The day started out bright and sunny in northern Michigan, which was a welcome change from the continious rain the day before. At 8:00am, it was time to fire up the engine and head north towards Canada. The Mackinaw bridge was still pretty quiet on this saturday morning so crossing the 5 mile wide straits between the lower and upper peninsula went very quickly.
The border crossing with Canada was much busier so that took a good 40 minutes. “Any weapons, alcohol, tobacco?” was the standard question from the customs officer. He looked at my motorcycle and decided I probably didn’t have any rocket launchers in my cases so he waived me through. I was glad to finally be on the road again because it was getting hot without much of a breeze.
Highway 17 is the Trans Canada highway and covers a lot of ground. I would spend the rest of day on this road so it was safe to remove the tank bag with the map. Northern Ontario is not very exciting but is a pleasant landscape nonetheless. It’s pretty quiet outside the major towns along the way so that was perfect to rack up some miles. The speed limit is 90 kph but most cars and trucks go at least 120 kph. As the sun was setting, I rolled into the small town of Deep River where I found a small motel. After riding all day on a motorcycle, I think I even fell asleep before my head hit the pillow.
Day 2 - Quebec City, Quebec - 442 miles / 711 km
The next morning, I rode for an hour and arrived in Pembroke. Time to have breakfast. I decided to make a small detour into the province of Quebec. Immediately, all road signs are in French which is a strange experience in North America. I was going to ride through the city of Ottowa but it was already getting late. And it was bloody hot as well which is never good for riding through a city with many traffic lights. So off I went on the highway towards Quebec City.
Passing through Montreal is a challenge on a motorcycle with its narrow highway lanes and busy traffic. The highway from Montreal to Quebec City is straight and really boring but it gets you to your destination quickly. It was already in the evening when I arrived in the city. I stopped in the suburbs and found the Ozone Hotel in the business district. Interesting name with interesting rooms with very large mirrors. On the ceiling and on each side of the bed! If you really enjoy looking at yourself, this is the place to stay in Quebec.
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