Sun 9 July

We packed up our tents this morning for the last time and hit the Interstate West. After 2 days riding the flat plains of Illinois and Iowa we made it back to Omaha mid afternoon. It's been over three weeks and 6,700 miles since we left. We are all tired, suffer from bug bites and sore rumps but we achieved what we set out to do - ride Newfoundlands abandoned rail line and traverse the great gravel road that is the Trans Labrador Highway. Franks DL650 was the only bike that did not need some attention during the ride but all our bikes need servicing. Pete and I will change the oil and replace the worn out tyres over the next couple of days and repack for South Dakota on Wednesday.

Sat 9 July

I avoid cities of these journeys for all the obvious reasons but mostly because they all largely look the same and hold no appeal. Well Chicago is different in the extreme. Sure the traffic going into the city was a bit nerve wracking at 8 lanes and all going like a bat out of hell. And my first impressions of the skyline did nothing for me either. In the brown soup that hovered over the city you could just make out a single tall building with a couple of white masts on the top. Once in the city you were presented with trees and flowers and parks and grass verges every where. There were even flower baskets hanging of an overhead pedestrian walkway. We rode along a wide clean street fronting in to Lake Michigan. There were kids playing on the beach, sailboats on the lake and people strolling along the walkway. There were literally hundreds of high rise apartment blocks facing the lake. You have to wonder where they all worked. Even a couple of blocks back from the lake the tree theme continued. Suffice to say this was a really neat city and the folks I spoke to were immensely proud of their city. This would be a city worth visiting in its own right.

We found the BM dealer and Terry fitted his sprocket while we watched the mechanic assemble one of the new 1600 6's. This dealer has presold 25 of these bikes and we saw 6 sitting on the floor waiting to be collected.

More toll roads to get out of town as we head west towards Nebraska.

Fri 8 July

Terry has found a sprocket for his bike – at the BM dealer in Chicago. So we are going to ride into Chicago tomorrow morning. I'm not looking forward to that. This morning we had yet more examples of the income disparity of people – trailer homes vs 3-story ones with manicured lawns. In the afternoon and for all afternoon we took the Ohio Freeway towards Chicago. It was a bit tedious to say the least but we shore made some miles. Toll = $6.

Thur 7 July

We had a delightful ride out of the Adirondaks this morning through quaint villages and then the back roads (more like back blocks) to Rochester. The back roads were an eye opener for the number of derelict and abandoned houses. Those that were lived in were pretty crappy. The contrast with the lovely home in Rochester was incredible. Made it to Niagara Falls late in the afternoon and went back into Canada for the better view. The falls are quite grand and pictures don't do them justice. It was also teaming with tourists. In the early evening we rode out through Buffalo looking for accommodation. Buffalo was once a major industrial city but is in serious decline. There are abandoned industrial facilities every where you look. The abandoned steel mill looks quite Dickensian and one wall still bears the 'together we stand' logo of the steel workers union.

Wed 6 July

Rode the streets of Montreal. What a lovely city, though it could equally be Sydney or Melbourne. A huge number of apartment building close to down town. Later in the day we crossed back into the US from Quebec to New York state. Camped the night by a lake in the Adirondak mountains. It was a beautiful State Park with lots of families camping. It poured down for a bit in the afternoon – like the tropics – wind, lightening and heavy, heavy rain. We had to wait an hour at a gas station for the power to be restored. Terry's rear sprocket has died and he is looking for a BMW dealer with one.

Tue 5 July

It's like being in a foreign country here in Quebec. All the signs are in French only and it's hard to find an English speaker. A benefit however is this mornings breakfast of crapes, fruit and syrup – delicious. We are stuck here in paradise while Terry goes back to last nights camp site to look for his phone. He later found it in his pants pocket. Our time was spent sipping a nice white wine in a cafe on the foreshore of this quaint town. The sun is out and we have a cooling sea breeze. Life is tough on the road at times. Early in the afternoon we took a look at this.

Later in the afternoon we drive through Quebec City for a look-see. It seems to be about the size of Wellington and has a lot of brown stone buildings. Seems a nice place with surprisingly little traffic at 5.30 PM. Tomorrow we will take a quick look at Montreal.

Mon 4 July

Still packing up wet tents. Toured Manic 5 and Manic 2 dams courtesy Quebec Hydro. There are 5 dams on this river, all built in the 60's and 70's so it was a huge project. Great tours but all in French so we had to be wowed by what we saw rather than what we heard. In truth it was a hugely impressive couple of tours. Manic 5 emphasized the dam and construction while Manic 2 explained the process of making the electricity. By nightfall we were transiting down the St Laurent seaway on the Route des Baleines to our nights stop at Tadoussac.