All images below are links to larger photographs. Click
the image to view the larger photo.
The morning ritual of uncovering the bike was done under the watchful eye of a pair of Harley
riders from Maryland who, without being questioned, boastfully declared their plans to go to
Sault Ste. Marie then back down to MD. They seemed to lose a degree of enthusiasm when,
after the Strom cover was completely off, the AZ license plate was exposed. This moment
happened to be exactly when they asked me their first question of “Where are you headed?”. The
look on their faces was priceless when the AZ tag and “Key West” was revealed simultaneously. I
think that was the 1-2 punch that piped them down and within minutes they were on their way and I
was, thankfully, left in peace and quiet to prepare for my day.
I left Sudbury once again on the TransCanada Hwy and rode for the first 90 minutes of the day in
very heavy fog. So, since I arrived Sudbury in the dark and left in heavy fog I really have
no idea what the area looked like. I do know that I rode for almost 200 miles before seeing
the first car with plates from the US (it was VT). Around the 225th mile of the day is where
I saw the first motorcycle of the day, of course, going the other direction.
|
A lake off TCH-17:
|
 |
I passed a sign that said “Watch For Military Troops” which I thought was, um, weird. Once
again, what does one do with this information? Watch for warfare being practiced in the
road? Soldiers marching on the shoulder? I could read the sign (in English) but had
no idea what to expect or what to do with the information.
The speed limit on the “TCH” is about 55mph according to the conversion my GPS tells me. Luckily,
I was able to find a rabbit in the form of a Honda Prelude who, like me, thought the speed limit
should be higher and drove at a “spirited” pace. I arrived the prearranged meet-up place
and called Oldgoat to let him know I was there so he could take off from Montreal and meet
me. While waiting for Oldgoat I wrote postcards and listened to 2 guys argue in French as
well as a lady attempting to give her dog commands in French as they walked in circles. I think
the dog understood as much as I did about what she was saying. It gave me a better idea of
what animals must feel like when we humans talk to them.
Note that "Oldgoat" is not an insult nor a derrogatory name, but rather his screen name on
the V-Strom forum Stromtrooper.Com. Mike
and Caryl are good friends and great people, and have taken care of me and my bike each time
I've been through their area.
Oldgoat arrived and off we went back to his place. It was the first time I have ridden
behind a scooter and I must say that his Suzuki Burgman has impressive brake lights (albeit
he added an LED brake light). We eventually left the TCH road and took Aut-20. I found
the signage here to be interesting. From the US/Canadian border to Sudbury single signs
were in both English and French. Once we arrived the Montreal area I started seeing more
French only signs. However, there were places that had double signs - 1 in English & 1
in French. However, I did find it odd that the ones stating distance even though the
words were in English the numbers were in metric measurements like “Right Turn 500m.” It
was great to know there was a right turn approaching but by the time my brain synthesized
meters-to-feet I'm almost certain I had past the turn. I found this distracted me from
my ride constantly trying to either translate pictures or convert measurements so at some
point I think I just simply, well, acted like a Oregon or Washington driver and simply ignored
the signs altogether! Heck, I was just going straight anyway and Oldgoat was leading!
We arrived to find Mrs. Oldgoat waiting with dinner ready. Road food is one part of
traveling that is a negative aspect to me so the home cooked meal was very, very welcomed
and appreciated. Oldgoat had warned me that she had seen the border crossing photos
from yesterday that I had posted and that she had given direct orders for him to address
my bug splattered windshield! We ate dinner and I heard about their recent trip to
some of the very places I had just passed (in OR & WA). It was rather odd to be
sitting in the very place I was exactly 8 weeks prior (I came up to visit them during
the BMW International Rally (see that report:
HERE). That was
8 weeks and about 14,000 miles ago I think. Oldgoat and I went over a few things on
the bike, of course, under the watchful eye of Mrs.Oldgoat:
 |
 |
I also had Oldgoat listen to a strange whining sound that developed several minutes after
I started the bike up the morning of departure in Glendive, MT. Yes, that would be
almost 1500 miles ago. It's a high-pitched singing whine that I wasn't confident
in diagnosing. You may be wondering why I haven't reported this and the answer
is this: Since it was a sound and not something I could take a photo of and email Jim
then objectively identifying the noise wasn't possible, also I had no cell phone
reception (so I couldn't put the phone up to the bike for him to listen), and lastly since
I was in the middle of nowhere actually doing something about it would not have been
probable. I guess you can throw in there that I really didn't want to exactly,
ah, create hysteria shall we say with a certain 83 yr old who doesn't need to do any
more worrying about me. If she's going to worry I'd rather her worry with facts
rather than about who knows what concoction she might develop otherwise. So,
Oldgoat determined it was the fuel pump and/or filter. I called Jim and he
concurred and gave me the facts, both good and bad.... the fuel pump assembly itself
is $550 and the filter alone is $220. He said it could run another 50,000 miles
or go out tomorrow. He said if I did need to replace it that I have the skills
to do so. It's getting the pump that looks to be the issue... it is on backorder
from Suzuki (no additional comment here on this fact). Oldgoat put the word out
for a used fuel pump assembly on various forums. One supposition is that the noise
we're hearing might be due to a partially clogged fuel filter which would account for
the increased noise of the pump. Either way, my travels are on limited time with
this existing issue. How long that is no one knows. I might be needing to
borrow an assembly (ahem, Glenn) if worse comes to worse and I intend to make it to
Key West within the 21 day time frame... or maybe just back to the West Coast! So,
what am I going to do in terms of routing to Key West? Well, given this information
and knowing what you know of me I'd think the answer would be clear. If not, you'll find out.
This ride is not about corners for me, it's about the experiences between them. I
will never forget this ride or Mr and Mrs Oldgoat and their hospitality. Tomorrow
(Sat) is day ten and is a scheduled full day of rest for me since I left Phoenix 9 days
ago. Sunday I will follow Oldgoat out of Montreal and head for Madawaska, ME, the
third official “turn” of this particular journey. Yes, that will mean yet again
another border crossing. I might be one of the few who officially went through 3
customs and started and ended in the same country!
AGirl
|
p.s. Forgot to add these in the Michigan report. I finally got to see full beauty of the fall foliage:...
|
 |
|
There was a pre-teen boy who was fishing across the road who ran over while I was taking photos. He was so excited
to see the Strom that I asked him if he wanted to take a pic and I'd email it to him. This is what he decided to
take: (Johnny, you have mail buddy!):
|
 |
|
Copyright © 2006-2008, All Rights Reserved. |
|
