I had to be in Windsor Friday the 15th, 10am to participate in Elizabeths MBA convocation. The options were to head back to TO, get to bed early and then travel to Windsor with a 3:30 AM start. Since my schedule called for a 7 am meeting with our CEO, I decided it was going to be a mad dash to Windsor.
Leaving camp at 3:30, we (me 'n the bike) rode 141 to Bracebridge, which was a mistake due to tourist traffic, then we hit Highway 11 for the big roads all the way to our destination. Got my afternoon lull (falling asleep - it can happen on a bike as well) by Barrie, close to 5pm. Stopped at MEC to buy socks and other stuff for the Maritimes trip, and bumped into a friend of a guy I worked with 35 years ago - small world, but he is a BMW owner and I wasted too much time on bike talk. Back on the road by 6 and got caught in the Toronto rush hour at 400 to 401. Took the 400 extension to Jane and tried to get back on at Weston. Summer construction and rush hour made that a 45 minute detour. There as no break to be had. By the time I got back on the 401, rush hour had eased so it was only crazy busy (not stop and go) to Woodstock, where I had to stop for gas. Can't believe that the first gas station only had regular, and no premium. Put in 5 bucks to get me to the next station. It was starting to turn to dusk but my energy levels and concentration were still good. Had a quick subway, called Julie to find she was just past London, so they weren't too far ahead. It was also getting cooler so I put on a long sleeve shirt and shut down all the ventilation on my badlands suite.
Drove and drove and drove in the dark, with very heavy truck traffic - those guys are either steady just below the speed limit or crazy. Fedex, some of your drivers are a$$holes. Had to pull over just past Chatham cause the brain was starting to get dull. Do some stretches, drink water and wake up. Didn't want to hit the RedBull 'cause I needed to sleep for the 7am conference call.
Managed to test the new 3,000 lumen driving lights, that I bought to increase visibility. Standard BMW driving lights low beam is safe for 60 kph and high beam is good for 100kph. The LED lamps give an extra few hundred feed of illumination and provide visibility to the side of the road, but they blind on coming traffic, so I needed to use them carefully. When they are on, my bike is no longer invisible.
Made it to Windsor at midnight. Starting to get very tired, but also happy that I survived an 820km day. That is a personal record - wonder how long it will last.
Leaving camp at 3:30, we (me 'n the bike) rode 141 to Bracebridge, which was a mistake due to tourist traffic, then we hit Highway 11 for the big roads all the way to our destination. Got my afternoon lull (falling asleep - it can happen on a bike as well) by Barrie, close to 5pm. Stopped at MEC to buy socks and other stuff for the Maritimes trip, and bumped into a friend of a guy I worked with 35 years ago - small world, but he is a BMW owner and I wasted too much time on bike talk. Back on the road by 6 and got caught in the Toronto rush hour at 400 to 401. Took the 400 extension to Jane and tried to get back on at Weston. Summer construction and rush hour made that a 45 minute detour. There as no break to be had. By the time I got back on the 401, rush hour had eased so it was only crazy busy (not stop and go) to Woodstock, where I had to stop for gas. Can't believe that the first gas station only had regular, and no premium. Put in 5 bucks to get me to the next station. It was starting to turn to dusk but my energy levels and concentration were still good. Had a quick subway, called Julie to find she was just past London, so they weren't too far ahead. It was also getting cooler so I put on a long sleeve shirt and shut down all the ventilation on my badlands suite.
Drove and drove and drove in the dark, with very heavy truck traffic - those guys are either steady just below the speed limit or crazy. Fedex, some of your drivers are a$$holes. Had to pull over just past Chatham cause the brain was starting to get dull. Do some stretches, drink water and wake up. Didn't want to hit the RedBull 'cause I needed to sleep for the 7am conference call.
Managed to test the new 3,000 lumen driving lights, that I bought to increase visibility. Standard BMW driving lights low beam is safe for 60 kph and high beam is good for 100kph. The LED lamps give an extra few hundred feed of illumination and provide visibility to the side of the road, but they blind on coming traffic, so I needed to use them carefully. When they are on, my bike is no longer invisible.
Made it to Windsor at midnight. Starting to get very tired, but also happy that I survived an 820km day. That is a personal record - wonder how long it will last.
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