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It rained thru the night, but was just misty and very foggy when we packed up just after 9. We are headed west towards Calgary and are not sure where we will end up today.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1848/...814d744e_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-09-02 at 20.49.18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We gassed up in town and then rode west on the 17, which apparently curves along the north shore of lake superior, but we can see just what is in front of us and so can not tell. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1874/...86c454fe_b.jpgFILE2808 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1856/...c6c65a00_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1844/...7838bb23_b.jpg |
We still could not see much when we got to Thunder bay for gas and coffee after 306 km and turned inland. It was now intermittently drizzling and this continued to Upsala at 425 km and we gassed up here as well, since you never know when the next station will appear. There have been a few sketchy motels so far, but not much else.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1881/...9e987d59_b.jpgIMG_3437 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1884/...a9208b5f_b.jpgFILE2843 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1849/...51baf16f_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1879/...883777fe_b.jpg We decided to push on another 209 km to the next real town Dryden (634 km day) where there are a few more hotel options. 50 km from Upsala the rain stopped and the sky looked brighter. By the time we made it to Ignace we actually had blue sky above. This made the last 100 km so much easier to manage mentally. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1864/...ecb06990_b.jpgFILE2867 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1885/...8fe91f9e_b.jpg |
We are still on a mission to get to visit Dan’s aunts in Saskatoon and Calgary after the death of his uncle. Again we used the McD wifi to check out the options and settled on the Comfort Inn right next door. Conveniently there was a diner across the road as we again had not eaten all day.
The 650 is making a wailing noise at idle and is running loudly. There is also a loud clacking of the chain in low gears. Dan tightened the chain, but what the whaling noise is we are not sure. It is otherwise running perfectly. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1899/...8fc4773f_b.jpgIMG_3438 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We have decided to go to Winnipeg tomorrow in 351 km as there is a BMW certified service centre (for whatever that is worth) there. It is the holiday weekend and so we booked 2 nights near BMW. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1878/...fe605eb8_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-09-03 at 19.41.12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We finally woke to sunshine and even better when we started the 650 it sounded completely normal! The oil level good and the chain clack is better. We will still go to Winnipeg and see how the day goes. The ride today was warm at 24 degrees and this is the first day without the hand warmers on for the 5 days across Ontario. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1863/...c5493131_b.jpgFILE2888 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1860/...05b40dc5_b.jpgFILE2893 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1847/...45a47440_b.jpgFILE2898 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1866/...f815377a_b.jpg |
Just after the “border” to Manitoba we came across the marker for the longitudinal centre of Canada. This drive is so straight it can be mind numbingly boring on the transCanada. We arrived to the city and to the hotel near to BMW in late afternoon and finally had lunch there after 3. We tucked in for a relaxing evening.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1893/...3d6df922_b.jpgFILE2932 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1855/...de9f52d8_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1876/...dd5fddc9_b.jpgCanada-20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1863/...f6ef257f_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1882/...c9ee46a3_b.jpgCanada-23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
It is sunny out again today, but when we stepped outside in shorts and t shirt and were battered by a freezing wind we retreated to put on jeans and get warmly dressed up. There is not much to do here in “Winterpeg”, but we did take the bus down to the Forks. This is the meeting of the Red and Assinaboine rivers and is a National Historic site. We then walked along the Red river into the Exchange district.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1893/...984eb786_b.jpgCanada-24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1851/...81eacfc2_b.jpgCanada-25 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr This is an area of old Winnipeg known for its intact early 20th century collection of warehouses, financial institutions, and early terra cotta clad skyscrapers. There is a maze of interconnecting tunnels below ground so people do not have to go outside in winter when it is minus 40. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1872/...df7642a6_b.jpgCanada-26 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We are not going direct to Calgary as we are taking a slight detour to visit Dan’s aunt and uncle north of Muenster. Waking up today we put on some long under wear, but it was already 14 at 9 am. In fact it was 21 by 11 and we had to strip off some layers.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1898/...daac915e_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-09-13 at 23.39.22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1895/...a2383ce9_b.jpgCanada-32 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1894/...293ab700_b.jpgFILE3018 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1859/...b43fe53c_b.jpgFILE3022 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1846/...356ba5f6_b.jpgCanada-31 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1871/...65c5cd03_b.jpgFILE3025 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
