We were in and out of New Brunswick in a day. No real reason, in fact we had no real plan that morning, but after a coffee stop, Lori said "let's just ride east". So we did.



We found a campground just into Nova Scotia in Amherst, Loch Lomond RV park. We booked in for a night and ended up staying three. The park itself was very nice, we had a great spot overlooking the lake and the bathrooms were the nicest we've seen in any campground. Nicer than the previous nights motel we agreed. We found a nice little breakfast spot in town called Breakfast at Brittany's. Formerly a police station, friendly staff, freshly pressed coffee and a massive breakfast even my hungry belly could not finish.

We've now been on the road for two weeks. It feels like we just left and at the same time it feels like we've been travelling for much longer. We have days where we don't see much and others where we pack so much in, that at the end of the day we both think that morning happened on a different day.



With most our gear at the campground, we took a much lighter Tiger out for a run along the Bay of FUNdy. The bottom section west of Parrsboro was a blast to ride, lots of twisty sections, lots of scenic views, elevation changes. A very re-energizing day on two wheels. I had been feeling out of sorts since leaving, in fact we both have and this was exactly what I needed. We made a pit stop at Joggins Fossil Cliffs, cool but not spectacular. Have I mentioned how beautiful, sunny and warm it's been?




Enjoying a nice fire back at the campground before checking out for the night.

In the morning Lori talked me into staying for a third night, so we could just relax, enjoy the sun, do some laundry and generally just not rush. "Ok I'm in" I said.

We eventually hit the road again but as usual, we didn't really have a destination in mind. What we've been doing lately is just aiming the bike in a direction in the morning and going. Stopping at interesting places along the way and eventually stopping for a break at a coffee shop where we figure out what the plan is for the night. After a few minutes of searching and researching, Lori will usually find us a good spot to sleep. So far it's been working out well.


Our route this day.

We pulled in to Five Islands for a look, dirt road for about half a click to get there but it felt more like someone dumped a truckload of ball bearings on the dirt. The bike danced all over the place. I feel like I need a lot more practice in the dirt if we're going to ride up the Dempster, especially if it's anything like this.


Tide was out, you could almost walk to the islands.

The Bay of Fundy is just an amazing wonder, it empties and fills about a billion tonnes of water with every tide cycle, which occurs every 6 hours and 13 minutes. The tide changes over 50 feet in some places. That's the height of a five story apartment building. Wow! One of the best places to see this is at the Hopewell Rocks, which we've visited in the past and well worth the stop if you're in the area.



During a stop later in the day, we were treated to a tidal bore. Pretty cool to see. Sorry no pics as we were a bit too far away. It wasn't as big as I had heard, although it apparently gets larger further up the channel where it narrows. We might have to double back towards Truro to check it out.

Almost ran out of gas...again. I will admit that I thought for sure we'd run dry this time. I stopped at a NSLC seemingly in the middle of nowhere to double check where the closest gas station was. I didn't like what the GPS was trying to tell me. Lady at the counter says maybe 20 miles, I joked that I may have to buy a bottle of the vodka cause I didn't think I'd make it that far. In fact the GPS was indicating 43km to the gas station, while the bike computer read 23km till empty. Hmmmm! We decided to keep going and see how close we could get. I had resigned myself to the fact I'd have to walk. Playing it out in my head that I'd put on my shorts, hiking shoes, Lori would stay with the bike, maybe I could hitch a ride? The bike was now reading ZERO km left. Here we go, any moment now. 10km, still going, 15...About 18km later we came around a bend and I see an Irving gas station. Lori later said it was like loaves and fishes from the bible. Perhaps even something conjured up just for us. She was afraid to look back as we pulled away in case it wasn't really there.

Strange but that was not the Irving the GPS was leading us to, which we passed about 5 minutes later. Also strange but I thought for sure we'd get in a full 20L or pretty close, but only 19.3L went in. The previous time we had a close call with gas, the bike indicated we had another 20km to go and I ended up pumping in 19.5L. Lesson here is that the bike computer is definitely not to be trusted. And also that we definitely need to fuel up earlier. That's one thing I really do miss about the ST1300, the 7.7 gallon tank and the range.

The TEX so far seems to get very inconsistent mileage at anything from 34-41 MPG, and this really depends on the speed and wind is a huge factor. I've rad about some TEX riders getting well over 50MPG, no idea how they manage to do that.

We camped again, this time at the Plantation Campground. Average looking place, we were the only tenters so it was nice and quiet. Another beautiful day weather wise.






Took advantage of the sunset to snap a nice pic of the bike.



