Diary 1

Photos
24 June

It's going to be hot. Were giving the bikes a rest for the day.
'Falling Water' is about 4 hours drive from Brad & Jackie's. Neither Nicole or I have seen it and both are keen to visit.
It is a rather stunning and amazing house.

25 June

All the dry riding so far has been in the mid 20s but today's looking like the first hotter riding day.
From State College PA to Ontario. It's a full days ride (Maybe 400 miles - I'm not recording mileage's).
We effectively retraced the roads we took coming south so no detailed route description.
It hit the mid 30s by late morning and didn't drop till we started running along side Lake Ontario mid afternoon.
We could have done the trip faster but we really had to stop every 50 odd miles to take more water on board.
At 3 ish I spotted a shop with the magic words out side.
"Ice Cream"
So we stopped & sat in the shade for half an hour.

Crossed the bridge over the St Lawrence at Ogdensburg to be told by Canadian customs that we were heading for thunder storms. Said my goodbyes to Nicole just outside Customs and headed up the 416 (we will meet again).
We ran through about half a mile of rain before I turned off for Kempville and Nicole continued towards Ottawa.

I am quite humbled by the friendliness and warmth of the people I've met.
I've met and stayed with more good people in the first 2 weeks of this trip that I usually meet in a normal holiday.
Maybe it's something to do with the type of trip this is, I've looked for folks and asked around, rather than booking accommodation in advance. Certainly the fact I've got my bike makes it a bike trip and bike folks are always friendly. (If you don't ride then a) shame on you and b) friendliness is the norm among bike folks, I just haven't experienced this level).

26 June

Hot in Ontario.
The Givi box lock is now fixed.

Picnic with Doug's folks by the side of the canal.
We watched an osprey with chicks and I got a lesson in poison ivy.
(Not by being 'bitten' just how to recognise it, how it affects you and how you can spread the oil)
Nasty stuff. Apparently the Indians, when attacked, would build a bonfire and throw the stuff on. The attackers would breath the fumes, get the oil in their lungs and die. Nasty nasty stuff.

27 June

It's hot again (but I feel this will be the norm rather than the exception)
Got the top 3 items on my shopping list. Chain oil, inflatable pillow and sun cream. The beer was an added bonus.

I'm heading south tomorrow. Starting the run to DC to see Joyce.
I'll head for the Adirondack Mountains and camp there first night..
This will be the beginning of the 'riding solo and camping' trip, so I feel I need to prepare properly. Loin my girds so to speak.
I think I'll spend the afternoon with a beer and a guitar, then have a nap.

It's a tough life...

28 June

It is actually tough when it's 40 C.
The display in the town said 104F.
The VFR was displaying 50C at the lights. I don't think the VFR can display anything higher. It was displaying 50 and flashing.

Mix the temperature with the fact that this is mosquito country and I'm not camping.

I got a number of mosquito bites last night in exactly the wrong places (Well OK they could be worse but I'm very careful when I piss outside). Two on my left knee, one at the top and one at the bottom of the kneecap - just where the leathers meet flesh. The worst one is on the back of my leg just where the top of my sock reaches - and with the boots and leathers I can't have the sock bunched round my ankle. That one is now a 2 x 3 inch lump.
Nice.

It occurs to me that I should include helpful hints for anyone thinking of doing this themselves.
I'll label them HH and here's the first one.
HH1 - A shower jell/shampoo is a good idea. You really do only take one bottle into the shower BUT get one with a screw top not one with a flip top. Don't ask how long it took to get the taste out of my tooth brush !

29 June

Still heading south. Better weather & good roads.