2009-06-24 CFR or Bust!

...What a long strange trip it's been!

Disclaimer
I ain't no O'vale or Old Michael either. My pix aren't as good, I don't carefully compose each foto and I've never taken a fotography class. I take photos on the fly,sometimes I get lucky, sometimes not. I also have difficulty with the English language. I butcher the hell out of it. Oh, I'm also verbose and drink too much. I have sometimes been known to stretch the truth to make the tale even better. Call it a 'trumor', half truth, half rumor! So if you're OK with all this, then read on, else go watch the evening news and get depressed - cause I had serious FUN on this ride, met some great new folks, enjoyed the company of old friends, saw scenery and roads I've never been on before, and, in a certain way, discovered myself all over again - and thought someone might just enjoy the read.

The Transition Talk with Pops
After what seemed like months of waiting, it was finally time to leave the safe and sane confines of cubicle living and face the dangers of the road. My office is a converted indoor swimming pool, hence the signage.

Exiting out the back door, so the boss wouldn't see me leaving early, (cough-cough) I noticed that all the other bikes normally parked outside were gone too.
The 1984 R100T next to CrZy8 is my buds - I sold it to him when I purchased the FJR.

I wondered if this little fellow was a spy for the boss man?

The goal was to leave work (San Luis Obispo) at 11 AM, make a dash via I5 to Salem, Oregon, Dad's house. This was to be the 'Pops, it's time for you to
move into the old folks home', and I wasn't looking forward to the conversation. The last two weeks I'd mentally covered every possible angle the
conversation could turn in order to have solid and reasonable responses for Dad.

Of course, delays, like poop, happen. First I bent 3 pins on the StarCom headset connection. That took 15 minutes to fix, should I head home and get the
spare or hope the re-bent pins hold true? Then I realized I needed to stop and take care of some money stuff. All of this and now I'm over an hour delayed,
even before I've really started. Notice the broken plastic on the female connector.

What is there to say about I5? It's fast, efficient, and most of it b-o-r-i-n-g. Arrived at Dad's in early morning hours.

Woke up around 0700 after 3 hours sleep. This minimal sleep thing was to become a bad habit. Later, over coffee, Pops had some news for me.
'Son', he said, 'I wanted you hear this from me directly. The Realtor is coming over this afternoon, I've decided to move into assisted living' he said. '
Do you think it's time?'
'Yes, Dad, I do', I responded. Heck, at 91 years young, Dad is still beating me to the punch line.

Off to breakfast, I found a GREAT little café.

and had this really tasty green omelet thing.

Salem Oregon to Bonners Ferry, Idaho
The next stop was Bonners Ferry, Idaho, approximately 500 miles. Shit, that mileage is breaking Candy Butt Association rules, I made a mental note to
pay my fine to the president (me). Hmm, two days in a row I've exceeded the 200 miles per rolling 24 hour limit. Damn, this trip is going to be
Eeee-X-Spensive. Here is the route:

I found another good eatery while paralleling the Columbia on the Oregon side.


where I had breakfast with my new bud. He was kinda quiet, and sure didn't eat much either..

An old beehive smoker. Dad had bee's when I was a kid, I loved to throw dirt clods at the hives, get them all pissed off then run like hell to get out
of there fast. Good memories, had to take the pix..

I had passed several 'Historical Hi-way' signs that looked interesting on the map. This one I took, and was treated to some fun curves. Time to
shred them PR2 sides...

Then back to the flatland road and a true symbol of old technology, the Bonneville dam.

and some new technology shortly after the hydro.

Seeing all that water made we want to pee, so I peed on both states, Washington and Oregon! Lucky for me, no one was on the road... LOL.

The terrain was slowly changing from brown to green. I had no idea how much greener green could get. The farther north traveled, the prettier
and cleaner and greener.

Some of my sicko LD rider friends have POF syndrome, so I took this pix for them.

(post office fetish)

And this one for my buddy, Sir Smitty. Who knew he had a thriving business in Dixon, WA? No wonder he can buy new bikes every 3 months.

