Island, through the Rockies and across the Prairies, to the north shore of Superior and back home. Eighteen days, 14,000 km. Some short days full of twisty roads and mountains, balanced against some 1,000-plus km days through the Plains and Prairies. No matter how much you plan,
there’s always going to be something on these trips. We call it SHF: the Shit Happens! Factor. Normally that means we’re scrambling to find the Yamaha dealer in Galax Virginia because I’ve worn out the front tire. This time it started early as we got to the first stop in Sault Ste. Marie. I noticed that I’d lost a fairing bolt, and had another hanging by a thread. No problem; that’s what duct tape is for. It held together for the whole trip, and cleaned up with a little squirt of WD-40.
That wasn’t the end of the duct
tape. The sole of my boot separated in Oregon, so I taped it back on. We made a stop at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD, and the foot lever snapped off my centre stand. I had to stop at a bike shop for new gloves because I wore holes in my favourite summer ones. It doesn’t matter what the problem
is – it’s how you fix it. At least this time it wasn’t just me. I expect things to go wrong on my old Suzuki, and the other old Suzuki along for the ride. We didn’t expect the brand new Ducati Multistrada to wear out a chain and force an emergency change in Calgary.
continued on page 31
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