Two On Two Tales

Blogging at 95 mph...

2010-07-11T15:34:00.001-04:00

With less than an hour before we get off the train, we both thought it would be cool to just list some of the memorable people, places, and quotes from our little adventure.

Belinda: Amazing love of live and a dedicated adventurer. GOOD LUCK ON YOUR CONTINUED TRAVELS!

Helmut: Enigmatic master distance rider and time trialist. Gotta love a man who says "Yeah, I ran a dive operation in Saudia Arabia" as if he was telling you he had a coffee after breakfast.

Hector: Viva Bam-Bam! Former pro boxer, personal trainer, electrician, and afficionado of downhill slopes and peloton riding.

Cathy & Nick: Captain & stoker of a custom-built tandem, heart & soul of the peloton riding crew.

Jim: He'd be cool enough just by virtue of having roomed with Helmut, but he also did a 109km race with 35,000 participants in South Africa and has ridden a bike to 80 kph in San Fran - past a school bus no less!

The Dolphin Ladies (Kelly & Sheila): Two amazing Ironman finishers who are to bicycles what dolphins are to water. Inspiring every time they smoked past us at twice our speed - and with a great joie de vivre.

Meryl: Ageless retiree who's cycling 700k adventures in Ontario, trekking the mountains in Peru, AND finally got braces.

Michelle & Courtney: Young and motivated riders who were good sports about spending a week surrounded by old farts.

The Flautist: Australian provider of short and sweet lullabies.

Goh: Talented photographer, monster cyclist, and bon-vivant.

Supercycle man: Still riding a 12-year old bike he bought from Canadian Tire for $100!

Leslie: Qualified for the Boston Marathon at 40, 50, and 60.

Dave: Pissed off Leslie and lived to tell about it.

The cold lake in Cobourg, and the therapeutic value of soaking the heat and ache out of us.

Dinners at Pepperwood & Woodlawn Inn.

The Long Sault chain of islands.

The Port of Prescott & the grain elevator.

Brockville.

Beautiful meandering trails in unlikely places: Pickering, Ajax, and Whitby.

The Port Hope rest stop at the church.

The buttercup field in Hamilton.

The overlook at the Scarborough Bluffs.

The 70k (you read that right) of dedicated bike path from Upper Canada Village to Cornwall.

Slumber party in the Cornwall Armoury (more slumber than party).

"I think my caesar is getting low."

"Maybe you'll come back and invent pizza in a can and be rich... Wait a minute, I think I just had a million-dollar idea!"

"I feel like a mayor!"

"Phil's having fun, get off his back."

"If you can't wear it with pride, wear it with courage."

"Half of you won't make it!"

"You obviously have a lot of great ideas about how this family should spend its money."

"It's nice and cool back in the office, but somehow I don't wish I was there."

"Lousy rotten family!"

"You call that an 'incline'!?!"

"HEY! Stop patting his bum already!"

"You see every foot."

Thoughts from a lazy blogger...

2010-07-07T20:56:00.002-04:00

It's hard to believe that we're already 5 days into our 8 day adventure. All of the 100+km days are behind us, and I have kind of mixed feelings. We're both suffering a little bit of wear and tear (his & hers matching knee problems), so it'll be nice to back off and have some easier days, but I'm also a bit wistful because there's not feeling quite like really cranking on it and putting a bunch of miles behind you.

There's nothing insightful to share about what's been great about this trip so far and why I'm glad we've done it - we are meeting amazing people, we are seeing beautiful scenery, and we're spending a bunch of time riding our bikes, which we love to do. We're also on our first-ever camping trip together and finding that we enjoy that, too, and will probably do more of it. And of course, this is our first longer vacation away together since our honeymoon, and it's been wonderful having so much time together with so few distractions. It's a ton of fun to just transplant yourself into a different and more adventurous life for a week - I recommend it.

Here are a few thoughts from the "small world" file - I met the nephew of James Read, who was the principal of my first school and someone for whom I have always retained a great deal of respect and affection. And tonight at dinner I was seated immediately across from the son of the man who sold me my second bicycle. In Elmira, the only bike shop for 40 years was Central Cycle & Sports, and it was run by Lorne Martin. Tonight I had the pleasure of dining and reminiscing with Randy Martin, Lorne's son. He still has a tandem bike from the 60's that his parents used to ride in the Fall Fair parade - including with him on the back in a child seat.

To meet two people with these connections to my hometown, separated by so much time and space from events that have had such a lasting impact on me has been a really special and unexpected part of this whole experience.

And on the technical side... My cheapie no-name mail-order road bike is working just dandy. I'm really happy with it, despite the fact that it would have benefited from a bit more of a tune up before the trip. It needs the wheels trued up a bit better, and the brakes & derailleurs tuned, but that's not the bike's fault. It's handled everything I've thrown at it and I'm pleased at how it's holding up so far. With a bit of care invested in that bike it should offer many more miles of fun.

We've done what we can to keep in touch and update family and friends on our progress, but it's mostly been limited to a sentence and/or a photo here and there. We hope that you know that you're in our hearts and that we'll have plenty of stories and more photos to share once we're back. For now, we're kind of taking it all in and making the most of this week of adventure.

So it begins...

2010-07-03T16:59:00.003-04:00

Today is day one of the third annual Great Waterfront Trail Adventure. The firing of a canon at the historic Fort George in Niagara on the Lake signaled the start of our trip.

It was a pretty easy day of riding. The weather was great, the wind was at our backs for a good part of the trip. We followed the trail north, past by Lasalle, Lincoln and Grimsby. This is the fruit basket of Ontario. We rode by neatly kept peach orchards, fruit stands emanating sweet scent of ripen berries, and of course, rows and rows of grape vines. For most of the trail we rode today, the lake is close, but not visible. The occasional turtle crossing the road reminds us that the Lake close by.

