Is it officially an adventure yet?

Day 9 - Kenora to ???, June 19th, 2009
What a freaking day! I wake up early to avoid any pedestrians etc. and start breaking down camp. As I'm securing the bungee cords the bike starts to stand up and then proceeds to topple over on it's right side. My stuff is all over the sandy ground but it looks like everything is alright. When I pick the bike up I realized that my helmet had been hanging on the handle bar and, in that position, broke the fall of the bike. The helmet is pretty much toast now. I'll buy a new one once I get back into the states on Saturday or Sunday. I finish loading up the bike, without it falling over this time, and start to leave. As I leave I notice a grinding sound coming from the front wheel. Lo and behold the front tire is no longer pointing straight, relative to the forks. I think that means a bent fork. I drive to the parking lot just down the road and take a closer look. The front tire is cocked to the right and rubbing on the fender. I'm glad I brought all those tools...

I decide the best course of action is to remove the front fender and worry about the fork when I get to a fellow N250RC member's house. Now how to remove the wheel so I can get the fender off? With the bike on the centerstand and all of my luggage the tire still isn't off the ground. The addition of bungees tied to a fence doesn't help so I look around. Laying a few yards away is a small boulder. I take off the tent and other gear from the seat and lay the rock up there and it works! Just to be safe, I use my bungee net to secure the rock. Now we're in business. I get everything sorted out and all the gear back on the bike easily enough and hit the road.

I was expecting more of the same as the previous days in that I'd be able to burn through some miles in relative warmth and a fair bit of humidity. That humidity turned to rain not too far down the road, just past Vermillion Bay, and that rain kept on for the rest of the day. By the time I got to Thunder Bay I was freezing, wet and hungry. I stopped for food and to dry off then headed back out into the mess. I finally stopped to setup camp about an hour out of Thunder Bay. I hope tomorrow goes better. If all goes well I'll be back in the US for a couple of days.


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