DAY #5 - Crossing the Border into Canada

Today was Sunday, August 13th and it was a beautiful sunny day. I covered 558 miles in about 11 hours. So far I have ridden 3,303 miles and tomorrow I should hit the Second Corner in Madawaska, Maine.

SOUTHERN MICHIGAN

I left the hotel a bit later than I had originally planned because it was a short night. It was in the upper fifties so I started out with the leather jacket and some light protection for my neck. This served me well as I was comfortable. When I would get tired, I would open the vents in the jacket and that would keep me from overheating and reinvigorate me. Much of the area I covered in Southern Michigan was a familiar route for me. In the early 70's, I covered much of it when I traveled between Wurtsmith AFB in Oscoda to visit our family back in NW Indiana when I got a long weekend off. The trips back then were straight thru with one stop in Lansing to grab a bite to eat and I could make it home in 7 hours. It started taking 8 hours when my daughter Angela got old enough and required us to stop more.

As I was driving today, I also recalled spending a week or two each summer at our "adopted" Aunt Mary's in Ceresco which is just west of Battle Creek. My grandfather, John McCallum, was a Baptist minister and was assigned there. Mary and my mother became very close when they were growing up together. We were never allowed as kids to call adults by their first name so it was always Mister or Missus or  called Uncle or Aunt. While she still had the farm, we would camp out in the back 40-acres in a wooded area that was on the Kalamzoo River. We would get up early and watch the hired hands milk the cows and then play in the fields in the afternoon. Later in life, Aunt Mary sold the farm and built a home on the northwestern corner of the property. The town had a small dam which my mom would cross over when going to school. I looked at Google Maps while I was planning this trip and discovered that the dam is no longer there. I thought about stopping when I was planning this trip but decided against that since this trip is all about keeping a tight schedule.

CROSSING THE BORDER INTO CANADA

Stolen from the Internet

I crossed the border around 11:30 AM and there were only 5-6 cars ahead of me. I got through in around 10 minutes or so. While I was waiting in line, I switched my GPS over to the metric system. It has a small section on the lower-left screen that shows the speed that I am travelling. This eliminated a laminated card that I had originally planned to help convert their speed limits to MPH. I learned that their 100 KM/H limit is more a "suggestion rather than a rule". Most traffic is going somewhere in the 120-125 range which is our normal rate of 75-80 MPH. I stopped at noon and got gas and had lunch at one of the Tim Horton restaurants. I had forgotten that this is the Canadian version of Starbucks, which also exists.

I started to get drowsy as the afternoon and decided to get off the highway and find a place to rest. There was a small park with some shade and when I pulled the bike in, I had the front wheel turned and hit the front brake too hard and when the bike stopped it dropped to the side and threw me off. The only thing hurt was my pride. The bike weighs in at about 1,000 pounds, so it is more that I can lift by myself. A nice couple on a motorcycle stopped and helped me get the bike upright and positioned on more level ground. We chatted for a few minutes and I gave them one of the cards I had made so that they could visit this blog. I realized later that I should have gotten a picture with them but failed to do so. They told me of a way to bypass traffic on the 401 in Toronto by using the 407 Toll Road because of the stop-and-go nature going through the city. I had to redirect the GPS to avoid a planning point I had put on the 401 in the downtown area. After doing that, it calculated a new route that got me to my destination efficiently. I owe this couple a lot, not just for helping me get the bike upright but the tip to avoid the traffic in Toronto. This saved me nearly an hour of painful traffic and made the day enjoyable.

The Canadian "400" highways are equivalent to our Interstate highways. Like I mentioned before, no one drives the speed limit here. They have these "En Route" plazas on the highway where you can get gas or visit the food court which always includes a Tim Horton'a as well as a Starbucks. They are very busy places. At one, I picked up some gum and candies that I could grab when I got tired.

KINGSTON, ONTARIO

Kingston is a Canadian city on Lake Ontario, at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. I arrived at the hotel at 6:30 PM and got checked into the hotel. Fortunately, there was a sports bar next door so I had dinner there and watched the end of the Cub's game and NFL highlights. I realized that I did not take any pictures of the trip, so here is one of the rib dinner that was delicious. I was starved and it was good food. I will be staying at this same hotel on Tuesday when I return.

I got to bed around 10:30 PM and woke up before the alarm so that I could finish this posting and get ready for Day #6.

WHAT'S NEXT

I will spend most of the day following the St. Lawrence Seaway and bypassing the Montreal city area. I plan on checking into the hotel in Edmundston, New Brunswick and dropping off my stuff before heading across the border to Madawaska to complete this leg of the trip.