Bald, heavy and I took two dumps...

Day one of the grand 'adventure'.

I couldn't sleep well at all last night (sept 19th).  Odd thoughts, odd dreams.  just odd.

Beast Mark II loaded and ready to go

10087 km.  we shall see what the last odo reading will be.

I left later than I had originally anticipated, but sometimes a good coffee with a good friend helps...

Leaving Ottawa at 10am I headed west... as I was exhausted and not used to riding long distances, I tried to stop often so as to not get burned out too quickly.

breakfast.  cheddar bagel with herb & garlic cream cheese.

I stopped in Blind River for coffee and gas and this is where I noticed that there will be an issue with the side stand for the bike.  The bike is too damn top heavy and the kick stand is too long.  The center stand is slightly bent due to going into corners too hot in the last few months. As it's hard to put the centerstand on because of the sheer weight of the bike and the sligh bend of the stand itself... I used the side stand while fueling up.  big mistake.  As soon as I tried to get back on the Beast (mark II), it tipped over to the left side.  Thankfully the side cases make it so the bike doesn't topple full over.  meh.  strike one.

Ice cream AND coffee in the same shop.  how awesome!

The front (right) has 10,000km on it and is finished.  The rear is a cheap Shinko with 4000km on it.

I assessed the tires at this time.  I thought I had about 1000 miles I could do before they were really bad, but it seems they are in horrible shape right now.  If it rains, I'll be wearing a diaper.

tired and stressed.

Meet my new friend ... Simeon.  I'll buy a beer to the first person who can understand that reference... actually, it's a dual reference. heh.

Simeon and I waiting for the construction traffic.  this happened about 5-6 times.



Simeon has a pretty good view and makes sure I don't speed too much until I'm in the States...

The rest of the ride was quite uneventful.  Not many pictures were taking as I'm not comfortable taking pictures while riding with a wobbly front tire (because of the wear) and some heavy winds. For now, pics only when I'm stopped.

i guess his is what i look like to someone who is almost legally blind and aren't wearing their glasses. oddly enough, i love this picture.

I headed through sudbury, stopping only for coffee as I had stopped in during last year's trip inuviktrip

No tires in sudbury and I decided to just keep going until a motel room and figure out about the tire tomorrow.  Out of sudbury I stopped in to get gas as i was past reserve and was running on almost empty.  Actually, I had about a litre left, that means about 17km... I got lucky and hit an Esso/Truck stop.  What's neat is that this was the same place i found during last years trip and enjoyed my food.  The place is called Jeremy's.  got breakfast, since it's the most important meal of the day. woot.

I didn't even finish half of it... not in the mood to eat, but I tried.  Many don't understand the food pictures.  some do.  here's my explanation.  a picture is worth a thousand words, but only i can remember how it tasted, where i was and what i was thinking at that time.  i need photos and a diary to remember though. heh.

Finished up there, and headed back to the bike... where upon getting on it, it toppled over, to the right side this time.  Something tells me the bike tipping over is going to be a common trend this trip.

gotta love the hair.  so tired and it was only 7:30

Currently in Espanola.  Cheap motel with wifi and cable TV.  can't ask for much more... ok, I can.  How about some shampoo you cheap bastards! you pay $73 for a 1-2 star motel, the least they can give you is some shampoo.