Happy 4th of July from Blackie

First - Happy Birthday Mom from Winnipeg!

Todays ride was as P-Rock described - decent weather, temperature, with road conditions ranging from fair to washboard. Ontario replete with rolling hills, nice curves, and much water - superb venue for riding.

We did hit some weather mid-afternoon - pictured is a quick stop to cover the electronics and our exposed surfaces.

Entering Manitoba - amazing how the scene turned dead flat, and the roads dead straight for 20 miles at a time. The latter is odd, and surprisingly unnerving on a motorcycle - not sure why other than one expects to lean once or twice an hour.

So, 4 days riding, how are we doing?

The riding

Generally, it is as expected. The back and posterior get sore, but this (so far) is managable with foot/seat shifting and breaks for food, fuel. As we head deeper into the wild, the break opportunities will get fewer (they are already). While that is the point, we'll need the breaks - I hope photo opportunities become the excuse to break.

The motorcycles

Built to run, fast as you want. Unfortunately, my motor has developed an oil leak at the valve cover (I think and I hope). While this is not serious, running out of oil is, and finding BMW motorcycle oil in the wild has proved a challenge. I used what I brought, and seem to be holding my own. Worst case, I'll need to use Harley oil (gratuitous international incident jokes omitted). Otherwise, we're hauling great. Plenty of power to blow past the semis and motor homes on the hills. Mileage down to about 44MPG - no doubt due to the load and the headwind. Electronics working beautifully - Sirius Sat Radio flawless, Bike-to-Bike nearly flawless, GPS a bit quirky on some Canadian roads, but helpful finding hotels, closed BMW dealers, etc.

The weather

Who knew I would use the grip heaters in July - I did on July 2 (to dry my wet gloves) and July 3 (it was just cold, damp, windy). Even had the seat heater on yesterday (which BTW does no good with the beadrider seat adjunct). So we've had it all - sunny 75, rainy/windy cold 50 - looks like that will continue - forecast is for intermittent showers for the next few days.

What I'd bring more of

Several things stand out as items I'd bring knowing what I know now. First, more BMW oil. I had more, took it out of the side bags to make space. Second, warm clothes. I was much more focused on keeping cool, did not adequately prepare for strong winds and 50 degrees. Thanks to a WalMart in Sault Ste. Marie, I have some better insulation.

What I'd bring less of

Easy one - t-shirts and "extra" jeans. I seem to be tripping over that lot every morning when we are packing up.

Impressions

The biggest impression is just that - BIG. Canada is big, Lake Superior is big. Amazing number of lakes, most unpopulated and pristine. Amazing number of bicycle riders crossing Canada - all going the other direction (with the wind). I cannot image the conditioning required to climb the hills with gear. Suprisingly low number of motorcycles, though we have seen some, and met a few at stops. Many doing the Great Lakes loop. Lastly, how flat Manitoba is, compared to everything else we've seen (since Ohio).

More pictures posted (and the good stuff is coming):

http://jrpimages.smugmug.com/gallery/8654567_ByKRt/1/582067923_QzSsu

Blackie out.