Any Microsoft XP/Vista users out there? Don't these hills look like the splash screen?

Truly great weather for moto-biking. Hardly any cages, a wide open road, and not a speed camera nor LEO in sight. hmm, guess what time
it is boyz n' gurlz?

Down below is the Snake river. I was this way one time before, only then it was over 105F, so I stopped and did an 'Ari Rankum'.



(go for a swim while ATGATT!)

So now the problem starts. I'm low on fuel. I don't want to stop. I've been stopping way too early for refueling, only marginally dipping into
reserve. This time I forced myself to keep going. What a stressful mistake this decision was to become.

This pix for my buddy Andrew. Not Andy, Andrew! Orangevale liked barns, old barns. Sure wish he was still with us.

Then, finally, Idaho.

Who da hoe?
IDAHO!

More boring roads. Sigh, someone has to do it, after all, Old Michael wimped out complaining of hermaroids or something...

Surely Potlatch will have fuel? Pushing 48 miles into reserve now, and I'm starting to stress. Damn it, I'm gonna buy me an aux tank.
How much and when again?
Nope, no fuel in Potlatch. Time to press on to 'Coors de Arlene'.

Folks are different in WhoDaHoe IDaHoe!

Finally, fuel surely can be found here!

Idaho does a really good job at keeping moto-bikers safety in mind. Seriously, as compared to Kali, where they put soft as butter
tar snakes down, groove the pavement, and can't repair pot holes, Idaho rocks.

12 hours into the ride, the last hour is in the rain. For once, I was smart enough to stop first, get rain gear on, then head into the wet.
For the record, CyclePort gear with inner liners work really good. Of course, I also carry some outies in case I need to *quickly* change.
I'll take 1 hour of rain over 13 hours total, especially when the forecast was for 13 hours of continuous rain slogging..

...to be continued.

One Cute Doggie
I stayed two days in Bonners Ferry with good friends who used to live in Creston, CA, my hometown. They sold almost at market peak, took the money and ran North damn near as far as one can go. They had recently adopted a new family member, as this little guy's previous humans didn't want him anymore? WTFO? This dog has more personality and balls than most big dawgs. Like I told Alan, 'It takes a real man to have a foo-foo dog!'

Here is Tugger, the little dog who could, and does!

WooHoo, Creston, CANADA!
After two wonderful days with good friends, it was time to head 'North' into the great land of pasty-white-non-tanned peoples! I was excited to think about the border crossing, of dealing with all things kilos and liters and aboot time, eh? Before I hit the border crossing, I removed my ER6 ear buds so I could hear the guy and not draw attention to myself. Of course, I also made sure I had my passport, Canadian proof of insurance, Rx prescriptions, blah blah blah at the ready.

The first signage for Creston, Ca, still in the states!

Getting closer, hope them wild-ass Canadians don't shoot first then ask questions, LOL. Oh, that's right, they don't have guns in the great white north, and I laughed at 'Stop I say or I'll say Stop again!'

I got confused at the the entry point, and actually stopped at the USA building, wondering WTFO, how stupid is it that a person has to leave their vehicle to gain entrance? Then reality set in, and it was apparent I had to travel a wee bit farther north to hit the Canadian entry point! Duh! I actually chuckled at my ignorance then proceeded forward.

At the border, the nice young man asked 'Where are you from?' and I replied 'Creston', with a pregnant pause, then 'California. Creston, California'.
The guy looked at me and asked 'Where are you headed?'
'Nakooooooooosp, Canada' I deftly replied.
'Where?' he asked.
'Nakoooooooooooooosp' said I, thinking I didn't quite draw oooot enough ooooo's in the pronunciation.
Then he actually guffawed, loudly, and said,
'Oh, do you mean NawKusp?'
'Yeah', I said, 'Nakoooooosp!'
And, with that, I was in! No helmet removal, no sunglass removal, no passport, no nada.
'Have a great trip,eh'? he said and yes, he actually said 'eh!' at the end, LOL.

and then, OH CANADA!

