Sunday, May 21, 2006
So, the grand adventure has begun...
Left Pewaukee at 0630, documented by an ATM withdrawal at the Kiwk Trip. Surprisingly, I wasn't as nervous this time as in trips past and calmy packed the bike and took off.
The drive down Wisconsin and thru Chicago was uneventful. I knew about the construction on the Dan Ryan south of the Loop and at the last second decied to take Lakeshore Drive instead of fighting the construction. Traffic wasn't bad and I was back on the Interstate in good time.
Stopped in Michigan City for gas and continued on to Michigan. Gas again at Imlay City, just west of Port Huron. Some construction congestion around Kalamazoo and Flint, but prpbably nothing like weekdays.
Got the the bridge (Sidebar about the Blue Water Bridge) and into Canada about 1400. The national speed limit in Canada is 100 kph (about 62 mph) and when you're accustomed to driving 75+ in Michigan just to NOT get run over, 62, seems like a snail's pace. I held Tigress down, tho, until I got to Hwy 401, the Macdonald Cartier Freeway, apparently the equivalent of the US Interstate system. If you run at 100 kph on this road, you WILL get run over just like in Michigan - most people are doing well over 120 kph, so I finally forgot about the speedo and tried to stay with the traffic flow. Even so, I got passed a LOT by Canadians doing 10-20 kph faster than me.
It was probably a good thing that I decided to go thru Toronto on an Saturday night. Even though the traffic was fast, I got thru the city pretty easily.
Finally ended up in Belleville, Ont.,, a bit west of Kingston.
Trip stats:
Total miles: 743
Total Time: 12:46
Drive Time: 11:13
Stopped Time: 1:33
Avg diving speed: 66.2 mph
Overall average speed: 58.2 mph
I pushed it a bit today because I want to be in Maine ASAP and be well rested for the start of the main event. There's also an hour time change that I need to adjust for as well.
Other observations:
- There are very few - if any - billboards along the highways in Ontario - refreshing no to be bombarded by all that stuff.
- The young gal at the check-in was extremely pleasant, knowledgeable about the local community, seemed to enjoy her job and was very courteous. Quite a contrast to some places in the US where the teenager behind the desk is surly, rude, more interested in studying or talkng on the phone with her girl/boy friend and could care less about the fact that you, the customer, pays her salary.
- Most Canadian drivers understand drive in the right land, pass in the left lane. Although there were times when I was being passed by drivers on both sides, most drivers passed on the left and the got back into the right lane - again a refreshing difference from the US.
Time to quit - my wrists are tired.
Mike
Left Pewaukee at 0630, documented by an ATM withdrawal at the Kiwk Trip. Surprisingly, I wasn't as nervous this time as in trips past and calmy packed the bike and took off.
The drive down Wisconsin and thru Chicago was uneventful. I knew about the construction on the Dan Ryan south of the Loop and at the last second decied to take Lakeshore Drive instead of fighting the construction. Traffic wasn't bad and I was back on the Interstate in good time.
Stopped in Michigan City for gas and continued on to Michigan. Gas again at Imlay City, just west of Port Huron. Some construction congestion around Kalamazoo and Flint, but prpbably nothing like weekdays.
Got the the bridge (Sidebar about the Blue Water Bridge) and into Canada about 1400. The national speed limit in Canada is 100 kph (about 62 mph) and when you're accustomed to driving 75+ in Michigan just to NOT get run over, 62, seems like a snail's pace. I held Tigress down, tho, until I got to Hwy 401, the Macdonald Cartier Freeway, apparently the equivalent of the US Interstate system. If you run at 100 kph on this road, you WILL get run over just like in Michigan - most people are doing well over 120 kph, so I finally forgot about the speedo and tried to stay with the traffic flow. Even so, I got passed a LOT by Canadians doing 10-20 kph faster than me.
It was probably a good thing that I decided to go thru Toronto on an Saturday night. Even though the traffic was fast, I got thru the city pretty easily.
Finally ended up in Belleville, Ont.,, a bit west of Kingston.
Trip stats:
Total miles: 743
Total Time: 12:46
Drive Time: 11:13
Stopped Time: 1:33
Avg diving speed: 66.2 mph
Overall average speed: 58.2 mph
I pushed it a bit today because I want to be in Maine ASAP and be well rested for the start of the main event. There's also an hour time change that I need to adjust for as well.
Other observations:
- There are very few - if any - billboards along the highways in Ontario - refreshing no to be bombarded by all that stuff.
- The young gal at the check-in was extremely pleasant, knowledgeable about the local community, seemed to enjoy her job and was very courteous. Quite a contrast to some places in the US where the teenager behind the desk is surly, rude, more interested in studying or talkng on the phone with her girl/boy friend and could care less about the fact that you, the customer, pays her salary.
- Most Canadian drivers understand drive in the right land, pass in the left lane. Although there were times when I was being passed by drivers on both sides, most drivers passed on the left and the got back into the right lane - again a refreshing difference from the US.
Time to quit - my wrists are tired.
Mike
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Just wait until you hit the strip in Georgia when there's a billboard about every mile for 30 miles advertising some Club Risque. They're not afraid to "Bare All," as EVERY one of their signs mention it at least once.
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