XJ pics of my move to Edmonton, AB

About a week ago I have moved myself to the land of opportunity. To save time telling the story I will just copy and paste the writeup from my facebook.

Photos from my journey from St. Clements ON, to Edmonton AB.

No, I'm not in the photos, but theres not alot you can do about that while traveling alone...

All and all it was about 14 hours a day on the road for 3 days straight. I could have done it faster but I wasted time looking for a new spare tire, also due to the aero restrictions of the monstrosity I was towing, I could only go 120km/h under the rare best conditions but more like 110km/h most of the time. Sometimes nasty head winds prevented me from breaking 100.

And for some additional information, I could only drive about 120km/h (75mph) under the best conditions in 5th gear. Most of the time it was about 110km/h and in some nasty head wind conditions I had to stay in 4th gear to maintain highway speed and burn fuel like a hog. I actually drove about 1/4 the way across North Dakota in 4th. I used nearly a half a tank of gas to go 150km (93mi) at that point.

I also lost a spare tire from my trailer on Chicago's god awful roads. Almost lost my Maxim as well, 1 of the 4 straps had come off. I pulled in to get gas and looked at it in shock.

The whole trip was approximately 3500km (2200mi) and took me 3 days driving about 14 hours a day (including refuel, eating, looking for a new spare...etc). Also, I'm glad I have GM's Ecotec 2.2 engine because the vast majority of 4cyl car's would have to do the trip entirely in 4th gear hauling that load. As well as my bike I also have my tool chest and snow tires on the back. I figure the trailer and load weighs around 1000lbs altogether but it wasn't so much the weight that was a problem but the aero disadvantage.


Anyone who is on the XJ owners club on face book can look at the profile of Adam Mousso to see many more pics. Heres just a few.




My rig in front of the set of Canadian sit-com "Corner Gas." They were actually filming an episode in the town of "dog river" (actually rouleau, Saskatchewan) while I was there.


The famous elevator in Dog river. Note how damn flat the prairie is.


At the Duty free shop coming in to Saskatchewan. I bought that case of Heineken for only $21. Amazing, they gave me more of a hassle getting back into my own country than the U.S. gave me going into Michigan. They actually made me go inside and have my bike ownership checked out to see if it was stolen. Took about 10min for some reason as well.


At a gas station only 10km from where I came from in Ontario on the rainy morning I left.

 

Awesome ! Welcome to the west. Let us know where you set up and what kinda of work you found. My son lives there (edmonton) 25. Send me a note if you want to look him up.

 

Any trouble finding accommodations in Edmonchuk? I went the opposite way in 2002, Edmonton to Ottawa. I got excited when I hit Kenora, only to realize I hadn't even hit the halfway point...

 

Thanks for the welcome. Finding accommodations was surprisingly easy actually. I had 2 options but the one seemed kind of Mickey Mouse. This 25 year old woman had broke up with his finance and was renting a room + shared accommodations to pay for the house. She didn't have any paperwork or anything and I wasn't about to drive 3500km across the country without being damn sure the place was mine. Damn she was hot though!

So now I have a bigger place for less money in "Killwoods" area of Edmonton. I'm living in a older woman's basement. Its nicely finished, big rec room, a bedroom, and my own bathroom down here. Not only that, I can park my bike for free in the big garage, and my trailer is parked outside of town at her daughters place on an acreage. My land lady's daughter is actually an aspiring country music singer recording her first album.


a340driver, sure you can pass along his info. Does he ride a bike himself?


Anyway I'm 21 and this is the first time moving away from my parents. It seems kind of weird as I'm not quite yet used to the aspect of buying food. It almost feels like a waste of money in a way . On the bright side of that I probably weigh less now than I have in 3 years. But I have to get away from eating just one meal a day and mostly filling the rest with beer.

 

Yeah, just give up that one meal a day and you'll be fine......

"Beer: no longer just a breakfast food."

Chicago is dreadful in the roadway department. You're lucky you only just lost a spare tire. Stray into the wrong 'hoods, and you could lose your life!

 

Which point of entry did you use for Michigan? I'm rather surprised you had to use your spare tire in Chicago, and not here. I think the last time some did a state by state road quality ranking, Michigan came in 49th. I forget who had worse roads.

 

It's always interesting to note that gas is cheaper 3500km away from where the gas is actually produced.

 

Hey buddy -

I'm in Edmonton too - 26 - if you ever want to trade bikes. Hehe, I bought mine at a garage sale in the summer, can't even get the pos to run yet!

 

Thanks for the Welcome. And to WarDog I entered from Sarnia ON. I didn't have to use the spare tire, I just lost it. And yes there were some pretty bad roads in Michigan, but Chicago took the cake uncontested for rough roads. I will also have to give Saskatchewan an honorable mention.

And eden, I don't know many people around here and could use someone to ride with now and then. If you ever get that bike running, lol