6/11/22

I actually got a halfway decent night's sleep at the Rodeway Motel in Greater Sudbury, Ontario. I crossed 30,000 miles on the GS yesterday and totally forgot to take a photo. I packed up the bike and went to the local coffee shop to start the day.

I rode about 190 miles to Sault Saint Marie, a city sitting on the St. Mary River. I pulled into a coffee shop for a light lunch. I contemplated stopping here for a stay with a Bunk a Biker host because of some rain coming on the radar. But it was only 2:30pm and I still had a lot of daylight to ride through and I took a guess that the rain was going to be light and I continued on.

I was anticipating rain and was already wearing the rain liner of my pants since the morning. I zipped up the rain liner to my jacket in the parking lot before I mounted the bike and continued up to coast north. It was drizzling a few minutes after I was on the road. It then continued to a light rain for the next two hours. Riding in the rain can be nerve wracking. There are hundreds of stories of what can happen with a motorcycle in the rain. But I've learn to just roll with it. I've been caught in so many rain storms that it doesn't phase me much unless visibility gets really bad. That's when I think it gets dangerous. Otherwise, you just keep the throttle steady, don't lean the bike over too much, don't brake too hard, extend your braking distance and just dial everything down 20%.

Along the Trans Canada Highway, i found this pull off near the Montreal River Harbour.

About 50 miles further north, I saw a sign for a scenic stop and without thinking too much about it, I pulled off the highway and onto a little road that leads to parking lot revealing the most incredible sight of this rainy day: Old Woman Bay.

I walked along the beach for a bit trying to enjoy the sight but the cold winds were whipping me back on the road. About 20 miles up the coast, I entered Wawa and found this giant goose.

Wawa is the Ojibwe word for wild goose. I was tempted to keep going for another hour or two since it doesn't get dark until 9:30 this far north. But my boots and socks are the only non-rain proof part of my kit. My feet have been wet for hours now and I got a decent price on a local motel from the Priceline app (sponsor me!) So I decided to stop for the night and dry my feet.

Wawa is a very sleepy town. I thought it would be some sort of seaside tourist town but except for the drinking and yelling bikers in the bar below my hotel window, it is dead quiet. This street is ready for a duel:

With this rain and cold weather, I was craving some hot soup. The only game in town was a Chinese restaurant across from the motel. It doesn't matter where you are in the world, there's always a Chinese restaurant in some desolate town. So after some hot and sour soup in my system, I am ready for tomorrow's ride into Thunder Bay.