The next morning we doubled back a bit to see low tide at Halls harbour. Totally worth it! There is something cool about seeing a bunch of boats sitting on the floor of a harbour when the tide is out.






A recent erosion.


Cool view across the bay.




Lori found a friend to play with.


Lots of cool things to photograph around the dock.

From there we headed towards Port Williams where on the recommendation from Macdoc, we stopped at the Port Pub for some lunch. Great place with fantastic views (good call, thanks Macdoc). With full bellies we meandered west along the Evangeline Trail to Whale Cove campground in Digby Neck. Very beautiful area but as we arrived so did the fog. Socked in for the night, we were lulled to sleep by the sound of the fog horn going off every few moments in the distance.

__________________
Life's 2 Short...Ride the World
Join our adventure at our blog Lifes2Short
or on Facebook Google+ Our SPOT

The first three weeks; a view from the back of the bike (written by Lori)

The first three weeks have been both exciting and trying. To be honest there have been a few moments of envy when we've been camping near RV's. There have even been a couple of conversations around the idea of moving up to more luxurious accommodation in the future. Yes, I'm a princess. I fully admit to this. I like the finer things in life. Things like warmth, a bed, clean clothes, a clean bathroom....a bathroom. The kinds of things one might find in a home or even a traveling home. I'm not fond of bugs or Arachnids or just about anything with more than 4 legs for that matter (except caterpillars and butterflies, they're ok).

"So what the heck am I doing on the back of this darned motorcycle" you ask? I love the smells, the views, the feeling of the wind, the closeness with nature and Mark. I love the adventure of it. And let me tell you, it's already been an adventure.

In 3 weeks we have gone well over 5000 km. We have traveled from Ontario through Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and have just started our trek through Newfoundland. We've almost dropped the bike twice. Once while on a ferry, with it stopped and with me on it (total amateur move on our part). The second was on a gravel road where someone decided to put a sandbox just for fun. Mark did a great job of keeping us and the bike upright. We have almost run out of gas twice...... This I have nothing much to say about except "You have one job!!!!" All in good fun of course. We do have someone looking out for us though or we would not have made it 40ish km when it said 23 till empty.


This was taken just moments before our first almost nap. See how leaned over it was?

The scenery has been amazing but that's not a surprise. The east coast has always been one of our favourite areas to explore. We are so happy we have been able to do it more justice this time than on previous trips. We have seen a fully grown black bear on the wrong side of the animal fencing along the highway and let's not forget the fox, groundhogs, skunk and countless turtles along the way. Of course there was the duck who decided it wanted to play chicken for a while. Awkward!! Luckily we have only seen a few deer from a distance and no moose, elk, reindeer or abominable snowmen. Yet.

We have met some pretty awesome people already. A good example is just leaving Tim Hortons and having a couple stop to chat, then another person comes up and another. Soon you're having a full on love fest right there. It's amazing and not something we are overly accustomed to in southern Ontario where saying hi will get you weird looks and possibly a psych evaluation if you happen to be on a Toronto subway at the time. In fact any stop at a food establishment seems to bring on at least one good conversation. We may have to start planning these longer stops into our day so we can plan on less distance. I'm not sure Mark will go for that though. We will have to start taking pictures of these encounters.

We are already less hurried than ever before. Of course it's still been a struggle for each of us and to be honest a little difficult between us to get our mojo going. It's actually difficult to have all the time in the world and then decide what to do with it. It's far too easy to let that time slip through your fingers and suddenly you feel like you've wasted so much. We have always worked well together and do our best communicating when we get into a daily rhythm. That's been a new challenge even for us. We are both dealing with our extreme change of lifestyle in our own way and although we each understand the other it is adding a level of stress we haven't experienced before. Mark has been very patient and accommodating with my whims but I can tell it's taking it's toll. I do feel that I'm starting to warm up to the more rustic elements of the trip. The list of things I really hate is shrinking. I'm mostly down to; being cold, mosquitoes and dark, buggy bathrooms. Otherwise, with the exception of being female with all that encompasses, missing the kids terribly as well as the rest of our family and friends and any of the million other things that may bother me on any given day, I'm pretty good to go. Rain isn't my favourite but as long as it isn't combined with either cold or mosquitoes I'd be ok with it now.




I'm not the only one missing things.

