The Great Canadian Tour 2025 - Elbows Up Edition - Day 12

 Not an overly exciting day as far as views or exploring.  

We left Kenora early this morning and made our way across the border into Manitoba…somewhere.  We looked for a sign so that we could take a picture but there were none to be had…..just a small sign that told us we were no longer on the 17….we were now on the TCH 1…so somewhere out there we crossed an imaginary line.

We DID, however, pass the Longitudinal Center of Canada….yup!  As Bon Jovi sings…”we’re halfway there”.

There was an increasing amount of haze as we crossed Manitoba.  As we get nearer the Saskatchewan border, it was really hazy.

We pulled into Virden for the evening, tired and hot.  Unloaded the machines, changed into our bathing suits and went for a swim in the hotel pool.  A quick shower and a walk down the road for supper at Boston Pizza pretty much sums up the exciting things we did today.  Tomorrow we’ll see what the weather brings…it is looking like sunshine, wind and potential thunderstorms……why not!

The Great Canadian Tour 2025 - Elbows Up Edition - Day 11

Happy Canada Day!  What better way to celebrate, riding across this great country, meeting so many people from different backgrounds….

Today was just riding…there were no real stops except for breaks.  This last stretch of Northern Ontario is really remote, except for the occasional small town.  What we have discovered since our last trip through 2 years ago is how much the roads have improved.  They have widened the roads and cleared back the woodland away from the roads so that it is easier to see wildlife..especially the bigger ones.  Fortunately today, the only wildlife was a Bald Eagle atop a tree.  This made for a great ride, with great visibility and passing lanes which were carefully used due to the other wildlife that travels the TCH…known as the OPP.  I firmly believe there are more OPP on Hwy 17 than there are RCMP in all of New Brunswick.

We arrived early in Kenora and settled in…in need of a rest, it was good to get off the road early for a change….of course the time change to Central also helped.

Tomorrow we will cross into Manitoba, early in the day….we will need to find a Manitoba sticker for Mr. G to add to his ever increasing collection.

Tomorrow, Jerry gets to see a totally different landscape than the one he has been staring at for the last 4 days……Northern Ontario, it’s beautiful….it’s a long ride.

The Great Canadian Tour 2025 - Elbows Up Edition - Day 10

What a spectacular day!

We left Wawa at 8 a.m. hoping to give us some time for stops along the way to Thunder Bay…that and a glance at the weather radar that indicated if we could get there by 4 p.m. we might miss some rain.

We had a lot of fog and cool temperatures for most of the morning.  The temps dropping to as low as 11C and as high as 22C….mostly 14C.  Despite the fog we were able to stop in some clear areas to see stunning views of Lake Superior.  Including today, we have travelled 1000 kms around the Lake and this only covers a small portion of the distance around.

We stopped for lunch in Terrace Bay, at Drifters.  We stayed here two years ago and knew the food would be better than good…homemade split pea soup (to go with the pea soup we rode through).  Hot and delicious, we left full and warm.

The afternoon proved to be warmer with less fog (a little when we started out again).  We crossed the bridge at Nipigon the only link between Ontario and Manitoba on the Canadian side.  Every person travelling this road must ride over this bridge. It is an amazing structure.  There is a look out tower that we are planning to stop at on our return trip.

The rest of the afternoon was sunshine and blue skies, at least until we started getting closer to Thunder Bay.  We left the last gas station thinking we wouldn’t need our rain gear only to run into a bit of rain…fortunately following that we also ran into a bit of sunshine and warmer temperatures that quickly dried up our gear. 

Before heading to the hotel, we made our way up to the Terry Fox Memorial Park.  We met a rider who pulled up next to us who was a member of the Canadian Veteran Riding Group.  His vest indicated where he served and I thanked him for his service.  We took some pictures with Lorne and enjoyed the company and chat while we were there.  Shortly after he left we were checking the skies, knowing that 4 p.m. would  be the time we could have more rain upon us…sure enough a very angry cloud was moving in our direction.  The guys suggested we gear up and try to outrun it…I suggested we out whit it…I mean wait it…seeing as it was headed in our direction and would clearly pass.  Before we could even take shelter the lightning and thunder had started.  We got under the eaves of the tourist bureau and I went inside to see if I could get stickers….Lord Thundering….I turned around and she was just teeming!…I mean teeming!…I went outside to watch the storm, then came the hail.  I headed inside (cause I know hail is never a good thing this time of the year) and had a lovely chat with the staff, and Paul, Thunder Bays resident Tourist Manager who had also ridden up to the park and was now waiting out the storm.  He gave us each a patch for riding the Lake as well as great supper suggestions close to where we were staying.