There are a lot of signs in many towns that proudly advertise the Olympic Gold medal winners NHL players from these small Manitoba and Saskatchewan towns. 17 km after Russell we hit the next provincial border.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1859/...14257d95_b.jpgFILE3033 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We stopped in Yorkton for gas and to pick up some beers. You never know in the small Canadian towns along the rural highways if there will be a liquor outlet or not. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1887/...0eb9e4af_b.jpgFILE3041 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The road is straight, but a bit more scenic today with the farms and lakes. There are the iconic grain silos prominently situated along the way. We stopped in Foam Lake at the Husky (so Canadiana) for lunch, and then at Lake Lenore for gas and after pushed onto Rick and Mariette’s. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1896/...f062dbac_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1844/...1fd77975_b.jpgFILE3057 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1842/...7f24b3c7_b.jpg You have to love that there are often not real addresses in rural Sask. Our instructions were “take the highway to Muenster, turn north on the 368 , and then ride 40 miles. We are on the west side of the road with two rows of spruce trees and there are hay bales across the road.” And there they were ( we did have to call from the Coop 2 km up the road actually :). |
We were happy to have the time to visit with these guys who have really followed our journey. Rick is a gourmet cook and we had home made smoked white fish and salmon fish, Fish and Chips made from their own potatoes and White fish he caught. We also enjoyed quite a bit of his red wine.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1860/...c7253f4b_b.jpgCanada-33 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr This morning it is a bit chilly and windy, but it settled down by noon and we hitched up the boat and made for the lake nearby. Dan and Sara both had a pike on the line with the first casts, but after this we just had a few nibbles. We had a lovely afternoon out on the water. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1864/...bea804e1_b.jpgCanada-34 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1843/...95ea71fa_b.jpgCanada-35 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1876/...06ae5973_b.jpgCanada-36 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1894/...9d3ed759_b.jpgCanada-37 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Rick cooked us up some huge prime rib steaks for dinner tonight. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1887/...768b683a_b.jpgCanada-38 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1845/...d8bf3e89_b.jpgCanada-39 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1897/...096e4a95_b.jpgCanada-40 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We woke to a rain storm, but on the satellite it was going to pass by noon. When we set out at 1130 it was already pretty much stopped raining. The oil light on the 650 was briefly flashing on start up yesterday, but the dip stick level was good?!. Today after 2 days sitting the light was on for longer. We rode over to the Coop and rechecked the oil and at a flatter location it was low and we added 250 cc. The light was still flashing very briefly on at start up only.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1845/...823bd479_b.jpgFILE3064 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We continued north and then west on the 41 for the 378 km to Kindersley. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1882/...24dd6b4e_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-09-08 at 18.29.58 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1851/...e8050591_b.jpgFILE3068 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr It was warmer today at 16, but the cloud cover continued until 4 pm. We stopped south of Saskatoon for gas and to check the oil again and it was apparently good. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1898/...f5096750_b.jpgFILE3082 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We stopped for a snack in Rosetown at 4 and this was when the sun was finally out and it was now 26. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1897/...e01cedee_b.jpgFILE3086 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1869/...6014bd1a_b.jpgFILE3096 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We had 85 km to Kindersley. Checking the oil again it was still an issue and in the end we added another 250 cc. There are a few hotels here and we checked into one on the main drag. The bike is running better, but the oil thing is stressful. It is burning a bit for sure with the huge mileage and I think we got fooled by the level of the dip stick. We are wondering if the guys in Malaysia did not reinstall the oil pan/gasket properly after it was repaired. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1841/...fa06d68d_b.jpgFILE3099 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
This morning it is 10 degrees and after warming the bike we topped it up with another 250 ccc and the oil light is no longer flashing at start up. That said we had also put 250 cc in the 800 and were happy there was a Walmart just up the road to get another liter. We have 1200 km to go and as long as we keep the oil topped up we are sure we can make it home. But today it is just 321 km to Brooks Alberta.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1861/...5f5bfb02_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-09-09 at 19.31.54 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We continued west on the 7 to the Alberta border after 63 km and it changes to the 9. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1891/...c2f39d3e_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1847/...951e7f4c_b.jpgCanada-41 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We then turned south on the 36 just before Hanna. It hits the TransCanada just 10 km west of Brooks. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1883/...e0f67e7e_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1873/...33738f63_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1867/...565f004c_b.jpg |
