So the next phase in Ontario is to head north, we last left off half way up the Nippissing Ghost Road. Once again we headed out to chase the route. It was very cold and raining, the plan was for Ewan to ride his bike and for me to drive my truck (due to mechanical issues and pre booked vacayion time from work). This last minute switch of transportation meant a serious re look and how packing was to be done. I'll just say that having a bbq and a powered cooler makes for much better eats
Before jumping inot this section of the TCAT let me say thanks to the folks who helped create this section. Gord....the Portelance Road suggestion was bang on with what the TCAT hopes to accomplish, long remote gravel roads with great scenery and a feeling of remoteness :thumb
Truck loaded up and ready to go.
As I've had a few questions on the truck from previous posts..
Its a Ford ranger with fiber glass fenders (front and rear). This reduces weight and allows for more travel in the wheels when the going gets rough. The suspension is a Camberg kit with Bilstein shocks and a few modded parts. Bumpers and skid plate are custom. It's a 2 wheel drive with a slip dif and works well as long as speed is applied :thumb I"ve had jeeps, etc in the past and wanted something that could keep up to bikes...with my budget this fit the bill. The small 6 cyc engine is decent on gas which was also a concern when building the truck.
So I drove over to Ewans house and it was raining...forecast showed potentailly better weather up north as opposed to ouot east where originally planned to go.
At this point I was really feeling bad for Ewan :rofl I think I was enjoying a nice vanilla flavoured latte and deciding on what music to do and fiddeling with the heat as I just couldnt get it right :rofl
We may it to the first designated rest stop, a town called Anrpior which is about an hour out of town. It was COLD, real COLD. I sincerely felt bad for Ewan at this point. We stopped at a Timmies and Pelvis was freaking out. His legs and feet were freezing. After much talk he decided to ditch the bike an djump in the truck, a wise choice given the temps and as a plus it would mean I'd company :clap
ps..this is where Pelvis got the nickname Ewan :evil
Ewan at the Timmies making the hard choice and laughing at me calling him Ewan :wink:
We ditched Ewans bike at my parents house which was around the corner and hit the road. 4 hours into the day and we were finally on our way. I set the Nuvi (much will be said about this marvel of science as the report progresses :deal) to no avoidances :deal:deal:deal
Leaving the Ottawa area, Nuvi did us proud as it brought us down some fun roads near Calabogie.
We cruised through the Ottawa Valley before heading west
Saw this moose in the ditch
Took a quick lunch in the town of Wilno...Polish capital of Canada for those who didnt know :rofl (Wilno has about 40 residents)
Great lunch :1drink