A few sunburns and 80k later, we arrived at Confederation Park in Hamilton - our camp ground for the night. Hamilton Beach mixed use trail pass by the entrance of this park, which is now decorated with patches of colorful tents. This is a beautiful part of town, and a great place to end day 1.

Okay, now... enough with the scenery talk... let's turn to the human aspects of the trip. Approximately 90% of the demographics of this event is constituted by Caucasians, and majority of them are middle aged. I felt very "ethnic" being one of three Asians among the crowd of middle aged white Caucasians. I think this is the most consciously "different" I felt since I came to Canada 9 years ago. Indeed, I have been transplanted to a new environment with arguably a very different culture. But a bigger reason behind this cultural shock is perhaps because due to my perception of my growing "Canadianess". I have learnt a lot from everyone I've met so far in this country. Let's see how long it will take for me to break the ice with some of these people.

We did get acquainted with one of the riders, Belinda, who came to the ride on her own. She just finished school and is cycling around Canada before starting her job in the fall. After this trip, she will embark on a trip to PEI on her own! I am thoroughly impressed. Setting aside the practical challenges with riding long distances solo, the most challenging part for me is perhaps the mental challenge of not being able to share the experience with someone close. Doing this trip with Phil is my favourite part of the trip.

Photo Extravaganza Part 10

2008-07-21T11:43:00.000-04:00

We had a bit of time in Digby between dinner and catching the ferry. These are some of my favorite photos from the trip, because I think you can see what a great day we had.

More of a motorcyclist day by day.

Still a little buzzed from a delicious dinner. I don't know if it's appropriate for me to say this, but there's something about the composition of this photo that I really like.

A nice relaxed and natural shot of my favorite moto-adventurer!

Photo Extravaganza Part 9

2008-07-21T11:38:00.000-04:00

Here we have some obligatory landscape shots of the Fundy Bay area from the Nova Scotia side.

This is actually part of the water that goes through the Annapolis power generating station.

Some boats moored at low tide. We took this from our table at the restaurant where we ate dinner. That tide rose probably 2 feet in the little over an hour we were there eating. It's one thing to know in your head how fast that water comes in, but it's something else to see it in person, to see the landscape changing around you.

Another shot of the docks not long after, you can see how much the water has risen.

This was taken from the ferry not long after we took off. We actually saw some baby dolphins porpoising out of the water, but there was no way to pick that up on camera, so instead you get this. Here's hoping that you enjoy it.

Photo Extravaganza Part 8

2008-07-21T11:14:00.001-04:00

Canada Day was our single best day of riding, I would say. We went from Truro to Digby and caught the night ferry from there to St. John, NB. The weather was perfect (the best we had seen since our very first day on the road, I think), and we went on scenic trails almost the whole way. One of the nice things about the scenic trails is that you can stop anytime you like to snap some photos. The difficult thing is having the judgement about when to stop and when to keep going a bit longer to find something even more spectacular...

Anyone who knows me knows that I like this mailbox. It was just serendipity that it happened to be near where we stopped for a view of the coast.

What a cutie!

Me with my trusty mount.

I'm not sure, but I think that this picture was taken near the Annapolis generating station - the only tidal generating station in North America. We shot some pics of the station itself, but they just aren't that great. They look a lot like some boring little power generating station.

Photo Extravaganza Part 7

2008-07-20T15:31:00.001-04:00

Safe and sound on a more pleasant and relaxing day in Truro, we marked the passage of time (10th day on the road) with these biological clock photos:

Over a weeks' growth of beard. And it wouldn't hurt to trim those nosehairs too!

And those poor knees continue to heal up.

Photo Extravaganza Part 6

2008-07-20T15:27:00.000-04:00

At the north end of the Cabot Trail, we stopped at a place called Green Cove. It was raining pretty good by the time these were taken, but since the wind was coming from the northeast (does that make it a nor'easter? Maybe that should have been a clue!) and we were heading west then south with mountains and trees between us and the wind, and since the skies were clear in the direction the wind blew from, I thought we were through the worst. Hence the light mood in these photos.

We call this one the "Toad" picture, because with the big helmet it's so much like one of Toad's celebratory poses in a Wii videogame. I don't recall Toad celebrating with a snotrag in hand, though!

Talk about austere beauty. I like the raindrop on the lens - photo buffs may agree or disagree, but I just like having some evidence that we were out in rain and wind. We both also like the waves breaking on the rocks.

Another coastal shot from Green Cove.

Photo Extravaganza Part 5

2008-07-20T15:18:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures from the early part of our ride around the Cabot Trail. The day started out cold, foggy, and a bit wet, but not brutal.

After coming down Cape Smokey, we had to get a picture. I love this one, for me it brings back so many memories of this sense of being lost in the fog, the woods, and the road twisting through the mountains. About 100m higher up than where this pic was taken, the fog was basically whiteout with almost no visibility. Where you'd crest a hill, it looked like you were just driving into a white wall.

Outside the Seagull restaurant. We actually wrote some blog posts from inside there. Funny to have WiFi access in an area where you can't get a cell signal, and where they still have a Chargex sign on the door instead of Visa.

The nature there on the coast of the ocean makes you feel so small.

Damn, if the facial expression doesn't give you a sense of how wet and cold and draining this day was turning out to be, then the clenched fists and retreating thumbs sure should!

Photo Extravaganza Part 4

2008-07-20T15:11:00.000-04:00

This is from our first day on Nova Scotia, and they were all taken on Cape Breton while riding scenic trails before we arrived in Baddeck.

The school itself is kind of unremarkable, except for the setting (we posted some other pics we took from the playground of this school in an earlier posting)...

...and this Gaelic sign. I saw a lot of signs in Gaelic and wanted to get more photos of them, but this is the only one we snapped.

