The land of the maple leaf

But firstly London

. We get the Redhead’s front shock absorber replaced at the BMW service centre at Battersea in Central London. Then it is a ride out to Air Canada freight depot at Heathrow. As every airline in the world has a freight depot at Heathrow finding the Air. Canada freight depot was an “interesting” challenge !

Actually Air Canada have an interesting deal. If you travel on the same flight as the bike they will airfreight the bike from London to Montreal for just 750 pounds. ( about Nz$1400 ). That is very cheap !

So the Redhead is handed over at Heathrow

And hey presto afrw days later it is in Montreal

Then we are ready to get going again towards West Coast USA. We did think about crossing Canada to Vancouver but this little weather forecast clarified our thinking a little. Winnipeg is on the trans Canada highway.

The weather forecast shows a ginormous polar blast heading down into the mid west and Rockies. So we are going to head down into the orange bit

We find ourselves at the peak of the peak of the Autumn colours on the trees. They are absolutely beautiful

We stop at the town of Montebello in Quebec for the night. The town is lovely and quaint and like New England towns in the US

I can just imagine “ Davies of Arrowtown”sitting on a veranda such as this watching the world go by.

We retire to a very nice hotel with big open fires and a nice autumnal theme. We are very happy travellers. Tomorrow we cross the border into New York State. Our last border crossing. Hurrah !

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The last post!

How do you summarise a motorbike trip around the world from Tokyo to Los Angeles?. With difficulty! Well we are not into record setting. But we believe we are the oldest couple in the world to ride a motorbike “ two up” ie with pillion passenger, right round the world on one season Let’s start off with the statistics for the little trip - Total mileage. 34,416 km * No of days travelling 165 No of countries visited 29 Max temp on bike 41 deg C Min temp on bike 0 deg.C No of punctures. One No of breakdowns. One

Chapters 1 and 2

WHY MOTORCYCLE ADVENTURES ? I have always been interested in adventure. Over the years I have climbed mountains, parachuted, had my private pilots licence, dived, sailed and done various adventurous pursuits (with various degrees of success I might add!). Motorcycling has been one of the later activities. Why motorcycles? Firstly it is all a bit easier on the body as one gets a little bit older. This is of course on the assumption that one does not inadvertently part company suddenly with said machine! Secondly, it does also require a bit of brain power - intellect you might say if that does not sound snobby. There is also, to me, an element of "man and machine" about motorcycling. Then if that is not enough justification in itself there is the scenery and the absorption into the landscape you are passing through. On a bike you see much much more than in a car, bus or train. You are aware of nuances in the landscape, you smell the smells and you become more than just

And a volcano stopped us!

What a day. First thing this morning it was off to check the rear tyre of the bike. Oh the relief ! The tyre was rock solid and the same pressure as after fixing yesterday. So it is a pack up and first day on the road today. We get on the way with a just a little bit of nervous excitement. On to the Japanese motorway system we go. And what a delight. The traffic is orderly, calm not going to fast and not too thick. We track right in towards Tokyo itself before bearing West. Yes, there were lots of spaghetti junctions - It looks like The Los Angeles motorway system but it is so much easier (and slower). Japanese politeness really shows thru’. However there were lots of toll booths - we had chopped thru about NZ$50 in the first hour and a half Then we are on to the slow bit and off the motorways. It was about a four hour stop and start crawl thru the urban sprawl of greater Tokyo. However I did find time for some serious reflection - I also saw a hotel called - and I kid you not

Hubbard Motorcycle Adventures

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