I was so happy, seriously, to be in Canada! I first met Dave and Sylvia, the rally masters, on the way to WFO, Reno, and they were great riding companions and instant friends. Some folks you just know, first rattle out of the box, they are good peeps and you like them and want to spend more time with them. So it is with D&S, and I felt, uh, what's the word, perhaps 'honored', to be on their turf and visiting their country.

So, of course, I was now the typically tourist, the one and only person in all of Canada with a tan, camera, and credit card not quite maxed out.

When I hit the 'Welcome to Creston' sign, I knew I had to get a foto of me giving the TWN salute.
Ahh, jeesh, just how DOES this new camera work, anyway?


Ahh, finally...

A wee bit hungry, I searched Creston up and down for an Irish pub; I needed to raise a pint or two or three to my bud Old Michael, who wasn't able to make the northern journey. Guess what I found - could it be true?

Since I was riding, and don't drink and ride (anymore) I bought 3 locals a pint of Guinness, instantly making 3 new friends, LOL, had a wonderful sammywich then continued on my way. Oh, for some reason, the 3 locals did NOT want their picture taken, and I honored their request. Like Old Michael, perhaps they are 'wanted men'?

The route was to continue north of Creston to the Kootenay river, take the ferry across to Balfour, then head north to Toad Creek Campground. On the way, I saw a really cool plot of dirt that someone had terraced into a hill side, built nice rock fences, and had cows grazing on the green, green grass. Since I missed the foto, I turned around, heading south, when an FJR pilot blew past, heading north. I giggled and wondered if thought I was nuts for heading south when every other Feejer pilot on planet earth was heading north. (Except of course, for Old Michael, who was and is too wimpy to make any trip farther away than Kalifornia. )

Two miles down the road, I turned around to re-visit my lost photo op when the crazy Feejer pilot came screeching to a stop! It was Steve, or Mike, Moosehead? IIRC it was Steve (oh crap, why didn't I write his name and handle down?) and he was on his way to Nakusp too.

We talked for a bit, and I told him I too was on the way to Nakusp with one stop scheduled for Toad Rock Campground. I mentioned that I'd never been on a ferry before (except for BustaNut, of course, ) and Steve replied, 'Ferry? There's a ferry ahead?' LOL.

The roads, simply stellar, as we approached the ferry.

Talk about pure unplanned luck. We arrived just as the ferry was ready to leave. We were one of the last ones on, got our parking spot right up front, 30 seconds later the ferry was off and running to the other side!

Here's Steve looking studly on the Osprey, crossing from Kootenay Bay to Balfour.

And here I am, in my best 'Captain Morgan' pose. (What a joke, eh?)

Pretty, pretty.

The only problem? This guy thought he ruled the roads, lakes, and universe; he kept on my 6 all the way across and I couldn't shake him, no matter how hard I tried..

Finally, the gate dropped, and the race to Toad Rock Campground was on! http://www.toadrockcampground.com/

..to be continued

Toad Rock Campground
I first read of TRC during lunch while working night shift at the local nookie plant. 12 hour days, 6 days per week, 90 mile commute, so AdvRider.com and the ride reports over the 30 minute lunch was my escape time. A guy was riding his 30 year old BMW airhead across Canada, and he camped at TRC. I knew then I HAD to see this place.

Unfortunately, we (Moosehead and I) blew right past the sign and it was more than 2 miles later before a safe U turn could be made. Stopped, I asked my new best friend Moosie 'Hey, bubba (already forgot his name) do you want to backtrack with me to see this Toad Rock thing'?
'Of course', he instantly replied.
So back we went.

And my-oh-my, what a long strange and fun trip it was!Let me start by saying that Mary, the owner, is truly a free spirit who lives life her way, and what others may have to say.

