Hay River or Bust

For the last few weeks I've had the itch to go north, mostly just an excuse to go for a ride and see some scenery I haven't seen in a few years. Leona and I had talked about maybe doing it over the September long weekend, but when Saturday came it didn't look like the weather would be good for it. After church yesterday the sun was out and it was warm. The decision to go was easy to make so we ate a quick lunch, packed a small bag, and off we were.

The weather was absolutely beautiful yesterday, about as perfect a day for riding as there can be. The temperature was warm, 18-20C most of the day, sunny, and barely a cloud in the sky. We had a quick fuel stop in High Level and pointed the wheel north. Before getting to Meander River we stopped so I could take a quick picture of the odometer as the bike turned over 25,000km. On the Harley Limited I hit that mark 8 days less than a year. On the Goldwing it happened 16 days less than a year. It's been a great riding season so far, one that will end up being the highest mile season I've done so far.

Before we knew it we were at the 60th parallel and the Northwest Territories. We stopped for a few pictures and to enjoy the sun, though the bugs apparently also were taking advantage of the nice weather and swarmed around our warm bike. Not too far down the road was the Twin Falls Gorge, and we spent some time walking down to the first set of falls, hanging out beside the river. From the Alexandra Falls to the Louise Falls is only a couple kilometres, and we spent some time there as well.  It was great to get away for a couple of days and it even felt like we were on vacation far from home.

I've never been up to Hay River before, and though it's not that spectacular, it's a nice little town. We rode right through so we could go see the Great Slave Lake (the deepest lake in North America at 2,014 feet deep). It's a very large lake as well, the 10th largest in the world, and standing on the shore it almost felt like we were at the ocean. Our time there was cut short due to rumbling stomachs, so we headed back into town to check into our motel and get some dinner. We were done dinner by 8:30 and spent the rest of the evening relaxing. It was interesting to see license plates from Wyoming, Texas, and California in the parking lot of the Ptarmigan Inn. I'm not sure what all of them were doing this far north.

I ended up meeting a fellow on the way out later in the evening, and we chatted for about 15 minutes. His name was Carl Stark, from Wyoming, and he was also an Iron Butt Association member. Not only just a member though, but a rider that had competed and finished 24th in the 2007 Iron Butt Rally. That's a very big deal in the long distance riding world, as more people have been in space than have finished an Iron Butt Rally. Having completed three IBA rides I understand just a little how tough riding an 11 day rally would be, and have nothing but respect for anyone that has ever finished. It's great to make a little connection like that with a fellow LD rider, and who knows, maybe someday I'll get my chance to ride in the IBR.

This morning after breakfast we ended up chatting with Carl and his wife Jonnie again. They are on their way to Alaska to see family. It must have been at least half an hour that we talked, and if we are ever in Sheridan, WY again we have a place to stay. I've said it many times, but the people that I've met over the years because of riding are such a big part of why riding is so enjoyable.

It was cold and windy today but thankfully the rain that fell overnight had stopped. We stopped in Enterprise for at least half an hour again to chat with Leona's dad, who was on his way up to Yellowknife on the truck once again. It was great to talk with him for a while and we were glad it worked out to meet with him.

Leona and I stopped to use the restroom at the border, watching a few snowflakes fall during our stop. Thankfully it was just a few though so it didn't really affect us. By the time we got to High Level it was high time to warm up with a coffee and an early supper at Tim Hortons. The warm weather from yesterday was a distant memory, from 5C up to a high of 10C today. The final leg from High Level felt warmer as there was more sun, though that hot shower upon arriving at home still felt great. 

I'm glad we got this little ride in yet before winter, and though today was not that fun, the little weekend trip was just what we needed.

IBA SaddleSore 2000K (The Smoke Show)

It's been a busy summer of riding so far and yet there's always the itch to do another ride. Ever since purchasing the Goldwing in September of last year I've been wondering how it would compare to the Harley Ultra Limited (I did two IBA rides with that bike) on long distance rides. Summer seems to be passing quickly and I didn't want to get to winter without trying an IBA ride with the Wing, as it would eat away at me for the entire off-season.

Having completed the SS1600K and the SS3000K Gold rides, I decided that the SS2000K ride was the perfect ride for this year. It takes very little planning so I could do that one on the spur of the moment. The route I picked wasn't perfect but it looked like it would work well, though the amount of 100km/h two lane roads meant I'd have to be very efficient. 2000km in less than 24 hours seems easier from the recliner than it does once you get to doing it in the real world.

