Quit our jobs, sold our home, gone riding!

[lightcycle]

May you be greeted by gorgeous sunsets and rises, may the roads be clean and your personal encounters pure. If you ever run into troubles, post up here and I'm certain help will be quickly found. You guys are travelling for all of us, but don't feel it a burden. We'll live vicariously through your reports and updates and are grateful (and more than a bit jealous) for your efforts.

Thanks!

You guys are putting dangerous thoughts into my head, especially at this point in my life.  

Do it!

[Sport-Touring]

[Cheddarhead]

It's been said before...

..but I must compliment you both on your writing and especially on your photography.  The images you've chosen to share are well-composed and serve to communicate well the experiences of the moment.  

Savoring this trip report...reading (and re-reading) installments at liesure, allowing myself a few moments escape.

Thanks for taking us along...you are so very fortunate to have found a friend / riding partner who shares your particular strain of wanderlust....

[Blunder]

Every picture tells a story, don't it?

[Fast Blue]

Very nice  I enjoy the ride reports that come from  home

[ST3Andy]

+ a whole bunch. That's a beautiful shot on a number of levels...

Following along and living vicariously through you guys. Thank you so much for sharing your adventure with us.  

+1 I look forward  to ride reports daily. Great stuff.

[lightcycle]

Update from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/12.html



Crossing over from Ontario into Manitoba on the TransCanada Highway we experienced a drastic change in geography. Gone were the irregular shorelines of Lake of the Woods, which in itself is quite spectacular when seen from an airplane. You can get a sense of this from the map above: the lake covers over 950,000 acres and has over 14,000 islands with over 30,000 kms of forested shoreline!

When we crossed the provincial border, it was like emerging from a forest into a wide open field. A field about 1,500 kms long... We had wandered out into the Canadian Prairies! We call it The Gap, that space between Ontario and the Rockies.


The Market at the Forks

Just the other day, at the Terry Fox memorial in Thunder Bay, we were talking to a guy from Winnipeg and we asked where to go in the city. He replied, "The Forks". Having no idea what that was, we punched it in the GPS and were pleasantly surprised to find a nice little touristy area located in downtown Winnipeg, at the junction of the Assiniboine and Red River - hence "The Forks".


Closeup of one of the structures surrounding Oodena Circle.

At one of the stores in the market, we overheard from the shopkeeper that there was a pow wow happening in the afternoon at the Oodena Celebration Circle, which was an open-air arena just outside the market. It was built by the city to host aboriginal and other cultural celebrations. "Oodena" is Cree for "centre of the city".


Participants in brightly coloured traditional attire!

We stayed for quite a while at the pow wow listening to the drumming and chanting and watching the many different tribes come together and dance around the circle. It was a feast of colours,  and Neda remarked that we had lived in Canada for so long, but here in Winnipeg was the first time she's seen First Nations people so interwoven into the city and culture.



I found out later that we had actually visited The Forks on National Aboriginal Day, which was a pretty big event for Winnipeg. Some other shots of the Pow Wow:







The Forks was built on a site that was originally (and still is) a meeting place for the last 6,000 years. It was a popular spot for trading between early aboriginals, European fur traders, Metis buffalo hunters, etc. all the way to current day stores selling curios to nomadic motorcycle riders.


Human Rights Museum under construction at The Forks


Walking the Espalanade Riel, a bridge just outside The Forks named after the city's founder, Louis Riel


Thumpin' the doghouse!

I think what I'll miss most while being on the road is playing music. As far as entertainment goes, we don't watch any TV at all, but we did treat ourselves to an IMAX showing of The Dark Knight Rises. It was ok... I was very sad to hear about the tragedy in Colorado at the movie opening. These days, I get most of the news via social media, as I'm updating our pictures and blog online. Although we're seeing the world one small piece at a time, I'll have to be more diligent on keeping up with what's happening on a broader scale.

[spinalator]

Great write up, love the pics. I need to get out East sometime!  

[lightcycle]

Update from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/13.html



Our route through the interior provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. We tried to stray off the main TransCanada Highway often, or we would have died of boredom! The fierce headwinds of the prairies really affected our fuel economy. With our large panniers and my huge Aeroflow windshield, our frontal surface area resembled the shape of a brick, and our range plummeted from about 350 kms/tank to 250 kms! Speed limits on the prairies are 110 km/h, which also contributed to our poor fuel mileage...


