Not so much today:
Friday Aug 14/2015 - Left home after supper and a rain storm with the bike fully loaded for a week long camping trip. Rode 2 hours with my neighbour, to a friends place, where we slept for the night. Once we arrived, I tore down the carbs and adjusted the needles leaner as the bike was running rather rich between 4 - 7000 RPM. Under an hour and the bike was running better. Lesson learned - Don't make last minute adjustments before a trip! A walk in the forrest, and a couple or 5 beers later and Friday was over.
Saturday Aug 15/2015 - Got an early start so we could catch a ferry to Manitoulin Island, Ontario. Due to fog or low cloud cover, the ride was exciting/scary. Picked-up 2 more guys along the way. After getting into the line-up, the 5 of us went for a late breakfast. Boarded the ferry, tied down and went up top to enjoy the scenic trip. The visibility was virtually nil due to the fog, so we sat and chatted. Off the ferry and a quick stop for groceries, beer, and to top up the tanks then we headed to the very west end of the island. After riding almost the entire length of the island, the last 20km were a loose and dusty gravel road to the Mississaugi Lighthouse campgrounds. The others whined about the road, but I had a blast riding it! Found a campsite to our liking and I hung my hammock before getting into the beer and food.
Sunday Aug 16/2015 - Woke with the sun and was making coffee before anyone else even began to stir. After a heavy breakfast we packed-up our gear and then went for a hike around the point. The others wanted to play tourist, but my neighbour and I had an agenda and pressed them onwards. We were to ride out at 5 minute intervals, so the dust could clear, and meet where the pavement started. I was the third away and ended up the first out.
We then toured around the island and as the day progressed, the temp climbed to 29C (84F) and the winds grew stronger, gusting to over 50kph (30 mph). Cross winds are not fun when one is loaded top heavy. Eventually we ended up leaving the island on Hwy 6 through Little Current. 2 of our group had to head home for work on Monday, so we parted company. FYI: Hwy 6 from Little Current to Espanola is a beautiful ride. Lots of elevation change and many turns. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived in Espanola, we knew that we were to far behind schedule to complete our planned trip. So, we resupplied and headed west on the Trans-Canada Highway (Hwy 17) to Massey where we camped at Chutes Provincial Park. We were warned of bears in the area, but didn't have any problems.
Monday Aug 17/2015 - A leisurely breakfast (because we were all hungover) and we broke camp around noon after checking out the falls that the park is named after. We then backtracked and headed east to Sudbury where we once again resupplied. The beer was vanishing at an astounding rate each night.
From Sudbury, we headed south on Hwy 69 / 400 and eventually got to Ardbeg. We purchased ice and acquired a fire permit, then we took a "road" back to Round Lake. Google maps says 25 minutes, I say more than an hour. The "road" offers gravel, sand, rock, mud, streams, etc. Even serious 4x4's go slow, and Hummers get broken all the time. One of the guys put his bike down in the sand and had to wait for us to help pick it up. It was very dry back in there and I don't think we should have been allowed to have a fire permit. No rain had fallen in the area in over a month and everything was parched. We were careful and didn't have a problem. A black bear wanted to check out our bikes, but was verbally encouraged to leave. Again, caution and common sense allowed us to avoid any issues. I slept with the "bear bangers" loaded and within reach that night...
Tuesday Aug 18/2015 - One of the guys had to leave, but my neighbour and I stayed and enjoyed another day. A hot sunny day, a white sand beach, and a warm fresh water lake were all the encouragement we needed to stay!
Wednesday Aug 19/2015 - Packed-up and headed out after breakfast. We were fighting strong headwinds and I often had to drop to 4th to maintain 100kph (60mph) on the highway. We rode together until I left the hwy to head east towards the cottage where my family has been all summer. I stayed at the cottage for a couple days and spent time with the wife and son.
Saturday Aug 22/2015 - On the road by 2:30pm and headed home. I took a couple scenic detours and still made it home by 7pm. All in all a good trip!
Here are some numbers from the trip:
8 days, 1800km (1118mi), 99.3L (26.2 US gal, 21.8 UK gal) of fuel burned. That works out to 18km/l (42.3 MPG US, 50.9 MPG UK, 5.6 l/100km)
Approx. Weights: Me 88.5 kg (195lbs), riding gear 9kg (20lbs), tank bag 6.8kg (15lbs), top box contents 9.5kg (21lbs), side bags 11kg (25lbs), dry bag (on top of box) 6.8 (15lbs). That adds up to 131.6kg (290lbs), and doesn't include fuel, food, water, beer, or alcohol! I ran the rear tire 5psi over the max pressure and didn't have any heat problems or excessive wear.
Pictures:
1) ready to leave
2 & 3) on the ferry
4 & 5) campsite near Ardbeg
Now to get caught back up with work...