5 hrs that covered 1,326 klms I pull up outside the house.  It was great to see familiar faces from home again – not to mention the bloody relief in making it!

In total I had done 5,759 klms in the 6 days since I left Hinton.  To say I need to rest up for a while is an understatement. 

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