Stirl_ae86
Legacy Member
I was recently offered a new position with my employer that involved me moving to Calgary to work in the western branch. After living around Montreal for 27 years (my whole life), I was ready to get out of Quebec. As beautiful and great as it can be, I personally think that the cons have started to outweigh the pros. The Idea of 5% sales tax, lower income tax, nice roads and less bullshit politics was very appealing to me. Not to mention the fact that the rockies are only and hour's drive west. As more of an outdoors/camping type than a partier/clubber, I feel more at home here. Although it quickly became apparent that I would be missing out on Montreal's vast quantity of gorgeous women, fantastic strip clubs, and just the general pulse that Montreal has...oh well.
I had about 2 weeks to get everything done and go back out permanently after a 3 week trial period in June. The company had offered to ship my car and fly me out, but I insisted that I wanted to drive. I didn't feel safe having my car shipped, and I have always wanted to drive across Canada. Montreal to Calgary would have to do for now.
My parents had also just made a move from Montreal to the Belleville area in Ontario. It was decided that I would drive to thier house in the evening, wednesday July 7th to see their new place, get a good night's sleep and really start my trip the next day. Of course, things never go as planned. My last couple days were completely frantic (due to my own procrastination) tying to sell 2 cars and get everything I owned to work to be shipped out on skids. I ended up giving away most of my furniture, and all of my electronics to a friend. It was 9pm,I should have already been at my parents house which is over a 3 hour drive, and I was still at work trying to figure out how to ship a hardtop without it getting damaged, and my place was still full of stuff. I ended up leaving my place around 2am. I was completely beat, and had only slept about 8 of the pevious 48 hours, but had told myself that I was going to my parents house THAT NIGHT, whatever it took. I filled up and was on my way.
The worst luck of the entire trip struck as soon as I entered Ontario. It stated to rain once I crossed the border, then within 5 minutes of that I came across debris spread all over the highway. I managed to avoid the smaller pieces at first (looked like clothing), but eventually came across a part where it was all across the road. I ran over what looked like a blanket, but sounded like Freddy Kruger taking a few good shots at the underbody of my car. I died a little inside, and prayed everything was ok, keeping a close eye on my gauges. I stopped a few minutes later just to make sure everything was kosher, and there was a big piece of fabric mesh filled with pliers and leather straps that had caught onto one of my exhaust hangers. I unhooked it, and continued on my way.
I arrived at my parents house right around 5am. It felt like shortest 325km drive of my life. Just 3525 to go. I went to sleep around 6am, and woke up at noon. By the time I ate, got my stuff ready and said my goodbyes is was 2:30pm.
Originally, my plan was to do the drive in 3 days. My dad suggested I do a short first day and stop in Sudbury for the first night, since driving around Lake Superior at night is a hazard. This would have meant a 4 day trip. "You're going to end up driving all night, aren't you?..." was one of the last things my dad said to me...I think he knows me better than I know myself.
So.....now that I have no doubt bored you all to death with details, I'll try to keep it brief from here on.
I wish I had kept an actual trip log, and took more pictures. All I kept record of was my fillups, and the date/time on my pics helps me know where I was at what time.
So here we go.
4:56am July 8 2010 Just arrived at my parents' place. I left the hardtop there. I don't know how many chances I will have to coss Canada in a roadster, I sure as hell wasn't doing it with a hardtop on.
Afternoon, July 8 2010. Somewhere between Oshawa and Sudbury. This was the worst part of the trip, lots of construction and a maximum speed of 80km/h the whole time. I was making bad time as far as I was concerned.
I arrived in Sudbury long before sunset, and still had lots of energy. I decided to keep going. Maybe I'd stop in Sault Ste-Marie for the night.
Ok, screw that. Sault Ste-Marie came and went, and I decided that I was indeed going to plow on through the night around the dreaded Lake Superior. Thunder Bay was now my destination, I would get a hotel there in the morning, I thought. As soon as I hit the Lake and saw my first "Beware of Moose" sign, I also hit a wall of fog that didn't let up until sunrise. I did about 70km/h around the whole lake, constantly watching the roadside for crossing animals. A good part of the time, I was holding a handheld spotlight out the roof for exta lighting. I saw about 3 deer and one wolf/coyote. This was the most intense and thrilling leg of the drive.
Lake Superior at night.
5:15am, July 9. Almost finished with Lake Superior, just over an hour from Thunder Bay.
6:26am, July 9. Thunder Bay!
