Northern Ontario Adventure, with bears and moose

Our trip was uneventful in every way. The bikes just hummed along from fuel stop to fuel stop. We usually fueled around 320-360 kms. The minimum residual fuel never went below 3.5 liters, leaving a 100 kms in the tank. We both carried extra fuel.

We did see a bear, therefore the thread title isn't a lie. I will actively seek out a moose before I get home.

The SD card in my Mobius has captured the entire trip. With 126 GB I can capture close to 16 hours. I download to my laptop when it gets close to full. I plan on speeding the footage up to a 500-600 mph speed so the entire trip can be viewed in a reasonable time. It should actually be somewhat viewable in the long boring stretches.

40 minutes out from Thunder Bay, we came up on a very sudden traffic stop. I captured this on my helmet cam.


This is an example how far south your day can go in a micro second. We heard the air ambulance just before coming across the scene.

Originally Posted by Terry Lee

40 minutes out from Thunder Bay, we came up on a very sudden traffic stop. I captured this on my helmet cam.

This is an example how far south your day can go in a micro second. We heard the air ambulance just before coming across the scene.

I just confirmed that the motorcyclist didn't survive the collision. Charges are pending for the driver of the other vehicle. Left turn incident? I guess that would be a "right turn" for left hand right of ways.

My riding partner just departed solo back to Ottawa. Very sobering.

[maviczap]

Not nice, tends to put a dampener on things

The first thing my riding partner had to do in Thunder Bay was dip his toes in Lake Superior. He was surprised at the temperature of the lake. Not pleasant for swimming.


He grew up in Nigeria and apparently was very aware through social studies of one of our Canadian hero's, Terry Fox. A young man my age who lost a leg to cancer and then attempted to run across Canada with a prosthetic leg. He made it close to Thunder Bay before he became ill and shortly after succumbed to cancer. He raised tens of millions of dollars. He actually ran past my rural home at the time and my dad got a picture of him passing our mail box. There is a beautiful park built in his memory atop a mountain in Thunder Bay.


The two buds enjoying shared memories of a outstanding individual.


He departed solo two days after we arrived on a misty morning.


My Thunder Bay friend and I departed shortly after for Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Yes, I have at least two friends This is a huge aviation convention with the worlds busiest control tower for six days. I've flown in 14 out of the 18 times I've attended. We had to drive 9 hours this time due to aircraft issues.


Over 10,000 aircraft on the field. The bulk of those numbers are amateur-built and GA aircraft, but lots of heavy iron as well.


Some years ago, I designed, manufactured and sold an aircraft component for certain classes of aircraft. During a dire financial situation, I sold all the tooling, inventory and rights off to another company. They are still being sold, completely unchanged. There's thousands of them flying, and hundreds of examples here at the convention. There's even a vendor displaying them front and centre. Lost opportunities... really big sigh.


We're departing shortly back to Thunder Bay. I'm sun scorched from the 29C cloudless skies.

After 3500 kilometers of flawless riding, I'm home and ready to rejoin regular life. That's a lie. I would rather just spend the rest of my life on the road. I departed Thunder Bay yesterday morning and rode 12 hours and over a 1000 kilometers to Sudbury. More than the distance from Land's End to John o' Groats. The roads were almost deserted and the scenery was impressive.


Departed Sudbury this morning at 7:00 am and was home by noon. The bike purred the entire time. None of my "improvements" fell off. The luggage system performed flawlessly. The most valuable option I installed was the throttle lock. I don't think I could of endured without that thing. I removed all the travel enhancements and found a small amount of damage on the rear tailpiece. The top box must of been rubbing. I'm hoping that it's just the decal. A closer inspection tomorrow.

[ophic]

Originally Posted by Terry Lee

More than the distance from Land's End to John o' Groats. The roads were almost deserted and the scenery was impressive.

Be fair now. By road it's 1300-odd km. And deserted roads? That would never happen. Scenery is nice in parts but it's guaranteed to be raining or foggy at least somewhere along the way

Nice ride, great pics. Where you going next?

Originally Posted by ophic

Be fair now. By road it's 1300-odd km. And deserted roads? That would never happen. Scenery is nice in parts but it's guaranteed to be raining or foggy at least somewhere along the way

Nice ride, great pics. Where you going next?

Yeah, I was playing with numbers The point to point distance was 1460 km's over two days. I did the 1000+ in one day with a late start. I wanted to go non-stop but ran out of daylight and didn't want to run with the chance of wildlife collisions. The trip home, unlike the trip out was sunny and mostly very warm. I have an air temperature probe installed and I watched the numbers go from 29 C to 12 C in just minutes. The cold wind coming off the lake in low points brought fingers of fog inland. Upon climbing the next rise, the temperature would return to hot. The roads in Northern Ontario were very lightly loaded. I was able to ride for long periods of time with no traffic visible in my lane forward or rearward. Oncoming traffic was mostly heavy trucks supplying the communities. As I approached Toronto from 250 kms out, I was suddenly on a 6 lane highway (#400) with bumper to bumper traffic all around. Cottage traffic on a weekend...

The long hours on that first homeward leg were made possible by two things. I purchased some memory foam (astronaut couch material) at Oshkosh, which I crudely profiled to fit inside my riding pants. It was like sitting on a squishy steak. At OSH I was fitted with custom earplugs. My HJC helmet roars inside at speed. I wore disposable earplugs on the journey out and they were an issue when putting the helmet on/off. They would get caught and get dragged out. The custom ones attenuate 32DB and fit flush.


I just tried to review the video footage of the 4.5 hour leg yesterday. I knew there'd be an issue as the camera wasn't flashing a record indicator at the first fuel stop. It turns out that when I removed the SD card at the hotel in Sudbury for download, I didn't re-seat it properly. NO FOOTAGE I'm not sure I can do anything with over 300 GB of video anyway. Lessons learned.

As for further rides, I'm back at work today and will use the bike for the 20 km round trip. On my remaining holidays, I'll spend some time with dog and wife.

[ophic]

Originally Posted by Terry Lee

It was like sitting on a squishy steak.

and er... how do you know this?

Originally Posted by ophic

and er... how do you know this?

That's an old bicycle racer trick before the invention of gels. Apparently tenderized the meat perfectly for an after ride dinner. No experience with either though.

Originally Posted by Terry Lee

After 3500 kilometers of flawless riding, The top box must of been rubbing. I'm hoping that it's just the decal. A closer inspection tomorrow.

After a thorough inspection and cleaning, I discovered some more wear marks on my formerly pristine SV. In addition to the tailpiece marks, there's an oxide smear from one of the fuel bottles. It rubbed through the finish as well.


The hinge pin on one of the side boxes backed out and rubbed on the muffler. This hopefully can be buffed out.


There's a noticeable flat spot on the rear tire. I wish I would of measured the tread depth before leaving. Currently at 8500 km, the centre of the tire seems to be worn down aproximately 1mm. Is that good/bad?


I spent 3 hours with sponges, toothbrushes, wax and cloths with the fairings off and returned the bike to as new a condition as possible.


Overall, I'm pleased with the performance of the luggage system. For a completely unproven amateur build, the few wear spots and non-failure was a success. The fuel bottle thing is concerning, as I wouldn't have appreciated a wear through hole.

And finally, the title mentioned bear and moose. I saw a 1-2 year old bear trying to cross the road. No time for a photo, you'll have to believe me. But here's a photo of a moose at one of my favourite restaurants...