Motorcycle Riding across Canada, Coast to Coast, round trip. touring travel adventure vridetv.com

2006 Motorcycle Ride Across Canada, Coast to Coast, Round Trip

We originally planned to start our trip in the middle of July but that changed after a phone call in early April from our friend that was going to be house and pet-sitting. He said he was unable to do it because he was going to move to California in the beginning of June to be with his girlfriend. We were happy for them but at the same time faced with the problem of no house/pet sitter. Having someone move into our house and take care of our kids, (our dog and two cats) is a huge thing to ask of anyone. Therefore, Diane and I decided that I would do the trip by myself and she would stay home. After digesting the recent turn of events I thought, if he isn't leaving until June we could both go if we left next week. I called him and he agreed but suggested that we not leave until the beginning of May which would give us a little more time to get ready and hopefully have better weather. He then called his girlfriend and explained that he would be arriving a couple of weeks late so that we could leave for our trip. Very cool of them both...

Now, instead of 3 months to prepare for our trip, we only had three weeks. Fortunately, the majority of the equipment had already been acquired and organized prior to this new schedule.

Our plan was to ride to Cape Spear, Newfoundland in relatively the most direct route, in the least amount of time, and as safely as possible. On the return trip we would to take more time to explore as many tourist attractions as possible.

Map of Route

June 7th:

Arriving at the most Eastern point in Canada, and North America. Cape Spear, Newfoundland.
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Diane and I rode to the most western point of the Trans-Canada Highway, Mile "0" at Beacon Hill Park located in Victoria, British Columbia. Returning to our home in Langley later that day.

We left Grand Falls and rode to Cape Spear. We arrived at the most Eastern point in North America, Cape Spear, Newfoundland.

(430 kilometers)

Left Niagara Falls and rode to the most Southern point in Canada, Point Pelee National Park, Ontario. We caught the last tram of the night that takes you to the "tip of Canada". We left Point Pelee at 7:00pm and rode to Sarnia where we spent the night.

I left Carlyle with 114 kilometers to ride in the pitch black on highway #13 riding towards an impressive light show. Soon I was in the middle of a thunder and lightning storm with extremely heavy rain and at one point hail. The funny thing was, had it not been for my mistake earlier I wouldn't be in this situation.

June 25th: Left Jasper and rode the Icefields Parkway Highway 93. This stretch of road is amazing

and in my opinion the crowning jewel of Canada. Jasper National Park, the Columbia Icefields, Banff National Park, Saskatchewan River Crossing, Lake Louise and Banff are some of the most beautiful and scenic places I have ever seen. At the end of the day I was in Radium Hot Springs and spent the night there.

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Trip

Timeline:

The next few days were spent mounting video camera equipment and packing and re-packing until only the bare essentials were on the bike. (no chase vehicles were used, we were unassisted)

May 2nd: All packed up ready to go, pulled the bike out of the garage and discover a nail in the rear tire. It was short notice but I.T.C found a set of tires and they were installed courtesy of Hawgzotic Customs Cycles.

May 3rd: The trip officially begins, we left Langley, British Columbia and rode to Three Valley Gap, B.C.

May 4th: Leave Three Valley Gap to Strathmore Alberta.

May 5th: Strathmore to Moose Jaw Saskatchewan. (As we're checking into the hotel the clerk said it was snowing yesterday)

May 6th: Left Moose Jaw and rode to Weyburn Saskatchewan and stayed with family. (149 kms)

May 7th: We left Weyburn and rode to Winnipeg Manitoba and stayed with more family.

May 8th: Visited with family and friends in Winnipeg and Selkirk.

May 9th: Plans to leave canceled due to heavy wind warnings. A Tornado touches down 90 kilometers South of us. (more visiting with family and friends)

May 10th: Winnipeg, Manitoba to Ignace, Ontario.

Approximately 30km East of Winnipeg we were surprised to see a house being moved on the Trans Canada Highway.

May 11th: We got up early, checked the weather channel and it's -1c and -8 with the wind chill in Ignace and there are snow and freezing rain warnings between Thunder Bay and Nippigon. We decide to ride as far as Thunder Bay and wait out the storm. (235 kilometers)

May 12th: Thunder Bay (+3c with -2 wind chill) Check the Weather channel at 8:47am and there are freezing rain and ice pellet warnings for the Nippigone area. Decide to wait out the storm. Pool, hot tub, do our laundry, etc.

May 13th: When I woke up with my left ear plugged, and my equilibrium was off. I've had swimmer's ear before so I knew to go to the doctor and get the ear canal flushed out. We didn't leave Thunder Bay until 2:00pm so we rode to White River, Ontario. (170 kilometers)

May 14th: White River to Sudbury, Ontario. (610 kilometers)

May 15th: Sudbury to Ottawa, Ontario. (490 kilometers)

May 16th: Ottawa to Montagmy, Quebec.