Saskatchewan's license plate reads, "Land of living skies"



We took a break off the boring flatlands of the Prairies and headed south towards the US border to an area called the Big Muddy Badlands. The town of Coronach runs a van tour that hits most of the touristy areas, but since we were mobile, we just visited them on our own. Most of the places on their web site are not that interesting anyway, and we saved ourselves $75!


Taking a break on the gravel roads of the Big Muddy Badlands

The Big Muddy Badlands are these outcroppings of rock that look like they belong in a cowboy movie. You know the ones where the outlaw is running away from the US Marshalls, takes refuge in a cave in the hills and is in turn ambushed by Indians, and then all of them are chased by alien bounty hunters that look like Olivia Wilde...


Castle Butte in the background

We spent most of the afternoon walking around Castle Butte, a large outcropping of sandstone and clay in the Big Muddy Badlands. It's the largest structure in the valley and was used by early settlers as a navigation landmark.


Bikes in front of Castle Butte


Exploring the spooky caves at Castle Butte. This one reminded me of the movie The Descent. Scary!





The badlands extend south into Montana, which boasts more desert landscapes, and is more typical of Western movies. Saskatchewan only has a tiny area of badlands north of the Canada/US border.


Neda's butt walking around Castle Butte


Neda surveying the view on top of Castle Butte


Walking along the spine of Castle Butte


Bikes in the background below


GQ, here I come!


Leaving Castle Butte

[spd2918]

Sweet report!

My wife and love Winnipeg as a weekend getaway.  It has a great international flavor for a city in sticks.

Walking the Espalanade Riel, a bridge just outside The Forks named after the city's founder, Louis Riel

That thing on the right is a Salisbury House Restaurant, part owned by Burton Cummings of The Guess Who.

[vguy]

Great report and pix -- thanks.

[sammyseaman]

Sweet report!

My wife and love Winnipeg as a weekend getaway.  It has a great international flavor for a city in sticks.




That thing on the right is a Salisbury House Restaurant, part owned by Burton Cummings of The Guess Who.

Cool  

[birdrunner]

Watching your trip.  If you end up in Edmonton and want a place to regroup.   (Shower, Laundry, etc)  (Or the weather is brutal)

We have a guest room and can make garage space.



 BTW,  you're still early enough in the year to make it to Alaska.  Just sayn.

[lightcycle]

Update from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/14.html



This is how it all starts

In Michael Crichton's book "Airframe", about an airplane crash, he documents that a disaster like that is never dependent on one single cause or event. Rather, a sequence of events have to occur to contribute to a crash. Here's my sequence of events:

Somewhere in Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia, my air compressor stopped working. It was one of those large 12-volt jobbies with the light, the attachments for volleyballs, air mattresses, inflatable dolls, etc., but the part that screwed into the valve stem started leaking so I junked it. I decided we needed something a bit smaller and less dependent on electricity, in case something went wrong with the electricals. So at a Walmart, $9.99 later, I picked up a foot operated pump.

Which promptly FAILED the first time I stepped on it... So we were now without an air compressor. Event #1.


Just taking a nap... after having the wind knocked out of me...after a huge speed wobble and lowside in deep gravel

After visiting Castle Butte, we headed out to find the Sand Hill of Saskatchewan. We had been doing fine on street pressures in the lightly graveled road of the Bug Muddy Badlands, so we were feeling over-confident that we didn't have to let out the pressures since we were without our own air compressor and gas stations were few and far between. Event #2.

I check the Google, online maps and my GPS and can't figure out a way to get to the Sand Hills. so I opt for the most direct route and force the GPS through several unpaved roads. Normally this yields good results. Not this time, though. The road turns from unpaved to deeper and deeper gravel. I'm sure the Sand Hills are just a few kms away. We don't turn back. Event #3.

