Ottawa, On to Bridgewater, NS via Eastern Quebec and Maine
Ah, the hot (and I mean Hot) and humid (and I mean Humid) days of late summer in Ottawa and Eastern Ontario. Really makes you miss the beaches and fresh salt air of the South Shore of Nova Scotia. However, there is not a snow flake in site, and that is a good thing!
Speaking of weather, due to the hot and humid conditions, pop up thunder showers can, and do, happen with frequency, as I found out in my travels of Eastern Ontario. Riding in this area can be both fun (roads in the Crosby -Perth - Arnprior area being twisty and well maintained, to down right boring (straight line focus for kilometre after kilometre through corn fields and no elevation changes. But, at least the roads are mostly devoid of pot-holes.
Due to the fact that I have been in the area for a month, and have a motorcycle class to teach at CFB Greenwood, it was a good excuse to head for Nova Scotia on the bike instead of some other form of less fun transportation. After all, the bike gets approximately 58 mpg vs 38 -40 mpg by my car. We need to create a smaller carbon footprint, right? My excuse anyway.
Speaking of weather, due to the hot and humid conditions, pop up thunder showers can, and do, happen with frequency, as I found out in my travels of Eastern Ontario. Riding in this area can be both fun (roads in the Crosby -Perth - Arnprior area being twisty and well maintained, to down right boring (straight line focus for kilometre after kilometre through corn fields and no elevation changes. But, at least the roads are mostly devoid of pot-holes.
Due to the fact that I have been in the area for a month, and have a motorcycle class to teach at CFB Greenwood, it was a good excuse to head for Nova Scotia on the bike instead of some other form of less fun transportation. After all, the bike gets approximately 58 mpg vs 38 -40 mpg by my car. We need to create a smaller carbon footprint, right? My excuse anyway.
Leaving the Nepean area at 8:00 EDT (9:00 ADT) should be enough time to allow me to get to my first days destination, Bangor, Me., and sit back and relax a bit before heading out again in the morning.
Ottawa-Carlton route 8 is a straight, and I mean straight, highway beginning at Manotick and ending almost at the provincial highway 417. Highway 417 is a rather non-descriptive route that is a main artery to Montreal, as part of the Trans Canada highway system. Upon entering Quebec, the highway changes numbers to become the 40, which, if you stay on it will go through Montreal and on to Trois Riviere and Quebec. I do not plan on staying on it, but where Highway 40 meets the finally finished Highway 30, I plan to head on the 30 which bypasses Montreal, is not nearly as busy, and thus, less of a danger for a "cageless" rider.
Ottawa-Carlton route 8 is a straight, and I mean straight, highway beginning at Manotick and ending almost at the provincial highway 417. Highway 417 is a rather non-descriptive route that is a main artery to Montreal, as part of the Trans Canada highway system. Upon entering Quebec, the highway changes numbers to become the 40, which, if you stay on it will go through Montreal and on to Trois Riviere and Quebec. I do not plan on staying on it, but where Highway 40 meets the finally finished Highway 30, I plan to head on the 30 which bypasses Montreal, is not nearly as busy, and thus, less of a danger for a "cageless" rider.
The only down side to this is the $2.70 you have to pay as a toll to use the road (worth every penny!!). The road is excellent, and gets you to where you want to go in a hurry. I stayed on the #30 until I came to the #10, and made a right turn here for Sherbrooke. This highway was extremely busy, given that it was a week day and the time was approximately 10:30.
Road construction seems to be everywhere (I really am not a fan of Travaux but really like Fin), but on the positive side, the roads, many which certainly could use a "sprucing up" are being taken care of.
Road construction seems to be everywhere (I really am not a fan of Travaux but really like Fin), but on the positive side, the roads, many which certainly could use a "sprucing up" are being taken care of.
The #10 is basically flat until you start getting close to Magog where there are some slight elevation changes, and the traffic is still fairly heavy, and moving along quite "efficently" if I do say so myself. You have to watch for where the #10 ends and the #55 takes over, and the #610 exits to the right. Take this route (#610) as it is part of bypassing the city of Sherbrooke. This route ends after about 10 minutes at a round-a-bout. Head for Route 112 Ascot Corner and East Angus. Before East Angus, make a right turn ontoDRoute 253 (which takes you by Sherbrooke Airport), going toward Cookshire-Eaton. Once in Cookshire-Eaton (Cookshire), make a left turn at the first set of lights then a right turn 300 metres later onto Route 212 toward La Patrie, Notre-Dame-des-Bois, and Saint Augustin De Woburn (Woburn).
