The final day of the trip. While I had planned to take the highway 3 ride home it turns out I missed the ferry. I literally rode up to the port as it was leaving. The next ferry on a Sunday morning is almost two hours later. So I decided rather than wait I’d ride two hours and head out towards the Trans-Canada highway and go home that way.

It was quite cool for summer weather in Nelson and I ended up getting rained on very early into the trip. The rain continued off and on all the way to Calgary.

I sincerely thought the #1 would be a quicker way home. It normally takes about 6 hours going through the Crow’s Nest Pass. Well today, it took almost 12. Not only did I miss the ferry in Balfour, but also in Galena Bay. Apparently there is no priority loading any more so there were enough large vehicles on the ferry and they left the other parts empty rather than allowing the four motorcycles that would have easily fit. Missing ferries adds about 2 hours to the day.

It poured most of the way to Revelstoke at which point it also became bitterly cold. In Golden there was fresh snow on the tops of the mountains.

The Trans-Canada is under construction for most of the way from Golden almost to Banff. Constant stop and go traffic and delays. It took almost 2.5 hours to go from Lake Louise to Banff. I waited about 2 hours before I couldn’t take it anymore. I ended up riding along the edge of the shoulder and past the traffic in about 30 minutes. Normally I’d never do this, but as I suspected, there was no actual reason for the delay. No stoppages or traffic issues just inept drivers.

The rest of the day was pretty smooth sailing all the way back home. And so ends another long summer ride. Good times!

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Distance: 320 miles (514 kilometers)
Low temp: 11 celcius (morning until Mt St Helens)
High temp: 28 celcius (end of day near Moses Lake)
Time on bike: 8:30-7:30pm

Really good ride today as I work my way back home. A few guys from the meet were going in generally the same direction so we rode together for most of the day. Two from close to Seattle and one from Vancouver that was going to visit family in the interior of BC.

We were a bit late getting started but quickly zipped up I-84 to the Bridge of the Gods toll bridge to cross over the Columbia river. Not sure what is ‘god-like’ about the bridge, it simply crosses over a river and you pay a god-like fee of 50 cents.

On to Stevenson and shortly after a stop at Carson for breakfast. We stopped at a little place called ‘Venus cafe’. Another god connection here, haha. It was scrumptious and the service provided was great. An older lady that had wise cracks for everything and was really quite pleasant. Another person genuinely surprised to get a decent tip.

We took a smaller highway or forestry road to Randle and Packwood that goes around the park and base of Mt St Helens. This road is the real deal of motorcycle roads. It is narrow, marginal pavement, challenging and very scenic. We chose to not go all the way up Windy Ridge as we’d all been there several times.

On to Mt Rainier and the road to Paradise. The ol’ park pass came in handy again since the gate charge is $15.00. It’s also a scenic road and was very busy as was the visitors centre qt the top of the highway. Got some really great pics of the mountain. It really is another oddity as it juts up from nowhere over 14,000 feet. Lovely glaciers and quite a scenic ride down the mountain. I was lucky last time I was here as it was late in the day and there wasn’t a soul around. Quite different from today as it reminded me a lot of Banff and Lake Louise crowds.

After making it through the pass we shook hands and two groups of two each went separate ways. One fellow road with me all the way to Moses Lake. He’ll be going out on his own tomorrow to find a camera then to see family in Castlegar.

The last 150 miles were all interstate as we lost track of time earlier in the day. So in spite of traveling few miles it was quite a long day.

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Day 20 – To Nelson, BC and home

Distance: 608 kilometres
Low temp.: 17 degrees
High temp.: 24 degrees
Time on bike: 8:00-4:30

I broke up the last distance into two days to try and keep it more manageable and avoid a marathon ride.

I used the Destinations Highways book and chose a few roads in northeastern Washington that I hadn’t taken before.

A quick zip up the highway to the Grand Coulee dam and then across from Nespelem to Inchelium. Really good riding roads. Zero traffic (only saw about four cars the whole way). Some really great twisty sections and generally good pavement. It takes you over two passes from 1500 feet to over 3000 and 4000 feet. Not particularly scenic but really nice to ride out in the mountains without anyone else around.

Stopped by police in Kettle Falls. No, it’s not what you think. Someone had recently driven down the highway and set two fires. It is popcorn dry in this area and it went up like gangbusters. The fire crews were there within minutes and they shut down the highway north to the border. Finally after a short delay I was given the ‘blessing’ by a state highway patrol officer. ‘Be careful and watch out for those rubberneckers. People will be gawking down there, so ride safe’. He even gave me a pat on the shoulder – pretty nice.

Yet again, no issues at the border. I let them know all I am bringing back was about $1000 dollars in repairs to my bike. He stamped my receipts to make them official and sent me on my way.

I was quite early in the day so I decided to do one of the northern loops to Nelson. It’s a great road that goes from New Denver to Kaslo and down to Nelson. Really quiet today and very little traffic. Perfect pavement on this road and a very scenic ride that I love to take pretty much every time I’m here.

