The Great Canadian Tour 2025 - Elbows Up Edition - Day 15 & 16

Yesterday was a down day…it wasn’t supposed to be, but as plans happen sometimes they change.  Rain and very cool temps kept us from riding down to Waterton Park.  It will have to wait for another day and another adventure.

We did, however, get a chance to spend a few hours with a very special friend of ours.  It’s been 9 years since we last got together and this time, we got to see his daughter, whom we haven’t seen in almost 20 years.  It was a great afternoon.

Today, we were up early, packed and refreshed, ready to get to the mountains.

The plan was to meet up with Buddy and Brad at Frank Slide.  We set off on Hwy 3 headed for Crowsnest Pass.  On the way we pass Fort MacLeod, home of the Musical Ride…and an actual fort I believe.  The flat plains are now fading and rising into rolling green hills with a hint of what is to come.  Though the great Rocky Mountains loom ahead, we are still quite a way until we reach them….they stay in the horizon though as we bob and weave through some of the beautiful foothills.  As we get to Crowsnest Pass we pass through the “Slide” which was a catastrophic event where the whole side of a mountain slid into Frank in the early 1900’s. The story of resilience and loss are told as you walk through the information center.

It is 9:30 am and we have travelled over 100 kms already as we set out to ride to Nelson for the night.

We travel along fields that have been cut and stacked…first time I have ever seen hay stacked that way.  The road conditions are amazing, especially given that they are exposed to very harsh conditions in the winter.  We wind up through the pass, down through valleys where you are surrounded by trees, tall evergreen trees, yet ahead of you are huge mountain peaks.  It is hard not to imagine you are getting a hug from Mother Earth.  It is hard to ignore the freshness of the air, the warmth of the sun and the sway of the road.

Sometimes the road will take you through some rather “unusual” town names…like Yahk.

Sometimes you will find yourself in towns with names you recognize, like Cranbrook, where we stopped for lunch, or Creston.  Riding through these communities is a short break at a slower pace, but as soon as we get to the other side we are off again!

One of our last stops before we reached Nelson, was at Stagleap Provincial Park…a lovely quiet stop overlooking Bridal Lake.  We were now travelling through the Kootenay Pass, elevation 1775m.

We finished the last of the ride arriving in Nelson.  A town built on the side of a mountain, overlooking West Arm river, which flows from Kootenay Lake.

Life is savoured here…hikers, campers, cyclist and of course a large number of folks like ourselves who are testing our limits in the peaks and valleys, through and between the amazing Canadian Rockies.  

Tomorrow, the ride continues..our destination for the next few days in Kelowna.    

The Great Canadian Tour 2025 - Elbows Up Edition - Day 14

We are now officially 2 weeks on the road!  Just for context, the side trip to the Gaspe added days to our journey that a more direct route would not have included.  We also booked our trip ahead as we were travelling with others, and there was an expectation that there would be more tourists travelling through Canada this year than other years.  Many of whom, like us, are staying in Canada to explore more of our country.  I think this is a fabulous side effect of today’s political and economic soap opera.  I can also guarantee that for those who do, much of the stress from news bombardment will be replaced by fresh air, amazing experiences and a realization of just how vast and different this country is from coast to coast…and don’t forget your map of the country..as you journey and mark how far you have travelled, it gives you a new perspective.  It is life affirming.

So, this day’s journey also started very early in the morning as noted by the lovely sunrise from our hotel window.  We had made an appointment in Lethbridge, AB to have our oil changed and were hoping to be there before 2 p.m…a 7 am start with the first stop less than 250 m around the corner to Tim’s for breakfast.  We were on the road by 8 am and the day didn’t require as many stops or distance to cover as previous days, so we felt it was very doable….especially as the rain the previous night had brought some cool and much welcomed temperatures as we continued west.

Each day we start out close to the border of the next province.  Each one, so far, is really a days’ ride across, but there is no fun in just driving through…it is the title that most people have for New Brunswick that annoys the heck out of us….no one wants to be a “drive through” province….so here is my opinion, whether you want it, need it or care….stop, and explore at least one interesting attraction, place or activity in each province.  Try getting a real idea of how the cultural aspect of that province and the people who live there compares to where you are from.  This is true even if travelling outside of the country.  Learn, experience and enjoy whereever you are, in the moment you are there.

