Well, I completed my Vancouver to Sault Ste. Marie return trip.
I left the cottage on Batchawana Bay on Friday, Aug. 3 taking the Canadian route, Hwy 17 North, around Lake Superior. I camped at Rainbow Falls PP at Rossport and had a great prime rib dinner at the Serendipity Gardens restaurant in Rossport. I woke early Saturday to a beautiful red sky which had me reciting the old mantra, "red sky at night ... etc". Well the "red sky in the morning, sailor take warning" turned out to be accurate, thankfully it only started raining after I had the bike packed for departure. By time I got to the Terry Fox memorial near Thunder Bay the rain had stopped. I went through Thunder Bay to Hwy 61 and south to the US border. The stretch from T Bay to the border is a great stretch of road, curves and great scenery.
I crossed into Minnesota at Grand Portage and continued south to Duluth, completing my circumnavigation of Lake Superior. I was pleased to see that the portion of Hwy 61 in Duluth is sign posted Bob Dylan Way. After a false start in downtown Duluth I finally found Hwy 53 and headed northwest through the Iron Range.
The sky was dark and threatening so I stopped at Cook MN and put my rain gear on. Wise decision as I rode through several thundershowers on the way to International Falls where I took a motel for the night. I crossed the short but expensive toll bridge into Canada at Fort Frances early Sunday morning and headed west and north on Hwy 71 through the relatively flat farmland and then into the rocky lake-filled landscape of the Nestor Falls and Sioux Lookout Lake of the Woods area joining the TCH Hwy 17 again at Kenora.
We lived in Winnipeg for a few years in the early 1970's and one thing that always struck me then was the transition from forest to prairie at Steinbach MB, I was looking forward to seeing it again and wasn't disappointed. (I am always reminded of this when I travel west on Hwy 1 toward Chilliwack BC, you round a curve on a hill and suddenly the forest gives way to the flatness of the eastern Fraser Valley.)
I had planned a couple of days in Winnipeg but after not being able to contact our friends on the long weekend, I decided to continue heading west. I couldn't find a campsite near Brandon so kept on to Virden MB, finally camping after a 1030 km day. I rode into town looking for dinner and found Wendell's Cafe on the highway. I had a wonderful, home-cooked dinner which I could barely finish, a full rack of ribs (with gravy, not BBQ), soup, coleslaw, baked potato, vegetables and coffee for only $11.50!
Beautiful weather greeted me on the holiday Monday as I crossed into Saskatchewan. Other than stopping for a coffee and wi-fi break I had no reason to linger in Regina so headed towards Moose Jaw. I had intended to gas up and have lunch but didn't feel hungry so skipped it. The temperature was soaring and I decided that I would stop for an ice cream and a drink at the shorebird interpretive Nature Centre at Chaplin. Before I got there I was shocked to see my voltage meter fluctuating wildly and showing a discharge. I pulled in to Chaplin for a half hour break, and as I got ready to leave the starter barely turned over but the bike did start, the guage still showed discharge even when I revved the engine and I thought, "Stator - again, third time!" I rode slowly through the town (pop 400) but everything was closed for the long weekend - I did note an agricultural machinery shop and a Greyhound agent so thought at worst case I could probably leave the bike there, catch a bus to Regina and fly home. As I puttered through the town I glanced at the voltage meter and it was charging! It kept charging so I decided to make for Swift Current where there were more options available. As long as I kept my speed between 90 and 100 kph the bike kept charging, over 5000 rpm and the needle fluctuated wildly, so I kept to the left side of my lane and tried to enjoy the leisurely, though stressful pace.
102 degrees at Swift Current! I stopped for gas and the bike fired up OK, so I continued west toward Medicine Hat AB at the same under 100 kph rate with countless semis hauling 2 53 foot trailers passing me like I was standing still. I rode through Medicine Hat (also 102 F) looking for a motel and at the junction of Hwy 3 made a quick decision to head towards Lethbridge. My ultimate goal was to make it to my son's place in Cranbrook BC.
I stopped for the night at Taber AB after 900 stressful kms. I carried a multimeter and battery tender/charger with me so I removed the battery and took it into the room with me. The battery, which I just bought in June, was low on water, particularly 2 of the cells. I topped it up with drinking water, put it on charge and dropped into bed for the best night's sleep of the trip.
In the morning the red light on the battery charger was still glowing indicating that the battery had not taken a full charge. I replaced the battery, refilled the coolant (did I mention the white smoke?) loaded up and headed out. The bike started and ran great! 110 kph with no problem, charging and temperature in the low-normal range. What the heck?
Just past Lethbridge the Rockies came into view on the horizon, excellent sight! I stopped at Blairmore AB before tackling the Crow's Nest Pass and the bike was reluctant to start, the starter just turned over but it finally caught on one cylinder and blew a cloud of white smoke from both mufflers that would make a 2-stroke jealous. With BC within view I continued on, and once moving the bike seemed to run fine. I made Cranbrook with no further issues and after a short stop decided the keep on going, my overnight goal was now Grand Forks BC. I stopped at Creston BC to decide which route to follow. The choices were to continue on Hwy 3 over the Kootenay Pass or the flatter route, Hwy 3A to Nelson via the Kootenay Lake ferry.
I opted for the Pass thinking that if I had major problems going up I could coast back down and be near Creston. There was a travel trailer ahead of me maintaining 80-90 kph up the hill which suited me fine, I hung back and tailed him. The bike's temperature was climbing but not into the red, over the summit and downhill the temperature dropped to low normal. I stopped in Castlegar for gas before tackling the Bonanza Pass enroute to Grand Forks. I reached the campsite in Grand Forks at about 5 pm and after a short rest decided that since it was still early I would continue on towards Osoyoos. The ride was uneventful until I stopped at the Anarchist Mountain summit to clean my windshield since I was riding directly into the setting sun. When the bike started it blew tremendous amounts of white smoke which took longer to clear than usual. As I rode into Osoyoos I realized that I would be lucky to find a campsite there and if I did it would be expensive, so once again I decided to continue on, this time towards the Stemwinder BC PP campsite west of Hedley BC.
I considered continuing, even making for home since it was under 300 kms however the thought of traveling the deer infested Hope-Princeton section at night brought me to my senses and set up camp at Stemwinder. I arose early, packed and started out, after a breakfast stop in Princeton and a near-deer incident, I hit rain and low cloud/fog near the Hope Slide. The wet weather continued until I broke out into the valley near Chilliwack (see earlier comment). The bike continued to run well, it certainly likes the cooler temperatures and I pulled into my garage at 11 am, 5 1/2 days from the Soo.
Total trip 7966 kms, 11 1/2 days of riding.
PS - I took the battery back to Canadian Tire where it load tested OK and charged to 13.5 V. I think heat was the real issue causing my charging problems. I've ordered a rear tire, head gaskets and o rings and will tackle that over the next week or so.