I went to bed at around 8:30pm Thursday night and fell asleep fairly quickly even though it was very much out of routine, falling asleep somewhere around 9. Getting up at 3:30 in the morning is also not routine, though it didn't feel too bad. It took a little while to get the cobwebs out of my brain, and I didn't rush to get out of the door. The official start time (provided by the time stamp on the gas receipt) was 4:20am. Now I had my work cut out for me for the next 24 hours or less.

It was a lonely ride to Red Earth, though the traffic did pick up a little as I got closer. The temperature went from 10C to 17C and then fell to 6C, which felt quite cold. There were 2 bears that crossed the road in front of me, one that high-tailed it into the bush, the other that stopped in the ditch to look at me riding by. I waved but didn't get one in return. Not too far down the road a moose also crossed, again far enough ahead so that I didn't have to hit the brakes.

After passing Slave Lake the smoke from forest fires got a lot thicker. It felt more like evening than morning, and though the smoke wasn't as thick as I continued south, the entire part of the province I rode through was smoky. The amount of smoke certainly limited visibility in the rolling hills of central Alberta. I stopped for gas in Westlock, and then a splash of gas in Fort Saskatchewan to prove my route. From there I stayed on highway 21 all the way down to Trochu, jumping on highway 27 to get me to Olds. I got gas receipts in both towns to prove my route for the certification process. The temperature peaked at 30C just north of Red Deer, a 24 degree difference from the lowest temp in the morning.

I've never been on the Deuce (QEII highway) when it's been busier, just a crazy amount of traffic. Everyone from Calgary was headed to Edmonton and vice versa on this Friday afternoon. Though the volume was heavy traffic moved well all the way to the interchange to get on the Henday. It was really backed up getting on, moved well around the city, and was backed up again getting onto the Yellowhead. That was the last of the heavy traffic for the day and I was okay with that.

The smoke kept getting thicker as I made my way to Whitecourt, the thickest it's been anywhere today. I finally stopped in Whitecourt for my first break, though just a 20 minute one. All day I was flirting with a 100km/ average, which is very hard to do when you have to stop so often for gas. Part of what makes these rides tough is that you're always on the clock, which really makes one think about efficiency. It's easy to blow off 20 minutes at a gas stop, and that's time you can't ever get back. Excessive speeding doesn't help on a ride like this, and won't get approved by the IBA even if one tries that method. Other than the 20 minute dinner/rest stop no other stop would have exceeded fifteen minutes, less than that for most of them.

In Peace River I stopped to get a coffee and some water, preparing for the final stretch. I've never enjoyed night riding as the risk of animals on the road goes way up. The final four and half hours were all in the dark, but the animals stayed (mostly) off the road. There were two deer standing on the right side of the road just south of Keg River but I saw them in time. It would have been nice to ride under a moonlight sky but it was overcast along with the smoke.

My wife, who had been in High Level in the evening anyway, came to meet me a follow me for the last hour and a half of the ride. It's awesome to get support from her to do these rides, as she does understand that there's risk involved but let's me do them anyway. The last stretch home from High Level was cold and I was getting very tired, so pulling into the pumps here to complete the ride felt great. The official end time was 2:53am, 22 hours 33 minutes to ride 2,161km. Having a lot of time to spare was nice, the 3000K Gold ride last year was stressful for the entire final 12 hours.

The bike performed flawlessly and was much easier on the body than the Harley was. The seating position really helps with long distance riding, the laid back position common to Harley's (all cruisers really) is the worst for endurance. Being quiet and smooth may not be "cool" but it sure works for long distance riding. The "cool" bikes are usually way back in the rearview mirror anyway! It's been a great bike so far, and with almost 25,000km on the clock now I think I have a pretty good feel for it.

With three IBA rides done now it's time to look ahead at some other rides in the future. The 48/10 (all the lower 48 states in under 10 days) is one that I really want to try someday, although that would be gruelling on a whole different level than these short rides. I love the challenge of long distance riding and the amount of country one can see in a short amount of time. It really turns all of North America into my playground!