Where's that ferry?

Here it comes! This was a small ferry at Little Narrows, cost $5 to cross, took about 2 minutes to go maybe 200 metres.

Photo Extravaganza Part 3

2008-07-20T15:06:00.000-04:00

Our first real break on the way from Rivere-Du-Loup was a small town called Saint-Marc-du-Lac-Long. I would say this is typical of one of three Quebecs we saw. The first was Montreal - multicultural and a modern city in transition. Then there's Quebec City - historic and a vibrant mix of old and new, but surrounded by some odd kind of cultural bubble. Between places like those, you'd have this - a smaller scale, a different pace, one ethnicity, ONE language, and if you're lucky, one employer.

Once there were parking lots
Now it's a peaceful oasis
you got it, you got it

I liked this view, with the municipal building and the church visible across the lake.

For me, this is the image of Saint-Marc-du-Lac-Long - there was a bar here (you can still see the foundation in this picture) but it was demolished for whatever reason. There are many reasons why you might demolish a bar, but for me the real mystery is why on earth is the sign left standing? I can see the real estate ad copy now... "Lot for sale, ideal location for a bar named 'Bar St. Marc'".

Photo Extravaganza Part 2

2008-07-20T14:54:00.000-04:00

The new crew! The pair of CBR's loaded up and ready to head out from Riviere-Du-Loup

The view of the river just outside town was so nice we had to stop and take some pics.

A nice shot, but what this picture doesn't show is the amount of bugs, or the smell from the nearby septic tanks!

Yi samples a local brand of chips from Quebec (Called Yum Yum!). We didn't see them anywhere other than Lac St. Marc, but to be honest we weren't really looking.

Photo Extravaganza Part 1

2008-07-20T14:49:00.000-04:00

A few photos from the Saturday morning before we left.

The city of Toronto from our balcony. What perfect weather to start off our trip! It was about 25 degrees with bright clear skies.

The two bikes together...

Loaded up and ready to go!

Touchdown!

2008-07-05T20:08:00.001-04:00

We are back safe and sound in Toronto. We'll update with plenty of photos and other details over the next few days.

The short version is that it was an amazing trip!

Montreal Bound!

2008-07-03T09:54:00.002-04:00

Today (Thursday) is supposed to be the last US leg of our trip. We're heading out from Rumford, ME and should make Montreal (weather permitting!) late this afternoon. The weather here this morning is beautiful, we'll see how things shape up as the day progresses and we make our way further west.

Things I Miss

2008-07-02T23:19:00.002-04:00

I'm in a bloggy mood tonight so here's one more. I've done trips that were longer in terms of distance, but I've actually never taken a 2 week vacation of any form, so this is my longest road trip in terms of duration. I'm finding that it's nice - it's long enough to get really immersed in a groove that's very different from my normal everyday life.

Of course, there's no place like home, and there are some things I'm looking forward to getting back to:

My bed.
The cats & fish.
Cooking and eating good healthy food.
Friends.
Waitstaff at my regular restaurants.
A daily routine that doesn't involve bungee cords and velcro straps!

Reflections on Motel Prices

2008-07-02T23:09:00.002-04:00

We've seen a range of rooms across a a spectrum of features, quality, pricepoint, and value. The most we've paid is $122/night, and the least was $59. We've found that for us, the sweet spot is in the $65-75 range. The cheaper rooms just tend to have too many problems. You might get lucky, but you're more likely to be dealing with nasty smells, mystery stains on the carpet, burned out lightbulbs, etc. The pricier ones are just too much money for our purposes. We don't need a ton of space for the 2 of us and a bunch of baggage for a night.

Word Association

2008-07-02T22:58:00.002-04:00

To pass time on the ferry, we played some word association related to the trip. Hopefully it's interesting to you too:

For this list, Phil provided the words and these are Yi's reactions:

Toronto: Dynamic, multicultural.
401: Busy, accidents, rudeness.
Kingston: Cultural, historic, easy-going, Queen's.
Ogdensburg: Pie!
Lake Placid: Rainclouds, pine.
Adirondacks Park: Pine, cedar, turns, suggested 15 mph limit signs.
Vermont: Graceful.
Irving gas stations: Old timey.
Quebec City: Unapproachable, striking, awe-inspiring, distant.
Montreal: Friendly, home fries, soothers, put down the ducky.
Quebec province: Diverse, expansive, artistic warning signs.
Riviere-du-Loup: Temper tantrum, flowers, churches, hills, sunset, $75 motel.
PEI: Red mud, Confederation Bridge, lobster roll, mist, meadows.
Ferries: Gentle rocking, Harleys, wind, dolphins.
Speed Limits: Necessary at points.
Scenic Trails: Trees, water, potholes, moose signs.
Rain: Cold, unfriendly, fogged glasses, undignified.
Wind: Liberating, anxiety.
Sunshine: Marvelous.
Cold: Numb, sore fingers.
Cabot Trail: Breathtaking, challenging, invigorating, unforgiving.
Lobster: Bug, lemons, rather have scallops.

And with the roles reversed:

Moncton: 7th grade joke.
Charlottetown: Bite the bullet, "desperate hard", searching for Timmies.
Cheticamp: Bluegrass, old locals, wind, shelter.
Fredericton: Detour.
Digby: Cyclists, tides, rest.
Sunrise trail: Churches, isolation, private adventure.
Truro: Hub.
Canada day: Nova Scotia scenery, perfect weather, beautiful day, happiness and contentment
Baddeck: Trailsman, natives, desperate search for veggies.
Fog: Cape Smokey.
Atlantic Ocean: Harsh, beautiful.
Maritimers: Tough, friendly, isolated.
Gift shop: Good book, ice cream, glass crap.
Boardwalk: Goofiness, rising tide seagulls.
Veggie pizza: CHEESE, dough.

