Follow Along: 600rr to California

[GrahamT]

As the wankers on adv would say-Subscribed...

[bww77]

I actually havent packed my tent in that pic but its Sitting on the back of my seat. I also have a backpack with misc stuff. Im goin to rearrange a couple of things tonight for more comfort. Right now my backpack is too heavy

Im in sault saint marie right now eating and warming up. Its freaking 5 degrees up here and my feet are soaked. Gotta wring them out before headig back on the road

Grab some plastic bags or something similar... I know it sounds funny but it will help keep your feet dry.

[Pedagogue]

WOW! Thanks for bringing us along. Post a lot of pictures. You've worked hard at school, time to celebrate your efforts I have driven from Phoenix to Vegas. In a car it was amazing. We also stoped off at the Grand Canyon. On a motorcycle this trip will be EPIC! Ride safe!

[icecube172]

we are here to cheer you on!! hope you enjoy your trip. post up lots of pics and keep us updated! sub'ed

[Jayv]

I actually havent packed my tent in that pic but its Sitting on the back of my seat. I also have a backpack with misc stuff. Im goin to rearrange a couple of things tonight for more comfort. Right now my backpack is too heavy

Im in sault saint marie right now eating and warming up. Its freaking 5 degrees up here and my feet are soaked. Gotta wring them out before headig back on the road

Umm Cali is like in the south direction, i believe you are heading north. Dodging those tornados eh

[Wheelieboy]

The goal of day 1 was to get as far to the west coast as possible. I had 2 options, cross at Sarnia which would send me through the Greater Toronto Area, Detriot, and Chicago during rush hour or take the road less travelled and cross at Sault Ste Marie. I opted for the latter although it will cost me 4 extra hours. At least they’re 4 predictable hours as opposed to the unpredictable city traffic. Besides, I’m coming back home that way.

I started the day off a little late as I had to run to Canadian Tire to get another dry sack for my tent. Planned start time was 9am, but I left at 10am. It was about 15 degrees and raining when I left my house. Not bad, its only a little rain. As I rode more North, it got colder…a lot colder. About 5 degrees when I got to Sudbury. There was even snow on the side of the road.

The journey to the border at Sault Ste Marie was pretty much uneventful besides having a few close calls with the Ontario Provincial Police. There is an abundance of OPP sitting on the side of the highway and driving around in Northern Ontario and I passed many at over the speed limit but they seemed to have turned a blind eye. Or maybe I just got lucky.

I get to the border around 4pm. Line up is 3 cars long so I thought I’d get through here in no time. I get to the booth, the guy starts grilling me about where I’m going, why I’m going there, what the point of riding around all day is, etc. I eventually get sent to secondary inspection where they took a look through all my bags. Not very fun and it cost me about 30 minutes. At least the secondary inspection guys were nice, even gave me a few tips and destinations to visit.

By now, I’m freezing my *** off because of the cold and rain. My socks were soaked, I had to wring them out at every rest stop. I couldn’t wait to get to a motel to have a nice hot shower. That’s all I thought about…a nice hot shower…but I needed to cover some road. I rode until it got dark and found myself a little motel in a small town. I unpacked my stuff and I was really thirsty so I grabbed a water bottle that was in my bag and took a swig. ???? It tasted like alcohol. Oops, I forgot that I put mouthwash into a waterbottle…the same type of waterbottle I had my water in.

Next thing to do? Nice hot shower. And now I’m sitting here having a footbath eating some ritz crackers I packed. Best part of the day.

Not many pictures today since I was trying to make up time and it was too cold to stop, take off my gloves, grab my camera, and snap a few. However, my GPS seemed to have glitched. At least I have my average speed and km’s covered. 888kms for 11 hours traveled. Not as good as I thought but I did get delayed a couple of times.

[Jayv]

Cue turbodish for the max speed on your gps.

Probably a chopper flying over your motel right now lol.

[Wheelieboy]

Cue turbodish for the max speed on your gps.

Probably a chopper flying over your motel right now lol.

I didnt know you can get in trouble for a faulty gps?

[PLau]

I didnt know you can get in trouble for a faulty gps?

GPS while riding on a track O_O

[Urban_Lounger]

How does all that stuff stay secured on the back of the bike??
Be safe and have fun.

[Chasem]

Going to be quite the adventure, I can't imagine riding an SS for 11 hours... I get cramps after 30 minutes.


Good luck!

[omnivore]

plastic bags, like te ones that 4 litres of milk come in. Put them over your boots, and stop at any dollar store for a bag of elastics....wrap one eastic around middle of your foot's instap, and another around the shin of your boot. This will help keep bags in place and not flap or get caught while riding..... they will last about 8-12 hrs before they begin to fall apart at the soles. Keep extra milk bags with you. They pack really small and fit almost anywhere. You can even jam them in between your gear and your back seat.