I have to say that riding around Lake Superior was amazing, but I am in awe each time we stop at the Terry Fox Park. There are so many things that are synonymous with Canada as Lorne said……Terry Fox, Red Surges and the Tragically Hip to name a few…..but as we rode through Northern Ontario, a ride we have done a couple of times before, I have to say I have a greater appreciation for not only it’s beauty, but for all of the other Canadians who have crossed this country…for whatever reason.  When I think of specific Canadians who have done it, I am inspired and humbled by Terry Fox, Rick Hansen and the many others who have challenged themselves, pushed their boundaries, to advocate for others….my little ride through is a privilege and one that I am so very grateful for, especially since I can honestly say I love this country and we are so fortunate to have a bridge that is open to all who wish to cross…..

Happy Canada everyone!

The Great Canadian Tour 2025 - Elbows Up Edition - Day 9

What a large day!  Before heading out, we made a stop at the Big Nickel in Sudbury.  Now that’s a nickel.

After that we made a stop for coffee with a friend of Jerry’s he hadn’t seen in 10 years.  We had a great chat and a fabulous piece of pecan pie….dessert isn’t only for evening meals!  We headed out again, a little behind our scheduled time so we rode a bit longer today with shorter breaks until just before we got to Sault St. Marie.  We caught site of Lake Huron at one of the gas stops, made out way through Sault St. Marie and the real riding and scenery started…rolling hills, a few great corners but the views…the views of Lake Superior as you are cresting the top of a long hill, are breath taking.  We made a few stops to take some pictures and finally rolled into Wawa getting on 6:30 pm….we made a stop at the Big Goose….

This goose has a long history in Wawa….it was built to attract people to stop in Wawa when they built the “new” transcanada highway to go right past Wawa.  Wawa was always on the route.  It shares this history with many areas in Newfoundland, and was a reminder to at least one of our travellers as a similar experience for Corner Brook.

Wawa also has a connection to NB through Lord and Lady Dunn who helped keep the mine going for a time.

We also made a visit to Young’s General store (pictures to be posted later below).  We checked in, showered and head for supper at the Viking Restaurant…only to be turned away because they ran out of….everything!  So supper at Subway tonight…worked out anyway as we were late getting supper (8 pm) and we had a few things to sort out for our trip tomorrow……we will be on our way to Thunder Bay!

The Great Canadian Tour 2025 - Elbows Up Edition - Day 8

Getting out of Ottawa proved to be just as tricky as getting into….traffic even in the suburbs of Ottawa is extremely tricky given all of the traffic.

Our trusty GPS took us through what we thought was going to be downtown, in a downpour of rain and window rattling thunder.  We finally got on the 417 and as we rode THIS 4 lane, the rain at least started to subside.

Once we reached the 17, it was pretty much easy riding with occasional showers..nothing major.  An extremely nice day of riding, very little traffic, frequent passing lanes and nothing more than forest and water for your viewing pleasure.

We stoped at the Fryway 17…a quaint little outdoor rest stop.

We had a smoked meat sandwich on rye that seemed to come with a side of smoked meat as well….I don’t think I have ever seen that much smoked meat piled into two small pieces of fresh rye bread.

We continued on our way to Sudbury for the night.  Tomorrow I have heard plans of going to see the “nickel”….we will find out, if it was “worth” the trip.

The boys are full of food, empty of everything else, and happy!

 

One of the interesting sites we saw today along the 17 was a huge swath of downed trees.  It was at a high elevation and at first appeared as though hydro was cutting for a power line….as we looked a little closer it appeared that they may have been what closed the 17 near Mattawa (which is where we were) a few days ago following a freak storm….it looked like tornado damage or like some sort of giant left a footprint.  I’ll let you decide!

