Day 1: Montreal, QC - Kitchener, ON - 633 KM
Last few days in Montreal have been quite hectic. We finally left from Mihai's place on Thursday, October 18th at 2 PM, having each slept about 2 or 3 hours the night before. Right away we got stuck in a massive traffic jam on the way out of town, a kick in the nuts goodbye from our city. It will definetely be nice to get away from the maze of orange cones for a little while. Although it was a warm 19 deg. C when we left, by the time we reached Kingston, ON, the weather turned foul: it got cold, rainy and windy. The riding was challenging, as the visibility was piss poor. We finally checked in in our ghetto motel in Kitchener, ON, at 2 AM.
Day 2: Kitchener, ON - Joliet, IL - 773 KM
The second day started late, since we could get ourselves out of bed before 10 AM. After spending some additional time messing with the carburetor on Mihai's bike, we were back on the 401 only by noon. Soon it started raining again, and that continued for the rest of the day. If it wasn't for the heated vests and grips (in addition to the many layers of clothing), we would have been absolutely miserable. We crossed the border in Detroit, and finished our day in Joliet, IL.
The easy access to wifi has been very helpful so far. Since we were never sure how far we would make it on a given day, we would ride until about 7PM, and then stop at a McDonald's to book a hotel for the night, 2-3 hours riding distance further west.
Day 3: Joliet, IL - Grand Island, NE - 945 KM
Finally a dry day. It started off very cold (5 deg. C), but warmed up quite a bit later during the day. All in all a good day, even though the american mid-west is quite boring to ride. Long straight highways and agicultural land for hundreds of kilometers. It can be at times difficult to stay awake. The trick is to avoid large meals, and maintain a regular input of caffeine. We soon established that beef jerky and coffee/redbull is the perfect combo for these long days of riding.
Beautiful day for riding. More beef jerky and coffee every 250 KM (our standard distance between breaks). We arrived in Denver right before sunset, and decided that we would cross the rockies that same night. We began our ascent on hwy 70, up to 3300m above sea level. Although the weather was nice and warm in Denver that evening (probably close to 20 deg. C), an hour later we were once again freezing our asses off in the mountains, but this time worse than ever. Fortunately this lasted for only about 2.5 hours, until we reached Glenwood Springs, where we had booked our hotel earlier that evening.
Day 5: Glenwood Springs, CO - Moab, UT - 320 KM
Another sunny day, although the strong wind made the ride a little annoying. This was a short day of riding, compared to the first four days. We made it to Moab in the late afternoon, and booked a hotel for the following 3 nights. As we were in the parking lot of the hotel, another rider on a DR 650 set up for travel pulls up. It turns out Joe has done a similar route to ours, but started in South America and made his way up to the USA over almost a year on the road. We later hooked up for a meal and some beers, and agreed that we would do some trail riding together over the next two days in Moab.
A word of praise for American highways. We rode over 2500 km of smooth interstates over the past few days. Total cost for toll roads: 1.10 USD (excluding fee to cross the bridge between Windsor and Detroit). Gotta love it.
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As you can see, not that much to write about so far, as we just have been rushing to get across the States. Pictures from our two days in Moab will follow soon. Tomorrow we are heading for Las Vegas, so I'll find some time there to upload them.
Last few days in Montreal have been quite hectic. We finally left from Mihai's place on Thursday, October 18th at 2 PM, having each slept about 2 or 3 hours the night before. Right away we got stuck in a massive traffic jam on the way out of town, a kick in the nuts goodbye from our city. It will definetely be nice to get away from the maze of orange cones for a little while. Although it was a warm 19 deg. C when we left, by the time we reached Kingston, ON, the weather turned foul: it got cold, rainy and windy. The riding was challenging, as the visibility was piss poor. We finally checked in in our ghetto motel in Kitchener, ON, at 2 AM.
Day 2: Kitchener, ON - Joliet, IL - 773 KM
The second day started late, since we could get ourselves out of bed before 10 AM. After spending some additional time messing with the carburetor on Mihai's bike, we were back on the 401 only by noon. Soon it started raining again, and that continued for the rest of the day. If it wasn't for the heated vests and grips (in addition to the many layers of clothing), we would have been absolutely miserable. We crossed the border in Detroit, and finished our day in Joliet, IL.
The easy access to wifi has been very helpful so far. Since we were never sure how far we would make it on a given day, we would ride until about 7PM, and then stop at a McDonald's to book a hotel for the night, 2-3 hours riding distance further west.
Mihai re-jetting his carburetor in a parking lot in Kitchener, ON
It was COLD. Looking like the Michelin man.
Finally a dry day. It started off very cold (5 deg. C), but warmed up quite a bit later during the day. All in all a good day, even though the american mid-west is quite boring to ride. Long straight highways and agicultural land for hundreds of kilometers. It can be at times difficult to stay awake. The trick is to avoid large meals, and maintain a regular input of caffeine. We soon established that beef jerky and coffee/redbull is the perfect combo for these long days of riding.
Day 4: Grand Island, NE - Glenwood Springs, CO - 763 KMBeautiful day for riding. More beef jerky and coffee every 250 KM (our standard distance between breaks). We arrived in Denver right before sunset, and decided that we would cross the rockies that same night. We began our ascent on hwy 70, up to 3300m above sea level. Although the weather was nice and warm in Denver that evening (probably close to 20 deg. C), an hour later we were once again freezing our asses off in the mountains, but this time worse than ever. Fortunately this lasted for only about 2.5 hours, until we reached Glenwood Springs, where we had booked our hotel earlier that evening.
Roughing it in Glenwood Springs, CO
Day 5: Glenwood Springs, CO - Moab, UT - 320 KM
Another sunny day, although the strong wind made the ride a little annoying. This was a short day of riding, compared to the first four days. We made it to Moab in the late afternoon, and booked a hotel for the following 3 nights. As we were in the parking lot of the hotel, another rider on a DR 650 set up for travel pulls up. It turns out Joe has done a similar route to ours, but started in South America and made his way up to the USA over almost a year on the road. We later hooked up for a meal and some beers, and agreed that we would do some trail riding together over the next two days in Moab.
A word of praise for American highways. We rode over 2500 km of smooth interstates over the past few days. Total cost for toll roads: 1.10 USD (excluding fee to cross the bridge between Windsor and Detroit). Gotta love it.
Colorado - Utah state line
Left my mark
Just like in the Lucky Luke comic books
Approaching Moab, UT
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As you can see, not that much to write about so far, as we just have been rushing to get across the States. Pictures from our two days in Moab will follow soon. Tomorrow we are heading for Las Vegas, so I'll find some time there to upload them.
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