After 16 hours of driving, I was ready for a hotel room, or so i thought. I went to about 4 or 5 different places, starting with the hotels, and working my way down the the trashy little mom and pop motels. None of them had a room for me until 11am. Shit. By the time I had gotten food and gas, I had pissed away well over an hour. Thunder Bay left a real bad impression on me... I got back on the highway and decided to keep driving until 11, when I should be able to find a hotel. The problem was, I was crashing. I stopped on a little highway rest "semi-circle", rolled my windows up, put the top up and fell asleep. I had zero natural cover and the sun was already getting strong. I woke up 30 minutes later drenched in sweat and decided that wasn't working and I might as well keep on driving. The 30 minute nap did wonders, and I felt like a new man, ready to keep going.
9:01am EST (10:01 CST), July 9. Entering Central Standard Time Zome
Kenora. Almost out of Ontario finally! This is our "Trans-Canada Highway"...You don't get to do over 80km/h until you hit Manitoba, then it's 110 all the way.
Entering Manitoba. I took some of the pics with a different camera, and don't have the exact times. This must have been around 4pm Friday July 9th. Over 24 hours and counting.
As soon as I entered the pairies, I started having hard things bounce off my driver's mirror and into my car. A few hit me in the face and at first I thought they were rocks. Turned out the be some hard-shelled bug. I had to roll my windows up a bit so they didnt end up in the car. I also had a house fly stick to my upper lip. Anyone ever see that episode of Arrested Development where Micheal buys a Corvette, and goes out to lunch with a housefly stuck to his face? Yeah... :squintfin shitfly.
8:25pm EST (7:25 Central) Somewhere near Winnipeg... My car started to smell like manure by this time.
~9:55pm EST (8:55 Central) friday, July9. 1-2 hours past Portage La Prairie. Stop to stretch my legs, enjoy the sunset and prepare for one big, final dash. I knew I would be getting there within a couple hours of sunrise the next morning.
Blasted through the rest of Manitoba, and then through Saskatchewan. didn't see 5 cars all night. Top down and freezing my ass off again.
Saturday morning, July 10th. Sun is coming up and I have 100 clicks to go!
8:43amEST (6:43am Mountain Time) Just outside Calgary.
42hours, 3525kms non-stop. Except of course food/gas and the 30 min. nap outside of Thunder Bay. I must admit, the last few hours were NOT EASY. I will probably never try something like this again, but I sure am glad that I did it. It was a bonding experience with my car, and my country.
Total trip, both legs: ~3850kms.
First leg: Pincourt-Belleville. 325kms, 3hrs.
Second leg: Belleville-Calgary. 3525kms, 42 hours.
Fuel Consumed: 262.28 liters
AVG Fuel economy: 6.9l/100km, 34.08mpg.
I had about 2 weeks to get everything done and go back out permanently after a 3 week trial period in June. The company had offered to ship my car and fly me out, but I insisted that I wanted to drive. I didn't feel safe having my car shipped, and I have always wanted to drive across Canada. Montreal to Calgary would have to do for now.
My parents had also just made a move from Montreal to the Belleville area in Ontario. It was decided that I would drive to thier house in the evening, wednesday July 7th to see their new place, get a good night's sleep and really start my trip the next day. Of course, things never go as planned. My last couple days were completely frantic (due to my own procrastination) tying to sell 2 cars and get everything I owned to work to be shipped out on skids. I ended up giving away most of my furniture, and all of my electronics to a friend. It was 9pm,I should have already been at my parents house which is over a 3 hour drive, and I was still at work trying to figure out how to ship a hardtop without it getting damaged, and my place was still full of stuff. I ended up leaving my place around 2am. I was completely beat, and had only slept about 8 of the pevious 48 hours, but had told myself that I was going to my parents house THAT NIGHT, whatever it took. I filled up and was on my way.
The worst luck of the entire trip struck as soon as I entered Ontario. It stated to rain once I crossed the border, then within 5 minutes of that I came across debris spread all over the highway. I managed to avoid the smaller pieces at first (looked like clothing), but eventually came across a part where it was all across the road. I ran over what looked like a blanket, but sounded like Freddy Kruger taking a few good shots at the underbody of my car. I died a little inside, and prayed everything was ok, keeping a close eye on my gauges. I stopped a few minutes later just to make sure everything was kosher, and there was a big piece of fabric mesh filled with pliers and leather straps that had caught onto one of my exhaust hangers. I unhooked it, and continued on my way.
I arrived at my parents house right around 5am. It felt like shortest 325km drive of my life. Just 3525 to go. I went to sleep around 6am, and woke up at noon. By the time I ate, got my stuff ready and said my goodbyes is was 2:30pm.