I arrived shortly after four and checked in to my fave hotel – the New Grand. A little diner, getting cleaned up and a bit of typing. This journey is nearly done. The final day is the last twisty and fun ride of the year each year. I’ll be zipping over to the ferry and down the fun to ride highway 3 and about five hours later I should arrive back in Calgary. So ends another summertime journey. In spite of the bad luck with repairs I saw a lot and covered more ground per day than in any previous vacation. There will be lots of places to explore that were briefly uncovered by this journey.

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I’m writing this on my second full day here in Troutdale. We had a really good turn out of riders for the meet this year. Lots of locals showed up for the rides and to hang out for brew. I’d say there were probably 25 riders in total.

We broke off into small groups depending on what type of ride we’d like to do. Since I’ve already been traveling quite a while I chose the short scenic route.

My buddy Tim, who I’ve known for a few years from past meets, was our illustrious leader for the day. We road out highway 30 which is a lovely little scenic byway that used to be the main highway through Oregon. There are two really scenic places to stop Multnomah falls and Horse Tail falls. Both are stunning. Multnomah falls is 500 feet high and has a steady wisp of steaming water falling from its summit. Great spot to stop for photos and chat. Since I may have had a few too many beer the night before I was glad to stop and get a drink and a caffeinated beverage to get my body going.

We then ran along the river to Mosier and a fantastic spot to see the entire gorge area and Columbia river. It is immense. We were lucky too since the early morning cool weather did have the usual rip-roaring wind (yet).

I took a couple quick passes through the couple miles known as the Rowena curves. Lots of fun and very twisty.

Over the river to the WWI Stonehenge memorial. An exact replica of the real one. Also a great viewpoint ip the river gorge.

A quick group stop for lunch in the tiny town of Goldendale and a few backroads to take us back to the freeway a the hotel. Holy crap the mid afternoon winds of the gorge are staggering. At 65 miles an hour it hits you head-on and you feel like you aren’t even moving. It is hot, dry and tiring.

We had a great group dinner and socializing and said our goodbyes. Traditionally someone offers to organize the next meet. Well, I guess for next year it is me again. Everyone had a great time in Nelson so that’s where it’ll be again next year. It was one of the biggest Western meets we have had so far and I have a feeling it’ll be even bigger next time.

This hotel, McMenamins, has been superb. A great relaxing place and very homey.

Today I’ll do a bit of laundry and planning and a bit of relaxing as I make my way back home over the next 2-3 days.

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A largely uneventful day today as my goal was to not do anything to strenuous or that would wipe me out before the group rides at the VFR meet. Mission accomplished.

I slept in today as I knew I didn’t have too many miles to cover today. Decided to take the executive dining route – breakfast at Denny’s.

Almost made a colossal mistake when leaving. Missed the one way street signs on the way out of town and turned up towards the interstate the wrong way. Luckily I noticed the cars coming, which I thought was odd, and pulled into the shoulder.

Jumped on the I-5 which basically takes me to the hotel in Portland. Tunes are essential to any slab riding. So I hooked up the helmet earphones and iPod and was ready to go.

I had set a few routes on the GPS for local rides. Turns out that the site I got the routes from had corrupted route files. I did find a few of the roads by exploring but they turned out to be pretty lame anyhow. So back on the interstate and off I went.

Stopped once for gas in Salem. It’s annoying that in Oregon someone has to ‘help’ you pump your gas. It’s the most ridiculous law and I’m perfectly capable of doing it myself. I’ve been paying by debit or credit at the pump. Well, they have to do that for you, too. And not at the pump but inside you prepay with debit then the pump bills you for your gas. Very strange and time consuming.

I did, however, end up talking with an older couple from Utah who were traveling on vacation. Turns out he’s a retired teacher of 38 years. Talked a bit about teaching, their trip, my trip andthen wished each other luck and were on our merry way.

Relied on the GPS for guidance to the hotel which was a blessing and a curse. It took me qround Portland and missed a lot of the traffic but was a very roundabout way of getting where I wanted to go. It was interesting nonetheless and I got to see a bit of the rural parts of Portland which is quite scenic.

The hotel, McMennamin’s is very, very nice. In fact, it is one of the nicest hotels I’ve ever stayed in. It’s a beautiful estate on several acres with an old restored hotel, pubs on each floor, antiquities, and lovely grounds. I’ll take a bunch of pics – this place is amazing. Its reasonable for rates, too. $120 a night is cheap compared to some of the crap places I’ve stayed for equal or higher rates.

It’s very nicely decorated with hand painted artwork, lovely furniture and deluxe ecoutrements for laundry, robes, handmade soaps and the like. Very swish!

I’m not sure if I’ll do the group rides both days or not. I may just hang out and relax. Have a beer, read, visit the distillery, etc.

I’m all cleaned up and off to meet the group for dinner and a few beer.

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Another long distance day but a good mix of sights, great roads, and later in the day, covering miles to make ground.

The morning started out very cool. 7 celcius is the coldest temperature of the trip so far. It was foggy, misty rain and very, very cold. I got suited up in all the rain gear and my layers, got some gas and headed out for the last day along the ocean and in California.

About ten miles down the road the fog lifted and the rain stopped but it was still quite brisk. Rain gear stayed on to keep the cold wind off.