Our set up and take down routine is becoming a well oiled machine. We are getting everything set up in about 15-20 minutes. Takedown is a little longer at about 45 minutes, but that includes packing the bike. I'm pretty happy about that. It gives us a little exercise in the morning before we eat and gets us warmed up too. It no longer seems like the chore it was a couple of weeks ago. We've also basically found a home for everything on the bike so putting it back is much easier and faster than it was to start with. We have both commented about how it seems like our stuff is taking up less room than it did 3 weeks ago. We have definitely found ways to pack some things smaller like the tent and sleeping bags for example. This adds just an inch here and there to make a significant difference in how everything goes together. I wonder if my hair dryer will fit now?? KIDDING!!


It took almost 2 hours for us to pack up in the morning at our first campsite. I'm surprised the mosquitoes didn't just carry the tent off in that time.

The bike has been great with the exception of the tire we had to replace. I was pretty nervous of this motorcycle to begin with. When we left on May 18th it was only the third time I had actually been on this particular bike. It's very different than our ST1300. I sit much higher and there isn't as much room for me as the Honda had. I can feel that it's top heavy as well and this was making me a little uneasy knowing the extra work Mark has to do to keep it up especially in gravel or sand and fully loaded. Over all I like how it feels now. My foot position is better than our old bike making it easier for me to push off the pegs when we go over uneven (translate-bus eating) ground or potholes. It seems to do better on the bumpy stuff for me on the back. Mark doesn't feel this but I definitely prefer this suspension. I do tend to get more wind and rain on this bike though. We have discovered when it's raining that my back gets completely covered in road mess. I'm usually wet and filthy when we stop, so we will eventually look at getting a mud guard or something to help with that. Now that we've managed to put down some miles we are both feeling much more comfortable with the bike overall.


Just don't ask me to turn around. It's definitely messy back there.

We've been humbled many times over already. Humbled by the weather that has been extra cold and rainy for this time of year. Humbled by the difficulties with our gear choices which we are still in the process of sorting out. Humbled by our two near bike naps. We've definitely been humbled by a few broken things along the way namely a tire and the iPad that had its own dirt nap. Most of all we have been humbled by the generosity of our friends both old and new and by the beauty we have seen and experienced already in such a short distance. We've been down east before but it still rates very high in the beautiful places to go. Not just the scenery but the people are amazing. I'm very happy with the way this adventure is starting to unfold.

__________________
Life's 2 Short...Ride the World
Join our adventure at our blog Lifes2Short
or on Facebook Google+ Our SPOT

We hoped to get out to Brier Island in the morning but it was still foggy and weather was scheduled to move in by 11am so we decided to keep trucking. We sort of backtracked a bit to Digby for breakfast and made a plan to head south and across NS. I say sort of because it was actually the only way for us to go. We're aiming for Lunenburg tonight where Lori found some nice looking (at least online) accommodations. Atlantic view motel, right on the ocean, excellent views, even had pet bunnies.






Next morning we awoke to more rain and decided to stay an extra day. Our newly Ikea appointed queen room was already booked that night so we moved a few doors down to a more rustic cottage style room with a kitchenette.
In the morning we hiked into town for breakfast and to have a wander around. It was nice to use some good old fashioned foot power for a change. We spent most of the morning walking around town in fact. Lunenburg is a very beautiful, typical coastal town with lots of multi colored buildings and gorgeous old houses. There is no such thing as cookie cutter around these here parts. Every home is full of detail, character and style. We both really enjoy places like this. The rain eventually tapered off and I was tempted to hit the road again.


On the way into town we found the Bluenose II, apparently not sea worthy. Definitely picture worthy.








Ok so some of the boats need a little work.
























Beautiful B&B that we didn't stay at...





Time for a drink.





Back at the motel we found more toys to play with, they were super friendly.



A little blue goes a long way on a cloudy day.



Sure puts a smile on my face.

__________________
Life's 2 Short...Ride the World
Join our adventure at our blog Lifes2Short
or on Facebook Google+ Our SPOT

I have to admit that traveling as a couple involves some compromise. There have been days when we get up and I would like to go but Lori doesn't. We try to talk about this sort of stuff out over the comm units while we ride, it helps keep us from getting too grumpy with each other. Communication is key! The compromise isn't only between us however. I find that there is compromise every day almost, in that we can't spend as much time as we'd like in every place we visit. When we talked about this before the trip, we envisioned staying a few days or longer, where ever we came across somewhere we wanted to spend more time in. And although we have done this a little bit, there's this strange and invisible force pushing us forth, we both feel it.

