Odometer: 41800km I went to bed hot and clammy and woke up freezing. Good grief, it was only 5C above this morning. The fog was heavy and the bike was dripping with condensation. I hesitated for a moment, but I really had my mind set on travelling west, so I headed out. The first hour on the bike was not fun. I was wearing just about all the clothes I had with me in order to stay warm. My fingers were numb from the cold and I couldn’t keep my face shield clear of condensation without opening it a bit and freezing my chin. The fog in the low lying areas was thick and I could hardly see thirty meters in front of me. Thankfully there were hardly any cars on the road so I could ... read more

Odometer: 41428km I stopped to talk to one of the locals in front of his house last night. He was unloading his car when I approached to ask a question about his town. I guess I must have looked a little suspicious with my non-local look and a writing book under my arm. I gathered this from his face when I started talking. Maybe he thought I was a Mormon coming to talk to him about other stages of life. . I could almost see the wheels turning as he evaluated who the heck I was. I quickly put him at ease and we had a good chat. One thing he mentioned was to be sure to take the short drive to the lake front, down Isbester Drive to the Isbester Lookout. Isbester was the name ... read more

Odometer: 40455km It is time to start the long days on the bike. There is some nice country coming up, but there are also some long, boring stretches. I have been preparing myself for this, so I think it will be all right. This first day will not see too much distance covered, but the next two will be dandys. I started the day at Jim and Barb’s place. We were able to get to Pointe au Baril Station by 10:30am where I had to retrieve my bike and load the panniers. I asked Keith to come along in case I needed both he and Jim to help me get my bike down a very steep hill from where it was being stored. I didn’t know what shape the loose gravel road was going to be ... read more

Odometer: 40091km I left Kincardine very early to try and avoid the heat of the day. It helped somewhat, but it never did cool off very much at night and by 8am I was sweating in my motorcycle clothes, again. I decided to ride along the north shore through Port Elgin, Owen Sound, and Collingwood to get over to the freeway 400 and on to visit my friend Jim and his family near Point au Baril on Georgian Bay. There is not much to say about this trip. The road was straight, it was located away from the shore in most places, and the towns were all pretty ordinary places. In other words, it was a rather boring ride. I certainly understand why the trees all seem to be bent over towards the northeast in this ... read more

Confederation square in Kingston at 7am is a nice place to be. The scenery is beautiful and there are only a few walkers around, couples taking an early morning stroll, or store employees soaking in the sun, Tim’s in hand, facing another day inside with far too many people to service properly. I liked my prospects better. I wanted to take in the visual Kingston, take some pictures, and then get out of the city before the tourist crowds gathered again. I find cities of this size much more difficult to get to know people through conversation. I am probably just as much to blame as others, because I also feel hesitant to approach people. It is true that larger cities permit anonymity. I picked up a small map titled “Historic Downtown Kingston”, but all the ... read more