Who'll Stop the Rain?

2008-07-02T22:11:00.002-04:00

The day went great until about 6:00 today. We had covered just under 400 kms, with only 1 more session of riding left to make our goal when it started to rain. We saw lightning, but the rain wasn't coming down hard and it looked isolated. We decided to go for it because we were both in good shape and figured that we'd seen the worst weather we were likely to encounter when storm-stayed on Cape Breton.

This weather wasn't more severe than the wind at Cape Breton, but there was a lot more rain. Add to this the fact that we encountered a construction zone of about 3 miles with no pavement, and you've got a formula for some seriously hairy riding. The rain came down so bad on the gravel that we were basically riding along a series of creekbeds, with the water just pouring across the road. Luckily the gravel had been packed so it wasn't excessively muddy (just the mud carried into the road by the water).

I led while we braced ourselves to just try to get 5 miles down the road to the next town where we could consider options. I rode almost the whole way with one eye on my mirror, so worried
about Yi in these conditions. The water, gravel, and mud all magnify even the smallest of errors. A bit too much brake or steering input, or the wrong guess about which rut to put your wheel in and the bike can get away from you faster than you can believe. I felt OK about the road, but it was very tough and took a lot of concentration.

While we were stopped waiting for our turn at a one-lane construction zone, a bolt of lightning struck very close. I mean it must have been within 100 meters - the instant it hit, we could both smell ozone and hot pine. I have never been so close to a strike like that, and for Yi it added an element of stress that was really not required at this point.

Compounding the difficulties for Yi is the fact that her visor was wet inside and out, and fogging up on her. She was wearing glasses today, so she couldn't just open the visor and squint - lesson learned: always use the contacts if there's any chance of rain.

I can't say enough about how relieved I was that we both made it through with no spills, or how impressed I was at how Yi handled herself under the conditions. A dude in a pickup truck who followed us through that section stopped at the same gas station after us and came over and said "Great job! I don't know how you two rode through that." With the immediate danger gone, Yi went through some kind of stress/adrenaline dump and was overcome with emotion for a little while. I had a hard time convincing her of how amazed I was that she had kept the bike upright - an advanced ride from a beginner rider.

While we were planning our next move, another local came by and told us that he rides too. He was quite a character and had a beautiful dog in his truck with him, and that seemed to cheer Yi up a lot. The rain let up quite a bit, and the local gave us some advice on the local motels, called the motel for us, and then led us there in his truck. Not really necessary, but a nice gesture and an added element of fun in the adventure.

We have encountered some riding that is much more hairy than anything I expected based on other rides I've done this time of year. We've both had our resolve and our skills tested pretty heavily. I am glad and thankful that we've managed to pass those tests, but damn am I ready for maybe a couple of nice days in a row - I feel like we've earned it!

Twitter Integration

2008-07-02T21:42:00.001-04:00

You can now see our quickie updates on the right side of this page. Twitter is a neat little microblogging tool that lets us provide intra-day updates via text messages.

Back in Maine

2008-07-02T21:28:00.003-04:00

July 2nd: Yesterday we made our way from Truro after a delicious breakfast. It was an absolutely perfect day of riding, and we managed to get to Digby in plenty of time, despite taking scenic routes almost all of the way. We finally got beautiful weather for the first time since our first day on the road. The ferry this time was a bit of a disappointment after the one from PEI to NS. It was long, in the dark, not quite on time, didn't smell very good, and left late.

The good news is we saw baby dolphins porpoising in the water! On arrival in St. John at about half-past midnight, we made our way through some whiteout fog to our pre-booked motel.

This morning it was still very foggy, but our hopes that getting away from the ocean would get us into clear air turned out to be well-founded. We had an ambitious goal today - to get from St. John to Berlin, NH - which would have been almost 550 km. We didn't quite make it, but we're safe, sound, and drying out our stuff in a motel in Rumford, ME.

Status archive

2008-07-01T07:40:00.000-04:00

It is Canada Day! Today we start in Truro, NS and head for the ferry from Digby to St. John, NB.

Saturday: Started in Toronto, visited Kingston, stopped in Ogdensburg, NY.
Sunday: Started in Ogdensburg, visited Lake Placid, stopped in St. Johnsbury, VT with a broken SV.
Monday: Cobbled the SV together and limped it to Montreal with one eye constantly on the DMM I had wired up as a voltmeter, watching it tick down like a fuel gauge or a doomsday clock.
Tuesday: Yi stayed in Montreal while I ran out to Ottawa on the SV and came back with a CBR (saw 138 indicated on the CBR during a long downhill stretch with a decent tailwind and draft!).
Wednesday: Started in Montreal, visited Quebec city, stopped in Riviere-du-Loup, QC.
Thursday: Started in Riviere-du-Loup, visted Debbie's Deli & Pizza in Patton, ME, stopped in Freddy, NB.
Friday: Started in Fredericton, lunched at the Garden Diner in Moncton, and then rode on to Charlottetown, PE.
Saturday: Rode from Charlottetown, caught the ferry, and did a few amazing scenic routes in NS before getting to Baddeck for the night.
Sunday: Tried our best on the Cabot Trail, but the storm got the better of us - staying in Cheticamp until morning.
Monday: got from Cheticamp back to Baddeck just fine, then booked a room in Truro and did a short but windy and intense ride there.
Tuesday: Heading out from Truro to Digby, where we're booked on the 8:45 ferry to St. John. It should work out so that we can see some fireworks displays from out on the water, so we're pretty stoked.

Total distance so far is well over 3000 km plus my ~450km errand to Ottawa. Now we are working our way back west.

PEI to NS

2008-06-30T20:41:00.004-04:00

Mr. Cuthbert, Mr. Cuthbert! Your roads, they're RED!!!

