Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Eastern Canada Loop: SUMMARY

Sitting here in front of the laptop in my childhood home in Ohio, reflecting on the Trans Labrador Trail ride and the loop thru eastern Canada, am much more satisfied than disappointed with the ride itself. Every ride has its ups and downs, the "oh hell" and the bliss moments.

Every day is a fresh beginning with a world we have never seen before opening in front of our eyes. We call it adventure riding, maybe we should call it new horizons riding.

Like every ride, this one too had its ups and downs. Here are a few:

UPSIDE:

Reconfirming my belief there are great people waiting to be met everywhere in the world.

Safely completing then checking the Trans Labrador Trail off my riding bucket list...



Meeting friendly fellow motorcyclists in every state and province...



Seeing parts of Canada I have never been to before...



Riding three weeks straight without having to don my rain suit...



Capturing some memory photos along the way. Still have to edit them though...



Had a few new and unique sightings, experiences...








DOWNSIDE:

Sunburn neck and forearms riding across Louisiana then up the Natchez Trace Parkway...

Stranded in Nova Scotia for four days... after shredding the rear tire...



Rear wheel bearing failure (again) in Maine...

Massive number of black flies in Labrador. 
When you opened your mouth, they would fly in...


All camping spots taken in Canadian National Parks. They were booked up months in advance, while I did not know where I would be from night to night... 


Unchanging scenery for miles and miles crossing unpopulated Labrador... not bad, got boring.

So many tourists in Alma, New Brunswick near Fundy Nat Park on the Saturday I arrived.  Could not even find a safe place to park so I could take photos of the grounded shrimp boats at low tide...


Canada was more expensive than anticipated... or maybe was what I was ordering...


 Overall was a great experience out riding the horizon to new destinations on new roads with Damit, my three wheel mule.

Thank you Canada for allowing Damit and I to see and meet your great country. We'll be back next summer to visit your western provinces.

Am very glad and thankful to be alive and still able to pursue my dreams, 
riding the horizon on this beautiful planet we live.

Next month we start a new adventure..... till then...

Nite All
CCjon











10 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing your ride, impressions, and great pics.

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  2. Dick, thanks for following along. Every day we can ride is a day to celebrate.

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  3. Thank you for sharing this journey with us. The ups and downs, and all arounds :) Be prepared for big hugs when you get back.

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    1. Am looking forward to being back home... for a day or two. The off again... Though the big storm is delaying my return.

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  4. Hi CCjon, so do you think you have the rear wheel bearing thing figured out for future rides? Neat pic of the helicopter carrying what looks like some kind of radio tower....

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    1. Dom, I plan to pull the rear wheel and check the bearings when I get home. So far they seem to be smooth. Am thinking the bearing was not properly seated in Houston originally.

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  5. Jon it was a pleasure to meet you at the rally. I enjoyed your trip. Thank you for sharing.

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    1. Dave it was my pleasure to meet both the Hockenberry's in Corning. Hope to see you in Rising Sun next year.

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  6. Found some links to your site and travels over on DRRiders, plan on reading all I can about your adventures. Lived all my life (but 3 years) in New Brunswick, so every time I read about someone's travels in my area, I hone right on that segment. Yes, Alma is crazy busy in the summer...but they have to cash in on the tourist dollars when they can. October rolls around and you could run your rig right down the sidewalk at 100km/h. Shediac and St Andrews are similar.
    And not to be that guy, but they're lobster boats not shrimp boats, in case you wanted to make a quick edit. ;-)

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    1. Andrew, welcome aboard!. Hey, I welcome all comments and corrections. Accurate information is valued here.

      I could see the lobster boats sitting high and dry but no safe place to leave the rig so I could wander around looking for a good photo spot. Not with all the gear I was carrying. Sounds like a good excuse to return.

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