Cheating the Weather Gods - Again!

Yesterday we were lucky that despite a nasty weather forecast, we were able to avoid any really rotten weather and do our ride with a minimum of rain. The weather forecast for today was worse than yesterday so Garry and I left Penticton a day early to miss the absolutely terrible weather forecast for Monday. 

Leaving Penticton on Sunday Morning

For the most part the ride to Princeton was smooth, with very little traffic and none of the rain that was threatened in the weather forecast. We did a quick gas stop in  Princeton then headed west to Manning Park. Traffic was light so we were able to easily keep to the speed limit, or a small bit above it.  Garry passed me outside of Princeton and was shortly well ahead of me. I made the decision to stick to the speed limit and enjoy the ride and the scenery rather than push my speed. I found that the ride was far more enjoyable, and except for a few small showers near Manning Park, the weather continued to hold.

At the west portal to the park I stopped to rest my weary backside because with the long distances between stops, even on the very comfortable seat of a Heritage Classic I was beginning to experience what I call 'numbbum'. The five minutes I spent on my feet gave me time to take several photos of the park entrance/exit before getting on the road again. 

The west portal of Manning Park

My Heritage Classic at the west portal of Manning Park.

Several kilometres down the road Garry was pulled over waiting for me to catch up. I was at least ten minutes behind him and he was concerned that I may have run into difficulties. Clouds rolled in and we hit some showers, but nothing too serious. After seeing the forecast from the previous evening, I had put my rain gear on in Princeton, so the showers were a minor inconvenience.

We bypassed Hope and continued on the Chilliwack where we stopped for a coffee break at Starbucks then refueled at the Chevron - love that 94 octane for the Harley, but it is expensive -25 cents per litre more than regular. Time from Penticton to Chilliwack-about 3-1/2 hours for slightly more than 300 kilometres. 

We hit more showers west of Chilliwack and the traffic heading to Vancouver became a lot heavier. However, we were able to maintain the 100 kph speed limit with well chosen lane changes. I had a close call however. I was in the passing lane overtaking a line of traffic when a 'cager' in a Nissan SUV made an abrupt and unsignalled lane change forcing me to move too close to the shoulder while hammering my brakes. This is one situation where the ABS option definitely paid for itself. When I hit my anemic horn I was rewarded with an upraised middle finger. I have still yet to figure out why the reaction of people who do stupid things in cars is to immediately 'flip the bird' when they are called on it. Defensive reaction I suppose, but even at 110 kph some people don't pay full attention to what they are doing. That was my 'Code Brown' incident for the trip, but considering the distance we had travelled to that point, I suppose one incident of an inattentive driver almost causing me to come close to disaster is not too bad.

The rest of the ride to the ferry terminal was, except for heavy traffic and some showers, relatively uneventful and we reached the BC Ferries terminal at around 2:00 p.m., about 5-1/2 hours after leaving Penticton, a distance of about 425 kilometres. The bikes were running like Swiss watches so the ride was quite good. The biggest problem I had was a sore ass from the long stretches without a break.

We met several guys at the ferry terminal, one of whom was an adventure tourer and was heading home to Parksville after meeting friends and riding to the headwaters of the Mississippi River in Wisconsin where the group turned south and followed the river south through places like St. Louis and Vicksburg all the was yo New Orleans where they spent several days sampling bourbon on Bourbon Street. I think their ride was about 12 000 kilometres. Sounds like it was a terrific ride and a great time with some good friends. The way a road trip should be.

A variety of motorcycles on the BC ferry.

One of the great things about riding is that whenever you stop, people want to talk to you. Other riders is understandable, because we often tell each other about the rides we are doing, but often people just walk up to you and start conversations about riding. Sometimes they tell you that they used to ride and how much they miss getting out on the road. Other times people who don't ride seem to want to find out about your experiences and wish they could do the same thing. The best though, are the little kids who seem to be attracted to big shiny motorcycles and often pull their parents along with them to get a closer look at the bikes. Invariably when you ask the parents if they would like to sit on the bike, they are delighted. I often offer to take photos of the kids with their parents on their cell phones so they will have a memory of the moment. And perhaps it will be a memory that brings the child into riding in the future.

The ferry was about fifteen minutes late departing the terminal but we were able to unload and be on the road again by 6:00 p.m. After a refueling stop in Nanaimo, we made the run to Campbell River without stopping. We ran through a few showers and the road was wet for part of the way, but considering the dire forecast that we had seen the day before and which had prompted our departure from Penticton a day early, it was a remarkably good day. 

I arrived at my front door at exactly 7:30, about eleven hours, 600 kilometres, an hour and a half wait at the ferry terminal and a two hour crossing. The whole ride to the Okanagan and West Kootenays, including some day trips amounted to almost exactly 2600 kilometres, the longest distance I have ridden in a short time since my last road trip in 2017. It was great to get out on the Harley and to put some serious distance behind me after that length of time. I was beginning to wonder if, after five years, I could still spend long stretches in the saddle. This trip showed me, that despite my advancing years, I can still do some serious distance and that after the depredations of Covid-19, I am looking forward to doing a road trip with my friend Jim, later in July.

All in all, despite the sometimes terrible or marginal weather, this was a good trip and the Okanagan/West Kootenays is a great place to ride. Now I just have to spend a few hours washing, waxing, and polishing my dirty bike. And start planning the next ride.