Magdalen Islands Iron Butt

[Nexus]

Well, I am attempting another Iron Butt (Saddle Sore). This time to the Magdalen Islands, QC in Canada. This is my second Iron Butt attempt. I completed the first one but didn't think I had the necessary documentation so I never bothered sending what I had in for verification. You can read about it here:

Lake Michigan Iron Butt | Long Distance Riders

Two days ago I attempted to do an Iron Butt Saddle Sore (1000 mi in 24 hrs) around Lake Michigan by heading north up the western shore then back down through Michigan and returning to Chicago. The plan was to leave Chicago around 4-5 am and get cracking early. Well, I didn't leave the house...

www.st-owners.com

A little background:
The Magdalen Islands in my mother's birthplace. As such, we use to go there every summer. I've probably driven there from Montreal around a dozen times as a passenger and about 8 times as a driver. Three of those were on a motorcycle. However, it's only ~750 miles and I was about half my age the last time I did it on a motorcycle. It was a sports bike, but this'll still be more of a challenge. Actually, if I remember correctly, I was hungover when I departed and still made it in one straight shot! Ahh, youth!

So I'll be leaving Cockeysville, MD (just north of Baltimore) shortly and, if all goes well, I'll be in Souris, PE in 20 hours waiting for the ferry to the islands. For obvious reasons, Souris will be the actual destination for the IB.

A couple of issues that I forsee:
1. The gas station(s) in Souris don't open until around 7:00 am (Atlantic) at the earliest. That means that even if I leave extra early, like say 5 am, I'll have to wait until they open to get my last receipt which will show a late completion. So I'm delaying my departure until 8:00 am-ish to give myself a couple of hours buffer (9:00 am Atlantic time). Not ideal, I'd rather leave early, but there you go.
2. As a backup, there is a 24-hour gas station in Charlottetown (which I plan on stopping at anyway), but it's about 49 miles before Souris. The shortest distance (as far as google maps is concerned) between home and Souris is 1049 miles. This puts the gas station at exactly 1000 miles if this is the last fuel-up I can do within the 24 hours. That's kind of tight if the IBA wants to challenge my exact route. Hopefully, I can avoid that.
3. The google maps route will take me right through New York/New Jersey. I really don't want to deal with the possibility of NY/NJ traffic so I'm planning on bypassing the area by heading up through Scranton, PA. I think I might also save ~$35 in tolls from the NJ Turnpike. This adds about 66 miles to my drive but It'll be worth it to save the aggravation. Also, Charlottetown will be 1066 miles whereas Souris will be 1114. This'll give me the option of grabbing a hotel room in Charlottetown and doing the last push the following day as I don't think there will be any hotels available in Souris.
4. After reading @Uncle Phil 's ride to Newfoundland (almost) I'm planning on hitting the Saint Stephen border on Milltown to avoid any delays. Actually, I think our rides are similar from around Harrisburg, PA until around Moncton, NB. Hopefully, I don't have near the issues he did!

Here's a google map of my route, planned and shortest:

Magdalen Islands Iron Butt - Google My Maps

Map showing shortest, planned, and actual route from Cockeysville, MD to Souris, PE Iron Butt.

www.google.com

I'll try to update it as I go along, but google maps doesn't make it easy to update your maps on a cell phone.

Also, If you want to follow my ride in real-time, here's a link to my updated location in google:

See my real-time location on Google Maps!

Visit Google Maps to check out my real-time location. With the Google Maps App you can share your location with friends and family too.

maps.app.goo.gl

I'm not sure how well it'll work because the internet may be spotty. And when I cross into Canada, my data gets limited.

So hopefully I make it in the required time. If I don't... Oh well, it was a nice ride. The weather along the route looks good (no rain) for now. My ferry reservation is for 2:00 pm so I have lots of time in case I need to delay. Should I miss that one, then I'll have to go "standby" and wait for an opening. I think motorcycles are usually pretty easy to get on. That being said, the last time I drove a bike across, reservations were not needed at all!

