I had a different view of things...
Through the dappled sunlight, I could see the loose gravel and sand on the road surface. The cloud of dust kicked up by Dave with his heroic save was impressive! But the rear of his bike moved, maybe, at most, a good 11 inches...so he exaggerates, as usual.
We argued whether the loss of traction was due to tread depth or surface coverage. Dave felt it was a lack of tread depth. I knew it was the sand...
I also knew that we were both grateful for the circumstances and Dave's quick reactions - combined, they helped us avoid a rough situation, as the road at that location sloped down and away after the shoulder petered out, so it would have been a dusty slide into the nearby field had the rear kept sliding out.
The rest of the day ended uneventfully. We got to Ontario with no further drama, found viddles for dinner and started formulating a plan for Day 3.
...and as
Day 3 dawned...
We started slightly later with a visit to a local motorcycle shop, having agreed that we need to address the rubber elephant in the room. The rear tire was toast. The front remained viableish. Did the shop have a tire? Yes they had a tire that would fit, no they couldn't get it done for us. Fine. Screw you. We're outta here. And gently, like a newborn turtle's first strokes in the ocean, we drifted out of Ontario. That morning saw us traipsing through beautiful agricultural farm land.
The view was breathtaking at times. It's always humbling to watch agriculture in action. The scale, the importance, the equipment, the commitment - all impress me.
