Around the top of Lake Superior it became clear my tires were not going to last as long as I had hoped. I thought I could get all the way to Dawson Creek, BC before having to replace them.

I had been riding on Continental TKC80 tires, front an back. I think I had about 7,000 kms on the tires at the start of this trip.

The tires wear in a interesting way. Everything is wonderful for the longest while, and I didn’t really feel any sort of gradual decline in performance. But, whoo boy! Once they started going bad — it was quick!

Suddenly the tires were howling at speeds above 80 kph. They would quiet down when the bike was leaned over in long sweepers, but sadly most of this part of the trip is just long, straight roads.

I would love to say we cut it really close, and barely limped into Winnipeg on thread bare tires right at the end of their life. But no such drama happened.

My mind was always racing with worry about a sudden catastrophic failure along a lonely backroad, but it reality I have yet to stray far from the TransCanada — with the major exception being a sweet ride up Highway 129.

My plan was to head to Wildwood Motorsports in Winnipeg — but I’m about 2 years too late for that dealership. I ended buying a Heidenau K60 Scout rear tire from Headingly Sport Shop, strapping it on the back, and having it installed at Specialty Tire & Tube.

At the dealership I met a fella who hauls cars and other vehicles up to Inuvik on a regular basis! Imagine my good fortune! He left me with phone numbers for locals up in the Yukon I could count on if things of sideways!

You meet the nicest people on the road.