Julia on a bike

Alain, Chantal and their daughter Savahna live in Ontario, near Cornwall, a predominantly French-speaking township. They’ve just bought themselves a Kawasaki KLR 650.

After several years on touring bikes, it only took one event to convince them to switch to adventure bikes. An adventure, like the one they had just experienced, together. In mid-July 2023, the Halifax region is experiencing a torrential downpour. It’s Friday, and everyone is preparing for a sunny weekend. But as early as 5 p.m., the first drops appear. What promised to be just a light rainstorm turned into an uncontrollable downpour. Within moments, many roads and properties were submerged. Savahna and her parents, off to explore Halifax, struggle to get home to their hosts, Larry and Chantal, whose house and garden are not spared. Throughout the evening, the group watches helplessly as the waters rise. They wake up to a cold shower. The rains have stopped, but to get around the neighborhood and reach the main road, we have to use a canoe. Savahna, Chantal and Alain are a long way from home, and Alain has to return home – for lack of a sufficiently long vacation – while his wife and daughter plan to continue their trip to Cape Breton.

There was only one solution, and not the least risky. Along the railway track, on gravel and a width of 50cm, barely enough to put a foot on the ground. It’s an arduous exercise, with heavy bikes and tires ill-suited to the situation. After several maneuvers, and with Larry’s help, the family finally reaches the highway.

While the story has a happy ending, all three realize that to continue traveling safely, whatever the surface and weather conditions, their models are no longer suitable. They were able to try out Larry’s Kawasaki KLR 650, observe its versatility and maneuverability, and it was love at first sight. With their trip barely over, they set out to find this model and sell their Hondas. No time to fool around, as our Quebecois neighbors would say. And when we arrived at their place for our last stop in Ontario, Chantal, Alain and Savahna were all smiles as they greeted us and presented us with their new acquisitions. Well, Chantal and Savahna’s – Alain’s KLR is still in the garage.

The couple’s four children are as passionate as their parents, and although they don’t all have their driving licenses yet, they’ve already set their sights on it. But it’s undoubtedly Savahna, the youngest, for whom the love affair with the machine is strongest. After starting out on a dirt bike, or enduro, she took her driving test and bought a Honda Shadow 750. The model is comfortable, reliable and powerful. Enough to enable her to make her first big trip, to the Atlantic provinces with her parents in the summer of 2023. Juggling her studies and three different sporting activities, she’s clearly determined to get back into the stirrups of enduro motorcycling. Canada is a vast country, and it’s almost easier to find rough roads than perfectly paved ones. But to be at ease on any terrain with his KLR 650, Savahna is well aware of the need to perfect his technique. A small bike that can be ridden in forests, over rocks and in sand will enable him to acquire these skills – or perfect them.

The goal is not insignificant for her. Having traveled with her parents and heard the testimonials of various motorcyclists she has met, she now dreams of crossing the country’s roads, in search of those places which are sometimes unexplored -or little- explored. And watch those postcard landscapes. By 2023, she’ll have discovered Eastern Canada, despite a dead end in Newfoundland. And by 2024, she’ll have turned her gaze to the Northwest, heading for the Northern Territories and Yukon.

French version available here