It’s always tough seeing the last bit of ocean on the way home. I really look forward to seeing it each trip and I’m always kinda sad to say goodbye. Just past Westport and the last stunning coastal view along highway 1 the road shifts eastward.

I’ve done this section before. It is fantastic and is one of the twistiest and vacant roads. Most avoid the extra time and distance of the coastal route for highway 101. Lucky for me as there were only about 5 cars, which I passed, for the entire 60 mile trip. It is switchbacks through dense forest that goes up and over the mountains then the same over the other side and back down to highway 101. You can tell how good a route is by the wear area on your tires. There is no unused tire left on the front or back tire from leaning into the corners. Great fun!

Quick zip down 101 and a detour off to the Avenue of Giants. It’s a great excuse to get off the freeway for 30 plus miles. Why more people don’t is beyond me. This is my second trip down this sideroad and I still can’t help but be a bit overwhelmed by trees that were here before Columbus’ journey to North America. No picture does this area justice. The trees are as big in diameter as most large semi trucks. Even the bark and folds In the trees’ skins are immense. I love this road.

Quick stop in Hydesville because I need a snack and I’m nearly hypothermic. Put my rain gear on again and another couple layers. 15 minutes later the temp rises to over 20 degrees and the gear comes off for the rest of the day. On the west side it is foggy and cold. Up and over the mountains and it is arid and very dry. Best of all it is warming up.

Highway 36 links to highway 3 and 299. It is 140 miles of twisty roads. Some large long sweeping and some barely wide enough for two vehicles. About that. Today was the closest I’ve ever been to being hit by another vehicle. A fuckhead in a jeep going way too fast the other direction on my side of the road on a tight corner. Luckily I reacted first and got over to the right side of the road, which I sty very near on roads like this just for this reason. The clown actually panicked and let go of the wheel while slamming on the brakes. Narrowly avoided and off I went again.

From this point on in the day the heat kept coming. The end of day reward was 42 degree heat. Really, really hot when the bike is also 106 celcius. The heat melts the ‘tar snakes’ which fill the cracks in the road which also become incredibly slippery. Definitely need to be avoided as I found out.

The rest of the journey was fun and no more close calls. I was completely wipe out after the curvy roads and got on the interstate I-5 to zip up to Grants Pass for the day. The interstates are q great way to make up time but a completely lifeless journey. A necessity to get to the VFR meet but not a great way to travel.

I’ve been lucky enough to have just enough time to travel far each day while seeing and enjoying some of the side roads a bit, too. Not bad considering.

Tomorrow more of the same. Travel some fun side roads and make some time with bursts on the interstate. Tomorrow I’ll meet up with the other VFR riders in Troutdale just outside of Portland. It’s supposed to be scorching hot there too – 40s.

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Making up for lost time. I’m glad I didn’t pull the ripcord on the trip altogether. Today’s ride was a really great one for scenery and for challenging motorcycling. Out of the 400 plus miles probably 300 were really stunning views and great challenges to ride.

Today’s journey was to follow highway 1 up to Fort Bragg, CA. This is where I left off in California a few years ago. I ran out of time and money here and started working my way back. Well, after today’s ride vie done the entire highway 1, one of North America’s longest roads from Tofino to its end in Southern California. From top to tail of the entire highway.

I started and ended the day in the cold and the fog. At both ends of today’s journey it was damp, cold and thick fog. The in-between was nice but not warm enough to really get warm. Let me tell you 12 hours on a bike in 10-14 degree temperatures is the recipe for hypothermia. I was frozen when I got to Fort Bragg.

It is shame I had to ride right through and only stop for a few pics along the way. There are some really interesting side roads, neat little towns and things to check out. It reminds me a lot of Utah in that you could stop every 5 miles to take pictures and check things out since it is so beautiful.

So another guy in Carmel riding a VFR and stopped in Carmel to chat for about 10 minutes. A you meet the nicest people on Hondas. He gave me his card and to drop him a line when i’m in LA again as he had a host of ride routes for the next journey.

I think LA is a bit too big and busy for my tastes unless you could stay in one place for a while and just hang out at a beach, resort or places to ride and vista the beach. Northern California seems to have a much different pace. I only rode through San Francisco but it has a much different feel. Very vibrant and colorful. Although it still has the same traffic problems as it took almost an hour to ride q few miles to go over the Golden Gate Bridge.

The views from Conzelman road above the bridge are astounding. You have a first class view of the harbor and most of San Francisco proper. A beautiful city that reminds me a lot of Seattle, Vancouver and Sydney. Same feel too.

The best part of the journey is the northern part of highway 1 in California. Wow! Leaving SF on this road is unreal. It drops down into the valley and to the ocean with a very narrow and twisty road. Lots of sharp 15-20 mph turns all the way.

The funny part is you keep waiting for the turns to stop and they keep going for a 150 miles all the way to Fort Bragg.

Some great places to come back to check out. You could really spend a week fro San Francisco north and stop at all the towns along the way for a day.

Tomorrow will also be a longish day to get me close to Troutdale for the VFR meet. Then a short day to meet up with the others.

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