What I did on my summer vacation

[geobeck]

Day zero: Musings and preparations

There were a few incidents leading up to this trip that a superstitious person would regard as bad omens. Last weekend, I got a nail in my back tire and partially broke my glasses. When I got the rear tire fixed, the mechanic informed me that the tread on my front tire was too worn, at 2.5 mm, to be safe on the trip I was planning. Then it turned out they had ordered the wrong tire: a Pilot Power rather than a Pilot Road; obviously the wrong choice for endurance. What’s more, the moment I drove off the lot with my brand new, unscrubbed tire, it started to rain.

But I don’t believe everything I read, especially if it’s “written in the stars”, so I packed my stuff and got ready…

[geobeck]

Day One: Home to Kelowna, 500 km

Since I didn’t have far to go today, I slept in and didn’t leave home until about 9:30. It was raining on and off, so I decided to take Lougheed Highway so I wouldn’t be pushing it on my new tire. It was very chilly, so I had to stop and put my liner into my jacket, but the only other stop I made before Hope was to take a picture. It’s not as significant a milestone as the big 10k, but I’m not going to have all ones on the OD again for a few more years.

Beyond Hope, the sky gradually cleared, and the day got warmer. But it wasn’t until Princeton that I removed a couple of layers. I headed toward Keremeos, where I decided to go to Osoyoos before heading north for Penticton. Instead of staying on Highway 3, I went up to the Upper Bench Road, which was a nice way to avoid all of the fruit stands and crass commercialism of Cawston. Heading up through the last pass before Osoyoos, I stopped to take a couple of pictures of the Spotted Lake which is being restored for the local First Nation.

From Osoyoos, I headed north through Oliver to Penticton where I tried to reach a couple of the friends I was supposed to visit. With no success, I headed up to Westbank and had dinner at my favourite pub (Kelly O’Bryan’s, which I recommend for the food and the atmosphere). Then I headed over to Kelowna for the night.

On reaching Kelowna, I realized that I forgot the cord to connect my camera to my laptop, so picture descriptions will have to suffice until I get home. Have to watch how many pics I take; I only have room for 1020 more. :D

More pics here (http://beckwrite.com/augbigtour/day1/). Note: If my site gives you a malicious software warning, you can safely ignore it. My web host was the victim of an attack recently, but they've fixed the problem.

[geobeck]

Day Two: Chillaxin' in Kelowna

Day two was a day to relax and spend time with friends. No travels to report except for a brief trip to Westbank for a drink at Kelly O’Bryan’s.

[geobeck]

Day Three: Kelowna to Radium Hot Springs, 470 km

I slept in and left Kelowna around 10 AM. I headed north and enjoyed some of the moderate twisties on the way to Salmon Arm, where I had lunch with a friend before continuing east.

The trip through the national parks was pictuesque but annoying. There was a steady slow stream of traffic almost the entire way from Salmon Arm to Golden. In addition to getting gas in Revelstoke--where my half-broken glasses finally broke, and needed a quick repair job with some scotch tape--I stopped a few times along the way to snap pics of some of the high mountains in the Rogers Pass area.

When I got to Golden, I was so mentally locked into the grueling death march of slow traffic, I completely forgot to turn off, and ended up several km east on #1 before I realized I did not want to be there. I turned around, descended into Golden, and started south on Highway 95. What a wonderful difference! A clear road, with nice sweeping turns and rolling hills, where I could cruise along at just over the speed limit with nothing in my way.

I finally stopped for the night in Radium Hot Springs, where I stayed at the Motel Tyrol, a nice, reasonably priced inn with great amenities, run by an older guy who has a very shiny Goldwing parked out back. Unfortunately, running the motel doesn’t leave a lot of time for touring, so his 2000 GW only has 33,000 km on it. He's trying to sell the place though, so maybe he'll get to do some more touring in the future.

More pics here (http://beckwrite.com/augbigtour/day3/).

[Ebicat]

My tiny brain needs pictures! you must have a camera :D

[geobeck]

My tiny brain needs pictures! you must have a camera :D

I thought I explained that in Day One...

[J_Scott]

Lookin' forward to the pics. :)

[geobeck]

Day Four: Radium Hot Springs to Medicine Hat, 550 km

The report for Day Four will have to be posted on Day Five, because the Internet connection at the Coast Hotel in Medicine Hat is not Mac-friendly.

I got started around 9:30 this morning (local time, having moved ahead one time zone). The air was chilly, so I layered up before stating out. It was a good thing I did, because the air up in Kootenay National Park was very chilly. It didn’t take long for me to realize adding over a hundred km to my trip by bypassing the Trans Canada east of Golden was a good decision. The road east of Radium was not busy, andhad amazing scenery. I stopped a number of places along the way to take pictures (which will be uploaded when I get home).

After rejoining the Trans Canada near Banff, and stopping in Canmore for lunch, I decided to take another detour. Instead of following the main highway, I took the Bow River trail (Highway 1A) through Exshaw and Cochrane. The first stretch, near Exshaw, is narrow and twisty, with a rather bumpy surface. The scenery wasn’t spectacular, but I stopped to snap a couple of pics. About 20 km before Cochrane, the road widens to a normal two-lane width on fresh pavement. With Calgary so close, I decided to stretch my range a bit. I entered my reserve for the first time on the steep hill climbing out of that town, and when I filled up in Calgary, I found that I still had about three liters left in the tank. It’s debatable whether that would have gotten me through that huge, modern, but in one way very backward city…

I can’t believe that small, congested city street is the Trans Canada Highway as it passes through Calgary. That city is in more desperate need of a ring road than any other I’ve been through. They seem to be building a light rail track in the middle of the street, which is great for commuters, but does nothing for people who just want to follow the proverbial chicken and get to the other side.

Finally, I made it through the city and accelerated to 120 or so on the dual carriageway east of town. The rest of the day consisted of maintaining a steady speed as I drove through miles and miles of practically nothing, with the occasional stop to clean the bugs off my visor, and a semi-necessary fuel stop in Brooks. Oh yes, and a brief stop at the side of the road in Strathmore to take another silly odometer pic--the type that will repeat in 11,111 more km. ;)

I finally made it to Medicine Hat, where I left two hotels because they didn’t have Internet, or it wasn’t working. When I got to the Coast Hotel, the only room they had left was one of their luxury rooms, but they gave me a $20 discount, so I decided to treat myself. I was kind of steamed that their browser redirect only works in Windows, and they didn’t know the URL for me to type in manually, but having a jacuzzi in the room made up for that. It looks really inviting over there, so I think I’m going to go for a soak and continue this report tomorrow…

More pics here (http://beckwrite.com/augbigtour/day4/).

[geobeck]

Day Five: Medicine Hat to Brandon, 830 km

This day was longer than anticipated. I left the no-Internet Coast Hotel around nine, and was on my way. Beyond that, there’s not much to say. I maintained a good speed all day, keeping it within 20 km/h over the speed limit, which was 110 km/h until Moosomin. I had planned to stop in Regina for the night, but since I got there at 2:30 PM, I decided to push farther. Finally, at 8:30 local time, I reached Brandon, MB.

I only took one pic in Saskatchewan because, well, it’s Saskatchewan. :p Like the saying goes, nothing to see here folks, move along. Actually, the driving was quite relaxing, even if the scenery was a little flatter than I’ve gotten used to. And I did have a little fun accelerating onto the highway, pushing my bike closer to redline than I have before. It really illustrates how overpowered our bikes are, even my relatively sedate Honda 599. By the time I touched redline in first, I was well past the speed limit. I turned some heads though; looking at my bike (especially with the monstrous cases), you don’t expect it to have performance similar to a 600RR.

The only thing I’m a bit concerned about is that my tires are going to wear a little flatter than they should. Highway turns in Saskatchewan are rather rare. You see a curve coming in the distance, and think oh look, a turn! Here it comes… wait for it… another kilometer… turn! Same with hills, of course. Oh look, topography! Now let me try to remember… I roll… on... when I’m going uphill? It’s been so long since I’ve done this. :D

Tomorrow I get to sleep in, then check out some of my old haunts in Brandon, where I went to university, then head up to Neepawa for my cousin’s wedding. The first half of my trip is basically done, after 2500 km. I’ll give brief accounts of my next few days, then get back to the detailed reports on my return journey.

[Ebicat]

I thought I explained that in Day One...

You did,
However, I explained the tiny brain :laughing

[geobeck]

You did,
However, I explained the tiny brain :laughing

lol! I promise, there will be pics as soon as I get home and get the cord to connect my camera to my computer.

[Pee Wee]

You know....they sell those camera cords outside the lower mainland too ???:laughing

[geobeck]

You know....they sell those camera cords outside the lower mainland too ???:laughing

Unfortunately it's a proprietary Olympus cord, so I have to find a camera shop that sells Olympus cameras. Haven't had time yet, but maybe I'll try London Drugs today.

[vcrmax]

If you are goling to be in Winnipeg go to Don's photo on Main St. 1700 Block I think. They should have anything you might need.

[Shovelhead]

Unfortunately it's a proprietary Olympus cord, so I have to find a camera shop that sells Olympus cameras. Haven't had time yet, but maybe I'll try London Drugs today.

Just get a USB card reader, put in your XD card and Bam! Done

[geobeck]

Day Six: Brandon to Neepawa, 75 km

I’ve checked into the semi-no-Internet hotel in Neepawa. They normally have it, but they’re having technical issues. Maybe tomorrow I’ll be able to post the exciting report on today’s leg of the trip.

Highway 10 north of Brandon was just as I remembered it: a long, straight ribbon of light grey, interrupted by the occasional curve, and the occasional long, gentle slope the locals call a hill. :D

[geobeck]

Day Seven: No travels, but Internet and pics!

I got back to the hotel from breakfast and a museum visit and found that the hotel had fixed its Internet connection! Also, I had anticipated Shovelhead's advice yesterday in Brandon and bought a card reader at the mall.

It's too bad there's a 5 pic per post limit. I've taken close to 200 pics so far, and a lot of them have turned out well. I'm going to go into iPhoto and make up a set of HTML pages to upload to my website with more pics than I'm able to post here.

Edit: more pics are available on my website. Unfortunately, using Firefox 3, my site is returning an error as a "reported attack site". A little while ago, my web host was the victim of an attack, but they have cleaned up the malicious files. You can safely ignore the error.

Full sized pics are here: Day 1 (http://beckwrite.com/augbigtour/day1/), Day 3 (http://beckwrite.com/augbigtour/day3/), Day 4 (http://beckwrite.com/augbigtour/day4/).

[smokinjoe]

Good pics and report so far!:thumbup

[geobeck]

Day Seven: Between Neepawa and Brookdale, 60 km

A funny thing happened on the way to the wedding reception… Usually I don’t think about things like my engine oil a week after my last service, but when I looked under my bike and saw a tiny drip on the parking lot, I figured I should check my oil before I headed any farther from a major population center than I was already. I pulled out the dipstick, cleaned it, and checked my oil. It wasn’t even showing below the bottom indicator.

So I went to a couple of gas stations in this small prairie town to try to find the right oil. At the second gas station, a helpful person pointed me to a tractor dealership north of town. Turns out the owner has a sport bike, and keeps a small stock of motorcycle grade oil. It wasn’t exactly the 10W-40 additive-free oil recommended in my manual, but I figured topping up with 5W-50 synthetic wouldn’t hurt it until I can get an oil change, which I’ll probably do in Saskatoon on my way back.

Upon closer inspection of my manual, it turned out my oil wasn’t as low as I thought; I was checking it on the side stand instead of holding the bike level. With some assistance from the tractor dealer, I got the bike topped up to the right level. Then it was off to the tiny hamlet of Brookdale for my cousin’s wedding reception.

The ride back to Neepawa from Brookdale, in complete darkness, was the first time I drove sigificantly under the speed limit on a 100 km/h highway. But with vegetation close by the roadside, and deer lurking in the trees, I took it easy and got back to the hotel without incident.

(No pics today)

[geobeck]

Day Eight: Neepawa to Rocky Lake, 570 km

When I did my daily bike check this morning, there wasn’t any sign of oil on the ground. I don’t know why it would drip one day and not the next, but the drip hasn’t returned all day. I’m still going to try for an oil change in Saskatoon on Monday.

Today was a relaxing ride in a loose convoy with the rest of my family. I took a few pics of the vast flatness of southern Manitoba, and of the soggy vastness of The Bog. On the last leg of the trip, 228 km from Swan River to The Pas, I decided to slow down and try to maximize my gas mileage. The result: 4.20 L/100 km, the best I’ve done on the bike so far.

I'm on my parents' semi-high-speed satellite connection tonight and tomorrow, so I'll upload the full-sized pics from the next hotel that has full high speed.

[mondocycle]

You need some humans or animals in those photos to spice your shit up.

[geobeck]

You need some humans or animals in those photos to spice your shit up.

This is a solo trip, and in rural Manitoba, I'm often the only person around for miles. I did see a couple of deer today, but they disappeared quickly from the side of the highway.

[KingHD]

so how far r u exactly going. I have heard that it gets boring out there with all those strait roads.

how do you like those hard bags. I been think about getting a set. how are they at high speed. and do you feel any difference with them on aposed to having them off.

[geobeck]

So how far are you going exactly? I have heard that it gets boring out there with all those straight roads.

How do you like those hard bags? I've been think about getting a set. How are they at high speed, and do you feel any difference with them on as opposed to having them off? <quote edited for painful readability>

As I explained in Day Five, I'm basically done. Starting tomorrow, I'll be returning by a different route, probably heading southward as I drive through Saskatchewan and taking the Crowsnest home.

The hard bags are great. You can get them in various sizes. I chose big ones so I could carry a lot of stuff, including a backpack with my laptop inside. They cause a bit of extra drag, but it's not that noticeable, and it didn't prevent me from getting my best fuel economy ever yesterday.

[firefox]

Excellent ride report so far!! :) Looking forward to reading your homeward bound escapades. :D

[silverD]

Day Seven: Between Neepawa and Brookdale, 60 km

A funny thing happened on the way to the wedding reception… Usually I don’t think about things like my engine oil a week after my last service, but when I looked under my bike and saw a tiny drip on the parking lot, I figured I should check my oil before I headed any farther from a major population center than I was already. I pulled out the dipstick, cleaned it, and checked my oil. It wasn’t even showing below the bottom indicator.


I'd think that your oil consumption was more a factor of sustained high speed riding rather than any leak. Hours on end of scooting across the prairies can do that ... :)

Nice report.

[geobeck]

Day Nine: Relaxing at Rocky Lake

No travels today. I left the bike parked and relaxed at my parents’ place. I definitely didn’t want to bomb up and down that road. It was freshly graded, extremely dusty, and completely without any hard-worn ruts. On the way in on Day Eight and on the way out on Day Nine, my back wheel was swishin’ back and forth like I was riding a fish. I know there’s a name for it when that happens…

[geobeck]

Day Ten: Rocky Lake to Saskatoon, 630 km

aka It was too good to last…

I decided to leave my parents’ place a day earlier than I initially planned because the forecast called for showers today and rain for the rest of the week. I left Rocky Lake close to 10 AM, filled up with gas in The Pas, and managed to find a store that sold chain lube. After 3000 km of figuring it would be okay for at least another day, the Rocky Lake road made the chain dustier than a crypt during a janitors’ strike. I know, that’s pretty bad, but if anyone has a better metaphor, gimme!

When I finally left The Pas, the rain was coming down intermittently and not too heavily. But it didn’t take long before the menacing black clouds ahead took me into their stormy embrace. The sky opened up, and I was riding through standing water on the road, trying to stay on the highest part of the lane to avoid hydroplaning. There was little I could do but continue through the downpour on this long, lonely stretch of road, my first chance for relief a full 100 km from The Pas. Visibility was adequate, but not great. And I discovered something about ballistic nylon pants. When you’re sitting in a puddle that’s accumulating on the seat in front of you, ballistic nylon doesn’t prevent the water from getting in, but it does a great job of preventing it from getting out.

The rain eased, then stopped, shortly before I reached Overflowing River, a tiny roadside campground and inconvenience store. (They don’t stock anything convenient. For example, the pop is all in cans, which isn’t much good for stowing in your bags for an occasional drink along the way.) I went into the bathroom with my top case and changed into my summer pants. At least if I got wet again, I’d be able to dry out afterward. Then I inspected the contents of the semi-waterproof pockets of my M2R jacket. Wallet: soaked, but the only casualty was the mileage I had written on a gas receipt. Blackberry: Functioning, but with water inside. Cell phone: pretty much toast. I dried my phones as well as I could and put them in my top case (the contents of which were completely dry. Kudos to GIVI!)

Instead of turning west and continuing directly into Saskatchewan, I went the extra 5 km into Mafeking to fill up with gas. It was still quite probable that I could have made it to Hudson Bay, but with the head wind and the intense rain, it was a little less certain. And it gave me a chance to warm up again. No matter how warm it is outside, heavy rain makes you cold!

Fortunately, the rest of the trip went without incident. There were a few light rain showers in the easternmost part of Saskatchewan, but the sun soon started peeking, then came out for good around Melfort. I took a couple of pictures of a small railroad trestle, then continued into Saskatoon, where I checked into the Super 8. Time to take a nice hot shower and loosen up after this long day.

[Rosso_Corsa]

Geobeck,

I normally think you're a doofus but I'm enjoying your ride report. Also, great call on those GIVI bags. They look terrific, must store 3 full faces + room to spare and make your bike VERY visible from behind.

How much for the full set?

[J_Scott]

George, I'm enjoying the snippets so far. :)

I can't wait to read it in full and check out the pics when I get home tonight.

[geobeck]

Day Eleven: Saskatoon to Fernie, 865 km

aka What happened to summer?

I had a small breakfast at the hotel, then got away in good time: 9 AM local time, or 8 AM BC time, which my circadian rhythm never really got off during this trip. I headed out of the city on Highway #7, into a mass of dark clouds that looked like rain. I had a few sprinkles on the way to Rosetown before turning south toward Swift Current. I hadn’t gone far before I stopped to put on my second sweatshirt. It was cold in that wind, considerably more so than the previous day when I got soaked.

I shivered inside my layers as I headed south, but I didn’t stop. To the west, upwind, there was a huge downpour coming from a giant cumulonimbus cloud. I wanted to make sure I got out of the way of that tempest as quickly as I could. Fortunately, it wasn’t moving quite as quickly as the wind would indicate, and I made it to Swift Current before it crossed my path.

After lunch, which included a bowl of hot soup, I headed west on the Trans 
Canada, stopping only for bugs, gas, and bio-breaks. And one picture stop. I decided I might as well take one more Saskatchewan pic. Does anyone remember Wayne’s World, where Wayne and Garth are pretending to travel across the USA through the magic of blue-screen technology? Well, the pano says “Hi… I’m in Saskatchewan…”

As I neared the Alberta border, the highway veered to the north, right into the path of a dark, rainy cloud. Fortunately, by the time I reached Medicine Hat, I had only reached the edge of the storm, and passed through a light rain shower. Remembering the last two times I stayed in that city (bad experience both times), I didn’t even stop, but turned south onto the Crowsnest highway.

The difference was almost immediate. I rode out from under the rain cloud into partial sunlight that soon gave way to clear skies. After bending over my micro-fairing against a strongly buffeting headwind for the entire day up to that point, the calm behind the storm was so relaxing I sat up and let my left hand hang beside me as I rode along at a nice, easy 110 km/h for most of the next hour.

It’s amazing what a relaxing, sunny ride will do for you, even after a cold, windy, stressful ride on the same day. When I got to Lethbridge, I grabbed something to eat at Wendy’s, rode down into the valley to take a picture by the bridge, and decided to continue through the pass.

I made a brief bug stop in Fort MacLeod and talked briefly to another rider on a Busa who was headed the other way. When I commented that he probably had few power problems with that machine, he said “Yeah, I can pass just about anything except a gas station.” :D

I made a couple of planned picture stops, and one unplanned stop. As I was heading through the Crowsnest Pass, a pair of riders waved a little more energetically than usual. Taking the hint, I slowed down and looked toward my side of the road. Sure enough, a deer was standing there, foraging as traffic went by. I pulled over less than a hundred feet from the animal. It looked up, took a couple of steps toward me, then went back to its dinner. It barely looked up as I got off my bike, got my camera, and snapped a few pics. After switching to my night visor, I thanked the deer for its cooperation and pulled away.