May 17th: Montagmy to Edmundston, New Brunswick.

May 18th: Edmundston to Moncton, New Brunswick.

Motorcycle riding in heavy rain on the Trans Canada Highway #2, between Grand Falls and Aroostook, New Brunswick.

May 19th: Moncton, New Brunswick to Sydney, Cape Breton Island.

May 20th: Sydney to North Sydney and catch the 2:00pm Ferry to Port Aux Basques, Newfoundland. Normally it's a six hour crossing, it turned into a seven and a half hour "Adventure" because of a big storm with hurricane force winds. We were both extremely sea sick to say the least.

May 21st: Today is my eight year anniversary to my accident. We leave Port Aux Basques, at our first gas stop in Doyles a man tells us that the road we just traveled on was closed yesterday because of the storm. Apparently the winds were so strong through a notorious area called Wreakhouse, that a semi transport truck was literally picked up and thrown into the ditch. No skid marks! We rode to Grand Falls and spent the night. (476 kilometers)

May 22nd:

May 23rd: Dropped the bike off at Cycle City in St. John's for a new set of tires and an oil change. While staying with friends in Paradise, they took us on tours of the area. We went to Signal Hill, home of the Cabot Tower where Guglielmo Marconi received the first Trans Atlantic wireless message from Poldhu, Cornwall, England. (it was the letter "S" in Morse Code) From there we went to Cape Spear National Historic Site. We explored the WW2 bunkers and saw both the new and old lighthouses. While standing at the very edge, of the most Eastern Point in North America, I felt an incredible sense of serenity...

On the way back to Paradise we stopped off at the fish mongers and bought lobster for supper. It was the best lobster Diane and I have ever had! We all ate until we could eat no more.

May 24th: Picked up the bike and rode to the most Eastern point of the Trans Canada Highway. Afterwards fish and chips on the beach, then back to Paradise and dropped off the bike. Our friends were taking us on a tour en route to a traditional dinner of "Fish and Brews" at another friend's house.

May 25th: Friends took us on another tour to Logy Bay, Outer Cove and Middle Cove. We were then taken to "the Gut" where we were "screeched in" at the "Quidi Vidi Inn of the Olde" That night back at Paradise, we were treated to another traditional supper, a "Jiggs Dinner".

May 26th: Packed the bike up and rode back to Cape Spear to start the journey home

from the most Eastern point. Our friends followed us there and taped us as we left Cape Spear and rode through St. John's, and to the first gas stop out of town. We said our goodbyes there and thanked them for their incredible hospitality.

We rode to Grand Falls and spent the night there. (428 kilometers)

May 27th: The Weather channel reported that heavy rain and Wind Warnings were issued for the infamous Wreakhouse area. We left Grand falls and rode to Deer Lake and called the hotel in Port Aux Basques and asked for an update on the conditions for Wreakhouse. Rain and wind warnings were still issued, said to check back later. We did from Cornerbrook and the conditions were the same and suggested to stay put and wait it out and try again in the morning. We decided to ride to Stephensville and spend the night there, the ferry we wanted to catch was leaving at 12 o'clock the following day.

(335 kilometers)

May 28th: Check the weather channel and the warnings had been lifted. We left Stephensville at 8:00am and headed to Port Aux Basques. (166 kilometers) We boarded the MV Lief Erickson and had better weather for our crossing this time. Spent the night in North Sydney.

May 29th: We left North Sydney in the rain and headed towards Harris Mountain then to Englishtown where a small cable ferry shuttled us across the river to beginning of the famous Cabot trail. The Cabot Trail is a motorcycle enthusiasts dream, windy roads and spectular scenery. The rain stopped at Ingonish and we removed and dried it at a point of interest in Cape Breton Highlands National Park overlooking Pleasant Bay. We were there for approximately 45 minutes and the weather turned from blue sky and sunny, to grey and threatening. We packed our rain gear and tried to out run the storm that was rapidly approaching. The day ended with an beautiful sunset at Inverness, Cape Breton Island.

May 30th: Left Inverness, C.B.I. with blue sky and sunshine and rode to Shad Bay,Nova Scotia.

May 31st: We left Shad Bay at 9:30am and rode to Peggy's Cove, then we were off to Lunenburg for lunch. We would have liked to stay longer in both places but had to press on. From there we rode to the Confederation Bridge and arrived in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island just before dark.

June 1st: Spent the day touring around the Island, visiting Provincial Parks and as many tourist attractions as we could squeeze in. Rustico, Rusticoville, North Rustico & North Rustico Harbour

June 2nd: Packed up the bike and headed to the Birth place of Confederation, Province House. Then back over the Confederation Bridge. On the New Brunswick side there is a road that takes you under the bridge. We stopped there for picture and found ourselves in awe of the structure. We decided to go ride back over it! Now back at the P.E.I. toll booth, the lady was surprised to see us again, and enjoyed our enthusiasm over something she sees daily. Around 6:00pm we were in Hartland New Brunswick crossing the Worlds longest covered bridge. The day ended at Grand Falls New,Brunswick.