So then, she asks us a question..
'Do you know what a snatch is?
'Uhh, yeah, I say', wondering just where is this going?
'I have a red one', she says.
'Oh really?', Steve replies.
'Yep! I have a big red snatch.' says Mary, proudly.
'Yep, a snatch is a logging device, a pulley, used to hoist trees, beams, or other heavy things' says Mary.
'My snatch is on the wall', have you seen it?
'Well, uhh, no, I haven't' says I...
'You should see it, I've been told that my red snatch is responsible for every erection in Nelson' states Mary, watching us bust up laughing!

So what can one do, but take a picture of Mary's red snatch? I mean, like really now?

The problem was, I was kind in lust with Betty Boop..

Mary definitely has a sense of humor!

Here's a good foto of Mary.

She has several 'hide-aways' for late arriving moto-bikers. If it's raining, late, and your wet and cold, who wants to set up a tent? Instead, stay in the hippie van or big bus!

So, Mary is giving Steve and I the grand tour in the fabulous 2-stroke mosquito-killing golf cart when suddenly,
'Steve!' - a voice from a moto-biking camper.
'Mike?' - my new found bud replies.

Turns out these two riders had been on the road for a couple of days together, and of all places, re-united at TRC!


Mike is on his way to Inuvik, the farthest north you can travel in AK. He had considered traveling up the Dalton to Prudhoe Bay, but read it was a nicer ride and no Haul Trucks to Inuvik. He's an interesting guy, riding a DL1000 Vstrom, running solo. He's on AdvRider.com, and my best wishes are with him!

One of the TRC canine residents. He looks alot like my Harley-D-Dawg and I instantly felt pangs..

Oh, did I mention that Mary has a sense of humor? Check out the hot babe adorning the golf cart! What guy wouldn't be proud to be riding around in such a fine vehicle?

Of course, me n' Steve, being morally correct, couldn't have Miss Hoola all bare-chested and all for the fotos, so we, uh, covered her up. Yeah, that's it, we're doing the morally correct thing and not really playing with her nips... you perv's!

Mary told us she has a huge rally every July 1, 'Canada Day', with over 1,000 bikers attending. She has volunteer support group of 80, and all bikers have been well mannered. Most are cruiser types, aka HD, but a good smattering of rice burners show too. For the first time ever, in over 17 years IIRC, the 'suits' are running her through the wringer. Apparently, it's ok if you drink in your campsite, but you may find yourself in the pokey if you move from your campground to the next campground with an open container. So Mary has purchased a shitload of mugs.. each of which proudly proclaims 'Liquor laws Suck'.. Gotta love her spirit..

Finally, time to go.. daylight is burning, and there's another 80 miles or so to go..

..to be continued

North to Nakusp
With the day growing short, we needed to land in Nakusp to, uhh, well, hydrate. Yeah that's it, hydrate.
The roads from Ainsworth to Nakusp were very hard on the eyes, it was difficult to find anything pleasant to look at..

As we dropped into the tiny hamlet called Nakusp, I asked Steve MooseHead Mike at the stop sign if he remembered the name of the lodge.
'Sure' replied Steve MooseHead Mike , 'It's the Kuskaniskovich'. I checked GPS, nothing called the Kuskaniskovich. So we just motored through town and sure enough, there it was!

My good friend Joseph, MCML, was first to greet me!

It was go good to see everyone again, lots of hugs n' kisses going on; truly nice.
Except for this fellow of course, he wasn't at all happy to see me for some reason, LOL.

Finding the Registration table was difficult, there were no signs anywhere? Sure wish now I'd stole this sign, it's cool!

Then, a few moments later, DIN-DIN and Boozing and long tall mostly false tales of derring do..
Sorry I don't know most of the folks in these pix - post up, eh?

BeamerReamer (sorry bubba, can't quite fetch the real name) is wearing the ball hat.

FjRay

Joe2lMaker, you anywhere in these pix?

Can you spot the FairLaner?

Left to right, Bluestreek and the Highlanders. Jeesh, I didn't get much chance to talk to either of them, bad on me. I'm getting ready to invade Dave and Diane - they just don't know it yet.. I have lots o' questions for Dave regarding AK...

