Mexico to Quebec City in 2 Days

Unbelievable you say?



Okay, Mexico Maine to Quebec City isn't quite so impressive, but 1045 miles in 2 days isn't bad.



While tearing down a dirt road south of Jackman that looked a lot like this...



...a bull moose charged out of the bushes on the right side of the road.  I was riding hard on the right, because I was nervous of the logging trucks that would occasionally barrel down the dirt roads.  The moose ran perpendicular to me, and I locked up front and rear brakes and began sliding sideways toward the animal.  I was going about 50 mph, so I couldn't scrub speed off fast enough.  Thankfully, the moose changed it's angle and began running diagonally across the road.  The moose was GIGANTIC, and I was sliding into it while it was running at full tilt!  One of the moose's legs hit my saddlebag and it changed direction again away from me.  I got back on the gas to get my rear wheel back in line and for a couple crazy moments this gigantic animal was sprinting alongside me.

I wasn't really sure, at this point, whether the moose was running at me, or just continuing to run in panic--I think I nearly twisted my throttle off!

Other stuff happened during the trip; I saw pretty vistas, went to church in Quebec City, chased a bear off the road (a little black one), got rained on (a lot), ate dinner with a crazy fisherman, forded a river, and got directions from a drunk.  But really, what can I write that would top side-swipping a charging bull moose?

Here's a few picks anyway:

















One big gear winner for the trip is the Satechi Bluetooth iPod controller.  It made the long stretches more fun



One gear failure, my MT21 front tires:



Check out that crazy wear pattern!  Some knobs are worn to the quick and others are hardly worn at all.  My 606 at the rear has less wear despite mounting it at the same time.

But the biggest hero of the trip is this:



My Airhawk pad truly saved my ass.  I would never have managed so many hours in the saddle without it.

Looks like fun, I have to get over to the other side of the border in that area some time. Can you post up roughly the track you took ?

Great pics, nice trip!

Have you done anything to the rear shock to compensate for the load of all of your gear?

Check your tire pressure. I was told that kind of wear happens if you run to low of pressure.

Chrispy1200 wrote:

Looks like fun, I have to get over to the other side of the border in that area some time. Can you post up roughly the track you took ?

I just learned how to take a screen shot of base camp!

Thanks! Nice trip!

Nice report and some great photos! Thanks for sharing

Very impressive. I never pictured the R2 as a big adventure bike but good for you.

Thanks for sharing.

Great report. Thanks for posting.

It is true that a lot of people underestimate the capability of the WR250R as a bike capable of longer trips. I did a 10 day Newfoundland trip this summer with tent camping every night and carrying all my breakfasts, suppers, clothes, camping gear in my Expedition saddle bags and a canoe bag strapped on top. Over 4000 km (2400 miles) with zero issues and never once did I wish I had taken my Tiger instead.

saddletramp wrote:

Great report.  Thanks for posting.

It is true that a lot of people underestimate the capability of the WR250R as a bike capable of longer trips.  I did a 10 day Newfoundland trip this summer with tent camping every night and carrying all my breakfasts, suppers, clothes, camping gear in my Expedition saddle bags and a canoe bag strapped on top.  Over 4000 km (2400 miles) with zero issues and never once did I wish I had taken my Tiger instead.

.......now that's really saying something,the Tiger being the bike it is!

Yep. I absolutely love the Tiger but recognize the WR to be the better weapon for some of the trails we were on in Newfoundland. Of course, the asphalt ride from here to the ferry and back would have been easier on the 800. Part of the fun for me was talking to bikers while waiting in the ferry line-up who could not believe I had chosen to take the 250 over the 800 for that trip. (Of course they were sitting there on GS1200's and the like but they did not venture off the beaten path like we had.)

Off topic but I notice that a lot of folks ride straight up the west coast of Nfld from Port-aux-Basques to St Anthony in their haste to to the Trans-Lab loop. We had no problem filling in 8 days of riding totally on the west coast of Newfoundland. Awesome country and the most wonderful scenery and people.

Back to the original post I have been to Mexico, Maine as well and smiled again on that play on words when I read this post and the pictures.

Ayuh wicked good report.
I am originally from Winslow, the town next to me was China. :)