Coast to Coast to Coast in Canada

Ric H

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Jul 20, 2021
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110
Location
Ontario, Canada
Good ride report. I'm going the other direction. Sort of. From my home in Waterloo Ontario i left on May 24 and headed east to do the Maritimes. Came back the long way thru Algonquin and Screaming Heads. Checked on my home and headed north. Took the Chichimaun ferry and headed west. I'm in Terrace Bay right now. Maybe Manitoba tomorrow.
 

jeckyll

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May 11, 2016
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651
Location
Lotusland
Be sure to stop in Meat Cove for chowder.
View attachment 92111
<snip>
Was closed. Plus, they were out of sticker. Story later.


Just got back from 3 days (2 nights) on the road, touring Cape Breton island and doing the Cabot Trail. Back in NB, will post an update tomorrow

Teaser images:



Meat Cove "I was there" photo. Most Northern point you can ride to in Nova Scotia.
 

jeckyll

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May 11, 2016
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651
Location
Lotusland
Day 12 & Day 13

Getting out to the Cabot Trail

Day one of this trip was mostly commuting. Left new Brunswick and got to Nova Scotia for the mandatory stop at the visitor centre and the sign


Better photo, also, notice the flags. It was blowing again





I got off the main highway before the toll section and took a scenic tour along the coast
Hwy 4 -> 246 -> Hwy 6.

Photos of a couple of places are coming on the return trip, I was focused on getting to Cape Breton.

Once I got over the Causeway, quick stop to take a photo (nothing special)


Then I motored on to get close to Baddeck, which was going to be my jump-off point

Got a motel (was going to stay at a cheaper 'Guest house' but they didn't answer the door nor any phone numbers pasted on it, so I moved on.

Decent room, decent view, off I want to get some beer and then had dinner at the motel restaurant.



I liked that I could sit on the deck


Told you, busy ;)

OK, so I was the only person in there at the time.

I really wanted to do more camping and save a bit on hotels, but at least I'm getting every little bit out of the tooth paste. You know, a penny saved ...


<splitting post due to img limitations>
 

jeckyll

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May 11, 2016
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651
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Lotusland
The next morning (Day 13) I got everything loaded up, and headed out, it was finally Cabot Trail time.



Every recommendation I got was "do it counter-clock wise" and they were correct of course :)

Soon I was at the first lookout with a bunch of other folks








I chatted with a bunch of them, we event talked about "don't be scared when I pass you" and folks were cool


(yeah, got a little 'squinty' there, should have worn the sunglasses ;)

Before anyone could leave I jumped on the bike, as I knew I had empty road ahead of me.

The road was windy and tight and I was playing and having a great time until ... white SUV, full brakes by me and red and blue lights by him.

Anyway, I was relaxed, he was nice and of course he has to deal with all kinds of unhappy things. We chatted a bit and he rides as well.

We left on good terms :D


Thanks Greg, keep the shiny side up!

Obviously, I slowed down a bit after, but the scenery didn't slow down.

Boats were working hard a lot of the places I pulled over:






The sky was cooperating but putting up some pretty clouds


Along the way I stopped at the harbour in .. I believe it was Ingonish






(note for others, get gas here :) )

Soon I reached the turn off for Meat Cove. I've been to the most North-Western spot on Vancouver Island, this would be the most Northern spot on Cape Breton. The roads rough (but in a good way) and the last 9 km are mostly gravel though the steepest hills are paved.

Watch out for vehicles coming the other way, tourists don't always stay on the right side of the road and the berm makes you want to ride in the middle. Nuff said

Nice pull out shortly before Meat Cove




I watched the boats work a bit


Got to the end of the road, but they're renovating so no food and they were out of Meat Cove stickers :(



T-shirts they had, but how am I going to stick on to my hard cases?

Anyway, back I went and motored on.
< another split>
 

jeckyll

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May 11, 2016
Messages
651
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Lotusland
The highlands were gorgeous but I didn't stop as I was hoping to meet up with Richard (who also rides a SuperT). I want to come back in the fall when the leaves turn!

Just south of Pleasant Bay I stopped though


What a view!

I had a chance to talk to these folks from the UK, he's originally from Germany (Berlin) and they're thinking of moving to Nova Scotia and are touring. Super nice folks (I of course forgot their names, as I do :) )




A bit further south I stopped and thought this was a very well done memorial


Closer so it's easier to read



Road in the distance


Just before Margaree Forks I stopped and called Richard and he told me how to get to his place.

The goal was to ride to a lookout, but unfortunately his battery had failed and she wouldn't start. We chatted for a while and I got some photos (the side car rig was apparently used in Trailer Park Boys, but has been re-painted since). Very cool







After that it was back on the road and I ended up at the same motel. Could have left all the camping gear, but, hey, that's how it works out sometimes.

Time to re-chill some beer


Last 2 days rides:





What awesome weather and riding!
 

Pdrhound

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Joined
Mar 26, 2017
Messages
335
Location
High desert
I love the quick little stories. Your head clicks them like 30 sec videos when you travel.

My dad in Wawa flirting with young nuns

Watching a kid trying to climb up onto huge steel table and chairs in a park by the locks in Sault Ste. Marie. He fell a couple times.

An old horny broad propositioning my dad in thunder bay.


Also, you should be able to switch your display to metric. Both my '12 and ' 14 can be switched. On the'12 I think you hold down the left round button for more than 2 sec.
 
Last edited:

sheikyerbooty

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Dec 12, 2021
Messages
539
Location
Dunedin, NZ
If you don't love Canada, you don't love life. Awesome man

Hows the front tyre holding up? Trailmax mission right? Wet tarseal, high speed stability etc. good to hear your thoughts...
 

jeckyll

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May 11, 2016
Messages
651
Location
Lotusland
Day 14: Back to NB

I had a good nights sleep and after a so-so breakfast at the motel restaurant I packed up. It was going to be an easy day, but I wanted to get a Cabot Trail, or maybe Cape Breton sticker on the way.