My good bud WheatonFJR - one of the nicest people on the face of this earth.

Ahh, the Canadian night life! Left to right, Bearly Flying, OCFJR, MadMike, and Barb wax eloquent about all things improper like running car tires on FJR's, who is to make the next booze run, and how come no one recognizes Barb as Barb unless they are looking at her backside? Just askin?

OcFjr and MadMike discuss whatever mad scientists discuss..

Friday Ride with Mr/Mrs BeamerReamer and Mr/Mrs AuburnFJR
I awoke early on Friday June 19 2009 eager to go ride. I had the 5 routes loaded into the Zumo 550. The long route was +500 miles.. No, not for me. Wanna come back and party too. The ~120 mile up and back was, well, up and back, and too short. So we decided to make an approximately 200 mile loop.

Since I had the routes installed, I was duly appointed 'Ride Captain', and I proudly 'Donned' (pun intended) my Captains hat and took of fearlessly down the road. Less than 1/2 mile later, BeamerReamer calls on the GMRS radio..
'Uhhh, Don, you're going the wrong way'.
Well, shit and shinola, thinks I, just for that, 'Your'e the new ride captain!'
'There,' I thought, 'I fixed his wagon!'

What a fun route it was..
BeamerReamer refueling in Nakusp.

Downtown Nakusp, BC.

AuburnFJR

Hohum, another great road..

Approaching New Denver.

I love the warning signs, reminds me of a Japanese flag, kinda sorta..

Entering New Denver.

We stopped at Silverton to look at all the cool old steam engines, drills, and mining equipment. The gurlz seemed kinda bored while the boyz were like, well, 14 year old kids...

The ladies! (Coleen and Miranna?) (uh oh, I'm in trouble now, I know I messed up the names.. help please?)

Ahh, the safety of nameless equipment.. whew.

This used to be a schoolhouse.

How do I know? 'Cause I'm a fart smeller, that's how!

Old chain saw.

Check out the updraft carb on this hi-horse engine! My 1930ish Allis Chamler dozer has one like it.

..to be continued

Friday Ride - To Nelson for lunch, cont

Somewhere along the way, someone, much smarter than me, mentioned something about food, lunch, dry buildings, warmth, and spending highly valued American dollars in a depressed and weakened Canadian economy!
'Ooooh' I thought, 'that sounds good.' And the next thing I knew, we're on the way to Nelson.

Then, the problem started. You see, sometimes I get crazy tunes and lyrics running around, endlessly, in my cranium scareabellium. This time it was;
"We're going to Nelson, we're going to eat some fooooood", "We're going to Nelson, watch out Nelson town". (With all due apologies to Johny Cash, RIP.)

On the way to Nelson, we're going to Nelson, we're going to eat some fud!

'We're going to Nelson, watch out Nelson town.'

Three up on an FJR? No problems!

"We're going to Nelson, we're going to eat some fooooood", "We're going to Nelson, watch out Nelson town".

UhOh,'We Ain't going to Nelson, we ain't going to town, if we sit here much longer, we are going to drown!"

Yeah, I know, 500 bucks for StarCom/XM/ER6 and here I sit in a rain suit singing about Nelson town.. Hey, I never said I was 'normal', LOL.

Hey now.. Nelson town? Really?
"We're going to Nelson, we're going to eat some fooooood", "We're going to Nelson, watch out Nelson town".

Approaching the downtown area, it occurs to me I like this town..

Keeping with the Old Michael Irish pub thing, we found this joint to eat at.

Where we parked, we weren't sure what the Yellow curb meant.. Tow away? Tow away a tourist spending money? Probably not so we parked them and they were there when he finished lunch. I kind of like the moment captured where Mr. BeamerReamer is helping Mrs. BeamerReamer get the chin strap secured - they're a good couple and good peeps.