The next morning I communicated to my beautiful wife that we were leaving . We had a fairly short ride to Peggy's Cove. A very beautiful spot but very sad story of Swiss Air flight 111 crashing just a few miles off the coast here back in 1998. The aircraft struck the ocean nose first at a reported speed of 555km/h with a force of 350g, which caused the aircraft to completely disintegrate. The search and recovery operation went on till December of 1999, by which time 98% of the plane (279,000lbs of aircraft debris and 40,000lbs of cargo) had been retrieved. Ultimately it was faulty wiring which caused a fire that was blamed.





















Today was beautiful and sunny day but crazy windy which made the 14 degrees feel more like 4. I was reluctant to leave to bike in the parking lot fearing it would blow over, it was gusting that hard. We would have spent more time exploring the giant rock formations but even with our puffy jackets under our motorcycle gear, we were cold. Our next stop was Halifax. Feeling like we've dragged our wheels a bit already this trip, we essentially only did a drive-by downtown, only stopping for a drink to warm up. Halifax is another city we would like to come back and spend a day or two in. Incidentally, today marks three weeks on the road. Didn’t I just write that it's been two? Wow, that last week seems to have really blown by.

I looked back in the mirrors today and the bags strapped to the side cases seem to be getting smaller. Like Lori said, we're managing to pack our stuff more efficiently and every little bit helps. Our first week, it was the exact opposite. Every time we packed up, there was seemingly less space than the day before. After a few weeks, we've managed to move things around so we have better access to things we need more often and have been better able to utilize all the nooks and crannies in our cases. Things feel like they are flowing again for us, our Chi seems to be back. We knew it would happen eventually but it's a good feeling none the less.

We camped out at Murphy's on the ocean campground that night, beautiful little spot. They offer all sorts of day trips on the boat and will even take you over to an island if you're in the mood for a really secluded & primitive camping experience. They have a big camp fire with free mussels, entertainment and rumoured cribbage lessons. I was looking forward to said lessons but the cold and windy day left us tuckered out and we essentially passed out after showering and setting up our camp. Next morning we aimed the bike at Arm of Gold campground in Little Bras D'Or with a pit stop in Antigonish (who comes up with such cool names?), which is a few minutes away from the ferry that we would take the following day to Newfoundland. NEWFOUNDLAND I say!

__________________
Life's 2 Short...Ride the World
Join our adventure at our blog Lifes2Short
or on Facebook Google+ Our SPOT

Welcome to Newfoundland said the sign, or so I'm told. I couldn't take my eyes off the mountains so I had to take Lori's word for it. I actually made a comment that this was the first time I didn't see a sign that welcomed you to a province, instead here they welcomed you with a stunning view. "No, there was definitely a sign back there" Lori said. I did notice a sign a few kilometres down the road warning of high winds. I smirked thinking these aren't high winds, at least not after our high wind experiences so far anyway. Unbeknownst to us, we were passing through the "Wreckhouse" at the time.

We later learned that the Wreckhouse got its name because the wind, which at times is greater than hurricane force. It used to blow railway cars off the track back when the railway was still running trains through here. Needless to say it does what it wants with transport trucks and I can only imagine what it would do to a 2up riding Tiger Explorer. The highway is often shut down along this stretch because of the severity of the wind. As windy as our ride here was, I'm glad we didn't experience the full effect of the Wreckhouse.

But let's back up for a moment, I almost forgot all about the ferry ride.




We were directed to the front of the lineup, although we got on somewhere in the middle of all the vehicles. It really worked out well in the end as we had enough time to change into our moto gear before departing the ferry in NFLD.


We had an absolutely perfect day for the crossing.


The ferry itself was surprisingly nice inside with plenty of seating (seats themselves reclined and were quite comfortable). The menu at the onboard restaurant sounded much better than the food actually tasted however.


After dinner, Lori pondered life...


We were curious how fast we were going.


A few hours into our voyage we could see land. Wait a minute...


What the...what is that white stuff?


Yup. That's snow!


Coming in for a landing. No snow anywhere around here, made Lori a happy girl.

Although the ferry takes less than six hours to cross from North Sydney NS to Port Aux Basques NL, it's pretty much an entire day affair. You have to be at the port two hours before departure and you also lose another 30 min with the time change. Because of this, we planned on a short ride to our destination that day, the Grand Codroy campground.


Camp all set up - check. Fire going - check. Ahhh, my work here is done.


Enjoying a nice evening before the skeeters came out to welcome us to the island.

Our trip so far has been full of unexpected events and surprises. Newfoundland certainly falls into that category and definitely into a class of its own. The natural beauty of the island really took me by surprise, right from the get-go. I mean I knew it was beautiful but I had no idea it was this spectacular. The next day a cute name like Corner Brook didn’t prepare me for the mountains with exposed rock and sharp edges that surrounded the TCH as it snaked east. My eyes drawn up instead of on the road and as I caught the bike wandering over into the adjacent lane I heard "mmm-hmmm" over the comms. "You keep your eyes on the road mister."