[BusaBob]

i would have thought wearing gators and gore-tex socks would have done the trick too.

[revrandy]

Don't forget you are buying the beer when you get here

[PLau]

Don't forget you are buying the beer when you get here

Not like he has time to sober up, thats like non-stop riding and probably going to be too exhausted by the end of the day.

[guym]

Wow I'm so jealous!
Ride safe!

[fastar1]

The goal of day 1 was to get as far to the west coast as possible. I had 2 options, cross at Sarnia which would send me through the Greater Toronto Area, Detriot, and Chicago during rush hour or take the road less travelled and cross at Sault Ste Marie. I opted for the latter although it will cost me 4 extra hours. At least they’re 4 predictable hours as opposed to the unpredictable city traffic. Besides, I’m coming back home that way.

I started the day off a little late as I had to run to Canadian Tire to get another dry sack for my tent. Planned start time was 9am, but I left at 10am. It was about 15 degrees and raining when I left my house. Not bad, its only a little rain. As I rode more North, it got colder…a lot colder. About 5 degrees when I got to Sudbury. There was even snow on the side of the road.

The journey to the border at Sault Ste Marie was pretty much uneventful besides having a few close calls with the Ontario Provincial Police. There is an abundance of OPP sitting on the side of the highway and driving around in Northern Ontario and I passed many at over the speed limit but they seemed to have turned a blind eye. Or maybe I just got lucky.

I get to the border around 4pm. Line up is 3 cars long so I thought I’d get through here in no time. I get to the booth, the guy starts grilling me about where I’m going, why I’m going there, what the point of riding around all day is, etc. I eventually get sent to secondary inspection where they took a look through all my bags. Not very fun and it cost me about 30 minutes. At least the secondary inspection guys were nice, even gave me a few tips and destinations to visit.

By now, I’m freezing my *** off because of the cold and rain. My socks were soaked, I had to wring them out at every rest stop. I couldn’t wait to get to a motel to have a nice hot shower. That’s all I thought about…a nice hot shower…but I needed to cover some road. I rode until it got dark and found myself a little motel in a small town. I unpacked my stuff and I was really thirsty so I grabbed a water bottle that was in my bag and took a swig. ???? It tasted like alcohol. Oops, I forgot that I put mouthwash into a waterbottle…the same type of waterbottle I had my water in.

Lesson number one; you can make better time in warmer weather. Never mind traffic, what slows you down on a bike is cold and wetness. Where you are now, your best option might be to get genuinely warm and dry gear to ride in.

[Wheelieboy]

How does all that stuff stay secured on the back of the bike??
Be safe and have fun.

A lot of bungee cords.

Don't forget you are buying the beer when you get here

Dont worry, I'm sure I can fit a case of beer on the back of my bike

Lesson number one; you can make better time in warmer weather. Never mind traffic, what slows you down on a bike is cold and wetness. Where you are now, your best option might be to get genuinely warm and dry gear to ride in.

I dont really mind the cold, I can ride in below freezing temperature weather comfortably. The thing that gets me is the cold. The cold only slows me down minimally since I took longer than needed breaks by about 15 minutes each just to warm up..but I didnt take any unnecessary breaks on top of that.

The boots are nice and dry today. I put them on the heater.

The temperature right now is 1 degrees but at least its not raining. It should warm up to a comfortable 15 when I get to Minneapolis. I hope to make it to South Dakota by this evening and see Mt Rushmore tomorrow. Tomorrow night, I plan to couchsurf at a fellow advrider's place. Hopefully I get there in time. Gonna get up and pack the bike now. I'll update later today if I get internet!

[rafiki911]

Hey I was reading about a couple who rode from BC to somewhere in Ontario I believe on a SCOOTER 2up and with gear at that. So a sport bike...I'm sure you'll be fine. Not as comfortable as a touring bike for sure but who cares, you'll have fun. As for riding solo, I bought my current ride (Honda ST1300) in Florida. Wife dropped me off at the airport in Buffalo, seller picked me up in Jacksonville. Rode the bike back home solo, went through the Dragon and all sorts of fun places.

It's an epic adventure! Enjoy the ride and be safe. And not that you need any inspiration, but I highly recommend watching "The Long Way Round" & "The Long Way Down" with Ewan McGregor and Chalrey Boorman.

Those shows are awesome

Wheelieboy, have a safe and awesome trip. Loving the SPOT tracker and I thought they were only good for serious camping. Great idea for the trip

[rafiki911]

I actually havent packed my tent in that pic but its Sitting on the back of my seat. I also have a backpack with misc stuff. Im goin to rearrange a couple of things tonight for more comfort. Right now my backpack is too heavy

Im in sault saint marie right now eating and warming up. Its freaking 5 degrees up here and my feet are soaked. Gotta wring them out before headig back on the road

Dry up the socks at night and put bags over your feet in the boots so your feet stay dry.