Day 1

After a cloudy Saturday and Sunday, Monday dawned, I know because I was there, clear and dry. The temperature was in the 60s and the day was promising. Instead it was grueling.

The ride to Bruce's was complicated by Rhonda's (my GPS) inability to find his house. Probably operator error but compounded by a non-intuitive and non-forgiving set of software algorithms. Knowing the way, I was not inconvenienced. I had hoped to beat Bruce to his porch since he always waits for us to arrive. I was nearly a half hour early but he was up and out talking to a well wisher who had swung by at the last minute with envy in his heart and a certain amount of trepidation owing to the two hip and knee replacements he was facing. Were it not for those, he would have joined us. Seems understandable that he chose not to.

True to the rumors, the Lowrance will plot a grand tour of 52 waypoints but won't map them! However, by placing our destination just 20 waypoints away, Rhonda could digest the data and plot a course. Nonetheless, upon leaving Bruce's and heading to 101, Rhonda insisted on plotting a course that would return us to Bruce's! I assume she had missed the waypoint and was bound and determined to correct the oversight. By Manchester, she reluctantly surrendered and began to plot the course I had laboriously laid out – almost. Periodically, she'd decide that a short cut was in our best interest, which it probably would have been if gas and time were the only considerations, and a argument would ensue. There is no doubt she will get us to Inuvik but, once we are on unfamiliar turf, we'll just have to trust her decisions. And, she knows it!

Soon the temperature soared, ay least if one is wrapped in ballistic riding gear, and the glory or the New Hampshire and Vermont mountains were no more. The last beauty slipped behind us when we crossed the bridge and left Lake Champlain, with it's truly idyllic islands, wealthy homes, and cool air. Rhonda has done everything to keep us on US 89 but we had insisted and she relented. I expect we will pay for that. But, route 2, through the center of the vast lake is a great ride and we passed many motorcycles engaging in a complete circumnavigation. I'm not sure it alone is worth the ride but it would be a great long weekend just before or after “the season, like now. The only drawback was that today was the end of a long weekend for Canadians and from Lake Champlain on, the roads were crowded with campers, trailers, trucks, vans, kids and dogs all rushing home to start the short week. We should have done a bit more research on our departure date. The wait to cross the boarder, over the lovely International Seaway Bridge, with it's tremendous views up and down the St. Lawrence, took over an hour! There was no shade and there was no breeze. The remainder of the day was miles and miles of nothing to write here or home about except for one place of note that was, literally, a forest of windmills that ran for, at least 4 miles on both sides of the road and off from the highway as far as one could see – not to far as there was the occasional hill. But, still, hundreds of functioning windmills. Of all, only was still. I wondered if the investment was paying off or was the Canadian taxpayer subsidizing it. The evidence suggests the payback isn't there but, perhaps, with so many, it might be viable. To me they were gorgeous and fascinating and it was difficult to stay on the road and gaze at these miles of huge whirling blades.

We pushed on longer then optimal since we had lost some time in Lake Champlain with the tourists and an hour or more at the border. But, I thought I better get the miles in while the conditions permitted despite the pain and heat. We left at a quarter to eight, made no stops except for gas, and arrived in Bellevue, ON at 5:45 PM. We had covered just over 522 miles. And, we must try to keep this up for 10 more days. Whether it is the Goldwings or our age, we both had to deal with sharp pain between our shoulder blades and cramps in our legs. The legs may be our heart medications. The shoulder blade pain comes from the seating on these and many other bikes over long runs. There are bikes that do not produce this or, because of their small gas tanks, force more frequent stops, which may combat the symptom. We will try stops every 100 miles for a stretch, provided we can keep our 500 mile per day pace. This isn't vacation. It's a challenge and we want the bragging rights! When I return I'll test other bikes, custom seats, raised bars, etc., too! Can't hurt.

Tomorrow will be another day.