|  | Topic : June 11 - July 12, 2015 |  |
| | | McLeod | | Set |  |  | | Reg. Date | : | 11/12/2010 | | Posts | : | 29 | | Location | : | Pickering, Ontario, Canada |
|
| | Posted : 18 Aug 2015 - 13:54 Post title : June 11 - July 12, 2015 | | | My wife had a Motor Maid 75th year convention scheduled in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. We live near Toronto, Ontario and we were going to ride there directly. But my daughter lives in Fort McMurray, Alberta and she said if we ever go out west, she will meet us in Banff.
I rode my 2010 TBird and she was preparing her 2003 Honda VTX1300. Until she found a 2010 Victory Cross Country one week before we left. TBird and Victory made the trip. The first few days were mainly highway, crossing into the USA at Sarnia and a two and a half hour ferry ride from Muskegon to Milwaukie. I was surprised that the northern US had "no helmet" laws. Not until we got to Washington State on the way to Seattle. We kept ours on. We rode Badlands National Park which was true to its name. The Sioux Indian Nation's enemies must have been scratching their heads on how to attack them. We saw Sturgis, South Dakota which was ramping up merchandise displays in advance of the bikefest in August. We stayed in Deadwood, S.D. at the Mineral Springs Hotel. For those who watched the series Deadwood, it is built on the footings of the Gem. Great town with lots of history related to gold mining on native land before it became a state in the Union.
We both enjoyed riding Wyoming and Montana. I saw my first rodeo in Cody, Wyoming and it was fabulous. And we loved Yellowstone National Park. It would have been even better if they could have weeded out the bone-headed tourists. People posing their children beside buffalo...big guy looking through his camera lens as he was walking toward a bull Bison. I was rooting for the buffalo. "Get the fat guy." You should have seen him run when the beast started toward him. Buffalo are huge, and they roam the park along with deer, elk and big horn sheep.
We had a bike servicing booked at a Triumph dealership in Seattle. It was far more expensive than anything at home. Over the top. We were looking for a breakfast/lunch spot while waiting for the bikes. Not far was a diner we walked to, and it was packed. Their specialty was omelettes and you could get a 6 egg or a 12 egg omelette. Geezuz!
We crossed back into Canada in British Columbia and it was spectacular. Our route followed the Frazier River Valley in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. We rode into Alberta and saw a grizzly bear about two minutes from Lake Louise. The best part of our trip was spending 2 days in Banff with my daughter and her boyfriend. We rode to the Columbia Ice Fields and took a tour onto a glacier which was 300 metres (1000 ft.) thick.
(I will continue later)
| How hard can it be? It's not rocket surgery.
|
|
| | | Irish | | Chaac | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 28/10/2013 | | Posts | : | 854 | | Location | : | New England, NSW, Australia |
|
| | Posted : 18 Aug 2015 - 22:33 Post title : Re: June 11 - July 12, 2015 (Re: McLeod) | | | sounds like a wicked trip looking forward to hearing more, and seeing a few snaps maybe.
|
|
| | | McLeod | | Set | | | | Reg. Date | : | 11/12/2010 | | Posts | : | 29 | | Location | : | Pickering, Ontario, Canada |
|
| | Posted : 20 Aug 2015 - 18:54 Post title : Re: June 11 - July 12, 2015 (Re: McLeod) | | | I got a flat rear tire on the Trans Canada Highway in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. It was 11:00am on a Saturday. No tire and no one to put it on. I phoned a Harley dealership in Regina and they would install the tire. The manager gave me a number for a Yamaha dealership who had a tire to fit my bike. The Yamaha guy delivered the tire to the Harley guy. Perfect. The tow truck company contracted to CAA (roadside service) would not tow my bike to Regina until Monday. At that point I was having a meltdown. More calls to CAA going up the food chain to a supervisor. She found a guy with a flatbed who lived an hour away and was willing to blow off a wedding he didn't want to go to. No, not his own wedding. So he towed me the two and a half hour ride to Regina, arriving 30 minutes before the Harley dealership closed. Mike, the Service Manager, kept his mechanic an extra hour after closing for business. So Prairie Harley Davidson gets my full gratitude. Our route took us back into the U.S. from Manitoba to North Dakota. We continued east, eventually crossing back into Canada at Sault Ste. Marie and bedding down in Espanola for Canada Day on July 1st. We got to Bangor, Maine for the 4th of July celebrations in the U.S. It was the only time we took a taxi to a restaurant the whole trip. Anglers Restaurant in Hampden was what I was waiting for all day. I had a platter, half clams, half mussels and a 2 lb lobster on top. I ate until my fingertips were wrinkled. Couldn't touch the dinner rolls or baked potato. I could taste garlic until lunch the next day. We rode into New Brunswick and stayed in Dieppe which is a 10 minute ride to Moncton. We had another oil change booked at Atlantic Motoplex which sells Triumphs etc. As we were riding out of the parking lot there was a peculiar noise that we both thought was from the other's bike. Nope, it was my bike. So I was looking around the dealership while our bikes were in the shop. Ross the service manager called me to go with him to the garage. That's never food news. My bike was on the hoist with the rear tire jacked up. The mechanic spun the tire and it wobbled like a hula dancer. The bearings were gone! I was so thankful that they identified that problem on the hoist. instead of finding out on the highway. The parts had to be flown in, and Ross gave me a loaner from Monday to Wednesday. I can tell you that where I live, that would not have happened. Outstanding service.
My wife's convention was Monday until Thursday and the Atlantic chapter of the Motor Maids did a fantastic job of organizing the festivities. I met the matriarch of her club, Gloria Struck. You should search her name. She rode from New Jersey and turned 90 years old during the convention. Quite amazing. We left on Friday and had a smooth trip home. It was a bit over 12,000 km (7,500 miles)in total. We have pictures of our hands in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. I put six photos in my photo gallery which should be the top row.
| How hard can it be? It's not rocket surgery.
|
|
|
| |
| |
|