I'll try and check/update this thread periodically, but if I don't it's probably because I'm riding and/or making quick stops. Thanks for reading... Magdalen Islands or bust!

 

[Nexus]

Here we go:



Lists of Stops (so far)

1. Exxon - Cockeysville (0 miles) - 8:19 am GMT-4
2. Exxon - Scranton, PA (179 miles) - 11:32 am GMT-4
3. Citgo - Tolland, CT (206 miles) - 3:25 pm GMT-4
4. Irving Oil - Kittery, ME (133 miles) - 5:47 pm GMT-4
5. Main State Visitor Information Center - Yarmouth, ME - 7:47 (56 miles)GMT-4
6. Irving Oil - Bangor, ME (117 miles) - 10:04 pm GMT-4
7. Irving Oil - Baileyville, ME (90 miles) - 11:38 pm GMT-4
8. Canada Border Services Agency - Saint Stephen, NB (9 miles)- 1:15 am GMT-3
9. Petro Canada - Moncton, NB (169 miles) - 3:44 am GMT-3
10. Irving - Charlottetown, PE (107 miles)- 5:49 am GMT-3
11. Petro-Canada - Souris, PE (48 miles) - 6:58 am GMT-3

 

[Weaselinsuit]

Best of luck, will be interested to read how it goes! Safe riding and hope you reach your goal.

 

[Uncle Phil]

Real nice customers Lady at Milltown! Good luck and I do hope you don't have any issues like I had.

 

[Peppermint]

Good luck, my friend! Safe travels, we'll be watching!

Patty

 

[RichKat]

Have a great ride and be safe, take lots of photos

 

[Nexus]

Ride going well so far. My butt was saying to take a break! I've done around 520 miles so more than halfway. Gonna be more stops from here on in. I'm gonna use the "major" cities (Bangor, Moncton, St. John, Charlottetown) as islands as I'm banking on them having 24-hour gas stops!

Real nice customers Lady at Milltown! Good luck and I do hope you don't have any issues like I had.

I'm guessing It'll be fairly late when I get there. I hope she's there and that they're open. Laugh if you must, but some smaller border crossings close at night!

Good luck, my friend! Safe travels, we'll be watching!

Thanks, Patty! I may be going home via Montreal on my way back! I'll keep you posted!

Have a great ride and be safe, take lots of photos

Thanks, @RichKat! lol! the only pictures I've taken are of the receipts and gas stations! I might be able to pull some stuff from my dash cam but we'll see if it's any good!

 

[Uncle Phil]

I think the Milltown crossing is the one the 'locals' use so it might stay open late.

 

[Obo]

Moncton, Saint John... I'm banking on them having 24-hour gas stops!

Just beyond Saint John (5-10mins) there's an Irving right on the highway route 1 (located in Rothesay) that's a 24hr.

Next one I can say for certain is an Irving Big Stop just before Moncton (located in Salsbury) It's about an hour beyond the Rothesay one above.
It's just off the highway.

 

[Bmacleod]

Good luck and safe travels. Be careful east of Stratford, PE on the TransCanada. There is road construction going on and when I was through there today I was shocked at some of the raised manhole covers in the middle of the road. Some of them were four or five inches high.

 

[Nexus]

I think the Milltown crossing is the one the 'locals' use so it might stay open late.

I just took the first one. It's the one the GPS took me to and I was too lazy to figure out otherwise! there wasn't anybody there and I think I might've woken her up! She was super chill, tho'

Border guard: How long will you be in Canada?
Me: I should be returning around the 15th.
BG: Can I see your passport?
Me: I'm dual. Do you want the Canadian or American one?
BG: You're Canadian? Ok, then I don't care how long you stay! (she said it with a grin)

Just beyond Saint John (5-10mins) there's an Irving right on the highway route 1 (located in Rothesay) that's a 24hr.