Yi in an exceptionally photogenic and exuberant moment.

With the bikes on the ferry. This was taken for us by a father & son Harley team who were bringing home a 1984 Sportster with ape hangers - and yes, it did leak oil!

A nice fellow passenger walked by, looked up at us and said, "That would make a great picture." So we handed down the camera and now you can relive her excitement. :)

Stopped by a church on the Sunshine Trail.

Another break nearby with a lighthouse...

And a lookout.

A shot of the Bras d'Or Lake - a beautiful inland sea.

Another from the same area.

Saturday was a lot of fun and we saw some amazing sights and met some very nice people.

follow up to Phil's post

2008-06-30T19:43:00.002-04:00

Yesterday's ride on the Cabot Trail was by far the hardest ride I've ever done.

I told my former colleague Micheal Rosenstock that I planned to dip the wheel of my bike into the Atlantic Ocean on this trip. Even though this didn't happen, I consider yesterday's ride as a proper initiation to Atlantic coast mountain ridding.

Phil wrote in his post that he didn't enjoy the last leg of the ride. I beg to differ. Not for a single moment did I wish that I wasn't on my motorcycle riding the Cabot Trail, even as the Atlantic ocean dumped herself on me and the strong winds pushed and tugged around. I am glad that I got the proper initiation to some real tough riding, and even happier that Phil and I made through this ordeal safe and sound.

Any rider would always have room to improve, especially for a new rider like me. I came off the ride with improved technical skills and more confidence, for that I am very satisfied. At Cheticamp, we stopped at a Tim Horton's, got some hot tea and decompressed. I felt a new sense of biker camaraderie between Phil and I, for that I am thankful.

Cape Breton Retrospective

2008-06-30T16:04:00.002-04:00

We have kind of fallen behind in blogging, and I've noticed that a lot of what I've written has been status, planning, date & place kind of stuff and I'd like to change gears a bit.

We had a beautiful ride on Sat, taking part of the Sunrise Trail - this kind of riding is perfect for the 125's - you get to take in all of the scenery, and play to the little bike's strengths instead of its weaknesses. The bikes do just dandy up to 80 kph, which is well-suited to the scenic trail roads. We enjoyed the flowing roads (much like in Adirondacks Park), and took the time to shoot some photos - some of which have turned out very well and we're looking forward to posting them. We took a break in Antigonish, which was a bit special for two reasons - first, it's the first time we've had a really good-looking waitress on the whole trip so far. Secondly, it's the hometown of The Trews! I don't know if they ever play there anymore, but I'd love a chance to ride around there again and see them live somewhere in town.

Cape Breton is different from Nova Scotia - the Atlantic has an omnipresent quality there - you're always aware of it even when you can't directly see or hear it. The air smells different, the sky and the plants seem somehow different, and the locals seem a bit tougher and more open. I believe that the population on CB is older also. Even with all of the tourists, it's got an amazing untouched quality. As one example, there are no McDonald's restaurants anywhere near the Cabot Trail area where we were. I don't dislike McD's, but I do see it as a symptom of a creeping homogenized culture (or lack of it). Of course, that homogeneity is mitigated by stuff like McLobster!

One of the things that struck me in NS on the scenic trails was that many of the signs of place names are in both English and Gaelic. I can't say why exactly, but something about seeing that made me really happy. I guess I just really like the idea of elements of Gaelic culture transplanted from Scotland surviving for hundreds of years in an environment with a lot of other cultural influences.

The other thing was the obvious natural beauty. It's cliched (and inaccurate) to talk about regions like this as unspoiled, but that's really how it felt and something about moving through that space is good for the soul. It gave me a vague sense of connection to something I would otherwise have no connection to.

Along with the Atlantic, there's one other thing that pervaded my perception of NS: churches. In what we saw, the mean distance between churches couldn't have been more than 10 miles. It would be hard to find a place more than a 1 hour walk from some form of church, I think.

On Sunday, we started out a bit concerned and disappointed that the weather was shaping up to be pretty cold and wet on the day we were planning to ride around the 180 miles / 290 km loop of the Cabot Trail. Even so, we decided to go for it, and I'm glad that we did. The riding was similar to on the scenic trails on the main NS island, but with much greater elevation changes, and more exposure to the Atlantic. Going up Cape Smokey we encountered white-out fog at an elevation of about 200m. It was an intense way for Yi to be learning to navigate switchbacks up and down a mountain, but she has already internalized the Golden Rule of riding on public roads: If you can't see the road, BACK OFF until you know the way is clear. She did great and I was very impressed and proud of her.

A bit under 1/2 of the way around, we stopped at Ingonish for a much-needed warmup session and some lunch in the Seagull restaurant. We found that they had wireless internet there and shot off a few emails and did a quick blog update. It was kind of funny to find that there was WiFi but no cell reception - not even enough to send a txt message!

As we went north up the coast, the weather got worse, and the riding through the highlands and up and down the mountains on the west side were alternately elating and scary. I can't count the times that I was sure that the weather had broken and we were in good shape for the rest of the ride, only to come upon more fog, wind, or rain elsewhere. At one point in the highlands, we stopped to check out a gift shop, use the bathroom, and make some adjustments to the helmet cam. Inside, we found a bunch of cheap tacky crap... And a really wonderful book called "The Cabot Trail in Black and White" - a collection of stories and photographs dating to the early 20th century collected from old residents in the 80's. More on that book later.

The wind was coming from the northeast, and I assumed that as we went down the west coast, we'd be sheltered from the wind in the lee side of the mountains. Wow, I couldn't have been more wrong. The crosswinds as we got down near the ocean gusted to at least 50-60 mph by my estimation. During bad storms, it's known to blow at over 100 mph. The locals didn't consider Sunday's wind bad by those standards, but they certainly had a healthy respect for it.

I will never know if I would (or could) have continued the last 90 km if I was on my own, because I wasn't on my own and by far my biggest concern was doing what I could to keep Yi safe. Lest that sound like a cop-out, let me say that it was one of the scariest rides of my life, and the last bit of it just plain sucked. There are challenging rides that energize you, and ones that seem to drain the life right out of you, and I found this one to be an example of the latter. I did want to stop as I was wet and freezing (12C and rain for hour after hour makes a warm room seem awfully appealing), and I couldn't imagine Yi being any warmer or drier.

Despite already having a room full of our stuff waiting for us back at the Trailsman, we decided to spend the night at Laurie's Motel in Cheticamp and wait out the storm. Once settled we began to read stories out of that book, and many of them had a ring similar to what we were experiencing ourselves. None of the stories were about picnics on sunny days on the trail - it seems that they were mainly about people struggling to do their best against capricious elements. I felt like we were getting a small taste of the real Cape Breton experience - a mix of discomfort, mortal danger, and adventure brought on by the landscape and the whims of the wind and water.

While at the nearby Tim's, I decided to tap some local knowledge. The place was full of old guys speaking French, so I asked some if they spoke English so I could learn a bit about reading the weather to get us back safe to Baddeck eventually. They told us that we had already come through the worst part - that the mountains tend to compress and funnel the wind, so that when it reaches the coast, it blasts out through the passes at high speeds. So if the wind was calm in Cheticamp, we should be fine to ride back to Baddeck without fear of being surprised again by debilitating storms. They also said that we had made the right choice to stop - the wind wasn't as bad as it gets there, but it was too bad for bikes - especially little ones like ours.

We got lucky and at 6:30 this morning the wind was calm and the rain had stopped. It was still damn cold but we were rolling by 7:00 and back in our main motel room by 8:30. One adventure concluded, but still a lot to get done this day and in the ones following!

Moment of Zen

2008-06-29T12:07:00.003-04:00

Back in St. Johnsbury Vermont last week, a local struck a conversation with me just as I was getting on my bike in the rain.

Guy: Looks like you are going to dodge some rain bullets today...
Yi : Yup
Guy: So you are going to do that all by yourself? Riding your own bike like that?
Yi: Yup... and I wouldn't have it any other way.

As we ride through Vermont, Maine, Quebec, New Brunswick, PEI and now Nova Scotia I gradually understand what it means and takes to be a Biker... and I am more convinced than ever that I am one.

Photo catchup: Lake Placid

2008-06-26T08:19:00.004-04:00

The scene at the Cottage Cafe in Lake Placid, right on the water and surrounded by greenery. Lake Placid is a beautiful town and it's as close to Toronto as Montreal is, and the drive is much nicer. So how come I almost never hear of someone spending a weekend there?

Planning the route to VT.

Yup, Lake Placid is in the middle of Adirondacks Park!

Another photo catch-up: Buster's

2008-06-26T08:07:00.004-04:00

We can't pull the pics off the new camera phone as readily as our main camera, so pics from there will come in batch updates.

The scene inside Buster's Sports Bar in Ogdensurg.

One of the miniburgers Yi mentioned - better than they look!

This coconut cream pie was something else.

Yi was fascinated with the little ketchup bottle. The short and stubby size with the wide mouth made it the most efficient Heinz dispensing mechanism I have ever used with the possible exception of a squeeze bottle.

From the outside, you can see why our expectations were low!

A quick note to the commenters

2008-06-25T23:43:00.002-04:00

Thanks to all for the comments, they're much appreciated! We barely have the time to keep throwing pictures and musings up, so responding to comments is a bit tricky. It's great to know that people are following along, though - makes us feel like we've got company. :)

City on a hill

2008-06-25T23:34:00.001-04:00

Riviere-du-Loup faces the St. Lawrence, with a series of steep hills rolling parallel to the shore. Historically, builders have clearly taken advantage of the geography, with these hill faces covered with homes, churches, and other buildings.

Riviere-du-Loup

2008-06-25T23:20:00.001-04:00

We found this nice motel near the water in Riviere-du-Loup. Here are the two CBR's parked outside.

A close-up shot of the twins. Here you can clearly see how much better Yi's shortened turn signals look than the stock monstrosities.

Dunno how well this shows up in the photo, but it was a pretty stunning sky.

Out and about in R-d-L!

Quebec City downtown

2008-06-25T23:10:00.001-04:00

We had a chance to check out the downtown area for about an hour and enjoyed a very nice calzone.

Yi on the main street.

Another view of the type of restaurant and architecture typical of the city.

Caught in a moment of smug self-satisfaction.

Hungry and distraught. Hoo boy the calzone turned that around!

Quebec City Observatory

2008-06-25T22:59:00.001-04:00

In Quebec City, we came across the Observatoire in the Capital Nationale building. The 31st floor of the building is open to the public, and for $5 you can wander around and take in some awesome views of the city. All 4 sides are open so you can get a nice 360 degree view. Check it out if you're in town with a fin to burn.

When you pay the admission, you get a little sticker for your shirt. We found this evidence of a post-Observatoire ritual on the parking meters just outside the door on street level. Hopefully Cool Hand Luke would approve.

Obligatory neice shot

2008-06-25T22:43:00.001-04:00

There she is - the cutest we saw her in our 2 days in MTL. Julia is a bit over 6 weeks old now and her hobbies include sleeping, crying, feeding, and clinging to her mom.

Photos from Vermont

2008-06-25T22:39:00.001-04:00

These pictures were actually taken from the balcony of our motel in Saint Johnsbury, VT. Words don't do the breathtaking beauty of this country justice, but neither do these pics. Even so hopefully you'll enjoy them and get some idea of how wonderful it's been riding through this area.

