Cape Breton…

I left the farm we had been staying on and ride along the coast towards the Confederation Bridge. I rode through the villages of Rice Point, Canoe Cove and Argyle Shore, and then had to take a little detour along a dirt road due to a bridge being down somewhere. Once through Hampton and...
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Prince Edward Island…

Prince Edward Island, or just P.E.I., as it is most often referred to, is Canada’s smallest province, both in area and population. It lies cradled between three other provinces; to the west by New Brunswick province, to the south by Nova Scotia; and to the east by Cape Breton...
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North Sydney and a Change of Heart…

The few days I spent in North Sydney at the Heritage Home B&B were both pleasurable and frustrating. Pleasurable, because I was made to feel at home by the owner Juana, who went out of her way to make my stay as comfortable and interesting as was possible. She gave me tidbits of information...
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The Cabot Trail…

The weather had improved, and after checking to see how long before the next cold front would come tearing down over Cape Breton, I saw that I had a very short window of opportunity available to me. Although the Atlantic side of the island was due to be bathed in full sunshine for most of...
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Re-Connecting…

Since my return to South Africa, I have been itching to make contact with the many people who assisted me before I left to start my journey, and who in various ways assisted me during my travels. Having spent a few weeks down on the coast with my parents, I was now able to start […]

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Bent, Buckled, Bashed, Bruised and Bemused…!!

Which pretty much sums up how both the Big Fella and I currently feel after our epic journey… I spent the day after getting the Big Fella from the airport, carefully unpacking my panniers and other kit which I had carried around the world. I took my time doing so, as each item I handled...
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The Long Wait to Freedom…

After seventeen days of separation, the Big Fella finally touched down at O.R. Tambo International Airport (still Jan Smuts to me…) at 10 pm on Friday the 6th of September. He had made a quick side trip to Dubai aboard Emirates Airlines, having left New York on the 4th of...
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BIG Birthday, No Bash !!

Since the day we started out on our epic ride, the Big Fella and I have marked our journey by the numbers… We figured it would be easier to say things such as “103 countries”, or “6 Continents” or even “5 Oceans”, than to actually list them !! Like many...
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Into Nova Scotia – The Long Way Round !!

It was colder in New Brunswick than it had been in Maine, and it began to dawn on me that I probably did not have enough cold weather gear with me. I had left the large silver duffel bag that contained my neck warmers and spare gloves back in New Jersey, believing that I wouldn’t […]

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New Hampshire to Maine…

I was up early, eager to start riding in what looked to be the perfect day for it. Clear blue skies greeted me as I strolled to the dining area to have my first of three cups of coffee… Before I went out to refuel the Big Fella, I lifted a cup in Jane’s direction […]

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Connecticut to New Hampshire…

With good weather forecast for the next few days, I left Niantic and began the long ride north to New Hampshire, which would take me through Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Vermont, before I reached North Conway before nightfall. I did not plan to stop and see too many of the sights in this...
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The Long Island Saga…

Patricia has spent many a summer in the Hampton’s on Long Island, not only teaching Pilates, but also working at a much respected restaurant in Sag Harbor. Naturally, she had made many friends there, some of which she had not seen since our wedding last year. Although riding on Long Island...
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Freehold Bike Night.

About 80 motorcycles were present at the Freehold Bike Night, the vast majority being Harley’s of various hues and sizes. With my “double-flag” flying, we rolled into the parking lot and were shown to our allotted parking spot. Towards the end of the evening, after we had...
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Ithaca, New York State…

After stripping the Big Fella of his panniers, we loaded our clothes into the top-box and the tank bag, and set out for Richard and Sally’s home on the Finger Lake in New York state. Although it was not a long ride, I wanted to stop as often as possible in order to make the [...]

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Test Run to Pennsylvania…

Keith Weber, a close friend of Ken’s, with whom I had made a short ride to Pennsylvania before our wedding last year, again invited me to join him and his biker club, The Elks, on an out-ride. I urged Patricia to join us, and she agreed to use the ride as a “test” to see [...]

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New Jersey, and Caley’s Wedding…

Freehold, New Jersey, was only a few hours down the drag from Port Carbon, so I did not have to get up at the crack of dawn to get there in time. Which was a good thing, as I was still feeling a little brittle after the last few days of excitement that…

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Downtime in Pennsylvania…

Doug and I spent the day driving around Pottsville, trying to find someone who was not only available, but prepared to knock my pannier back into some semblance of its former shape. After stopping off at four different places we finally managed to locate Bill’s Body Shop, and we agreed on...
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The Longest Ride…

After what seemed like only a few minutes of sleep, I got up, took a cold shower, went to reception to have a cup of coffee, checked out, and was ready to roll. I had not taken much off the bike the night before, because my laptop was no longer functio…

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Arkansas to Kentucky…

After a longer than expected breakfast with Don and Lillie, I finally got going at about 9.00 am, chastising myself for not getting away earlier, but at the same time having thoroughly enjoyed the time we had spent chatting around the breakfast table. …

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The Idabel Incident…

I had arranged to spend the evening of the 30th of June with Doug’s parents in Arkansas, which was a shortish ride of only 450 km away from the Tex Inn in New Boston. The Oklahoma state line was an hours ride to the northwest, and from there I had chosen to ride parallel to [...]

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