 Just a wall of smoke up ahead

 Just the place for a little pick-me-up for the final stretch

 A well lit gas station is an oasis in the night

This is what victory looks like on an IBA ride, getting my end receipt at 2:53am

2018(2) - Day 9

I slept in this morning, the latest I've slept on this trip, getting up at 8am. The hotel was pretty quiet while I ate breakfast, just one other guest having breakfast with me. I got the wheels rolling just before 9am, making the final leg of the trip home.

It was relaxing to make some miles in the morning, traffic was light and the weather was perfect. It didn't take long to get to Peace River, where I stopped for a quick lunch at Tim Hortons. The skies were growing darker to the north as I made my way to Manning but I didn't want to stop to put on rain gear. The skies opened up as I hit the 70km/h zone on the south end of Manning, and I was drenched by the time I dove under the canopy at the Esso. I waited out the thunderstorm while I put fuel in the bike, spending around 20 minutes there.

There were a few more little showers to ride through on the final leg home, but just short ones that didn't make me too wet. I got home 10 minutes before Leona was done work and it was really good to see her again after a little over a week apart. It's nice to come home to someone, something I'm still not quite used to.

This was a fantastic trip, really enjoyed spending time with the guys and seeing some great scenery. If I get the chance to ride with Peter, Kevin, and Randy again I'd do in a heartbeat. My total was just over 4,700km for the trip, and I'm now at almost 20,000km for the season. The bike did just a little better on fuel riding solo, averaging 51.7mpg (43.1 US mpg) or 5.5L/100km. It was also a cheaper trip as we were able to share rooms, though a few of the rooms were quite expensive because of location.

That's probably it for the long rides this year unless we sneak away for a long weekend somewhere. I don't currently have any plans to do another Iron Butt ride this year, though that is always tempting. There's still one IBA ride that continues to come up in my thoughts, the 48 states in 10 days or less ride. That one will take a lot of planning so it wouldn't happen until next year at the earliest. I guess it's time to enjoy the rest of the summer at home, and put a few more miles on the Razor.






Those clouds gave me a cold shower coming into Manning

Ferry to take me across the Peace River

2018(2) - Day 8

Today was another pretty relaxing day, with not a whole lot on the agenda. Heeding a warning from a friend on social media, I eliminated the route through Grande Cache as a possibility as the road is undergoing a lot of construction. It wasn't a hard choice to stay with Peter and Kevin all the way to Spruce Grove. On the way we finally found someone to change a tire on Peter's trike.

We got into Spruce Grove right around 1:00 and got the trike over to Wild Boar Custom Cycles. Kevin went home to get his pickup truck, and then the three of us headed into St. Albert to buy the tire. After dropping it off we headed into town for lunch. Kevin dropped us off after the meal, and we parted ways.

By around 4:30 it was down to just my father in law and me. We got to Whitecourt at 6:00 where I'll stay for night. Peter was going to continue on home, and is probably there already by now. My brother Tim is working here and I got to hang out with him for the evening, which was really good. We don't get enough time together in summer, so I couldn't say no to the chance to spend an evening with him. Tomorrow I'll ride the rest of the way home, and hopefully Leona doesn't hide the bike keys once I get there.

It was an absolute blast to go on this ride with the guys, something I would gladly do again someday if the opportunity presents itself. We had good weather, all got along really well, and had a lot of laughs! Riding with a group is different, and though I expected it would be fun, it was actually better than I had expected it would be. I'm really glad the guys let me tag along on the ride, and hopefully we get to do that again someday!


Very foggy between Hinton and Edson this morning, and pretty chilly too

Pretty bland scenery after what we just rode through the last few days, but it's still beautiful weather for a later afternoon ride

These pictures didn't make my blog on the day it happened, and since there aren't many tonight, I'll post them here. This was in Orofino, ID and the flags were a safety as there were no lights at the crossing. We got far to carried away with something as simple as flags.


Kevin, the clown of the group, guiding us safely across the street while Randy puts himself in danger to take the picture

My turn to safely navigate our group across the street, though it seems that Peter threw caution to the wind for a photo op

2018(2) - Day 7

It was another beautiful morning as we awoke this morning, warm temperatures and mountain views. The morning routine didn't take long today, and we had a relaxing breakfast to start the day. We got on the road by 9 but by the first stop of the day we were back in the Alberta time zone, so that made the morning feel short.

Traffic was crazy busy everywhere today, and that coupled with countless construction zones meant that patience was required today. After stopping for a little break in Golden we continued on into Lake Louise. Randy split off from us there, heading for Calgary and then Edmonton, and we were down to three bikes in the group. The three of us headed north on 93, a relaxing ride through the National Parks despite heavy tourist traffic.

It's been very warm since the day we left Kalispell, and it was right around 30 again today until we got to the Columbia ice fields. There it dropped down to 21 and that's about where it stayed for the rest of the day. After leaving Jasper we eventually stopped to put on our jackets for the first time in days. The clouds were also rolling in as we left Jasper though the rain waited until the final 10 minutes or so of the ride. As we were checking in the volume of rain increased and we were happy to have a dry place for the night.

Once again, the plan for tomorrow is up in the air at this point. I may end up in Edmonton, Grande Prairie, or home by tomorrow evening. It feels like all I've really done for the last two months is ride my motorcycle, and even though I've done a ton of riding, it's still going to be a little sad when this trip ends.






I've never seen Bow Lake this green before, just beautiful







Little blurry, but it's been great to ride with these guys (and Randy) for the last few days

2018(2) - Day 6

We woke up to another beautiful morning and decided over breakfast to ride up to Revelstoke today. It's only a little over 300km so that meant it was going to be a relaxing day, which was the perfect way to spend this Sunday. The breakfast at the hotel restaurant was good, except for the coffee, which was horrible. The funny this is the drinks were not included in the room price, just the food, so that was a big waste of $2.50. We got the bikes loaded up and headed down to the Tim Hortons to get some good coffee.

After satisfying our caffeine needs we got fuel and then headed north on highway 3A. I've been on this road multiple times and it never disappoints, what a great ride that is. They squeezed us onto the ferry and we sailed over to Balfour. With a ferry ride and a couple of stops, we ended up in Kaslo somewhere between 12:30 and 1:00. Lunch at the Kaslo Hotel was delicious. We all got sidetracked a little by a 1936 Indian motorcycle, so much so that I forgot to get a picture. It took some doing but the rider finally got it kick started and off he went.

From Kaslo we took 31A over to New Denver, and then got on the 6 north for Galena Bay and our second ferry ride of the day. For those of you who followed along last year, this is the same route Leona and I took on our way back from the island. It was another hot day, get up into the mid 30's again. We stopped in Nakusp so the guys could get fuel, and so we could get some more water and an ice cream.

I enjoyed a "spirited" ride from Nakusp to Galena Bay, the last of the good corners for the day. That was the only time I got on the throttle a little harder all day, as I wanted to enjoy a more relaxing ride. We had a 45 minute wait for the ferry, and sat in the shade and shot the breeze. Our breaks have been many and long but it's been great, much more relaxed than I usually ride.

I'm a little unsure at this point what is happening tomorrow. Randy has to head home to Edmonton but I think my father in law and Kevin still have some more time. There's a good chance we'll end up in the Alberta Rockies somewhere tomorrow night, but that still hasn't been discussed. Either way there's still some more good riding before this trip is over.

2018(2) - Day 5

After a great night of sleep and a really good breakfast we got back on the road, heading up to see the dam close to Orofino to start the day. From there we headed back into town, stocked up on water, and then pointed our wheels west. It doesn't take long for the scenery to change west of Orofino, as the trees become scarce, and the scenery is actually kind of ugly in my opinion. It was also stifling hot by the time we hit Lewiston and there was a haze in the air.

From Lewiston we headed northwest into Washington, mostly because Kevin wanted to check that state off his list. We got to Spokane at around 1:30, and it was in the nick of time, as the waving wheat fields threatened to put me to sleep. We were in Spokane for over 2 hours, our break turning into a hunt for a place that could change a tire. There was no such place in Spokane, which was a little strange, but I guess it is a Saturday.

We bypassed Coeur d'Alene on the north, and then headed up highway 95. There was a bad wreck on the road just south of Sandpoint which cost us over half an hour. Sitting on the highway inching along in the heat wasn't the most fun we've had, but once we got going it sure felt good to get some air.

The last of the ride into Creston was really nice, it was cooling off so it really was a relaxing end to the day. It was an absolutely beautiful ride as well which never gets old. I was tired and very hungry, so we didn't waste time getting a room and finding supper. It will not take much time to fall asleep tonight. Tomorrow should be another great day, looking forward to seeing the Rockies again!