This route, other than several turns, is basically in a straight line. The scenery is fantastic, with the Appalachian mountains surrounding you, and farmers fields in among it. A sad note to this area is in a three kilometre stretch through Notre-Dame-Des-Bois I counted 21 homes for sale, and a number of small businesses closed. As well, most of the people I saw were retired, with few newer homes. It seems that the rural way of life is under siege, no matter what part of the country you are in.
Arriving in Woburn, you stop at the bottom of a long hill (most of the traffic encountered during the trip from Cookshire has been logging trucks heading for the mill at Woburn (lots of wood debris on the road as you get closer. Make a right turn at the stop sign and you are approximately 10 minutes from the border (if you make a left turn, you continue on the Route des Summet, and the scenery just as nice as what you just encountered). Did I mention that the road is pretty good all the way through, and there are areas of construction with fresh paving). The border is interesting as it is a small customs crossing into the U.S. A gate is across the road, and you stop at it, until it is lifted to allow you to approach the customs building. The U.S. Border officials were very friendly and after the customary questioning, were interested in my bike and how it handled. After discussing motorcycling in general and the need for good training, I bid them a safe day and headed down Maine Route 27 through the Carrabassett Valley of North Western Maine. When I travelled through it the first time, the weather closed in and it began to rain torrents from approximately the town of Eustis until I got to Skowhegan, Me. That made it extremely hard to take a look at the countryside and appreciate the surroundings ( it wasn't until I made the return trip through this route that I was able to really appreciate the beauty).
As you travel along, there are many hunting and skiing camps either for sale or for rent. Making use of your natural surroundings ( Sugarloaf Ski Resort is in this area) a good deal of the businesses are designed for the hunter or skier, or for the person who just wants to get away from it all. As in Quebec, there are many logging trucks taking their product to a large mill in the area.
The road from Stratton to Kingfield becomes both the 27 and 16 (don't let that fool you). When you get to Kingfield, turn left, then left again to follow the 16 to North Anson, then the 16 / 201A to Anson and Madison. Turn left over the bridge, which is Main Street in Madison, and stay on this street (Route 148 / 43). It takes you to Route 201, and make a right turn at the lights toward Skowhegan (see map)
The torrential rain (3 hours!) made the ride a bit tricky, and the temperature that was 18 degrees celsius in Ottawa at 8:00 am became 24 in Sherbrooke under sunny skies, to 18 at the Canada / U.S. border, to 15 by the time I got to Kingfield. The rain didn't let up until I was in Skowhagen, and it sky rocketed to 29, and humid! With a full rain kit on, I soon could not tell if I was wet from the rain, or wet from the sweat. My kit must work well as the only areas wet from rain was my collar and my boots just started to let the water seep in.
From Skowhegan, under sunny skies again (thank goodness!) to Bangor, I used Route 2. I could have made better time by catching the I-95 at Newport, but having been on the #2 before, it is more scenic if you are not in a hurry. It also leads me to the motel I was staying at, so it served 2 purposes.
From Skowhegan, under sunny skies again (thank goodness!) to Bangor, I used Route 2. I could have made better time by catching the I-95 at Newport, but having been on the #2 before, it is more scenic if you are not in a hurry. It also leads me to the motel I was staying at, so it served 2 purposes.
The motel was booked through Expedia, and it allowed me to pay in advance, in Canadian dollars vs paying in U.S. dollars when I got there. The savings allowed me to have a good supper, and fill the bike up.
Early up, and it rained last night. Cloudy, dreary, oh great! Leaving Bangor, headed for Route 9, the "Airline Route" through Brewer (which seems to take forever to get through as the speed is mostly 35 and 40 km/h.) On the #9, it is hard to imagine what this road used to be like. It was almost a path through the woods back in the 70's and 80's. Work started on fixing it up in the late 80's and now it is basically like the 100 series roads in Nova Scotia. The trip across was done in a quick manner as it was only prudent that you keep up with the logging trucks, always in a hurry.
Early up, and it rained last night. Cloudy, dreary, oh great! Leaving Bangor, headed for Route 9, the "Airline Route" through Brewer (which seems to take forever to get through as the speed is mostly 35 and 40 km/h.) On the #9, it is hard to imagine what this road used to be like. It was almost a path through the woods back in the 70's and 80's. Work started on fixing it up in the late 80's and now it is basically like the 100 series roads in Nova Scotia. The trip across was done in a quick manner as it was only prudent that you keep up with the logging trucks, always in a hurry.