June 3rd: We left Grand Falls and headed towards the rain clouds and had to stopped under an overpass to put on our rain gear near Edmunston Shortly after we crossed into Quebec a bird hit me in the shoulder. It felt as if I was punched! We stayed in Quebec City that night.

(I'll post a slow motion clip of it at a later time)

June 4th: Left the hotel all packed up and headed to Old Quebec City for a little sight seeing. We would have liked to spend more time there as there was so much to see. A very beautiful place rich in history. From there we rode to Old Montreal, did some sight seeing and had dinner at the famous Schwarts Deli. Left Montreal and rode to Ottawa. It was a full day, when we checked into our hotel around 10:00pm.

June 5th: Loaded the bike up and went to the Parliament buildings. It wasn't long before we saw a horse drawn carriage tour and that prompted us to check into a hotel and spend a full day sight seeing in our nations capital. Taking the Horse drawn carriage tour is highly recommended. We saw all the Embassies, museums, art galleries and all the major tourist attractions while our guide gave us historical details of what we were seeing. Later that night we had dinner at an revolving restaurant and watched the sunset over the city.

June 6th: Left Ottawa and rode to Niagara Falls. (530 kilometers)

June 8th: Leave Sarnia at 6:50 am to make sure we allow enough time to catch the ferry at Tobermory. From there it's an 1.75 hour crossing to South Baymouth. We then rode to Sault Ste. Marie and spent the night there. (860 kilometers)

June 9th: Left Sault Ste. Marie and rode to Thunder Bay. (690 kilometers)

June 10th: Rode to the Terry Fox Monument in Thunder Bay, then to Kenora and spent the night there. (480 kilometers)

June 11th: Kenora to Winnipeg and visited family and friends.

June 12th: Dropped bike off at Lonestar Harley-Davidson in Winnipeg for a new set of tires.

June 13th: Caught up on some laundry and rest. Later visited with family and friends.

June 14th: At 3:30 am I got up with Diane as she got ready to fly home because our friend was moving to California on the 16th.I picked up my bike Around 3:30pm and left Winnipeg at 5:00pm. It was late in the day but I had plans to go fishing with my uncle in Weyburn Saskatchewan the following day. I wasn't about to miss the chance to fish in the very same spot that I had with my Grandfather many years ago. Things were going smoothly until I left Carlyle Saskatchewan on Highway 9 instead of Highway 13. I didn't realize this for 45 kilometers. Now I had to ride back to Carlyle and try to get there before the gas station closed. I made it with about 10 minutes to spare. I had called my uncle from here an hour earlier and now I had to phone back and told him what happened. He had a good laugh and told me that a thunder and lightning storm had just started in Weyburn.

June 15th: Last night's storm was challenging but fishing at Nickle Lake today made it all worth while...

June 16th: Spent the day visiting family and driving around the Weyburn area, reliving childhood memories of many summers spent there. It was here my grand-parents bought me my first minibike when I was seven.

June 17th: Cleaned bike, packed and rested up.

June 18th: Left Weyburn in the wind and rain and rode to Roleau, home of TV's Corner Gas. From there I rode to Saskatoon and spent the night with family. (428 kilometers)

June 19th: My aunt and uncle took me on a tour of Saskatoon.

June 20th: Left Saskatoon in the pouring rain and rode to Edmonton where I stayed with family.

June 21st: My aunt took me on a tour of Edmonton and Fort Edmonton Historical site.

June 22nd: Visited with Family

June 23rd: Stayed an extra day in order to avoid a storm. (by doing this I had blue sky and sunshine all the way home.)

June 24th: Blue skies and sunshine as I left Edmonton and rode to the Jasper Park Lodge where I had a swim and dropped off my gear. I then rode to Medicine Lake and Maligne Lake.

June 26th: Rode from Radium Hot Springs to Ainsworth Hot Springs, British Columbia.

June 27th: Left Ainsworth Hot Spring and rode to Langley, B.C. Home sweet home...

Our sincere thanks goes to the friends and family that opened up their homes to us where we enjoyed their company, home cooked meals and the opportunity to sleep in a home, instead of a hotel.

Special thanks goes to our friend that stayed at our house and took care of our dog and two cats. It was a great piece of mind knowing you were there and taking care of "our kids".

A big thank you to all...

April 27th:

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It was an incredible journey riding across the second largest country in the world. We are very grateful to have been able to have experienced this great country of ours and look forward to doing it all over again. Until then we will continue to film our rides and share them with you.

Jeff & Diane.

We are very grateful to have had the opportunity to do this trip. The scenery was spectacular and the people we met were both friendly and accommodating, Diane and I are very proud to be Canadian. The total distance traveled was 18,786 kilometers. I look forward to doing it again...