I tried to snap a few pics with the iPhone while riding, but they do views very little justice.



As we rode into Gros Morne National Park, I was blown away even more. I found myself thinking of my dad who passed away about a year and a half ago. He would have absolutely loved to see this with us, this stuff was totally up his alley. My thirst for adventure and appreciation of nature is definitely something I got from him. It was a very emotional experience to ride along this stretch of road as I thought of him. No too many places to stop for pictures, we did find one.




Snow could still be there in Aug we were told.


These don't do the views justice, it was really spectacular. Gros Morne is definitely worth a stop if you make the trip to Newfoundland. I just couldn't stop saying "wow".

We landed in Rocky Harbour for the night and after checking around, we found a nice little cabin with a view.



Lori was a bit under the weather so we booked in for a couple of nights. There was a full kitchen and it was nice to cook real food for a change, one thing we both miss very much.

__________________
Life's 2 Short...Ride the World
Join our adventure at our blog Lifes2Short
or on Facebook Google+ Our SPOT

Fog and rain was the theme of the day so we hung around indoors on our day off. It cleared up at the end of the day and we got treated to a nice sunset.

We initially planned on riding along the Viking Trail, north to St Anthony's as there were supposed to be lots of icebergs in that area. But it was single digits where we were and the temperature around St Anthony's was supposed to drop into the minus range overnight. Between that and the fact we would have to double back along the same road, essentially taking us two days to come back to where we were, we opted to head east instead. There are lots of other icebergs to see along the north shore towards Bonavista from what we had read. The next day did not disappoint.




Woke up to a beautiful day and we hit the road again.


A look at Rocky Harbour as we head out.


Although it's nice and sunny out, it's surprisingly cold near the water where the temperature drops to about half of what it is a few miles inland. Fishing seems so relaxing and fun until you realize what these guys have to put up with weather wise every day.





On our way into Deer Lake, we stopped in at the Newfoundland Insectarium, what a really cool place. Initially an old barn that was almost destroyed, it was saved and refurbished into a building housing some really beautiful butterflies, arachnids and really cool looking bugs.














Lori is quick to make friends.


Some relationships are better experienced from a distance.

Speaking of which, we had our first moose encounter on the TCH. I saw it coming out of the bush in plenty of time to come to a stop along with all the other vehicles coming the opposite direction. It casually sauntered over the highway in front of us and disappeared out of sight before we had time to snap a pic. Cool!

A short day of only 302km had us stopping at the Catamaran Park campground. Nice and clean and again we were the only campers on the property. Not sure we'd stop here again as it was right off the TCH and we could hear the transports engine braking around the curve where the park was located. We also discovered just how hardy the skeeters really are out here, when the overnight temp dropped to about zero. In the morning, the suckers were still there waiting for us to leave the comfort of our tent. Seriously guys?

__________________
Life's 2 Short...Ride the World
Join our adventure at our blog Lifes2Short
or on Facebook Google+ Our SPOT

In the morning we headed towards Gander Bay along the 340. We heard all about the icebergs everywhere but had yet to see a single one, we knew we were getting closer and hoped it would be a matter of time.

The scenery flattened out quite a bit as we hugged the coast. Big blue to our left and coastal tuckamore to our right, both seemingly vying for our attention. But as we came around the corner something else stole our gaze. Something big and white, in fact not just one but a bunch of somethings floating in the sea. ICEBERGS!


Our first ever iceberg...Woohoo!


We pulled off the road to get a closer look.


I have to admit that it's pretty mesmerizing at first, but then I realized I was simply looking at some ice floating in the water, not unlike the ice floating in any lake back home in the winter.


Of course I reminded myself that this stuff is possibly 10,000 years old and has floated down here from Greenland.


So this ain't your average ice cube, now is it...

I wasn't sure if it would be crazy or not, but I broke off a piece to have a taste. I just had to know what 10,000 year old ice would taste like. It tasted, well, like ice. Surprisingly not salty considering it had just been floating in the ocean for a few weeks or more.


Drunk on ice, it was time to hit the road again. But first I had to pass Lori's test to make sure I wasn't too (ice) drunk to ride the bike.


You want me to dance like that? I definitely don't have the moves like Jagger...or a whacky-wavy-inflatible-arm-flailing-tube-man. Now that's one test I'm not likely to pass, unlike our daughter who has those WWIAFTM moves down pat.