The border crossing at St. Stephen, through the new border crossing station was a friendly and welcoming, as the border agent and I had common friends in the motorcycle industry in Nova Scotia. Small world.
The rain, ah yes, the rain. A few droplets along NB highway #1 from St. Stephen to Saint John and on to Sussex. At this point, donning the rain gear once again, and for the next four hours, it poured, and I mean poured. Getting gas in Amherst was a bit of a reprieve under a canopy and the rain seemed to let up. Right. No such luck. 5 minutes down the 104 highway and the skies opened up once again. Outside of Oxford, I pulled over to the side of the road along with most other cars. everyone had a roof over their heads except me. While almost all cars and trucks were stopped, I took the opportunity, for the lack of another word, to get moving again knowing that 3 - 4 km up the road was an overpass for the old #4 / 104 and the toll section. For the next 1/2 hour I stayed under that overpass, and relaxed, eating the lunch I had made in the morning. The rain never stopped until I finally got to the junction of the 102 and 118 highways outside of Halifax.
Overall, by the time I got to Bridgewater, I had ridden in over 7 hours of rain, most of it hard rain, and even stopped for it for over 1/2 hour.
Although the rain slowed my progress, "Stella", my Honda ST1300 was flawless and handled extremely well in the conditions. As I always have, the Michelin tires gave great grip and works well with the handling of the ST1300.
In returning to Ottawa / Nepean a week later, the weather was fantastic the whole way. Not a rain drop in site! I traversed the same route, with one exception I went via the Digby - Saint John ferry of Bay Ferries. Cost - $100 for both me and the bike. Worth every penny. The staff on the ferry was very helpful and made sure we had tie downs for the 15 bikes heading across (I always carry my own), and a staff member stayed close to the bikes to make sure no one bothered them or nothing happened. Great service! The ferry also allowed us to get together and gab and swap stories, some true, on the way across.
The rain, ah yes, the rain. A few droplets along NB highway #1 from St. Stephen to Saint John and on to Sussex. At this point, donning the rain gear once again, and for the next four hours, it poured, and I mean poured. Getting gas in Amherst was a bit of a reprieve under a canopy and the rain seemed to let up. Right. No such luck. 5 minutes down the 104 highway and the skies opened up once again. Outside of Oxford, I pulled over to the side of the road along with most other cars. everyone had a roof over their heads except me. While almost all cars and trucks were stopped, I took the opportunity, for the lack of another word, to get moving again knowing that 3 - 4 km up the road was an overpass for the old #4 / 104 and the toll section. For the next 1/2 hour I stayed under that overpass, and relaxed, eating the lunch I had made in the morning. The rain never stopped until I finally got to the junction of the 102 and 118 highways outside of Halifax.
Overall, by the time I got to Bridgewater, I had ridden in over 7 hours of rain, most of it hard rain, and even stopped for it for over 1/2 hour.
Although the rain slowed my progress, "Stella", my Honda ST1300 was flawless and handled extremely well in the conditions. As I always have, the Michelin tires gave great grip and works well with the handling of the ST1300.
In returning to Ottawa / Nepean a week later, the weather was fantastic the whole way. Not a rain drop in site! I traversed the same route, with one exception I went via the Digby - Saint John ferry of Bay Ferries. Cost - $100 for both me and the bike. Worth every penny. The staff on the ferry was very helpful and made sure we had tie downs for the 15 bikes heading across (I always carry my own), and a staff member stayed close to the bikes to make sure no one bothered them or nothing happened. Great service! The ferry also allowed us to get together and gab and swap stories, some true, on the way across.
I stayed in Bangor again, arriving at approximately 3:15 EDT. My regret is that I did not travel farther the first day, to make my second day trip quicker. As it was, I was back in Nepean by 2:43, having achieved warp speed in some locations apparently.
As a note, having a bike that gets over 450 km per tank full, at a fast rate of speed, makes getting from point A to point B a bit faster. However, my posterior makes more determinations for me than gas mileage.
Overall, I would recommend to anyone on a bike to try this route, and take an extra day or so to enjoy the scenery. You won't be disappointed.
As a note, having a bike that gets over 450 km per tank full, at a fast rate of speed, makes getting from point A to point B a bit faster. However, my posterior makes more determinations for me than gas mileage.
Overall, I would recommend to anyone on a bike to try this route, and take an extra day or so to enjoy the scenery. You won't be disappointed.