After a casual start, I went south and realized that today would be a day where I primarily travelled west. After 2 weeks of steady eastward progress that was a strange concept.

Surely the Cape Breton gift shop next to the official visitor centre would have the stickers I was looking for


Nope. None. But, on the other side of the causeway there was a store that was recommended. I got there, they were closed (no sign as to hours, so onwards).

After going through the long construction zone on the way to New Glasgow (and getting a wave from a motorcycle cop that had a car pulled over) I once again took Hwy 6 along the coast.

Eventually I stopped to take a few photos




With the bike far off the road of course


The ride back was a real trial, can you tell?


I did finally get some generic Nova Scotia stickers at the main information centre at the edge of NS / NB, but I hope at some point I can get some from the Cabot Trail / Cape Breton or better yet, Meat Cove :)

Arriving back at my dad's it was time to heat up a sandwich, watch the birds and hang out


 

jeckyll

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Joined
May 11, 2016
Messages
651
Location
Lotusland
I love the quick little stories. Your head clicks them like 30 sec videos when you travel.

My dad in Wawa flirting with young nuns

Watching a kid trying to climb up onto huge steel table and chairs in a park by the locks in Sault Ste. Marie. He fell a couple times.

An old horny broad propositioning my dad in thunder bay.


Also, you should be able to switch your display to metric. Both my '12 and ' 14 can be switched. On the'12 I think you hold down the left round button for more than 2 sec.
Display is in metric. Temps are in F as it was a bike that came from the states. Temps don't switch to metric ever on a US based bike.
 

jeckyll

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Joined
May 11, 2016
Messages
651
Location
Lotusland
If you don't love Canada, you don't love life. Awesome man

Hows the front tyre holding up? Trailmax mission right? Wet tarseal, high speed stability etc. good to hear your thoughts...
Thanks.

Tire is good. I've pushed it hard in some corners fully loaded, no concerns. Very squirrely on tar snakes when it's 28C out, like it was on Day 14. But then, I've never had a tire that isn't. Have ridden it both wet and dry, between 4 C and 28 / 29 C and so far it's very good. Bit harder perhaps than the K60 Scout front, and I'm running it about 3 psi lower than the Scout (as recommended by the guy who spooned it on who runs it as well on his bike).

But, it's only got 7,700 KM on it so far. Let's see how it lasts :)
 

jeckyll

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May 11, 2016
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651
Location
Lotusland
Day 15 & 16

Rain, rest and some minor maintenance.

Well, after 14 days of riding every single day, it's time to rest while the weather is poor.

On Day 15 I wandered over to Napa to buy their last tube of dielectric grease (of course, they only had the large tube left) as my right headlight melted the harness and I'd like at least one headlight to work for the rest of the trip ;)



Apparently the recall that was supposed to have been done for this was not effective. I'll have to figure that out with Yamaha when I get back home.

After picking up the tube of grease from Napa, I wandered up to Timmy's for a coffee and a muffin. Two bagger Harley's were sitting outside and I only saw the fronts. After I finished my coffee and was walking out, I told the guys to 'Keep the shiny side up'. We got to chatting and one guy said he was from Vancouver. The other guy was from New Westminster, literally a 15 minute walk from where I live. 6,000 km away, and that happens. Crazy.

Got a quick snap with them


Then did the headlights. Left side - good, just some grease


Right side - tough to see, but melted and crispy (and staying unplugged due to fire danger!)


I know it's a bit tough to see, but take my word for it. It's completely fried.

After that it was time to check tires, pressures, battery connectors etc to make sure things were tight and in good shape.

The Anakee3 on the back has 4 mm left, and some searching revealed that it has 7 or 7.5 mm of tread when new. So that means that it _should_ make it home, but only just. It will depend on the roads and how much gravel riding I do across MB and SK on the way home. It's possible she'll be "well-done" when back in Vancouver. If necessary, I may search out some replacement rubber in AB.

Now, on day 16, it's still raining and wet. The plan is that tomorrow we go to Alma, have lobster for lunch and watch the tide come in, and then the next day, over to PEI to look around, have some more seafood, and go check out Charlottetown and some of the Confederation stuff.

And then, well, it may just be time to start turning west and starting the trek back across to the other coast and home. Hopefully it won't be the same kind of hard push as it was on the way out and I'll take more secondary roads and chill a bit more. :)
 

jeckyll

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May 11, 2016
Messages
651
Location
Lotusland
I assume that back tire has plenty of wear to go?

Maybe a picture of Hudson Bay?
Hah!

Hudson Bay is definitely not on my way home :D

I'm going to try and take the backroads through Quebec and maybe some more southern routes through the prairies. Mostly, I'll be trying to avoid all the thunderstorms (based on looking at the 10 day forecast that I'm seeing at this point when looking at the different provinces... )
 

Bill_C

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Joined
May 22, 2021
Messages
492
Location
Central Valley California
Just a thought regarding your headlight; I had the same thing happen on my left light and I was able to find a replacement H7 fitting at the auto parts store. Some new wire, quality connectors and some shrink tube and it was good to go. Back up and running in 10 minutes.

I only mention this because 2 lights are better than 1 and you still have a lot of miles to cover on the way home.

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk
 

jeckyll

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May 11, 2016
Messages
651
Location
Lotusland
I need to put a proper update together, lost of hanging out with my dad, today we met up in PEI (so one more province added to the trip).

Tomorrow I'm going to start heading West and towards home!

Family has taken priority, I'll get this updated in the next couple of days though :)
 
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