Day 6 - Thunder Bay, Ontario to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
June 27, 2011
27.06.2011
Karl, Derek and I left Thunder Bay at 7:30 a.m. heading east on Hwy #17 towards Sault Ste. Marie. The skies were gray and the forecast was calling for heavy rain. There was a large forest fire north of us and the rain was welcomed by the locals, so it was easy to accept a little dampness if it mean't it would help stop the fire.
We stopped just outside of Thunder Bay to take a look at the memorial to Terry Fox. Pictures are attached. Truly a fitting tribute to a real Canadian hero.
It's typical on a motorcycle ride, to meet fellow riders along the way. Today was no exception. As we were loading the bikes in Thunder Bay, we had a long conversation with a chap from New York. While having a cup of coffee and bowl of cereal in the motel breakfast room, we got into a long conversation with 2 Harley riders who were heading west to British Columbia. We gave them some suggestions on good roads to ride in B.C.
At a brunch stop in the town of Schrieber, we met-up with 3 couples from Illinois and Wisconsin on 2 Goldwings and a Harley. They were on a ride around Lake Superior. Nice friendly people. We saw them a couple of times later in the day when they passed us at a stop and we passed them at a stop. Of course, friendly waves were exchanged both times.
The forecasted rain never did materialize except for a couple of minor showers that didn't require stops for rain gear. It was cool however. Around 11 am we stopped for a coffee and I donned my electric vest. It made the next two hours much more enjoyable until the temperature went up to the low 20's.
We made a gas stop at Wawa, Ontario about 220 kms from our daily destination. There's a rather cheesey monument of a Canada Goose (photo attached) that, according to Karl, is a "must see/stop" when you travel this way. While in Wawa, found yet more-expensive fuel..... $147.9/liter... ouch!
I went down the street a bit and found a bargain at the local Esso.... only $1.43.9/liter. We also got into a conversation with a BMW rider at the Goose statue. He was from the U.S. There were a lot of Beemers on the road today. There's a big BMW rally on the weekend just across the border in the States.
We arrived in Sault Ste. Marie at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time. We checked into a rather well-worn "mom & pop" motel. It's not very fancy but it's clean and the price is right. Karl, Derek and I are still together. There was a slight miscalculation on distances today and we didn't make it to the point where we will go our separate ways. That will happen tomorrow. I've got a reasonably short day tomorrow to North Bay, Ontario then an even shorter day on Wednesday to Ottawa.
Distance today - 746 km
Distance todate - 3,804 km
Posted by wpcross625 20:00
You're having a great trip, Bill. You've even seen the Big Goose and if you hadn't by-passed Winnipeg you probably would have seen the Big Mosquito! Safe travels my friend.
Barry
27.06.2011 by bbrazier