Day Twenty Five (last day on the road)

All good things must come to an end but today was looking like a great day to ride. Sunshine, a little wind and tonight I would be sleeping in my own bed. Woohoo!
The temperature had risen since my days out on the coast so just my jeans and jacket kept me very comfortable for much of the ride. I was having some problems with my GPS unit which I have depended on for weeks to get me through places I'd never been before. I can't actually imagine a trip like this without one. The issue was the route it was selecting to get me home. I have mine set up to select the shortest drive time which is not always the shortest distance. I got to Ottawa, Ontario without a problem but that's where it all started to fall apart. I had checked my map and it looked like I needed to take Hwy 417 west toward Renfrew which I did. Unfortunately it didn't instruct me to get on Hwy 60 at this way point and by the time I realised the problem I was a good 50 kms. out of my way and heading around the top of Algonquin Park. I checked the map, backtracked to Petawawa and eventually got back on track.
The clouds had started to build and I knew the weatherman was forecasting rain in the evening but his timing was off slightly. At a gas stop just east of the Park it started. I quickly donned my rain gear and pushed on. My front tire was practically bald so I was nervous about all the corners in the rain. Being a Sunday afternoon everyone who had come north to vacation was trying to get home so I ran into all kinds of slow going RV's and motorhomes which just made a difficult situation even worse. Riding in a bit of rain once in a while is just part of motorcycling but spending hours sitting there straining to see through your windshield or fogged up face shield can be quite a stressful and dangerous experience. As the cars rolled past me I could only imagine what the people inside must have been saying. "Honey, does that look fun to you?" "I wouldn't be caught dead on a bike in this weather!" etc.
Well, I made it back to Chez Monet about 4:40 pm and King and Ellie were there making dinner preparations and had a vodka tonic in my hand as soon as I'd shed my soaking rain gear. I just left the bike and camper sitting out in the rain where it remains at this writing. It continued to rain hard through the night and I was grateful to have made the effort to return today rather than Monday.
There you have it, another very safe and successful adventure for 2013. Now I wonder where I will explore next year? 

Day Twenty Four

I must have been tired because I slept in a little later than I had wanted. It was very cold but after the fog burned off it was a gorgeous clear sunny day.
It was "flaps up" by 9:10 am and I was back out on the old asphalt trail shooting for the Montreal area     by the cocktail hour.
It was all Trans Canada Highway so not exactly the scenic route so no photo ops today. Despite that it did take me through some very beautiful parts of New Brunswick.
Once I entered Quebec the time changed and I gained an hour as I had entered the Eastern Time Zone.  The other thing that changed was the language, from English to French and the distinct feeling that I was in another country.
I stopped around noon for some lunch and just an opportunity to rest my buns. I must admit to you that the seat on the Hog is way more comfortable than my Kawasaki for long rides.
Driving through the heart of Montreal was challenging and here's where the GPS really pays for itself.
Once I was well beyond the city I started to look for places to camp. I was in luck because I found a KOA (Kampgrounds of America) site only a few kilometers ahead. Being a Saturday night just before the big Labor Day weekend it was very full so I wound up in an overflow area. It wasn't the best spot but I was too tired to be choosey.
All day I had been thinking of having a nice pizza pie for dinner so once the camper was all situated I went looking for a pizzaria. It was conveniently close by and not one of the chain restaurants. The pizza was excellant. Along with a nice glass of red wine, it was the perfect conclusion to a great day of riding.
I will be home tomorrow late afternoon and King and Ellie, who are on duty this weekend, have assured me that dinner and drinks will be waiting when I arrive.

Day Twenty Three

This morning I fully expected a downpour as predicted but instead it was just cloudy with a little fog. I was very grateful because it's never fun packing up in the rain. I wanted to leave early because I needed to put some serious miles on the board today if I was going to get home by Sunday night. I jumped on the bike about 8:30 am, fired up my Garmin GPS and hit the "Go Home" button. I have programmed it to tell me the time of arrival at my destination. It said that if I were to ride steady that I would be home at 4:45 am on Saturday, about 19 or 20 hours of continuous driving. No thanks.
I was cooking along just fine when about noon the rain finally arrived. It was very intense to the point that I couldn't see. My faceshield was fogging up too so I kept riding until I saw an overpass up ahead so I stopped for a little shelter from the storm. There happened to be another couple on their Harley parked there too trying to wait out the downpour. They had those little black half helmets that all the Harley people wear and having ridden in rain with an open faced helmet myself I know how painful it can be on the face. It literally feels like tiny pins are hitting you.
After the rain I stopped and took some photos out on the Trans Canada Highway.

I was fighting a strong head wind and the speed limit was 110 kph and I was trying to maintain the speed limit. As a consequence I was only getting about 25 mpg and with a 5 gallon tank I was constantly stopping for gas. By about 6:30 pm I arrived in Perth-Andover on fumes and found a lovely camp site by the river.