We stopped to fill up the Tiger and asked about filling up our own bellies somewhere in the area. Lady at the gas station pointed us to a diner a few miles down the road. While enjoying some local grub, a friendly local had started to chat us up, in fact we spent most of our dinner talking with him but he left before us. A few minutes later, while we were putting on our gear out front getting ready to leave, he re-appears out of a nearby house and invites us in, says we can stay the night if we would like. Say whaaaat? We were just stunned!


Meet Sheldon. An wonderfully generous Newfoundlander who not only invited us into his home for the night, but entertained us, giving us the grand tour of his little town and the surrounding area. Even drove us out to a great spot to see more icebergs, and then made us a fantastic breakfast in the morning. Just amazing.






Iceberg on the left looked pretty cool in the shadow.


It's been a huge year for iceberg sightings. Sheldon indicated that locals have never seen this many in this area. Not sure if that's a good thing on a global scale but it was incredible to witness.


It's really hard to put the size of these things into perspective but the houses on the right look tiny in comparison. Other icebergs even further out to sea were much larger, it's hard to comprehend that what's above the water is just 10% of the actual size.


This little town was just spectacular.




These guys were towing a giant size berg-cube back to shore. Apparently my idea wasn't that crazy after all. It's common practice for them to bring back the ice and use it for chillin drinks.



What an amazing day!

__________________
Life's 2 Short...Ride the World
Join our adventure at our blog Lifes2Short
or on Facebook Google+ Our SPOT

Hi Mark Lori, well done, just a little post to wish you well and safe journey. Good choice of bike, I have her little sis, tiger800 xc Have just bought it following your blog, intend doing the same soon, similar route. am enjoying your account of Canada, cant wait to get there. Have fun guys & keep the rubber side down Regards Vince

Thanks Vince. I actually tested the 800xc first and really liked it. I called it a hooligan bike, it was a lot of fun. When Lori and I went out for a ride and we found it too small for us so we opted for the Explorer instead. So far so good with the bike although I am getting the heads done when we get back to Ontario. When are you thinking of coming to Canada?

Cheers,
Mark

__________________
Life's 2 Short...Ride the World
Join our adventure at our blog Lifes2Short
or on Facebook Google+ Our SPOT

Hi Mark Lori. Explorer is a much better bike for long two up trips, also tested it, super on the motorway but felt a bit heavy on small roads. Have just done a short run to romania & back two up with camping gear, bike ran well. Tiger is mostly for solo long distance use. Have a guzzi norge for two up.

was planning 2016 Alaska pan am highway but if I can get off work early for good behaviour then 2015. Am still very much in planning stage though so nothing sure çept the tiger and the fact that I will be doing it

Guys am a bit worried 'bout yer mounting & dismounting techniques. When I travel two up I keep the nearside pannier free of luggage on top, other one has dry bag on. I mount first hold bike steady and Susie (girl friend ) climbs onto pillion foot rest 1 hand on my shoulder other hand on topbox & manoeuvres her leg onto the bike ..... reverse for getting off. Susie is small. If u are a bit nervous, leave side stand down as security I did this first few times with tiger ... she big gal, but try holding it straight.

With your technique am afraid that your stand will break or bike will fall over, two much wait behind the stand, plus movement of Lori worming her way down Maybe you will laugh but doing some yoga exercises will help stretch your legs & make it easier to mount & dismount I do this ahem Susie also. Practice in quiet places

I have the givi maxia 55 on my norge, have also fitted the optional carrier on top of the lid. This means I can put the tent on top. It is a good topbox, extra brake light is crap & a waste of money though.

Guys have loads of fun, enjoy the wide open spaces & the road.... keep the rubber side down take care Vince

Reluctantly we packed up and left Sheldon’s place in the morning. With spectacular scenery 360 degrees around his home and the ocean just steps outside his door, we could totally see the appeal of living in a place like this though. “If only it were 10 degrees warmer” Lori said.

It was however another beautiful day and warmed up significantly as we rode inland. On the way to Bonavista we stopped at Lockston Path Provincial park to set up our tent, thinking we could enjoy the rest of the afternoon and not have to rush back or be setting up in the dark. Within a few seconds of getting off the bike however, we were assaulted by these little flies.

At first they were just annoying until we discovered they also bite and I immediately had a colourful name for them that I won’t repeat since this is a family show. Good news was that we hadn’t seen any skeeters, “maybe the flies ate them”, Lori wondered. We set up with haste and left.


Bonavista did not disappoint.




