On the way to Thunder Bay, Ontario

Just arrived in Sault Ste. Marie from Pembroke. We are hoping to camp for a couple of days in the Pukaskwa National Park on the way to Thunder Bay. The weather forecast is not good, the tornado warning in Alberta means that Peter's hope to ride the Mackinac bridge may have to wait for another trip. We may need to turn south earlier than expected - we will see what the weather gods dish out. 

Today was a perfect riding day - cool, dry, enormous big blue sky with fluffy clouds. Side roads with names like Mosquito Road and Seldom Seen Road (I'm not making that up). My brain can handle a ten hour riding day but my throttle hand is not very happy with me. Not that we are speeding - we are being very good, no more than 10 klicks over the limit - our self-control paid off well today as an Ontario highway patrol car passed us by and took up a new watch point on the other side of the road. I need to verify this but we have been told that unlike in the US, if you are caught exceeding the speed limit by 25 or more klicks, you go straight to jail.

We met a fellow in Pembroke last night whose dream is to come to Hollywood, California and be in the studio audience for a taping of the television game show, the Price is Right. He is from Ottowa, Ontario and told us with great earnestness that Ontario is at the same latitude as California. "You mean Portland, Oregon, don't you?" we asked. "No, no, really - you look at a map, you'll see." Let's hope his game show skills are better than his geography.

For my gluten-free friends - Boston Pizza has gluten-free pizza crust and they have two brands of cider. The market in Pembroke stocked Tinkyada pasta (rice based) and gluten-free corn flakes. We are ready if the camping gods decide to give us a couple of dry days. 

je parle francais affreux

The keyboard in this hotel has a malfunctioning space bar so this message while be short. Check out Auberge des Glacis (http://aubergedesglacis.com/ ) in Quebec - oh my did we eat well. The people at the inn were so kind - they did not roll their eyes at my terrible French. Good food and wine is a universal language.  To keep balance in the road trip universe we will stay at Days Inn or Super 8 (yes, they have these in Canada) for a few days. My French isn't good enough to find a place that sells food we can use for camping so no camping in Quebec province. High school history classes were too abstract for me to understand  anything more than "memorize these names, events, and place names". Now that my own eyes see the lay of this land and the waterways, I understand why the French and English fought for it. We are now in Ontario.

[Note to self: remember to mention the Potato Museum in New Brunswick.]

St. Johns NL was not in the cards

We did get to Newfoundland, but the gods of chaos, also known as Marine Atlantic (the ferry system between Nova Scotia and NL) changed our schedule at the last minute and landed us at the opposite side of the island than what we had planned. We camped in the beautiful Gros Morne national park on the west side of the island for a couple of days. St. Johns will go on the bucket list. We contented ourselves with plate tectonics lesson - in Gros Morne there is a section of the earth's mantle that was uplifted and exposed - it is a geologist's nirvana. The Newfoundland island is also a great place for bikers - contrary to what we were told, the roads have been great.

Having come from New York, to Newfoundland, we're now in New Brunswick, heading west.

Last night was the first of many rain storms to come. I put on my rainsuit early - Peter waited and now knows the limitation of the water impermeability of his riding jacket (read: he got soaked).

We're in a rather nice hotel tonight, after fighting gusty winds across Nova Scotia, we were late locking down a low-cost place to stay - all that was left was a four-star hotel. Oh, twist my arm.

The bikes are running great - I touch my forehead to the ground to pay respects to the moto gods.

Secret to Driving on the New Jersey Turnpike

"You want to know the secret of driving 85 miles on the New Jersey turnpike? Text with one hand and make rude gestures with the other. If you haven't cursed at three or four other drivers each mile, you're doing it wrong. Use the horn when you would normally use the brake. If you are not in a hurry, why are you driving?"
Quote from The Village Idiot - Jim Mullen

TransCanada - Just Getting Started

We're on the first leg of the trip, 1200 miles from New York  to St. Johns, Newfoundland. We have two days to stage. The six boxes of gear are emptied and flattened, but we haven't figured out who is carrying what yet. Kudos to Federal Companies - their motorcycle transport services were great. Shipping dealer to dealer worked perfectly for us.

Picking up the bikes was a bit of a comedy. We arrived from JFK in a rental car. Once we had my bike at the hotel, Peter rode my bike with me on the back to retreive his bike. His foot doesn't know where the GS's shifter is, and even when he found it, he couln't feel it because he's wearing new boots. It's like trying to wash crystal wine glasses wearing hazmat rubber gloves that are a size too big. We return the rental car tomorrow - I offered to ride his bike to so that he doesn't have fish for the shifter but he understands that riding pillion on the GS is much more comfortable than on the VFR so we'll hope that his foot has muscle memory. Or, we might just walk back to the hotel.

The Cheshire cat herself logged off her work computer at 12:30pm on Friday. Today, even jet lag, heat and humidity can't detract from the anticipation.

Squeaky brakes

My 2005 R1200 GS has squeaky brakes. Maybe I should say, squeally brakes, like stuck pig squeally. It isn't just annoying, it is embarrassing. My mechanic has already tried sanding the leading edge of the pad - that worked for about three weeks. I pull up to a stop light, brakes singing off key, and the car driver next to me rolls down his window and makes a snarky but accurate remark about my brakes. I don't acknowledge that I've heard him, I pray for the light to turn green. I pretend I have earplugs in my ears, thank heavens I'm wearing a dark visor. 

A friend recommended this product: CRC Brake Quiet. http://www.crcindustries.com/auto/content/prod_detail.aspx?PN=05016&S=N 

Devin, the service manager at CalMoto, tells me gently that in his experience, squeaky brakes are often found  on bikes of non-aggressive riders. That would be me. His advice? A track day. Or, use the brakes instead of down shifting. Hmm, real soon now, I think I'll have some long stretches of open road where I can clean my brakes.

Tips for Solo Women Riders from Carla King

For those of you planning your summer trips, Carla King, author of American Borders, gives us 10 tips for women riding solo in the July issue of Accelerate, Kawasaki's online magazine. Recommended!