I had ridden 766 kms. (476 miles) and I was pretty whipped. I had my camper set up and Kraft dinner on the stove in 30 minutes. After I finish updating my blog I will shave, shower and get to bed early for another day on the road.

Day Twenty Two

I had actually set my alarm for 7:30 am because I needed to be sure I had enough time to have breakfast, clean up, pack up and drive to the ferry terminal by 9:45 am. Fortunately it was a nice warm sunny day and my timing was perfect. The ferry terminal always seems to group all the bikes in one lane so it's great to be able to hang out and talk about bikes, island experiences etc with the other bikers. The loading process takes a couple of hours and an army of neon clad dock workers measure and count all the vehicles being loaded to ensure they will fit.

The bikes all need to be strapped down to the deck so they don't fall over in rough seas. They provide all the tie down straps and the deck has built in anchor points so it's a pretty process. We were finally underway at noon so I'm currently writing this post while seated in very comfortable reclining seat complete with USB power and free WiFi. I am at the stern (back) of the ship looking out at the rolling sea. There is a large window in front of me and I keep looking out hoping to see a whale or some giant squid (LOL).

We should arrive in North Sydney, Nova Scotia between six and seven this evening. For those of you reading this who may not be aware there is a half hour difference in time between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. Toronto, New York etc. are on Eastern Time, the Maritime Provinces (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island) are on Atlantic Time but Newfoundland is only a half hour different from Atlantic Time.
When I land I need to pick up some ice for my cooler and perhaps some milk for breakfast but I'll head to Baddeck where I camped last week before leaving for the rock.

Day Twenty-One

Today was supposed to be nice but I had my doubts. I had a day to kill so I left the camper at the camp ground still set up because it was pretty soaked and needed an airing out.
I decided to run out west on the Port au Port Peninsula and do a loop out through Stephensville. It was getting cloudier by the minute. It was very beautiful but I wasn't interested in getting caught out in another down pour.
Here are some shots I took along the coast. You can see how stormy the sky looks.

I decided to turn around, ride back to the camp ground, pack up and ride to Port aux Basque where I will catch the ferry back to the main land in the morning.
I got another sight at J.T. Cheeseman camp ground where I had camped the first night I arrived on the rock a week ago.
Not wanting to be late for the ferry I decided to do a quick dry run from the campsite to the ferry terminal and took a shot of the ferry which was scheduled to leave at 11:30 pm that night.

Day Twenty

By morning the skies had cleared up and there wasn't a cloud as far as the eye could see. It was getting very cold suddenly. There had been frost warnings the previous two nights and I could see my breath in the camper as I prepared breakfast.
My plan today was to get south at least to Deer Lake,  a small town about half way to Port aux Basque where I would take the ferry back to the mainland. I had to really bundle up for the ride because the wind was blowing again and the high today was only 15'C (59'F). Fortunately I had thought to bring my heavy winter gauntlets and insulated over pants.
I stopped along the way for a photo hear and there. That stretch up the west coast of Newfoundland is pretty barren. As you get further south you get into mountains, lakes and rivers and a more interesting ride.

You can see the difference as I get into the mountainous south. I stopped in Cornerbrook for groceries and gas and decided to call the ferry service and book my trip for tomorrow, Wednesday, but the earliest I could get a seat was Thursday the 22nd on their 11:30 am voyage.
The afternoon was sifting away so I figured I wasn't in a big hurry any more and found a lovely camp ground for the night.

It was on a small lake beside a huge mountain and my camper was as close to the beach as I could get.

This had been a great day. I cooked up some fish and rice and thought about how everything had worked out in the end.

Day Nineteen

Needless to say I didn't sleep that well Sunday night thinking of all the things that could be wrong with my bike. It became very apparent, very fast just how much I was dependent on my bikes reliability.
It was a cool, mizzy day and the Yamaha dealer opened at 9:00 am Monday morning . I called him from the ranger post at nine sharp. I explained the situation and he said he's take a look at it but he had a few other jobs ahead of me. He asked me to call back later in the morning. While waiting I called a Harley dealer in Nova Scotia and his advice was to check and charge the battery and if that didn't work to replace a couple of important but inexpensive relays. I was somewhat encouraged by his simple solutions. I couldn't stand waiting any longer so I called the Yamaha store around 11:00. To my total surprise he just said "she's all fixed up, just needed a new battery". At that moment an otherwise ugly situation had completely changed direction and the day was saved. Now all I had to do was get a lift into town. It turned out coincidently that the young assistant ranger where I was camped was the daughter of the man who was Yamaha dealer. It was lunch time and she offered to give me a lift because she could have lunch there with her mum and dad. An hour later I was back on the bike headed out to the camp ground to pack up and start heading south. I had wasted a whole day already and it was too late in the day to take off so I booked another night and spent the rest of the afternoon stuck in the camper as a huge rain storm had arrived on the scene. I took the opportunity to finish reading a book and to think more about my next move.
I finally decided that I would wind down my plans to travel east to St. John's. I was running out of time and I didn't want to rush myself. I decided to get off the rock in the next couple of days and start heading for home. St. John's could wait for another time.