As we came up over the hill we saw another large iceberg.




This one was even further out to sea, we guessed it was at least 100 feet tall.








It seemed every time we looked around, we'd see another iceberg.




Cape Bonavista was quite spectacular.


One final look back.

After stopping at Little Dairy King for dinner (yes they have regular food - and a view to boot), we briefly considered staying at a B&B in town as it was getting late and just picking up our camping gear in the morning. Instead I got to watch Lori dive into the tent wearing all her moto gear including the helmet when we got back. Much more entertaining I think.

Another moose sighting today, a young male. He was just standing about 30 feet away from the road but took off into the bush as we rode past.

__________________
Life's 2 Short...Ride the World
Join our adventure at our blog Lifes2Short
or on Facebook Google+ Our SPOT

On the ST1300 that is exactly how Lori got on and off. We've tried this on the Tiger and without the bags on the side cases, that works just fine. With the bags on, we find it very difficult to do.

As for the weight on the side stand, when flying solo I often get on by stepping on the left peg first and throwing my right leg over the bike. I used to do the same on my Strom. The ST was much shorter so I never did on that bike. Have never had an issue with this, of course that doesn't mean that we never will. One thing I'm very mindful of is the angle of the bike when on the side stand - too leaned over and she will definitely tip over. Too upright and she may tip over the other way, not to mention it's difficult to flip the kickstand back up. We only mount this way when the bike is parked at the correct angle for this.

Having tried both ways, Lori prefers to get on the Tiger first. Later when we ditch the camping gear, we'll go back to our usual way - I'm looking forward to having less gear on the bike, that's for sure.

Yoga? I've gone from being very active to this, so I am definitely missing my usual routine. We are looking for a routine that we can do while on the road in the meantime.

I actually do have the carrier for the E55 and am trying to decide if I want to put it on or not. I prefer to have the weight equally distributed over the side cases rather than having one side case without and moving that weight even higher to the top case. We will be going through everything when we get home for a couple of weeks and re-evaluating our gear list. Hopefully we can minimize our load a bit, so I'm not sure I'll need the rack.

__________________
Life's 2 Short...Ride the World
Join our adventure at our blog Lifes2Short
or on Facebook Google+ Our SPOT

The following morning we awoke to dozens of the little biting flies hanging around under the fly of the tent. We did our usual divide and conquer routine where Lori packs up the inside of the tent and I work on the outside when she's done. I figured the time had come to break out the bug head nets and our nylon windbreakers (Montbell Tachyon Anorak). We initially bought them for hiking, but they're bug-proof and at only 1.9oz each are easy to pack on a bike. The combination was just brilliant against these guys by the way. We also managed to set a personal best time for camp takedown, apparently we just needed the right motivation.



Our destination was a fairly short 271km away in St John's. We had some trouble finding accommodations at first as everything seemed to be booked up, until Lori came across Memorial University with brand new dorms for $55/night. I have to say that we were both pleasantly surprised when we arrived. Our rooms (yes we had our own rooms) were very clean with a desk and plenty of storage. The shower and bathroom were both inside the main unit but shared between the two rooms, a typical university/college set up. We were both impressed and wouldn't hesitate to stay here again. In fact if you stay more long term (month or longer), the price goes down to $30/night.

We booked four nights here as we wanted a bit of a break and also wanted to see some of the local sights. We killed day one doing laundry, catching up online a bit and watching the world cup in the lounge on our floor. It was nice to be off the bike and just chill. With free tea and Keurig coffee in the lobby, this place was bordering on all-inclusive.

Little did we know the best was yet to come. We eventually managed to wrestle ourselves from all the amenities and made it outside to take a ride up to Signal Hill, where the first ever transatlantic wireless transmission (morse code) was received back in 1901.




Looking back at the road leading up to Signal Hill, with St John's in the background.


Even from here you could make out the colourful homes lining downtown St John's.

Not unlike the west side of NFLD, I didn't have any expectations of Signal Hill. This only added to the WOW factor when we got to the top and looked around. We certainly weren't expecting this:




We guessed that was part of the fort just down from the lighthouse.


But we also wanted to try to put the size of the iceberg into perspective. You can make out the lighthouse just over my right shoulder.


Easily one of the coolest things I've seen.


This one was a little further out to sea, it looked ready to split at any moment.








A panoramic view of the entire area.

