I woke up on July 5, 2012 to a beautiful day. Sun shining, birds chirping and I looked out to see my Vespa hidden under the cover yet knowing that she is shining underneath from the wash and wax from last night.

I decided immediately that it is time to take the GTV-300 on a voyage that would be further than simply riding around Cornwall. I had promised many times to visit my Aunt and Uncle in Laval Quebec so I started to plan this trip using my TomTom.

Using the TomTom’s travel planning proved more difficult than I thought. I wanted to take the country roads to the Hudson Ferry then cross over to Oka and finally ride through my old home town of Two Mountains and St. Eustache to reach my final destination in Laval.

In order to do this on line, I had to plan the route using Google then make many small routes on the TomTom since it had no features to modify routes.

It was very frustrating and I said to myself that I will look into this later (Link to When I did).

What surprised me most about my first long voyage was how the time actually flew by. I know that it took 2-hours to get to Laval but it really seemed like an hour or less. It felt like I got to the ferry in 20-minutes and then up to Laval in another 20-minute. That would have being my guess if not for a watch to set me straight.

I think my facial muscles were sore because I was smiling all the way. I kept thinking to myself that this was the absolute BEST purchase I have ever made. The feeling of freedom, taking the curves, alone on the highway, and scooting along at 100 Kilometers/hour was just exhilarating.

I now realize that I had to get a better GPS System because I knew that I wanted to start exploring and riding all summer long. Managing directions with a helmet on a bike is a bit crazy, so a proper GPS System to allow me to plan routes was definitely required.

While I was riding back, I already started planning my next big trip. I will visit my Parents in Cobourg. That is about a 6-hour ride along the historic route 2 that follows the St. Laurence River and Lake Ontario.