Originally, my plan was to do the drive in 3 days. My dad suggested I do a short first day and stop in Sudbury for the first night, since driving around Lake Superior at night is a hazard. This would have meant a 4 day trip. "You're going to end up driving all night, aren't you?..." was one of the last things my dad said to me...I think he knows me better than I know myself.
So.....now that I have no doubt bored you all to death with details, I'll try to keep it brief from here on.
I wish I had kept an actual trip log, and took more pictures. All I kept record of was my fillups, and the date/time on my pics helps me know where I was at what time.
So here we go.
4:56am July 8 2010 Just arrived at my parents' place. I left the hardtop there. I don't know how many chances I will have to coss Canada in a roadster, I sure as hell wasn't doing it with a hardtop on.
Afternoon, July 8 2010. Somewhere between Oshawa and Sudbury. This was the worst part of the trip, lots of construction and a maximum speed of 80km/h the whole time. I was making bad time as far as I was concerned.
I arrived in Sudbury long before sunset, and still had lots of energy. I decided to keep going. Maybe I'd stop in Sault Ste-Marie for the night.
Ok, screw that. Sault Ste-Marie came and went, and I decided that I was indeed going to plow on through the night around the dreaded Lake Superior. Thunder Bay was now my destination, I would get a hotel there in the morning, I thought. As soon as I hit the Lake and saw my first "Beware of Moose" sign, I also hit a wall of fog that didn't let up until sunrise. I did about 70km/h around the whole lake, constantly watching the roadside for crossing animals. A good part of the time, I was holding a handheld spotlight out the roof for exta lighting. I saw about 3 deer and one wolf/coyote. This was the most intense and thrilling leg of the drive.
Lake Superior at night.
5:15am, July 9. Almost finished with Lake Superior, just over an hour from Thunder Bay.
6:26am, July 9. Thunder Bay!
After 16 hours of driving, I was ready for a hotel room, or so i thought. I went to about 4 or 5 different places, starting with the hotels, and working my way down the the trashy little mom and pop motels. None of them had a room for me until 11am. Shit. By the time I had gotten food and gas, I had pissed away well over an hour. Thunder Bay left a real bad impression on me... I got back on the highway and decided to keep driving until 11, when I should be able to find a hotel. The problem was, I was crashing. I stopped on a little highway rest "semi-circle", rolled my windows up, put the top up and fell asleep. I had zero natural cover and the sun was already getting strong. I woke up 30 minutes later drenched in sweat and decided that wasn't working and I might as well keep on driving. The 30 minute nap did wonders, and I felt like a new man, ready to keep going.
9:01am EST (10:01 CST), July 9. Entering Central Standard Time Zome
Kenora. Almost out of Ontario finally! This is our "Trans-Canada Highway"...You don't get to do over 80km/h until you hit Manitoba, then it's 110 all the way.
Entering Manitoba. I took some of the pics with a different camera, and don't have the exact times. This must have been around 4pm Friday July 9th. Over 24 hours and counting.
As soon as I entered the pairies, I started having hard things bounce off my driver's mirror and into my car. A few hit me in the face and at first I thought they were rocks. Turned out the be some hard-shelled bug. I had to roll my windows up a bit so they didnt end up in the car. I also had a house fly stick to my upper lip. Anyone ever see that episode of Arrested Development where Micheal buys a Corvette, and goes out to lunch with a housefly stuck to his face? Yeah... :squintfin shitfly.
8:25pm EST (7:25 Central) Somewhere near Winnipeg... My car started to smell like manure by this time.
~9:55pm EST (8:55 Central) friday, July9. 1-2 hours past Portage La Prairie. Stop to stretch my legs, enjoy the sunset and prepare for one big, final dash. I knew I would be getting there within a couple hours of sunrise the next morning.
Blasted through the rest of Manitoba, and then through Saskatchewan. didn't see 5 cars all night. Top down and freezing my ass off again.
Saturday morning, July 10th. Sun is coming up and I have 100 clicks to go!
8:43amEST (6:43am Mountain Time) Just outside Calgary.
42hours, 3525kms non-stop. Except of course food/gas and the 30 min. nap outside of Thunder Bay. I must admit, the last few hours were NOT EASY. I will probably never try something like this again, but I sure am glad that I did it. It was a bonding experience with my car, and my country.
Total trip, both legs: ~3850kms.
First leg: Pincourt-Belleville. 325kms, 3hrs.
Second leg: Belleville-Calgary. 3525kms, 42 hours.
Fuel Consumed: 262.28 liters
AVG Fuel economy: 6.9l/100km, 34.08mpg.
Last edited:
