Really good ride today. I was a bit nervous to start out the big ride today more so than going South in previous years. Once I had the “Breakfast of Champions” (McDonalds Egg McMuffin Meal) I was ready to get moving.

Pretty nice weather overall. Cloudy for the entire day and not particularly warm. I have a feeling that I may have seen the warmest day already and things will get progressively chillier as I keep making progress North.

I absolutely love the ride between Lake Louise and Jasper. Endless mountain ranges and stunning vistas of glaciers almost the entire way. Our spring has been quite late this year so there’s still plenty of snow in the mountains.

Stopped at a few choice spots for photos. I’ve done this route dozens of times but still I am awed by the majesty of the Columbia Glacier and surrounding area. 300 + square kilometers of huge and thick glaciers.

Stopped for lunch in Jasper. The end of a nice summer weekend and Jasper was a bit of a gong show. It’s normally Banff’s quieter sister town but today it was like being in downtown Calgary.

The ride from Jasper to Prince George is also quite beautiful and already you get a sense of getting much farther from civilization. It’s a pretty big gap between towns (about 250 kilometers) and there’s literally nothing in between. Very little traffic or signs of life today.

I’ve been quite fortunate to already start the animal count. The first animal was when my odometer on my bike clicked ’3000′ and I had a friend jump out into the road to celebrate the milestone – a huge black bear. He jumped out in front of me so that I had plenty of time to stop, but then decided he was going to come join me for the party. He walked straight towards me which is a bit unnerving on a motorcycle. He then darted into the brush and was gone. A truly magnificent beast.

In total I saw five black bears and one grizzly today (yes, I’m sure it was a grizzly – size, colour, hump). A few deer but no moose today in spite of kilometers and kilometers of warning signs. Unfortunately, my bear friends, the Bearendsons, were too quick and didn’t hang around long enough for a portrait. Perhaps the next time.

Equipment updates: bike is working well, not as comfortable as myt VFR but not too bad. New tires work well and stick well to the road (wet and dry). One-piece riding gear is actually waterproof – tested in for the last hour today in a downpour. GPS and SPOT are working well and the SPOT is posting updates.

Tomorrow I’m off to Hyder, Alaska. Another long day before the pace becomes much less demanding.

The Bike All Loaded Up

Crowfoot Glacier

Posing in front of the Athabasca Glacier

The Red Beast - Athabasca Glacier

Athabasca Glacier

Bow Glacier - Our drinking water supply for much of the West and Western US

Mount Robson - One of Canada's Highest Peaks

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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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 idiot 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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Today was the type of ride that makes the wait for repairs worth it. I planned out routes based on recommendations from people online and a bit of research.

Being that I’m not that familiar with the area and climate I was a bit concerned to get up and leave at 8:00 am in 30 degree celcius heat. Palm Springs was very quiet during the morning and I was able quickly make it over to Palm Desert and the first part of the day’s ride.

The starting altitude is about 400 ft and immediately the road gains altitude. The Palms to Pines Highway goes straight up from the desert floor into the mountains. The road twists and turns up to the top of the San Bernardino National Forest. From 400 ft up to over 6500 ft. The air was perfectly still and the road winds along the high plains. It provides quite a view of the desert below.

The second part of the road goes across the mountain tops and gains about another 1000 ft in altitude. The 10 miles or so to Idyllwild is absolutely legendary riding. Very technical twisty corners that get the bike right to the edge of the tire. It generates enough heat in the tires to actually burn the edge and pill up the surface. Plenty of fun..

Up to the summit of the San Jacinto mountains for a view towards LA. Quite a stunning vista. In the summit area I stopped to take pics and there was a single guy quietly perched on a large bolder overlooking the valley thousand of feet below. “Just reading and enjoying nature,” he said. Amen to the brother.

As rapidly as the road rose it also falls back down to east side again. Back down to 2500 ft. The temperature also went straight back up into the 30s from the nice comfortable low 20s. A quick stop for lunch in Beaumont and a minutes long jaunt up the interstate to the next loop.

The Big Bear Loop also comes highly recommended. From the valley the switchbacks begin and ultimately take you up to 8500 ft. Nearly vacant until the midway of the loop this highway is unbelievable. Scenic and very challenging. Hard to believe that for almost 100 miles there are no straight stretches to speak of. A blast to ride.

Bear Lake is quite pretty and just a small little community. It would be a great place to go skiing and get away. It looks like it gets quite a bit of snow and there isn’t a lot of traffic or tourism. Two small ski hills tucked up behind the lake. The second half of this loop has plenty of 15-20 mph corners and again requires complete concentration for the entire ride. It is easier to get much more comfortable with technical aspects of riding when you have roads like these that challenge you for hours at a time – quite different from the roads around home.

The GPS lead me on a bit of a goose chase on the way back to the coast and Lake Elsinore. A quite detour through a suburb called Redlands which was actually quite a nice place to spin through. An older suburb with plenty of well looked after houses from the 1920s and 1930s.

The last part of the journey also crosses a mountain range and back down to the coast. The road leads up to about 4000 feet and after the summit quickly twists and turns back down to San Juan Capistrano. All the traffic was moving away from and away from the coast. Haven’t seen a lot of California drivers to this point. Wow! They drive like the Indy 500 on his road. A bit scary to see minivans and SUVs coming at you at 20-30 mph over the limit on such a narrow road. By this point I was exhausted and happy to heading up the coast to my stop for the day.

Rather than taking the interstate I decided to travel up highway 1 instead past Dana Point and Laguna. It was right around rush hour so this was a bit of a mistake. A 20 mile journey up the coast took nearly an hour. It’s always nice to see the ocean after such a long journey. To feel the mist and humidity in the air and finally see he surf rolling in. Always one of mu favorite parts of these road trips.

I arrived at the hotel. One of the nicest Motel 6 hotels I’ve been in. Very funky renovation and
New fixtures, etc. One draw back though. While it is close to the beach communities it is also right at the beginning of the route 55 freeway. Surprisingly though with the air conditioning and a very comfy bed I was still out like a light at the end of the day. The price is right, too. I had planned to stay in Santa Monica but with rates of 200 plus per night that was completely out of reach. With a few minutes on the freeway you can get to this places quite quickly.

I ended up taking a quicker route down to the beach in Laguna today. Turns out it was a toll road. Needless to say that I snuck into the speed pass lane so hopefully don’t have a ticket sitting in the mail when I return.

Nice second day here. Just hung out at Laguna Beach for the day. Got to do some reading of my novel and wander along the surf. Relatively busy for a weekday at the beach. Great lunch spot right on the main drag. – Pizza Schmizza. Delicious pizza and really great atmosphere.

From this point on it the return back home and north. I wish I had those extra days back to do some more exploring here in the LA area. Maybe a fly-in vacation in the future to just hangout in one of the beach communities.

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