Annika goes to Washington, part 1

Greetings from Montréal, where I am at the halfway mark on my sojourn east to DC, following a meandering path north, east and south with a few zigzags west for good measure.

I am lucky to have had good company on this ride, including my brother Jesse astride his Sportster who rode out to Hammond, Wisconsin with me to start the trip.

Kelby surprised me by turning up in Green Bay, giving us a chance to check out Lambeau Field together, and enjoy a very wet ride through scenic Door County in eastern Wisconsin.

We are among the small subset of riders who would label that day's ride as a fun one. (I'll confess that I started second-guessing my judgement on that point during the last hour of torrential rain, blustery winds and plummeting temps.)

Our route took us to the tip of the Door County peninsula, then southward again for my date with a ferry across Lake Michigan.

On the way to the ferry, Annika's horsepower seemed dramatically reduced. Hoping that it was just water somewhere it shouldn't be, or perhaps just a bad tank of gas, we pressed on, topping poor Annika out at 60 mph on the freeway. The problems continued, but the ferry waits for no man, so I decided to continue onward, while assessing the problem and potential solutions.

Annika lashed to the car deck, I stretched out on the sundeck as the ferry pulled away from Milwaukee, the weather cooperating that day with great visibility, brilliant sunshine and calm waters.

A few hours later, we pulled into harbor at Muskegon, Michigan, where I headed to a bike mechanic. The front cylinder's plug showed signs that it wasn't firing properly, suggesting carburator issues.

With a new sparkplug, fresh gas and a jetted air filter doing nothing to aleviate the problems, Annika and I continued our wheezing way eastward, stopping for the night in a campground in Chesaning, Michigan.

Having found that the carb issues didn't compromise my enjoyment of two-lane highways very much, and being eager to spend time in Montréal, if I had to be pinned down anywhere, I made a date with a mechanic who inspired confidence in his ability to resolve the problem quickly, and crossed into Canada.

(If only I could have snapped a photo from the apex of the Port Huron bridge! Stunning views of Lake Huron on this Great Lakes tour.)

A few hours later, I was bibbling along the coast of Lake Ontario, rolling into a hostel, my lodging for the night, in downtown Toronto.

The next morning, I packed up and set out, grateful for having had other opportunities to explore Toronto more adequately.

My first order of business on reaching Montréal was to deliver Annika into the capable hands of Stéphane, who will tend to her carbs. Then, get to know the city!

Littered with churches, sidewalk cafés and green spaces, it has been difficult to decide where to linger longest!

On strolls throughout its eminently walkable core, I've caught snippets of sidewalk conversations in countless tongues (yesterday including my first contact, as far as I'm aware, with Macedonian), not just the abundant French. If there's a better sign of a city's cosmopolitan nature, I'm not sure what it would be.

The exuberant street festivals this weekend, the relaxed saunter of pedestrian traffic and the chic, showy attitude of many residents and visitors shout that this is city to be enjoyed. A city of bon vivants, indeed.

Tomorrow, Annika willing, I head back to my home soil, south and then along the eastern seaboard toward Annika's ultimate destination and my flight to Latin America.

More to come from the road!