On the way down the hill, we stopped to check out the Geo Centre. The building itself is built against a huge section of rock which is 550 million years old (give or take a week), that is exposed inside the building. The oldest rock on the planet by the way. The GEO centre houses various geological and space exhibits, and we also caught an awesome 3D movie, Flight of the Butterflies while there. But the highlight for me was the Titanic exhibit. Very informative. Another sad story of loss of life, this one a result of arrogance and greed.

Leaving Signal Hill, we headed for the eastern most spot in continental North America, Cape Spear. Although it was only a few kilometres away, the temperature dropped from about 16C in St John's to a bitter 6C at Cape Spear. We left our gear on and donned our toques to have a look around.








We were essentially across the bay from Signal Hill.




Remnants of the gun battery installed here during the WWII to defend the entrance to St John's harbour.






Although it was a pretty cool place to visit, I don't think Lori has officially thawed out yet, so we took off back to tropical St John's after a very short visit.


Hey, everyone needs a hug sometimes...

__________________
Life's 2 Short...Ride the World
Join our adventure at our blog Lifes2Short
or on Facebook Google+ Our SPOT

After four wonderful days in St John's, it was time to get going again. The vote was in, we would take the same ferry that brought us here at Port Aux Basques. We declined the much closer ferry out of Argentia for a few reasons. It wasn't running for another two days which meant we'd have to stay in the St John's area, it's also an overnight crossing that takes 15 hours instead of 6. Another consideration was that of cost, as this ferry is $200 more and another $200 if we opted for the shared cabin with beds instead of sleeping in the chairs.

Too many factors that didn't appeal, so it wasn't much of a surprise we both decided to ride back to Port Aux Basques. What was a surprise was Lori saying "hey, we should do that ride in one day". Say whaaaat? But that's exactly what we did, 901km in about 13 hours, not exactly record breaking but turned out to be the longest mileage day we've ever had 2up. We made a decision to get home and it was easy to stay motivated to put down bigger miles.


The forecast for the day? You guessed it, rain and between 9C-12C. In fact with the exception of the four Tim Horton's stops we made that day, 11 of those hours were in the rain.







By the time we pulled into Corner Brook, we weren't smiling. We were soaked through and Lori was turning cyanotic around her lips. I also discovered water getting into the side cases. Something appears to have squished the gasket of the lid in a couple of spots, I guessed this was the entry point. We swapped layers (again) and made a final push for St Christopher's hotel in Port Aux Basques.


View somewhere along the Long Range Mountains....I think. It was definitely a type II fun kind of a day.


Snug as a bug in a rug.

Our ferry crossing the following day was uneventful and gave us a chance to reflect on Newfoundland. Two things that stand out immediately are the people, easily some of the friendliest & most generous folks we've ever met and the spectacular landscape. We both wished we could have spent another month on the island just exploring. Although we don't exactly have a schedule to keep, we want to get out west before closing time in Alaska.

We both skipped dinner on the ferry deciding to stop at the Black Spoon Bistro in North Sydney once we got in. Cozy little place and our dinner was mouth watering amazing, all for about the same cost of dinner on board. Definitely a good call and only about a 4 min ride back to the Arm of Gold campground from there.

The following day we found ourselves back in Amherst taking a break at another Tim Wendy's, we also needed to figure out where we'd be staying that night. A few minutes later a blue Tiger Explorer pulls into the parking lot and that's when we met John and his wife Caddie. John said he heard of us from a friend of his who was following us online.



A couple of weeks ago, a fellow inmate on ADVrider had told me to keep an eye out for John as he was heading for the Cabot Trail. Lori and I were both amazed that we could run into them, that they would be in the same area of the province and pick the same Tim Wendy's to stop and take a break at at the same time. The world only got smaller as we got talking, apparently we had quite a bit in common (outside of the obvious moto-stuff). We had a great chat and decided to check into the same hotel for the night. John has already travelled to some of the countries we are planning on visiting and it was great to carry on the conversation over dinner.



We both went our separate ways in the morning, Lori and I were heading home via the states and John and Caddie were sticking to home soil. Later guys.


We had another big mileage day as we headed for Gorham NH, which is nestled in the White Mountains a mere 683km away. It's strange but once we decide to go home, we somehow manage to put down significant miles with ease. Maybe some of you find the same thing, but all we seem to want to do is ride when home is on the radar.

__________________
Life's 2 Short...Ride the World
Join our adventure at our blog Lifes2Short
or on Facebook Google+ Our SPOT

You ARE being watched

G'day from Oz Mark & Lori chug
I am enjoying the great start to your new life on the road & already, your pics & words are trying to change our planned trip to Canada & Alaska next year. I may need more time away than I planned
Safe travels & keep up the great write up too

Cheers,
Grant