The ride back to Nakusp was incredibly nice. The rain let up, the roads were mostly dry, except for the last 10 miles or so, and I saw stuff I just don't see in dry, brown, hot country. Things like clouds hanging on tree branches, vapor rising off incredibly clear lakes, and the smell of clean, clean air. Even as I type this, I can still remember the smells.

Funky fish market bus..

Back in Nakusp, I bought some goodies from the local store then went to visit BeemerDons, who was camping nearby. Arriving, I found WheatonFJR and Beemer deep into Beer-30 so I had to join in for a few too. Thanks BeemerDons!

..to be continued

Disappointing
Friday night was a freaking hoot. So much so I slept in until almost 10:30 AM. 5 days of only 3-4 hours sleep finally caught up. Well, that along with hydration, of course
So I decided to to take a solo ride up to Revelstoke, make a big loop, returning to Nakusp. Especially since all my buds had left without me!

And I can't find a foto one. I'm really hoping they are still on my PC laptop -but for now they are MIA and most likely gone.

I do want to say this - in Revelstoke, just after refueling, here comes Barry, Barabus!
'Hey Bubba' I say 'Which way you headed?'
'Back to Nakusp' says Barry. 'Which way are you going?'
'Giggle, I'm taking a little detour, Barry, it adds on about another 125 miles or so' I reply.
'Oh, 25 miles? Great, I'll ride with you!'

Ok, ok, ok, so I heard him repeat 25 miles.. baaawaaaaah! Hugs n' Kisses...

So off we went, and what a stellar ride! The best ride of the entire trip, and I have no fotos..

Thank You Barry - great riding with you again, mi amigo!

..of course, that became the joke.. 'Oh yeah, only another 25 miles!'

The Saturday night banquet was great - even though Barabus and I arrived late, everyone at the table quickly moved food my way and soon my plate was full of really delicious hot tasty food! Barry was even luckier, the nice VFW lady brought him a special plate. I think she did so because she could tell how absolutely fragged he was from that extra 125 miles!

..to be continued

Heading South - Nakusp BC to Salem OR
Essentially, most of the good riding was now done. Mentally I was in the mindset of I now need to HaulAsh and put the miles on.
Even if riding the most bitchen roads on earth, if the mental game isn't there I don't appreciate it. Twistie roads = time loss.
Time loss = bad. Just ride, dcarver, just ride. And when you get tired, just ride dcarver, just ride.
I'd taken this time off from work under tenuous circumstances, no quarter granted for failing to appear on Tuesday AM. But then a
thought struck me really hard. Today was Father's Day. My Pops is 91, and my sister had flown in to help him transition from his
house of 20+ years to the retirement home.
Wouldn't it be great for dad if he could have all his living children with him, even if just for an hour or so, one more time?
Quick calcs revealed a time penalty and I thought about not going. But how could I not?

Another issue was fuel! Leaving Nakusp I only had 3/8 tank. No problem, I refuel in the morning in Nakusp? Right? Wrong. No
stations open, and most rural CA stations don't have 24x7 credit card enabled pumps. Damn. Just keep riding dcarver, just keep riding.

Early morning beauty. I see it now, did not then.

No fuel here, either. Joel2Maker, where are you, mi amigo?

A quick look at a map I can actually read reveals that other towns are nearby.. Gas there maybe?

Nothing yet, no gas...

FINALLY, a gas station, and look who shows up? BikerSkier and OCFJR! Both are headed back to Salem/Oregon City so I hook up with them. Ahh, yes, no gps, no maps, just sit back with my 6.6 gallons of fuel (Hey Joel, where's the other 4 gallons or so?) and just ride, dcarver, just ride!

One small town after the other, I've been spoiled by the great North, eh, and these fine towns now look kind of, uh, ordinary.

Finally, the border! BikerSkier was first sucker through, then me and OCFJR. I was sure they officer was going to keep in OCFJR in Canada for running a car tire, but somehow he snuck through too. You're welcome, Eric, but you owe me!

We was there.

Obligatory self-portrait.