Safe & Sound

2008-06-25T19:49:00.000-04:00

Davey and me
Face down in our soup
In some French restaurant
Outside Riviere-Du-Loup
Last night out on tour
We burned the place to the ground
There's a reason that I love this town

More later...

Back on track!

2008-06-25T09:43:00.004-04:00

I fetched the CBR and stashed the SV yesterday. While I was doing that, Yi re-planned our route. Including finding out that the ferries are actually insanely expensive! So today we`re heading through Quebec City to Rivere du Loup. We promise more pictures tonight! We should be rolling by a bit after 10:00 AM on Wed.

SOLD to the man with the broken SV!

2008-06-23T14:36:00.002-04:00

I just got off the phone with Powersports Canada, a dealer in Ottawa. We`ve closed a deal on an `07 CBR with 1500 kms. Should be good to go with a plate on it by 2:00 tomorrow.

Happy birthday Yi!!!

2008-06-23T09:17:00.002-04:00

The lucky girl gets to turn 25 in the middle of an international adventure and she even gets to be the hero.

This morning I went out and took the battery to the shop for a charge, and hit an autoparts place for supplies. I got a multimeter, a bunch of connectors, and some 12 ga wire. I fashioned together an umbilical cord - this will let us tie the batts of the CBR and the SV together for an ultra-easy roadside boost if needed. Ive disconnected the headlight of the SV, saving 55 precious watts. The plan is to ride to MTL with a total-loss electrical system and then take it from there.

The good news is that it just started raining...

With all due respect gentlemen, I believe this will be our finest hour...

Contingency and action plan

2008-06-22T23:49:00.002-04:00

After a seemingly blessed day of riding, we stopped in St Johnsbury to talk about our plan for staying someplace and getting dinner. We decided to try the inn we had passed a mile back and get a simple, cheap dinner somewhere. As we went to head out, the SV refused to crank.

The same symptom I took it to the mechanic for two weeks ago.

The same problem that killed a new regulator and battery is acting up again. Only this time it's over 800 km away from home. Of course, I was willing to buy a new bike last week to ensure that this wouldn't happen but that seemed like over-reacting and my discussions with the mechanic made me decide to put my faith in the SV.

We were lucky enough to have the breakdown at a gas station with a shop - no mechanics on duty but the woman working the pumps gave me a battery pack to boost the bike and it did start. I got it to the inn, and we agreed on this plan:

I'll pull the battery first thing in the morning and drop it at that same shop for a charge and test.
While that's going on, I'll try to score a multimeter and a set of jumper cables.
We'll head to Montreal, a friendly city by virtue of my sister and her family living there.
I will locate the nearest CBR125R and buy it. Of course there will be paperwork to deal with too to get it insured and plated - I want an Ontario plate, which should make things interesting.
We'll enjoy St. Jean Baptiste day in Montreal (never done that before!) and then continue East for the rest of the trip.
After the trip, I'll decide what to do with the SV. Right now I'm thinking it would be cathartic to part it out.

Stay tuned for harrowing updates!

Photos continued

2008-06-22T23:19:00.001-04:00

We took a short break partway up this steep mountain because Yi was worried that there might be something wrong with the CBR. It seemed to be badly losing power, even when she downshifted into 5th gear. From what she described, I thought maybe the clutch was slipping, which seemed odd, so I took it for a quick test ride up the hill and back.

Luckily there was nothing wrong, just gotta keep the throttle open, the revs up, and the expectations down. On that mountain, at wide-open throttle, it would maintain almost 80kph in 3rd - and not one bit more. Those 13 horsies were working overtime to manage that, and I'm sure they were glad for the break as we crested the hill. The view was so spectacular that we had to snap some pics before rolling on.

Finally, some photos!

2008-06-22T23:12:00.003-04:00

The view of the unladen bikes from our balcony.

Close up, and carrying cargo just before we took off.

Yi's banged-up knee

Taking a break in Kingy, ready to press on to Ogdensburg - the most nastily-named bordertown I've been in.

Ontario, New York and Vermont

2008-06-22T20:03:00.005-04:00

We took off on Saturday morning in perfect weather. After a short stop in Kingston, we crossed over at Ogdensburg, which is situated along the banks of the st. Lawrence river.

The entry on Wikipedia for Ogdensburg featured its psychiatric centre and two correctional facilities. Aside from finding a place to sleep for the night, we weren't expecting much. We had dinner at Buster's Sports Bar. The place looked derelict from the outside - it had no windows, and the parking lot was badly paved. Inside Buster's was a decent sized restaurant, with walls filled with sports memorabilia, and TV screens showing results of lottery draws and news (ironically no sports). In fact there was a vending machine selling instant scratch lotto tickets, and blank lottery cards on each table for the patrons. There was a draw every five minutes and the results were broadcaste on a large screen. Any way, it was clear we weren't in Toronto. Maybe that's why we had, what I think, was the best coconut cream pie ever. It takes a special kind of excess and disgusting to make a pie that good. Buster's mini burgers and flat bread were really delicious, and they were even better for a late night snack.

We spent the night at Ogdensburg's Grand View Hotel and woke up to the pattering of rain. The weatherman warned of showers throughout the day and across the region. I was worried. I just had a spill couple days ago in the wet, and was a little banged up. In fact, my left knee is still mostly purple and red. I didn't feel like I was ready to go out in the rain again even after many words of encouragements from Phil.

Luckily, the shower stopped after breakfast, and we make no delays to get on with our trip to Lake Placid. The trip started with easy country roads with little change in elevation and nice sweeping turns. But soon, we can see the contours of the Adirondacks, and the road started to take the form of rolling waves that carried us through twists and turns in the humid breath of the mountain that smelled of pine and cedar. We rode on these waves into the heart of the mountain. Every turn and climb revealed a different stunning view. Every turn and twist brought with it the promise of the unknown, as the road underneath us disappeared and appeared again. Many lakes, large and small, were scattered in the mountain. As we rode by these calm waters, I had the strange feeling of familiarity. The sky darkened and then cleared as the rain cloud parted way with us. And as the tires of my bike hugged the waves of the Adirondacks, my breathing and heartbeat took the same rhythm with it.