Day Eighteen

Well this day started out with great promise, clear skies and lots of new adventures ahead but the day ended on an entirely different note.
A couple of things  I have been noticing that seemed unusual were piles and piles of neatly stacked firewood along the highways. Each stack had a piece of wood with a number on it nailed to the pile. What I learned was that most people heat their homes with wood and they go to the province and obtain a cutting  permit that allows them to cut firewood on crown land. The odd thing to me is that they leave the wood piled on the side of the road to be retrieved as needed in the winter for which they often use large sleds to tow the wood to their homes using snowmobiles or ATV's.

The other thing was the vegetable gardens that people cultivate along the road side because they don't have the space or good fertile soil where they live. What's really cool about this is that nobody steals the wood or veggies because people are just plain honest.

My mission today was to explore the area but my prime target was L'anse aux Meadows, the Viking settlement. I got there just in time to join a guided tour which was fascinating and educational.

Here's an amazing bronze sculpture that you pass through on the boardwalk down to the site .

Here is a nice shot looking back at the visitor centre at a picturesque spot on the path.






































The pictures of the area really show life as it must have been 1000 years ago when Lief Erickson landed on this barren shore. It was mainly men who where looking for timbers to repair boats and build their homes. The buildings were made with peat sod over a wooden framework which provided a strong well insulated structure.

I grabbed some lunch, did a little grocery shopping and drove about to several small fishing villages just to see the beautiful countryside and their unique lifestyle. Here's one of those fire fighting planes that must have outlived it's usefulness.

I decided mid afternoon to head back to camp and drop off my groceries and because it was still early and I had plenty of light I took off again for Cook's Harbour. This is a place that Captain James Cook
had sailed into many years after the Vikings.
Well, this is where my day took a sudden and dramatic turn. Without warning my bike just stopped running. It felt like I was running out of gas because it cut in and out a few times before dying completely. So, there I was miles from anywhere with a dead bike. I was able to flag down a local couple out for their traditional Sunday drive. They were wonderful people who wanted to help. The cell phone service doesn't   exist outside most towns so I couldn't even call a tow truck. They said that a friend was salmon fishing in a creek nearby and he had a  pickup truck. Perhaps we could get the bike into the truck and take it to St. Anthony, about a half hour away, where there was a Yamaha dealer.

Long story short, that's what we did. We had to just leave the bike with the key around the side of the building because it was Sunday and the shop was closed. They assured me that nobody would touch it and the husband of the nice couple who stopped drove me back to the camp ground. I can't say enough about these wonderful people. The camp was way outside of town so here I sit feeling  somewhat stranded. It was the cocktail hour and I needed a drink to think this mess through.
I will call the dealer in the morning. He deals mainly with ATV's and snowmobiles but for now he's my best chance for getting out of here. The closest Harley dealer is in St. John's, clear at the other side of the island, about an 8 hour trip from here.
It looks like my Maritimes Adventure is just starting.

Day Seventeen

Another cold night but my Root's Sleeping bag is very cozy. I had left my iPhone plugged into the power supply on my bike all night to have it all charged up for the morning. Big mistake. My bike had a dead battery and wouldn't start. I was trying to think just how I was going to solve this little wrinkle when a fellow camped near me over heard my dilemma and came to see if he could help. Fortunately he was a mechanic and a Harley guy and, most importantly, he had jumper cables. Fifteen minutes later I'm all fixed up and on my way having learned a valuable lesson.
Today I wanted to camp up at the farthest northern tip of Newfoundland near St. Anthony and the L'anse aux Meadows Unesco World Heritage site, the only authentic Viking settlement in North America.
It was cloudy when I left Shallow Bay Park and it just kept getting nastier looking so all my photos today show clouds overhead.

I ran into some pretty steady rain most of the way north so it was the polar opposite of the day before.  I got to St Anthony mid afternoon and although the rain had backed off a bit a huge black cloud was approaching. I wasn't going to have time to do much sightseeing and besides doing it in the rain ain't much fun either. I decided to get to the camp ground at Pistolet Bay, get set up and then if it clears a little I might check out some sights.
Here's a nice shot across the harbour at St. Anthony. I plan to go back again tomorrow when the weather is meant to improve.

After getting the camper all situated I noticed that the sun was trying desperately to poke through the clouds so I got back on the bike and headed for Raleigh and the coast. Here are some shots from a prominent point of land. I will take more pics Sunday but the bugs are driving me nuts standing outside the ranger station office which is the only place there's a hot spot.