Today was a new road that I have not travelled as we went south from Medicine Hat, heading to Lethbridge.  The fields were amazing and we started to see a lot of wind turbines.  Up to this point we hadn’t seen that many.  The fact that you could see them for miles was not lost on us either…this area, close to the foothills of the Rockies is still fairly flat but in a soft rolling, green hilly field kind of way…sounds corny but incredibly, a very apt description or the only one that made sense.

We got to Lethbridge around 1 pm, checked into the hotel and dropped all our stuff in the rooms then headed over to the bike shop.  As the oil was being changed, we walked up to a great restaurant a couple of blocks away to have a bite….it was after 2 pm and if we didn’t get food into Larry, he would be doing the biting.  The lunch was amazing at Mike’s Steakhouse.  Back at the s hop I also managed to finally snag a couple of pair of leather riding gloves to replace the ones I bought in 2011….I have been searching for a very long time for a specific type of glove to replace the old ones so not only was it an exciting find, but since they were 50% off I bought 2 pair!  Downtime for the win!

Back at the hotel, showered and refreshed, we were trying to decide where to eat.  Buddy, our friend in Kelowna, sent us a poster and let us know his brother and our friend was playing at the Owl Acoustic Lounge.  We inquired on the “oracle” and they also served food, so off we went.  

We were treated to a delightful meal, great service and amazing entertainment.  The true delight of the night though was seeing Papa Kings’ expression when he realized that the gentleman who was beckoning and talking to him from the side of the stage was Larry….surprise to joy to huge hugs!!  Enough for everyone to go around.  We had the amazing privilege and pleasure to watch him play in front of an audience for the first time.

We ended the evening and headed back to the hotel by 10:30 pm as we were now way beyond our travelling bedtime routine, full of food, laughter and love.  By all accounts I believe everyone had a great nights rest.

The Great Canadian Tour 2025 - Elbows Up Edition - Day 13

There are tough days on the road when riding.  This day was one of them.

The day started out from Virden, MB early.  We planned to get ahead of the heat we knew we would encounter the rest of the day.

It was a short ride to the next province of Saskatchewan which, of course, had to include a picture of the sign welcoming us.

We stopped in Indian Head, SK for lunch.  This is a favorite stop for us along the way.  On our first stop here back in 2016, there was a small motel with a restaurant…no Tim’s or other “box” retailers.  On that first stop we were curious about what a Saskatoon berry was, which was the homemade pie being offered on the menu.  The lovely man described the berry to us then offered us a piece to try, free of charge.  It was a lovely.  Now days, it is a stop for many folks, mostly to have their pictures taken with the large carved statue.

The rest of the ride for the day was, uncomfortable….it also included many stops to soak our shirts (motorcycle air conditioning is what we call this), and to satisfy our hydration.  The temperatures rose to 36C most of the afternoon and with winds steady at 30 km/hr and gusts of 50 km/hr, it felt quite like I would imagine being inside an air fryer.

Just when you thought it was hot enough we encountered many kilometres of new pavement, otherwise know as black top.  So let’s use an additional metaphor.   We now felt like we were inside an air fryer being BBQ’d on a blacktop grill!

New black top holds the heat so in theory we were being cooked from above, below and side on.  Despite all, we persevered and continued on our journey to Swift Current, SK…looking at this pictured stop to take photos of a canola field and grain operation, you would never guess that the day was anything other than lovely, and despite the heat, it was a good day…the kind of day that make you appreciate all the others.  We get asked all the time if we mind riding in the rain.  The short answer is we prefer it to the heat and that is not a lie.  That being said, when travelling, weather (other than extreme weather) does not hinder our journey.  If at home and having a choice with  what to do with your day, we probably wouldn’t choose to ride in either.

We arrived safely in Swift Current, checked in to our hotel and drug all our gear up to our room.  Once we pulled off the boots and riding pants, I filled the tub with some cold water and invited Larry to sit with me on the side of the tub with our feet in cold water.  Let me tell you, it is unbelievably refreshing (highly recommend it).  So refreshing in fact, I turned to Larry and said “We don’t need a big pool, we just need a kiddy pool with cold water”…..but I was only kidding…..

As for the evening, we only had enough energy to walk to the nearest food establishment, eat and head to bed…we didn’t have great coverage, hence the late post.  The day had used up all of our daily energy and would not take a loan from tomorrow.  So by 9 p.m. it was lights out, but I am sure we were all asleep before the switch had finished it’s journey from on to off!

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!