I would describe the Adirondacks as graceful.

We had a hearty lunch at Lake Placid's Cottage Cafe, and took stock. We decided to head to St. Johnsbury for the night. I was a little wistful that we were to part with the Adirondacks. But then were heading for Vermont, the green mountain state.

As we made the final decent off the Adirondacks, what was ahead of us were wide flat fields, hugged by distant mountains. The juxtaposition of the landscape was so awe-inspiring that it should be iconic. The road stretched ahead of us, the turns spanned out and coiled up again as we entered Vermont. On the last leg of our day's ridding, the rain cloud loomed ominously over us, weighing down heavily over the mountains. The air was cold. I was sore at some places, and numb at others. I tried not to think about it. I just wanted to ride, to make through each turn with a good rhythm – break, look, lean and roll.

We got to st. johnsbury at 6:50. We just missed the rain. But our extremely fortunate day was about to end there – Phil's bike broke down... although luckily right in front of a mechanics shop, whichwas one km away from a reasonably priced hotel with a good view. I guess somethings you just can't plan for.

Anyway, it looks like tomorrow is setting out to be a long and interesting day. We will see what happens.

Rough route planned

2008-06-20T21:34:00.003-04:00

Here's our rough route. We are not committing ourselves to times and places, but we basically want to go out through NY (including Lake Placid and some good riding through Adirondack Park), VT, ME, and NB, across the water to NS, do a loop around the island (including the Cabot Trail), ferry to PEI, ride Confederation Bridge back to NB, across the mountains to the St. Lawrence and ferry across to QC, enjoy the sights at Tadoussac, Quebec City, and Montreal, then back into ON to hit Ottawa, Kingston, and arrive back home in Toronto.

Click the picture for a bigger static picture. Click here for the interactive Google Map.

Ritualistic wrenching

2008-06-20T21:24:00.002-04:00

I don't think I've ever done a road trip that didn't involve $100 spent at Canadian Tire and a few hours of wrenching the night before. Tonight we took care of the following:

Some of the fuzzy Velcro to mute the buzzing vibration on the latch on the SV's Givi rack.
Replaced the burned out H3 headlight on the SV with a PIAA unit that's supposed to be helluva bright.
Adjusted the CBR's chain.
Cobbled together working and good-looking turn signals out of the various leftover wreckage for the CBR.
Lubed up the brake lever on the CBR (it was dry and getting notchy - now it's like buttah!).

Stuff I wanted to do that didn't work out:

Mount a cheapie waterproof watch on the CBR's dash somewhere (surprisingly the ones at Crappy were all over $50!)
Replace the lost bolt holding my chainguard on. I bought some nice allen screws and fender washers, but they were too short. D'oh!

We might take care of that stuff on the road, it's a long trip.

The smell of adventure

2008-06-20T06:46:00.002-04:00

Last night I picked up a bunch of stuff - Givi tailbag for the CBR, flushmounts to repair the damage from the spill, my now-working SV, a 55w replacement headlight from PIAA, and an RF1000 helmet. My very first helmet was an RF800, over 8 years ago and I swear the new RF1000 smells exactly the same as that one did when it was brand new. As I pulled out of the bike shop with it on, all kinds of memories of my first tentative wobbling around the suburbs around Square One came flooding back. It was quite the feeling.

Or maybe I was just high from the fumes offgassing out of the various plastics, foams, and adhesives.

I think it was an early start on a road buzz, though.

Seeing the light?

2008-06-19T12:13:00.003-04:00

According to my mechanic, the SV is working now. And it's got the Avon tires swapped on, and the GPS wired up. I'll post some pics of the players (both bikes and riders) tonight.

A little adversity...

2008-06-19T07:46:00.001-04:00

OK, anything that isn't trivially simple is going to go differently than you have planned. If it's anything that qualifies as an adventure, you'll have stuff to deal with that you didn't count on. So far, here's what we're dealing with as we count down to take off on Saturday morning:

The SV's charging/electrical system went bonkers almost 2 weeks ago, and it's been in the shop with a bunch of mechanics alternating between ignoring it and scratching their heads. It looks like either the new battery shorted out and killed the new regulator/rectifier, or the new regulator/rectifier died and killed the new battery.

In any case, we procured a replacement OEM (used) r/r, and Interstate replaced the battery under warranty. The bike is supposed to be ready for pickup today, but I'll bet anything that it'll still have a burned out headlight.

And yesterday Yi got an object lesson in tribology and crashology when a wet streetcar track decided not to return her front tire's affection. Fairly gentle lowside and she and the bike are a bit banged up but basically OK. The bike needs a new turn signal, she needs a couple of days of going easy on her knee and some ice and aspirin.

There's a lot to do over the next 2 days - but we're hopeful that we can get through it and be rolling by early Sat morning!

Welcome to Two On Two Tales

2008-06-13T21:37:00.000-04:00

Alright, here we are. The inaugural post on Two On Two Tales. In this chapter, our illustrious heroes start a blog to capture their next big adventure. On Sat June 21, they plan to throw their respective legs over their respective motorcycles and hit the road in an eastward fashion, at some point turning westward again, returning 15-16 days later. Will they reach the Atlantic Ocean? Will they make it up to Newfoundland? Will they get sick on road food? Will his SV be ready for the trip? Will it actually work for a goddamned change? Will they continue to use third-person plural?

No, I'm done with that 3rd person crap.

Stay tuned to find out about the rest...