Need tips for riding into Canada

[cactusjack]

I don't think I'll ever bitch about federal and state taxes again. I've got nothing to complain about, apparently. Ditto for the price of beer/booze.

[ringadingh]

Planning on entering at port huron then drifting toward lake erie and kinda following it then swing up to Niagra, see it then exiting inyo New York

If your going to be arriving around Aug 13, you should try to stop in Port Dover, its right on Lake Erie. Its a huge bike gathering thats meets every Fri 13. Its quite the place for that day, you will see bikes of every shape,make, and size from all over North America. Its like the Canadian version of Laconia or Sturgis but only goes on for the one day.

[cdneh]

When traveling in Ontario remember the speeds are in kilometres per hour. Four lane highways post speeds of 100 km/hr which equals 60 mph. Rule of thumb is you can go 18 - 20 km over the limit and not get stopped, which is about 72 mph. On two lane highways the speed is 80 km ( 48 mph ) and you can generally do 92 (55 mph) without getting a ticket. Common city and town speeds are 60 kph = 36 mph and 50 kph = 30 mph. Just multiply the posted speed by .6 to get you mph equivalent. If you have time to get north of Toronto to Algonquin or Haliburton, the scenery and lakes are quite beautiful. To buy your beer find the Beer Store, for liquor look for an LCBO. Enjoy your ride and be safe.

[cnc]

Originally Posted by Sly

GEES what IS the problem??? Here in LA BELLE PROVINCE, 15% sales tax on everything, gas as of yesterday was 1.08$ a litre (thats 4$ + a gallon) NO tolls, and it shows, roads suck ( there should be a sign as you enter, bumps for next million km) and if you own a bike, 614$ to plate it every year, 154$ instead of 86$ for your drivers' licence EVERY YEAR...... cheap insurance though, under 300$

BUT it ain't all bad, beer is more expensive than in the US, but you can get it at LE depanneur (8am - 11pm) and it's cheaper than in Ontario, FOOD, wow we have great stuff including junk food, and it's a beautiful place to ride and discover... , The Charlevoix region comes to mind, Beautiful!!! Gaspé, Quebec City, Montreal (festivals start this weekend, plus the Grand-Prix is in town) We have NO igloos (and where there are igloos, forget the bike, it's a ski-doo you need) and we do speak english...

In Niagra, do the wine route, was told it was nice and that's where my g-friend & I will spend our vacation this year.... Nice places to visit all across the southern Ontario area.
Enjoy your stay, come back soon, we need your MONEY

Sounds like a nice place Sly, maybe I'll visit some time!

[rez]

I believe helmets mandatory in all provinces...Ontario for sure. Enjoy!

[radco]

I thought I heard Canada was CRACKING down on loud pipes as well! Is a 1/2 helmet OK in Canada? or Full Face or 3/4 only? Thought I read that somewhere no 1/2 helmets!!
TC I wonder if we have the enhanced license here in Maine? SInce Im just off the border it would be a good thing to have :)
See you all in NY soon.. RINGADINGH is BUYING the beer for the first 3 days

[ringadingh]

Load pipes and half helmets are ok here.
And buying the beer is no problem, one bottle each per day!

[radco]

Steve with the exchange rate it is 8.1 beers aday ::)

[mrbill69]

Thanks for all the tips, I think we'll be able to muddle through it and have some fun.

[cyclecat]

I guess we shouldn't complain that much in Alberta since we do not have the provincial tax on top of the federal.

US dollar is up by 8 or 9 cents but that won't mean much for buying goods or food in Canada. I'm willing to bet that the stores and restaurants do the same in Eastern Canada as they do here - anything less than a 15% exchange rate and they take the US money at par. Now I know it's a rip-off for the Americans but I've seen it happen. A few months ago when our dollar was .002 (not even a penny) below the US dollar, I watched a cashier in WalMart tell an American he owed her more US money on his purchases. I looked at the cashier and told her to check again, that the US dollar was still a tad higher than ours so she got a supervisor and the supervisor basically told me to mind my own business that our dollar was worth more that day. My reply was to keep ripping off the tourists and they would be sure to come back again, and spend more money in Alberta, just to get screwed. I apologized to the guy for being ripped off and he told me it was not the first place in Alberta to do that to him.

If it was me, I would do what we do when we travel in the US, go to the bank and exchange your money for Canadian before you come into Canada. You will get a better exchange rate in the US anyway. I have exchanged money in both countries, and consistently pay less exchange in the US than in Canada since the formula for calculating exchange is different here than in the US.

[nomadbehappy]

We pay high taxes here and now Dalton (our Premier) is introducing HST (combing our 2 taxes into 1) so we pay tax on everything! But on the positive side we have universal health insurance which even with its problems is still great, and our beer is phenomenal :-)

Your debit cards should work, just check the back of it and there should be a symbol for interac and or Plus, if it has either of these symbols they will work basically everywhere. As someone else mentioned keep your receipts as I believe you can still submit your receipts to get a tax reimbursement ... our government is tourist friendly, they just screw us :-)

Brian

[sly]

Originally Posted by radco

I thought I heard Canada was CRACKING down on loud pipes as well! Is a 1/2 helmet OK in Canada? or Full Face or 3/4 only? Thought I read that somewhere no 1/2 helmets!!
TC I wonder if we have the enhanced license here in Maine? SInce Im just off the border it would be a good thing to have :)
See you all in NY soon.. RINGADINGH is BUYING the beer for the first 3 days

As Ring said, half helmets are fine (never wore anything else) but here in LA belle province loud isn't always welcome. There are some towns that forbid riding (all bikes) during certain hours and on certain streets :(" title="" border="0"/>, When they want to, cops take out the little rods and check out the pipes. 154$ fine and if you live here, well hope you kept the originals . Basic rule is don't abuse and there should be no problem. There are loud pipes everywhere, but if you're at the wrong place at the wrong time and his wife pissed him off before work.... :-/

[sly]

Originally Posted by cnc

Sounds like a nice place Sly, maybe I'll visit some time!

CNC, you should...

[biscuitsngravy]

My Nomad has taken me to BC, AB, and SK. Most rides have taken me through mostly rural areas. I've never had a bad experience with any of the folks with whom I've had contact. Great people. Friendly, helpful, interested in where you are from and where you are going. I plan on visiting more provinces. BnG

[ringadingh]

Originally Posted by BiscuitsNGravy aka Dave Mills

My Nomad has taken me to BC, AB, and SK. Most rides have taken me through mostly rural areas. I've never had a bad experience with any of the folks with whom I've had contact. Great people. Friendly, helpful, interested in where you are from and where you are going. I plan on visiting more provinces. BnG

Canada has a lot of great places and things to see coast to coast, I see youve travelled through the western provinces. Make sure you get out to the east coast someday, it really something to see as well. I was amazes at how beutiful it is there, and not much traffic either.