The Great Canadian Tour 2025 - Elbows Up Edition - Day 6 and Day 7

Today was a really hard day of riding…probably one of the toughest.

Once out of Lorette we headed on Route 40 towards Trois Rivière turning on to Route 138, then Route 640……all of it was highway, with multiple lanes.  We kept telling ourselves that once we hit Route 15 it would be a lot better, no highway….because it only had 2 numbers……Route 15 was even more challenging than all the other highways put together….4 lanes of swapping cars, transports, you name it…we moved to the outside lane so that we only had to worry about what was coming at us from one side…bumper to bumper traffic (and we don’t have bumpers…).  All the chaos and traffic didn’t seem to bother the two wild turkeys munching on grass on the median though…..I hope they are careful crossing the road for whatever reason.

The up side was that we would be Nepean, just outside of Ottawa for two nights, giving us a much needed down day…no riding required.  Friends from Toronto are coming to join us on the second night so we have that to look forward to.

Larry and I used the down day to get my bike looked after and to get me a new helmet.  We accomplished all of this before major rain moved in and before our friends arrived.

The night was apparently filled with crashing thunder and sky lighting illumination…none of which I saw as I slept as sound as a mouse.  We had a lovely supper at Moxie’s, got to spend some time with our very special friends.  All of the highway riding, somehow was worth it.

The Great Canadian Tour 2025 - Elbows Up Edition - Day 5

This morning we parted ways with my brothers group.  They were headed to Lac St. Jean for the night before arriving outside of Quebec City for their ECIC gathering (Indian Motorcycle Rally).  We were travelling in much the same direction as far as Saguenay however we had an additional 2 hours of riding to get to Lorette just outside of Quebec City.  They were leaving at 10 a.m., we left around 8 a.m….we both arrived at our destinations at the same time that day.

 Our route took us along the St. Lawrence River which was a pleasant enough ride and one we had done before.  We turned on to Route 172 which took us through the beautiful mountains and along the Saguenay River.  The roads were twisty and smooth, the sky was clear and blue for most of the ride.

Once we reached Saguenay, we took route 175 South through Jacque Cartier National Park.  Some of this was highway, yet even the highway was picturesque and smooth riding.

It was a long day of riding and we had to make a few stops prior to getting to our destination in Lorette, just outside of Quebec City.  It has already proven to be a long week and it wasn’t quite done yet.

A quick stop at a lovely countryside store was our last rest stop before we took a tour through Stoneham and Tewksbury, which oddly enough was supposed to be where we were stopping for the night.  We had received a call from one of the hotel operators that a huge storm in the area had taken out all the power and phone lines so we would need to find other accommodations, which is how we ended up in Lorette for the night.  The roads through Stoneham and Tewksbury are known motorcycle riding routes and we found out why……if it wasn’t for all the light and power boys fixing the lines, we would have has us some really good fun!

Great Canadian Tour 2025 - Elbows Up Edition - Day 4

 

Early morning breakfast and kickstands up at 7 a.m. to catch the ferry.  A relaxing and smooth sail across the St. Lawrence that took us about 2.5 hours.  We arrived in Godbout and headed over to Baie Comeau to drop off extra bags.

The group was heading to Manic 5, otherwise known as the Daniel Johnson Dam which is part of Quebec Hydro system.  It is also one of the largest arch and buttress dams.

Today’s weather was much different than the previous days, reaching temperatures of 30+ degrees.  In addition to this it is St. John Baptiste Day in Quebec which means a holiday.  The gas station that is half way out has closed with the next available gas at 215 km from the start.  Some opted to be happy with the first half of the ride while others rode the whole way out and back.  General consensus is that it was a great ride.

The hotel we are staying at is quite lovely.  Sitting on the banks of the St. Lawrence with a beautiful view of the ferry crossing, this hotel is located out of the way of the downtown area or the business district, in a small well treed neighbourhood.  It is beautiful and quiet and reminiscent of days gone by…….

Tomorrow we head out and will be leaving the group.  They will be heading to Lac St. Jean, while we will be heading closer to Quebec City to be our jumping off point to Ottawa for a couple of days.  There we will meet up with friends from Toronto who are coming up to see us.