Next one I can say for certain is an Irving Big Stop just before Moncton (located in Salsbury) It's about an hour beyond the Rothesay one above.
It's just off the highway.

Thanks! Since I was able to get gas right before the border, I was able to bypass St. John and make it to a Petro-Can in Moncton on Mountain Rd near the T-Can.

Good luck and safe travels. Be careful east of Stratford, PE on the TransCanada. There is road construction going on and when I was through there today I was shocked at some of the raised manhole covers in the middle of the road. Some of them were four or five inches high.

Thanks! Yeah, I'm pretty sure I hit that construction. The worse is how poorly things were marked!



So, I'm in Souris, waiting for the 2pm ferry (it's 9am as I write this). I'm gonna chill out and relax for now (been awake for over 24hrs). I'll give a more detailed report a bit later!

 

[Obo]

Border guard: How long will you be in Canada?
Me: I should be returning around the 15th.
BG: Can I see your passport?
Me: I'm dual. Do you want the Canadian or American one?
BG: You're Canadian? Ok, then I don't care how long you stay! (she said it with a grin)

Guess you flashed her your @Nexus card Well played.

 

[Uncle Phil]

Next one I can say for certain is an Irving Big Stop just before Moncton (located in Salsbury) It's about an hour beyond the Rothesay one above.
It's just off the highway.

Funny how you would know that ...

 

[Uncle Phil]

I just took the first one. It's the one the GPS took me to and I was too lazy to figure out otherwise! there wasn't anybody there and I think I might've woken her up! She was super chill, tho'

You would have had to gone straight past the International Avenue roundabout for about 1,000 yards and took a left on North Street (easy to miss if you aren't looking closely - right in a bend). But you got across with no hassle and that is the most important part for sure.

 

[Obo]

Funny how you would know that ...

The Big Stop we stopped at isn't the Salsbury one rather it was the Aulac one. (Let's be honest, they are all very much the same just in different spots.)
I was going to mention this one to @Nexus but he was going a more scenic route to the PEI vs sticking to the highway.
As a result he'd bypass this Big Stop completely.

 

[Uncle Phil]

The Big Stop we stopped at isn't the Salsbury one rather it was the Aulac one. (Let's be honest, they are all very much the same just in different spots.)
I was going to mention this one to @Nexus but he was going a more scenic route to the PEI vs sticking to the highway.
As a result he'd bypass this Big Stop completely.

I stand corrected then!
They are all about the same just in different spots and I didn't remember which 'spot'!

 

[Nexus]

Ok, here is the summary of my Iron Butt from Baltimore to the Magdalen Islands:

Cockeysville, MD - Scranton, PA (179 miles) - 8:19am - 11:32 am GMT-4
View media item 422Here we go! I'm leaving a bit later than I wanted but not too bad. The trip should be good as the weather is forecasted to be mostly cloudy with a chance of rain in the New York/Connecticut area. This was a shorter leg than I would have liked. The only reason I stopped as soon as Scranton was that I had "planned" it to avoid the NY/NJ area.

Scranton, PA- Tolland, CT (206 miles) - 11:49 am - 3:25 pm GMT-4
View media item 426A bit of a longer drive. Again no issues, although I did hit some stop-and-go traffic a few times. I'm sure it wasn't as bad as what I would've hit crossing into NYC on the George Washington Bridge and then fighting through Yonkers. Not to mention the Jersey Turnpike down by the airport/port! I kept thinking to myself, "I wonder if @Uncle Phil had to wait through this stuff?"

Tolland, CT - Hampton, NH (119 miles) - 3:38 pm - 5:19 pm GMT-4
View media item 428Still going well. No rain so far but I hit heavy fog, more like clouds. The windshield had precipitation running up it, but I think it might have been due to the fog rather than actual rain. I didn't feel wet. Nonetheless, it didn't last very long. At this point, I realize that I'd forgotten my EZPass transponder. Hasn't been an issue so far, but I think it might later on. I also don't have any US cash on me so I decided to stop off at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Store in Hampton and find an ATM.

