Hello everyone! Hope you are all doing well and staying safe. What a crazy year 2020 has turned into! Don and I are hoping to do a week long trip to South Dakota in mid-September. Of course that depends on what happens with the pandemic in the next couple of weeks. We don’t have as …
Author Archives: Derek
Wrap Up
Wow, this was an epic trip! And thank you for sharing it with us. Total mileage was right at 6,000. The bikes did great at everything we asked of them. Don’s V-Strom turned over 113,000 miles during our travels. The only mechanical hiccup was the Tiger’s fork seals started leaking on the way home. Not …
Day 19 – Home
Don and are both back home safe and sound. Wasn’t a bad travel day. A little rain when we left lower New York state this morning, but it was clearing by the Pennsylvania line. Ohio was cloudy but dry and we really didn’t have much heat until Cincinnati. I’m pretty beat tonight so I’ll wrap …
Day 18 – New York Again
Today was our last day of scenic touring and it was a beautiful day. We cut through the Adirondacks on Hwy 3 which was largely a different route than we took a couple of weeks ago. The mountains were a little on the cool side this morning, but not a cloud in the sky. We …
Day 17 – Back in the USA
Uhg! What a day. We woke to very dense fog and cold rain. Our scenic ride along the north shore of the Saint Lawrence wasn’t scenic at all due to the weather. The ferry I had originally planned to cross the river was down for the rest of the season due to a major break. …
Day 16 – Bienvenue au Quebec
Bonjour! We got an early start from Labrador City and soon crossed into the province of Quebec. We had about 30 miles of dirt road (hwy 389), then pavement for a while, then back to dirt and gravel for probably 60 or 70 miles, and finally back to tarmac for a fun and twisty ride …
Day 15 Trans-Labrador Highway Part II (or how we almost got eaten by a bear)
When we initially planned this trip, Labrador was just a way to connect points A and B along with adding a little non-paved adventure. What an experience Labrador has turned out to be! It is both gorgeous and wild. And I can’t imagine this trip without it. The TLH should be fully paved by 2021. …
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Day 14 Trans-Labrador Highway Part 1
Construction of the Trans-Labrador Highway (TLH) began began in 1992 to connect western Labrador to the centrally located Happy Valley-Goose Bay. In 1999, Canada extended the highway East to Port Hope Simpson on the coast. Prior to the TLH, these communities were only accessable by boat or plane. The original 775 mile road was unpaved …
Day 13 – Labrador, whales, and more Icebergs
We said goodbye to Newfoundland today with mixed emotions. 5 days wasn’t nearly enough time to explore even just the Western side of the island. Incredible land and incredible people. But it’s time to start towards home. We packed camp early and caught the ferry back to the mainland. Weather was good so we spent …
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Day 12 – Vikings and Icebergs
We had a steady rain all night and skies are grey this morning. The picture above over looking the village of L’Anse aux Meadows (population 18) is about the only sunshine we saw all day. And this was the first cool day so far this trip. What better weather to go see how the Norse …
Day 11 – The Viking Trail
We headed up the Western coast on Hwy 430 a.k.a. The Viking Trail. The weather started out fantastic although still on the windy side. I get the impression that the wind is pretty normal, especially on the coast. The weather here is very unpredictable. It changes quickly and often. Not only does it vary considerable …
Day 10 – An Easy Drift North
It absolutely poured last night and is rainy and cool this morning too. The tent kept us dry, but our spirits are a little damp. Physically, we are just getting tired and need an easy day. After packing up a wet tent and grabbing breakfast, we decided just to stay close to the area. We …
Day 9 – Gros Morne National Park
After a fairly serious thunderstorm last night, we woke to a clear blue sky. Unfortunately, it only lasted the morning. Clouds moved in this afternoon and it has been a largely continuous rain this evening. The lighting in the pictures is not the best, but I did what I could. The Tablelands are a very …
Day 8 – Newfoundland
We are in Newfoundland! And wow! The ferry ride was a bit rough and those chairs are not nearly as comfortable as they look. I got some sleep, but not so much for Don. The Newfoundlanders we met were really cool and maybe we picked up a couple of more followers for the blog. Definitely …
Day 7 – Bras d’Or Lake
Today was our last day in Nova Scotia. The weather was a bit sketchy but not bad other than wind. Last night was a little rough in the tent as the wind was bad enough that we had to add more guy lines and stakes in the middle of the night. Took our time packing …
Day 6 – The Cabot Trail
A beautiful but warm day. We rode the Cabot Trail today. Words and pictures just don’t do it justice. All I can say is that Don is now my second riding buddy, that after riding both, says that the Cabot Trail beats the Pacific Coast Highway. If you like scenic road trips, Nova Scotia needs …
Day 5 – Cape Breton Island
Another stellar day! We packed up early and spent a little time on the beach at Five Islands watching the tide. Made the causeway to Cape Breton by midday and rode up the West coast. Cape Breton is technically an island as it is separated from the rest of Nova Scotia by water maybe a …
Day 4 – Bay of Fundy
Finally made it to Nova Scotia! We are camped at Five Islands Provincial Park on the Bay of Fundy. It was a bit of a trying day. Dropped the Tiger about 30 seconds after entering Canada. Stopped to wait for Don to get through the checkpoint and got off balance. The bike took a hard …
Day 3 – Canada, well almost
Well, it has been another long day but absolutely beautiful weather and phenomenal scenery. We did not make Canada as intended and stopped in Lincoln Maine for the night. Got bogged down a bit this morning in Vermont. This was going to be an ambitious day anyway as we had to cross New Hampshire and …
Day 2 – The Adirondacks
It’s been a good day but a long day as we went from point A to point B in nothing resembling a straight line. The Adirondacks are beautiful but I didn’t get many pictures today. Passed through Lake Placid late this afternoon and saw the Olympic village and the big torch no longer burning. Absolutely …
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