Day 5

I awoke at 7:00 this morning after a great night of rest, and packed up all my stuff. I had booked two nights in Thunder Bay as I was thinking of getting some more stuff done on the bike, but changed my mind and checked out of the room. It was a very expensive night, $153, but the hotel is basically across the street from Thunder Bay HD. I arrived at the shop about 10 minutes early and chatted with two of the techs that were outside having a smoke before their work day began.

After they got all the info from me, I walked down the street to find a place to eat breakfast. It was a nice meal of bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, and toast to put some fuel in my tank. Once the food was gone I ambled back to the Harley shop, and sat down to look at the map for a while. Since I was hoping to get out of Thunder Bay by lunch, I was looking forward to getting some decent miles in yet in the afternoon. When they finished with my bike I was very happy to hear that I had taken it in and gotten the tire replaced even though I could have squeezed a little more out of it. There had been a nail in the old tire, and it wasn't leaking yet, but at some point it very well could have. Not sure where I would have picked it up, or how long it had been in there.

At almost exactly 12pm I pointed the front wheel east, happy to get back on the road. It didn't take long before I finally got my first look at Lake Superior. I knew it was big, it does look big on a map, but it's REALLY big! I feel so blessed to be able to live the dream of long distance motorcycle travel, and to see all the wonderful sights North America has to offer.

The sky was overcast and it was another cool morning, but there was no rain so I was happy. I keep forgetting to buy some sunscreen, so maybe the lack of sunshine was a blessing in disguise. The scenery was much nicer today than the last few days, with many different looks of the lake to my right. 

Just west of Terrace Bay, I pulled off to take a look at the Aquasabon Falls. It was a nice little walk, a good chance to stretch the legs a little. As I got back to the bike, a couple pulled up behind me on a Harley as well. I had seen them a ways back, and the first thing the guy asked was if I was from around here. I said no, I'm from Alberta, which was met by a blank stare. The guys wife bailed him out, saying it was also in Canada. Turns out he needed a little help with the metric conversions, which I was happy to assist with. We chatted for a while, and then I left as they went to look at the falls.

We leapfrogged a few times after that, they're headed to the Niagara Falls so it's possible I'll see them again. The sun came out after that stop, which made the last half of the day's ride a little nicer. The last few hours takes one away from Lake Superior a little, and it was similar scenery as yesterday.

Having seen good reviews on the Parkway Motel just south of Wawa, I figured I would check it out. It's a perfect little motel, old fashioned but neat and clean. The Trip Advisor app is really great for finding hidden gems like this, makes the whole experience so enjoyable as I actually prefer motels like this. It's like going back in time a little, except for the whole wi-fi/blogging thing!

I rode into Wawa after checking in, and all day the name seemed familiar for some reason. As I rode in, there was a sign saying it was the hometown of Chris Simon. He was one of my favorite players for the Colorado Avalanche back in the day. Had a quick supper, and then headed back to the motel. Wouldn't you know, the same couple I ran into earlier has a room right beside mine. As the guy said, great minds think alike (in more ways than one, he's got a beard the size mine was before I shaved and started the new one).

Only 7 hours on the road today, with 516km on the clock. I've travelled 3630km so far, with approximately 2400 to get to Halifax, so I'm at least well on the way. The bike has been running great, and the gas mileage is better than I thought at 48.3mpg/5.8L/100 (40.2mpg for the Americans reading this). Time to sign off, this post got wordy in a hurry!

Terry Fox memorial, his run ended a little east of here. For those of you that don't know his story, Google it, very inspirational!

When that little green 6 on the speedometer is lit, all is right with the world!

You would love it here Mom, it's so peaceful since it's just south of town. Nothing but the birds and squirrels with the occassional vehicle passing on the highway. It will be a perfect place to spend the night.