The Viking Run - 125 Days to Departure

 

I worked on some bike improvements or mods this past weekend. I'll cover a couple of them here today.

The first thing I added was a radiator guard. I may or may not need one, I just have a bit of concern I may hit a spot of gravel on the TLH or have an oncoming truck throw up some rocks and puncture the radiator in the middle of nowhere. 

 

               Radiator before guard installation

                                                            The new radiator guard is 

                                                    custom fit and branded for the 900XR

 How the guard looks installed. I like it!

The other item I added was a new Givi tank bag. Now this item I really like and don't even know how I've gone on so long without one. This one has a few over the top features however. First, it uses the tank lock system that makes it simply snap on and off the top of the tank from a circular mount around the filler port, so no magnets or straps needed for securing the bag to the bike. It makes for a clean install too. A bonus feature with this bag is it has a key lock incorporated in the locking mechanism, so you can actually lock the bag to the bike. Another feature of this bag is the wire harness kit that runs a hot lead from the battery to a pass through port in the bag that powers a 3 plug USB charger. So incredibly handy and such a clean set up too. It also has a separate waterproof case on top for your cell phone; which I learned on the Kentucky trip, can be more handy than the bike mounted Garmin unit for direction prompts through the headset in the helmet.

The Viking Run - 132 Days to Departure

 

This past Saturday provided a pleasant surprise. In January when I had to renew my tags on the bike, I applied for a personalized plate. There were several ideas in my head for what I wanted the plate to convey, but when it came down to it the final choice was easy. A tribute to the man who who set the two wheels of this escapade in motion. If anyone knew my dad, they may have knowledge of the unit he served with in Vietnam. 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, Bravo Company or Bravo 1/9 as the unit is known in the Corps. Also known as "The Walking Dead".

My dad would use Bravo 1/9 for various signatures when needed, and it was his moniker for his personal email. So...as I said, this Saturday I had a nice surprise when my new personalized plate arrived and looked like this...

 

The Viking Run - 143 Days to Departure

 

I picked up my bike from BMW Daytona last Saturday after having the water pump replaced due to a small internal leak. Its Bike Week this week in Daytona and other than spending last Monday walking around with my niece Ashley, it was rather boring.

BMW Motorcycles of Daytona

Bike week has really turned in to a Harley Davidson event and well...that just makes it suck.

Big news however is, I can not get a spot of the Relais Nordik cargo ship out of Blanc Sablon like I was hoping, so that has altered my plans dramatically. Something I was trying to avoid has now become inevitable. I will now be taking the Trans Labrador Highway to Baie-Comeau in Quebec. 

Aside from being called "The Loneliest Road In The World" and "The Most Dangerous Road in North America" and the fact the Canadian government issues you a satellite phone before you attempt it and the endless stories of people being eaten alive by black flies and mosquitoes, it sounds like great fun. Oh...did I forget to mention the bears and moose? Killer...moose!

The Trans Lab or TLH, is actually a very active route that is widely used by truck drivers and plenty of travelers and motorcyclists have traversed it to boot. As a matter of fact, by the time I get on it this September, it will likely be 100% paved. Which at it's opening in 1992 it was not. At a little less than 800 miles it may take up to five days to complete on the bike. The most nerve wreaking challenge I have before me in regards to the TLH, is the 260 mile stretch between Port Hope Simpson and Happy Valley where there will be no fuel available. Considering the furthest the 900XR can go on a full tank of gas is 200 miles, this creates either an insoluble math problem or a small logistics matter. 

So, Trans Labrador highway here I come... does Amazon sell bear repellent?

The Viking Run- 171 Days to Departure

 

This trip is going to be here before you know it. It's coming on so fast it seems, without big items solidified. The representative from Relais Nordik called me today with the details for getting the bike on the cargo ship and berthing from Blanc Sablon to Havre St. Pierre. He said that getting the bike unloaded in Natashquan would be difficult as the port facilities were a poor choice for that. That trip averages 2 days and 7 hours depending on time spent in the seven different ports of call in between and weather. The biggest thing to note is that I have to be in Blanc Sablon on August 27th to catch the boat. The ferry from North Sydney, Nova Scotia to Argentia, Newfoundland departs on August 21st, so that gives me 5 days to explore Newfoundland, which is more than I expected really. A big issue however, is there is no guarantee I will get a spot on the freighter. I had to put my name in the hat today and will hope to hear from Relais Nordik by the end of March. If I can't get on the boat, well, then I'm going to have to turn left at Deer Lake, Newfoundland and give up going to the viking ruins at L'Anse aux Meadows. I'll have to head to Port aux Basques and take a ferry back to North Sydney and get to Canada via Maine. Not having a plan is nerve wracking.  

Searching For a Title - 175 Days to Departure.

I applied for my passport last week. I should receive it in eight to twelve weeks. It will be the first time I've ever had one. I've been making some calls as well to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and boarder agencies. Just trying to verify what I'll need for my boarder crossing; which turns out isn't much. I will have to utilize two different apps it appears for proof of Covid shots, one for Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and the other for the rest of Canada. 

                                                

                                                            Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

I have made a change to my route to head north west out of D.C. and visit Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. I was thinking of going from there to Hershey, PA. but not so sure that I'll find much of interest there, and I can get a Hershey Bar at pretty much any gas station. 

I'll have some time available to me to extend my stay by a day or two in various locations, so I'm looking for those places where I may want to extend my stay. Like possibly taking a day in Nipigon, Ontario for some fishing for Rainbow Trout. Who knows, there are lot's of possibilities.

                                                                    Rainbow Trout

The Yet as Unnamed Trip - 181 Days to Departure

 

I don't have a name for this journey just yet, but I think I may have solved what for me was a rather large dilemma. Getting from Philadelphia to Boston in the most direct way means traveling trough a densely crowded corridor passing Newark, New York and Long Island. An area I've been to several times, each time only briefly and I have zero desire to be back even if just passing through, but especially passing through on a motorcycle. Witnessing that insanity from the back of an Uber was plenty of adventure for me. Due to the fact I am not on a clock for this trip, I am afforded the luxury of taking the long way when desired or in my opinion with this case, necessary. So I have decided to head in a more northwesterly direction up toward Scranton and Binghamton; then a hard right turn to Albany. The extra miles will allow me to see some prettier country, ride better roads and provides an excuse to visit Cooperstown, where I can buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks,

In Search of a Title - 185 Days to Departure.

 

So...I'd say it's time to start planning again but it's way beyond that. I believe I am approaching this next trip later than I should be. Be that here nor there, It's still time. I had planned to circumnavigate North America this year, counterclockwise, to the four corners of the USA and a bit of Canada. Learning from my last trip however, I know now that I don't want to have such long days in the saddle and not enough time to see my surroundings. So I have decided to ride an abbreviated version of my four corners ride. I'm now going to do an east coast trip up to Newfoundland, and then ride the Canadian side of the great lakes to Wright, Minnesota, where I can relax on the family land and get some fishing in. The current thought process has me renting a U-Haul to get the bike back to FLA, without much fanfare.

The basic route for the trip has been plotted out, what I need now though is a title. I've been kicking around the idea of calling it "The Viking Run" based on a planned stop at L'Anse aux Meadows and the Viking tie in to the Land of 10,000 Lakes.