Friday 19 October 2012

 
Our last day in Toronto and all our belongings are laid out on the beds ready for packing into our luggage which at present is the sealed package lying across the two beds. All our clothes were rolled up and carried in the black waterproof/dustproof bag on the left bed. Three hours until the shuttle takes us to the airport, so we better get packing!

Thursday 18 October 2012

 
Bike washed down this morning and taken to the Cargo Handlers ready to be flown out on Sunday.  Fingers crossed now that all goes well and we pick it up from Gatwick on Monday.  Tomorrow we pack for our flight home

Wednesday 17 October 2012

 
Well here we are, back in Toronto!
We only had a 100 mile drive in today but the weather still managed to throw everything at us. We left wearing heated jackets in 4C (36F) temperature with sun and blue sky and 25 miles from Toronto, the sky turned black and the heavens opened.  The rain bounced as we manoeuvred our way between all the trucks as they hammered along the highway covering us with spray. Just as we arrive at the hotel, the rain stops!
We have now completed our loop of the Lower 48 and what a fantastic trip it has been!

 
The view from our hotel window - a golf course with the airport just behind.
When we left 3 months ago everything was green and now we see it in the autumn colours.  We have just collected our luggage from Chris, who is the mother of our neighbour's friend and lives just outside Toronto. She very kindly stored it for us for the last 3 months and to be honest if she hadn't been so kind enough to do that we would have had real problems. So thank you once again, Chris!

 
 
And now a foot-note:-)
We omitted to tell you that we had a stationary tip-off last Sunday. Whilst riding through a village, we came to a halt behind a car and as John put his foot down, the road wasn't there. He had stopped and put his left foot down, then when his right foot went down, the road was a few inches lower so by this time the bike had leant too far to the right to retrieve it, so over we went. Luckily only a couple of minor scratches on the bike but John's foot got trapped under the cylinder head. It hurt when he stood up but decided not to take his boot off to look as he knew it wouldn't go back on. Two Americans and one British guy came running over and helped us lift up the bike which weighs a ton fully loaded!

 
This is now Wednesday and it is still swollen but the bruising is now coming out. Its been very difficult and painful for John to get his boot on these last few days but fortunately it happened at the end of the trip and not the beginning. And for all the motorcyclists out there now smiling, as you know, you have all been there:-) 
So, tomorrow we start the preparation for home! We have been keeping a record of different things such as miles covered, fuel used, and costs which we will put on the blog when finalised.

Tuesday 16 October 2012

 
Yesterday, en route from St Johnsbury, we stopped for lunch at Montpelier which is the capital of Vermont. The state building was not so big as others we have seen but had a striking gold dome.

 
The city is more the size of a town in the UK and it seemed to have a bohemian feel about it. Lots of art students wandering the streets.  Today we had a cold ride to a town called Belleville which is now just 100 miles from Toronto.  Thank goodness for heated jackets as the temperature was down to 5C (38F). 

Yesterday we crossed the border into Canada. Very quick and easy, didn't even have to get off the bike. The border guard just looked at our passports and asked for the registration number of the bike. Very different to the entry into America although that wasn't bad compared to entering through an airport.
For some reason the blog will not upload any photos so will try again tonight.
We have looked back at our route and can see that we rode through 34 of the lower 48 states. Will have to come back another time to do the other 14:-)

Sunday 14 October 2012

 
Just a short trip from Portland, Maine to St Johnsbury in Vermont today. We rode through the White Mountains of New Hampshire in the cold and rain for the most part.
Low cloud covered the top of the above mountain, which was a shame as the view would have been stunning in the sunshine.

 
The foliage is now past its best but again would have looked so much better in sunshine. Hopefully a better day tomorrow and we will be on our way into Canada.