We're traveling at 70km/h, much too fast for the road conditions, and waaay to fast considering we didn't let the air pressure out of our tires since our stupid Walmart foot pump broke. In my rear mirror, I see Neda slow down by a lot, and then the speed wobble hit my bike. The handlebars violently shake left and right, wrenching my arms in both directions. The motorcycle starts to weave left and right, as the front wheel moves side-to-side, each oscillation getting worse in amplitude. Logically, I know what needs to be done: I need to relax my grip on the handlebars, grip the bike with my knees, and roll off the throttle slowly. But my natural instincts kick in and I do none of that. In fact, I do the exact opposite, and that is the final event that led to this:


Aeroflow windscreen is not flowing air too well anymore

The motorcycle slides into the left ditch, resting on it's right side at a 45 degree angle, and I get bucked off into the middle of the road, I put my arms out to brace myself on impact and feel a searing pain in my right shoulder and my left ankle. It takes me a second, but I get up and signal to Neda that I'm relatively ok, I don't want her to worry too much, but she comes on over the intercom, and her voice is shaking with concern and fear anyway.

Although the bike is not laying entirely on it's side, the ditch is about 4 feet lower than the road, so we have to get it upright and ride it back up. That's when I notice I can't raise my right arm more than a few inches. This is not good. Neda struggles with the bike while I can only stand by helpless. Somehow, she manages to get the 600lb bike upright, almost all by herself and I can get on the bike in the ditch. Using my left hand, I grab my right hand and place it on the throttle and start the bike up. It fires up without a problem and I ride it up and out of the ditch. There is considerable pain in my right shoulder but I still am able to handle the controls properly.



Maybe I should get engine guards... On a ride, Gadgetboy from ADV once looked at my guardless jugs and asked me, "What are you, some kind of tough guy?". I don't feel like one anymore...

We rest at the side of the road and I lie down, exhausted by the effort and adrenalin is starting to leave my body, leaving me lightheaded. My pain in my ankle is actually a bruise right on a spider bite I got the night before, lot of pain but nothing serious. I still can't raise my right arm though which is worrisome. Neda does a survey of the bike, the Aeroflow windscreen is toast, the handguard's mount is broken, so is the right front turn signal but other than that, the bike is still rideable. A few trucks (carrying fresh gravel!!!) stop to make sure we're okay, and when we tell them where we were headed, they all look at us puzzled, "We've never heard of no Sand Hills around here...", and "We're bringing fresh gravel to the end of this road, it goes nowhere right now...". Crap! All this for nothing...

We let the air of our tires for the ride back, it felt much more stable. As it turns out, the riding position (after I manually put my right hand on the throttle) is the most comfortable one for my shoulder, as we ride away from our aborted mission to find the Sand Hills of Saskatchewan. I know the first thing I want to do right now is buy a large electrical air compressor, you know: one of the 12-volt jobbies with the light, the attachments for volleyballs, air mattresses and inflatable dolls...

I'm guessing I'll need a few days to fix the bike and figure out what's wrong with my shoulder, so we stop at Cypress Hills provincial park for the night. Two extra strength Advil dulls the pain as I feel sorry for myself in the tent for messing up our trip, and right at the beginning as well!

[Mastros2]

Sorry to hear of the crash. Maybe a broken collar bone?  Heal up!

[Darkbluexplorer]

Oh no!  Mend up fast!

From my mobile command unit attached to my hand.

[ninjadad66]

Man this RR truly rocks, It's like I'm traveling without moving.

Two thumbs up on living the dream and I wish you all the best on your adventure.

[Jay S.]

Wow, not sure what to say. Rest up and get well brother.

[jeepinbanditrider]

Defiantly take some time and get better.  Pushing yourself will only make it worse.  Not sure how the Canadian health care system work exactly.  Can you go get checked out at any health care provider in the country or do you need to be in your home province?

[BashamR6S]

Sorry to hear about the crash, totally a bummer!!! Hope its not to serious and you guys are able to continue some what soon. None of us like to be sitting on the side lines looking at the bikes when we could be riding them. Get well soon!!

Bash

[ninjadad66]

Oh Rats sorry to hear about the misfortune, but very glad to see you' :eek:re somewhat ok. I posted earlier after reading page two. Imangine my surprise when I got all caught up just a few minutes ago.  Hope nothing serious is wrong with the sholder.

Get well soon.