We got there at 3 after 321 km. There are a lot of hotel choices here. but we settled on a small motel with a kitchenette. They are calling for snow later this week, but it is still 4-5 degrees at night now.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1920/...7966460b_b.jpgIMG_3461 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1887/...6f0bf25a_b.jpgIMG_3462 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We rode north to the 544 and then east to the Dinosaur Provincial park. This is an active dig site for Tyrell archaeologists. It is a chilly 9 degrees this afternoon and we are happy to head back to the motel and snuggle in for the rest of the day. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1842/...b129d9aa_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-09-19 at 14.34.34 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1874/...073e63cc_b.jpgCanada-46 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1862/...98ab9436_b.jpgCanada-44 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1850/...e4d08cc7_b.jpgCanada-43 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1887/...c5349783_b.jpgCanada-45 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We had a nice late start today so it would warm up a bit and was 11 when we left for Calgary at 10.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1895/...22bb9c3c_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-09-12 at 11.08.17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We got on the TransCanada west until Gleichen and then veered south towards High River. There are several First nations settlements, but no where for lunch and so we diverted back to the highway at Strathmore on the #1 to hit the Husky Station for a hearty meal. We then rode south off the 1 on the 24 to arrived to Kevin and Lisa by 130. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1865/...e665c9d4_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1878/...217f709f_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1861/...a926371d_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1899/...2662cf9f_b.jpg We had a great evening with them and Carrie as well. The guys regaled us with the trials and tribulation of their second attempt to get to Mongolia. Last year their group of 5 dropped to 2 by the time we met them on the way to Almaty. Kevin had a need on collision in Greece, they were denied Iran Visas and had to reroute across the Caspian to Turkmenistan, Kevin’s brothers bike was having several issues and he and another guy retreated to the EU from Baku, the 1 day sea crossing of the Caspian turned into a 3 day nightmare and they had 2 days on their Turkmen visa left when they arrived, the other Kevin lost his passport and TVIP in the desert in Turkmenistan and was kept captive in an Ashgabat hotel for 6 weeks and was finally deported without his bike 6 weeks later, then Kevin broke his fibula in Kyrgyzstan and had to dump his bike at KTM in Almaty where we finally met them. This year there was a nightmare of bike repairs including shipping of cylinders to Canada for repair. This delayed their departure 2 weeks from Almaty. Then a week later the engine was seized on the side of the road in Russia and they trailered it to a garage and left it there. Poor Carrie was then on his own to get to Vladivostok and without time or a travel companion to ride in Mongolia. His bike left on a sea can for Vancouver this week. We are feeling pretty lucky that we all made it on our planned route with all 4 bikes. |
It was 6 degrees when we left Kevin this morning for the short ride to Dan’s childhood haunt Peter’s drive in for burgers and milkshakes when it is 8 degrees?! Trevor was working nearby and joined us and then set us up at his place for the evening. For dinner we all met at a local Uzbek restaurant for dinner.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1886/...b2d48cc8_z.jpgScreen Shot 2018-09-12 at 11.10.29 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1876/...b56c7d1f_b.jpgPeters by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1856/...b8309b50_b.jpgIMG_3467 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We have a detour from our trip for the next 2 days we are flying to Vancouver for and event and then arriving back to Calgary. It is a good thing as snow is forecast for the weekend and it is supposed to warm up Monday for our last 700 km!!! It was a quick 90 min to Vancouver. The rental car for 2 days was cheaper than a taxi to Sara’s dad’s and back! https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1941/...fc5fcebb_b.jpgCanada-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The flight back is another quick 90 min and Trevor picked us up. We headed into the city for a bit of a walk along the river and then went to pick up Guðmundur.
You might remember him as the rider from Iceland that we knew on line, but met randomly on the way to Ushguli Georgia and then again in Ulan Ude Russia. He saw our post about Peter’s drive in with Trevor and messaged us that he will arrive today to Calgary on his way back from Alaska. He is shipping his bike from there to Frankfurt on Tuesday. We had a nice dinner out and heard all about his trip. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1904/...ac9acac6_b.jpgCalgary by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1949/...455c5eff_b.jpgCalgary-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1919/...b7bd64bf_b.jpgCalgary-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We have check out the forecast today and as we are trying to “thread the needle” to get thru the Rockies with the best conditions it looks like tomorrow is the day. This means today we will ride to see a few folks even thought it is 3 degrees and drizzling. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1846/...f66b5df9_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-09-18 at 20.20.24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
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