It was getting quite chilly by the time I pulled into Fernie, but the dry cold felt pleasantly cool compared to the damp chill this morning. I checked into the Super 8 around 9:30 (8:30 BC time) and booted up my computer…

[geobeck]

Day Twelve: Fernie to Princeton, 670 km

It was the morning of delays, some good, some not so good. I checked my e-mail in the morning to find a message from a friend who I found on Facebook recently after not having seen her in close to 25 years. Turns out she was staying in Fernie at the time, so we met for coffee before I headed toward Cranbrook, where I planned to meet another friend.

I headed west at a good speed, but suddenly the traffic slowed to a complete stop at Elko. There was an accident out of sight down the hill, and no one was going anywhere. After sitting there for about twenty minutes, I noticed a few cars were heading down a side road. I talked to someone who said the road went around the accident if I didn’t mind going down a gravel logging road.

Oh great, more gravel.

Actually, the road wasn’t bad at all. It was very hard packed from so many log trucks, nice and wide, and came out to the highway after only a few miles. I turned south and headed on my way. The road didn’t look completely familiar, but I haven’t been on that highway often enough to remember every little stretch… damn, 93? That’s the wrong road!

I turned around and headed back up the road, and soon came to the intersection of #93 and #3, where traffic was at a standstill facing the other direction. No one was directing traffic around the detour. Well, they’d clear the accident eventually.

I finally got to Cranbrook and had breakfast with my friend. By the time I left Cranbrook it was nearly noon. I headed straight down the Crowsnest, stopping only for gas and bugs--and one stop in Christina Lake for ice cream. It was damn hot everywhere except up in the mountain passes. I had the top of my jacket open most of the way.

Only one pic today: overlooking Osoyoos before heading down.

[mooove_over]

thats one helluva road trip...thanks for sharing...good pics

[geobeck]

Day Thirteen: Princeton to Vancouver, 270 km

aka, Welcome home--time to move!

I woke up, filled my gas tank, then went to a local restaurant to fill my food tank. I can't remember the name of the restaurant off hand, but it's the big family restaurant with the blue roof on the western edge of town. It was filling...other than that, there's not much to recommend about the food. At least the service was good.

The Princeton-Hope run was its usual Princeton-Hope fun, enjoying all of the slopes and the twisties, and trying to wear down the edges of my Saskatchewan flat spot. I took it easy, though, and didn't fill my tank again until I reached Burnaby.

From there, I picked up the keys to my new apartment, and finished the move that my ex started for me while I was away. The main thing I had to do without until yesterday afternoon was my Internet connection, which is why I'm writing today about my ride last Thursday. :D

Summary

This was my first long trip, but definitely not my last. Total mileage was about 5150 km, not quite as long as I had planned, but just long enough that my butt started to get sore a little earlier in the day by the time I got home. I think I'm going to look into a Corbin or a custom seat before next year's big tour.

The ride through BC and western Alberta was amazing. I didn't even mind the slow traffic through Rogers Pass so much because there were ample opportunities to stop and take pics of the spectacular scenery. The prairies, on the other hand... well, I think I'll skip them next year and fly out to see my family instead.

Weather-wise, I was almost prepared enough. The downpour in Manitoba taught me the lesson to keep my phone in a fully waterproof pocket when there's a chance of heavy showers, or better yet, in my case. The cold stretch through southern Saskatchewan taught me that even in summer, a heated vest would be good to have.

And my brief misadventure in Neepawa taught me that I should always make sure I have a few maintenance essentials on me, like oil and chain lube. I might not find a well-stocked tractor dealer in the next small town.

But, all in all, the main result of this trip has been to make me anxious for the next one. Unfortunately, I've got to wait another month for my next long weekend trip due to other commitments, but old and new destinations are beckoning: the island, the Okanagan, the Fraser Canyon... and who knows where else. When I eventually sell this bike, I'm sure the OD will be well into the six-figure range.

I hope everyone enjoyed this report; I certainly enjoyed creating it. See you out there! :rider

[smokinjoe]

Thanks again for sharing!:thumbup

[240sx]

AWESOME! Loved this ride report and it killed over a half hour of my day at work. Really well written too.

[Triplepete]

Dang those are huge bags - you might even be able to camp in the top case, :laughing. The Prairies wouldn't be my first choice to tour to, but I guess it really don't matter so long as yer out there. Thanks for posting!