Great Canadian Tour 2025 - Elbows Up Edition - Day 3

Day 3 took us from Perce Rock to Matane, PQ.  

We left later than the rest of the crew as we had some things to take care of before leaving.  Once on the road, we decided that we would take the overland route through Gaspe, a route we hadn’t taken before.  

While the overland route is away from the waters surrounding the Gaspe, it offered some surprisingly great roads running to 2000 ft above sea level…quite an elevation for this area of the country with a paved road.

This run took over an hour with a stop in Murdockville.  Apparently this area was once a thriving copper mining town, which shut down when the cost of copper fell.  As many know, copper is now a lot more expensive and the mine is being prepared to re-open after engineers determined that there is still a considerable amount of copper to mine.  It was closed in 1999 and expected to reopen fully operational agin in 2030.  They also have a ski hill and a large wind turbine farm on the higher peaks.

At the end of route 198, we arrived at the sea wall along the west side of the Gaspe.  Here we travelled along the sea wall with short diversions into some of the smaller towns and down along the sea wall again.  Lots of construction, which slowed us down long enough to take a picture of one of the waterfalls on the rock face. 

We arrived around 6 p.m., supper in the Resto Bar and packed it in for an early morning call to catch the ferry to Godbout.  

The Great Canadian Tour 2025 - Elbows Up Edition - Day 2

Apologies for late posts however reception has been spotty!

Day 2 was a “Day” in the books however it was not the best of he “Days”.  The morning started out nicely.  We left the hotel and started along a scenic route as we were meeting up with one other couple in Bathurst. 

We made a stop at Pokeshaw for a little break.  The view, a solid rock formation covered in gulls and other sea birds.  It was a quiet spot and a perfect place to take a break and take in the view.

We headed out for our next stop in Bathurst for breakfast and to meet up with our friends.

After a great brunch, we headed out for Campbellton and crossed the bridge into Quebec, heading for Perce Rock in the Gaspe Penninsula.  The destination was exciting, the weather not so much….6 hours of riding in the rain. By the time we all arrived, even those with the most “waterproof” gear were wet too…but maybe not a wet as others.  Hot showers, change of clothes, a few “beverages” at the local Irish pub and the evening ended as the day started….fabulously!

Perce Rock viewed from our room when we arrived.

Perce Rock an hour later as the fog rolled in…again.

The Great Canadian Tour 2025 - Elbows Up Edition - Day 1

Well today started out slightly later than we anticipated but we sure made up some time.

We got everything loaded, the weather much calmer than the winds from yesterday.  Sunshine, blue skies and boundless enthusiasm to get this show on the road.  We were on the road by 10 am, more or less.

 A quick stop at Mom and Dad’s to drop off the jars of homemade strawberry and strawberry-rhubarb jam for the folks and my brother, as well as a bouquet of my beautiful peonies for my Mom.  She loves getting them every year and always remind her of the peony bush her Mom had in the yard.  How wonderful is it that a flower and scents can invoke wonderful memories of past days as well as enjoying the present moment separately.  Peonies do that for my Mom and for me as well.  I will always remember her delight at receiving these every year.

We left the folks and headed north, stopping at Chez Raymonde for lunch.  The wind was starting to pick up as we headed to the coast and it wasn’t long before we were bobbing and weaving a bit as we hit some open landscape and manoeuvred the quick hard gusts of wind.  We made one stop at the Shippegan sign with a bunch of boats lined up behind it, just so that we could share a joke my brother got us with on our trip with him last year.  “Jerry….you know why they call this place Shippegan?”  He was uncertain and apprehensive about answering…..I just pointed to all the ships lined up and said “there’s a ship, a ship again, a ship again, a ship again…..” and then we headed off to one of our favorite rides and destinations….Miscou Island Lighthouse.  It is beautiful and in an isolated area.  The waves were crashing along the beach but the sky remained blue and sunny.

We left and headed to Caraquet, our final destination for the evening.  The Inn we are staying at is right on the water…lots of white caps but the wind feels much better with our feet planted on terra ferma than it did on the double rubber!

Tomorrow’s forecast is rain and more of the winds.  It will be a ride however Pearce Rock is always a place to look forward to…..