Hampton, NH - Kittery, ME (13 miles) - 5:28 pm -5:47 pm GMT-4
View media item 423I managed to leave the booze store without alcohol (didn't have much room to pack it on the bike anyway) and hit the first NH toll. I was glad I got cash because they don't take credit and they have some convoluted way to pay online. Much easier to just hand 'em cash although not as easy as breezing through with a transponder. I had to pay a couple more times through Maine as well. I got a bit of a scare as when I would try to accelerate hard, the engine would putter out like it was low on fuel. But I still had 3 bars on the fuel gauge and I was sure I was good for a ton more miles. So I decided to stop in Kittery for fuel and hope for the best. I also chose to make Kittery a food/relax stop as well. So I fueled up, grabbed an Italian sub, and typed up an update on st-owners.com I also looked at the road ahead and decided I would use the "major" cities (Bangor, St. Johns, Moncton, and Charlottetown) as fuel islands as I wasn't sure there would be any 24-hour gas stations in between.

Kittery, ME - Yarmouth, ME (60 miles) - 6:54 pm - 7:47 pm GMT-4
View media item 424One hour later I was back on the road. No issues with the engine, I guess it was the fuel! This was a short leg as I stopped at a Maine welcome center in Yarmouth because the sun was setting and it was getting cooler. I switched to my spring/fall jacket (rather than summer) and put on my heated inner jacket. Like a dumb-ass, I had forgotten to charge my Cardo headset during my fuel/eat stop so its batteries were dying. I plugged it into a battery bank tucked into my jacket pocket. Can't ride without tunes!

Yarmouth, ME - Bangor, ME (117 miles) - 8:16 pm - 10:04 pm GMT-4
View media item 429No real issues during the ride. I did drive around Bangor looking for a Gas station that was still open. I found one, fuelled up, and headed out.

Bangor, ME - Baileyville, ME (90 miles) - 10:21 pm - 11:52 pm GMT-4
View media item 419This was probably one of the funner legs. A two-lane highway, with lots of curves, and a 55mph speed limit. The only negative was that it was at night. Baileyville is just before the Canadian border and there was a 24-hour gas station right there. So I elected to take this last opportunity to purchase some cheap gas (hard to believe, isn't it?).

Baileyville, ME - Saint Stephen, NB - 1:03 am - 1:11 am GMT-3
View media item 420Just a quick jaunt to the border. No issues but my ArriveCan is a bit messed up since I use it for work. Entry for work is different than for pleasure and the app doesn't allow you to have two profiles. I just have to explain myself to the agents and they're ok with it.

Saint Stephen, NB - Moncton, NB (169 miles) - 1:21 am - 3:42 am GMT-3
View media item 427Put my papers away and headed off. 110 mph speed limit!? Awesome! Oh, wait, that's KM! Crap! Oh well, 70 mph is still decent. Once I crossed the border, I had no internet. I had cell service and, it seemed, access to voice and text, just no internet. It's strange as I never have issues when I'm in Montreal or Toronto. I hit some pretty intense fog and had to slow it down to 80 km/h at some points. That was probably still a bit too fast, but I was starting to want to be done with this ride. I do have extra lights, yellow and white, installed and these were key.

Moncton, NB - Charlottetown, PE - (107 miles) 4:02 am - 5:46 am GMT-3
View media item 425This was a pleasant leg, although I was starting to feel the tiredness that comes with such a long ride. Man, Confederation bridge is long (13 km)! By the time I got into Charlottetown, the sun was starting to rise. Also, since I didn't have internet, I couldn't just google maps myself to the 24-hour gas station I had looked up. So I drove around Charlottetown a bit looking for an open station.

Charlottetown, PE - Souris, PE (48 miles) - 6:02 am - 6:56 am GMT-3
View media item 421Ok, last leg. I'm feeling really tired but it's light out and traffic hasn't really hit the road yet. I've got less than an hour to go, so let's push through and do this! Only thing of note here is that the roads need work! Next time I'm doing this on an adventure bike!