This one was weird, really strange. This barn gave me total and complete creeps. SpideySense was going off the hook, something bad here once happened.. just ride dcarver, just ride.

'All my life's a circle;
Sunrise and Sundown;
Moon rolls through the nighttime;
Till the daybreak comes around.'

What, Creston, AGAIN? 2,800 miles and here I are?

More south.

BikerSkier was in the lead and pulled off to view the worlds largest waterfall without water. Huh? It *is* pretty cool though, you just have to have some imagination.

A nice German tourist took this for me!

Good peeps all. Oh by the way - for those folks who say Eric (OCFJR) is crazy for running a car tire? The boy can run corners too, trust me. Sure, maybe not 9/10's but I saw him hit decreasing radius corners with high entrance speed. He never bobbled, changed lines, or overshot. So there! By the way, they guy is crazy to run a car tire, IMHO. But whatever floats your boat, right?

On the road again, the green is now behind us.

I have no clue where this is other than it's the Columbia river and the wind was blowing like crazy.

BikerSkier and Maryann head for the barn.

Soon followed by OCFJR..

I soldiered on to Salem Oregon to see Pops and Sis. Arrived at 9:13 PM, stayed until ~11 PM. Dad was really happy to have his family with him, it made my heart sing and it felt good to see him so happy.

'I may never be in this house again', I thought as I left, so I took a pix of CrZy8 in Dad's old work shop.

'All my life's a circle;
But I can't tell you why;
Season's spinning round again;
The years keep rollin' by.'

It was time to go and try for another 200 or so. Just ride,dcarver,just ride. Sure, buckwheat, sure. 60 miles later it was BONK time, put a fork in me, I'm done. Seriously done. Hotel room, Taco Bell nearby, asleep at 0230, up at 0500, on the road at 0600, just ride dcarver, just ride. Only another 13 hours to go.

The fun is over. Really. At this point it's painful. Mr. Sleepy is in the cockpit and I can't shake it. Screaming in the helmet, pissed at the sun, and I still have to run.

Mentally, I must stop to splash water on my face, walk around, do some jumping jacks, stretch the back. Nothing is working. Finally I take the Skyway water bottle, still full of ice cold water, and dump it down my jacket and onto the boyz. That worked! Woot Woot, oh jeeesh, I'm awake now - but for how long?

Sure enough, 45 minutes later I was still fine, caught the 3rd wind and it was ride dcarver, just ride.

My buddy..

Close to home..just like Nakusp,eh?

This is the view of near where I live, approaching from the East. Sure, it ain't BC, but it's not bad either...

..and then, home. Get 5 hours sleep, then go to work.

Rude, just rude, that work thing.

Thanks for reading along, do I win a prize for the most verbose ride report ever?

.. the end

(Lyrics by Harry Chapin, Thank You Harry, you helped me get home!)

Saturday Ride Fotos FOUND

All-rigghtty then! Found the fotos in the old Recycle Bin..
Here's the route..

Pretty roads, eh?

We don't have waterfalls like this where I live.. I was here.

The ferry ride to somewhere from somewhere else?

Cute ferry captain..

Water, water!

Ahhh, what a handsome devil, eh?

Approaching Revelstoke. Just are fueling, here comes old Barabus down the road. He decided to take a 25 mile detour with me (baaawaaaaah, it was 125, but he didn't hear me clearly) and we had a GREAT ride. Nice warm sunny temps, wonderful views, and it was just fun riding with my buddy again.




Oh, Canada!

 

Some shots for Barabus

Came across this Trumpet rider, he has a graphic design biz, had just picked his bike up from Castelgar, headed for Nelson.

Is it just me, or does Barry make an FJR look like a moped?

The last leg home.

This ferry was cool, it's guided and pulled by cables!
<

Photo op time for Barry and I, me first. It occurred to me that this would be my last ferry for the trip, and probably for a long time ever..
<

And now, for the big ending, you tell me, just what is Barry (Barabus) really thinking?