Finally, I made it into Souris and did my final fuel-up. Now, I just have to compile my receipts and send them off! Hopefully, I'm good to go this time!

So, after getting to Souris, you'd think it'd be easy sailing at that point! Nope! I get to the docks and show them my reservation: "I'm sorry sir, this reservation has been canceled!" What? How is this even possible? "I just made this reservation 3 days ago!" I'm getting a little irate after having driven all night. No one in Souris can really do anything, they have to call the main office in the Magdalen Islands. According to them, right after I made the reservation, I canceled it! That doesn't even make sense. I have a reservation confirmation and receipt, but the system never even sent me a cancellation email or something saying I had been refunded. On top of that, they charged me a $75 cancellation fee! After going back and forth, they re-issue my ticket after I pay back the refunded amount. It's a standby ticked but the guy at the dock says, "don't worry, I'm putting you in the reservation holder's line. You're getting on, 100% guaranteed!" Also, he tells me: "I don't really believe what the main office is telling you, look. Here's your initial reservation, here's where it was canceled the next day. Someone over there probably f*cked up!"

Anyway, I did get on the boat and am currently in the Magdalen islands enjoying some R&R!

20-20 hindsight:

• Again, a better seat. I said it last time but I never upgraded my seat. I'm usually fine on it but for this extra-long single ride trip, maybe the last couple of hundred miles would have been more comfortable.
• Cruise control. Yeah, this bike doesn't have it. I did get an Atlas throttle lock and it's the next best thing. It works really well and is way better than those other cheap throttle locks that use your brake lever to hold the throttle. I really never had any luck using them. I also didn't like the ones that you rest your palms on. Nope, the Atlas may be more expensive, but it was worth it in my books.
• GPS. I said it last time and I forgot about it again! I really should have one for these long rides. It's just that I never need one for my usual rides so I always forget until I need it. I did have the insight to pre-load my google maps before I crossed into Canada so I could still use my phone's GPS.

@RichKat This is the only picture I took! After I was on the ferry!
View media item 430

 

[Willsmotorcycle]

17H 40M ?, nice job!!

 

[Nexus]

17H 40M ?, nice job!!

Did you add it up? I'm not sure, but It was about 22 hours running from start to finish. I pulled the times from google maps and when they weren't available, I used the timestamps on my dash cam. I know that when I left Moncton, my trip meter read just under 1000 miles and that was around 19-20 hrs including stops. Keep in mind there was a time zone crossing so I may have gained (lost?) an hour.

 

[ChriSTian_64]

Wow ! Well done, Dave. Congrats.

Prince Edouard Island is one of my favorite place. My wife and I, we've been a few times to Red Point Provincial Park, just past Souris.
In Souris, at The Blue Fin restaurant, I had my lifetime best Lobster. And it is really affordable.

For the IronButt, I am planning (probably after I will have changed my 22 years old coolant hoses, so probably next year) I am planning to do a Montreal - Windsor/Detroit - Montreal, or... Montreal - Toronto - Quebec - Montreal. Something like that. An advantage that I see with the 401, is that they have ONroute rest stops at every 45 minutes or so. So, gas, food, coffee, toilets, are always nearby, directly on the side of the freeway. Also, the traffic speed is 10, 20, 30 kmh over the limit. So you can flow at the traffic speed without risking a ticket, and complete the 1000 miles in a bit less time.

I will start by a few practice run soon. Say 8 hours, 10 hours, 12, 14. etc. And see how my butt goes. With a few stop to rest, I too calculated it will take about 20 hours.
The best is probably to do it when the weather is still cool ( 22C / 74F) and the lenght of daytime is long : probably early june will be a good time for Ontario.

Well done, again, Dave,
You made it.

Now, enjoy your stay at Magdalen Island, the paradise on earth.