Long Way Clown

July 2003 Charley McGregor and Ewan Boorman swagger into the Cat and Fiddle Inn and order some food and a couple pints.

CM: “This is great, these roads are MADE for Gold Wings!”

EB: “Did you see the corner where I almost scraped a peg? Fantastic…”

CM: “Hey, should we take Gold Wings on our trip around the world next year?”

EB: “No, BMW is offering to sponsor us.“

From a nearby table: “You’re taking a big GS around the world? Did you hear about Mondo Enduro and Terra Circa? These ordinary guys rode DR350s ALL around the world….”

EB: “No! I never heard of either of those names.”

CM: “But Ewan, we watch Mondo Enduro over and over….”

EB: “NO!”

Another voice nearby: “If you haven’t seen it, you really should check it out! These guys are awesome, they ride these little bikes everywhere, deal with all kinds of stuff, have great experiences with the locals…”

EB: “How do they carry their Snap On tool chests on DR350s, er, little bike that I’ve never heard of?”

Neighbor: “They don’t, mate. They just take a few tools and improvise…very adaptable people, they are.”

CM: “What kind of support vehicles do they have following them? At least two jeeps, I assume?”

Neighbor: “None. It’s just them and what they carry on their bikes…”

EB: “But how do they transport their doctor and coffee service? How do they watch their Star Wars DVDs?”

Neighbor: “Er, I don’t think they are taking many electronics on the road, maybe some cameras.”

CM: “HA! We’ve got them beat, er, those people whose shows we don’t watch over and over…”

EB: “Tell me, what sort of hard core cardiovascular conditioning and combat training do they do?”

Neighbor: “Er, none. Not a single pelvic tilt.”

CM: “So what sort of director and producer did they hire? Did they get some good scripting for their faux dramatic arguments? I bet the doctor they had accompany them was a REAL drama queen, like the Russian we hired…”

Neighbor: “They didn’t take a doctor. A couple of them get injured and have to pack it in, at least for a while.”

EB: “Any bug bites that swell up and look disfiguring?”

Neighbor: “A couple.”

CM: “Doh!”

EB: “Any socially conscious and relevant discussion of historical sites and how people are alike all around the world?”

Neighbor: “Lots.”

CM: “Damn…”

Neighbor: “You really should watch Mondo Enduro…”

EB: “STOP SAYING THAT NAME!”

CM: “Any dramatic eating of animal testicles?”

Neighbor: “Not a one…”

EB: “HA!”

Neighbor: “But they did make it across the Zilov Gap in Terra Circa, a couple years back!”

EB: “AHHHH!” (Reaches for light saber that isn’t there, stalks out angrily. Followed by CM)

New Triumph Models in Seattle, FINALLY!

Triumph didn't attend 2010's Seattle motorcycle show (nor did BMW or KTM) and I was unable to go to the Vancouver show in January, due to a work crunch. So I was pleasantly surprised to receive hints that Cycle Barn wold be unveiling new Triumph motorcycles today.

And the Triumphs revealed were EXACTLY the bikes I was most interested in seeing: the new Tiger 800 and the new Speed Triple.

First, here's the new Tiger, in all its glory. It's an 800 cc, 3 cylinder bike that takes dead aim at the BMW F800 GS:


This is the 2011 Special Edition Speed Triple:


The white Speed Triple below sports the new 2011 styling, heavy on chassis changes to take advantage of its might motor. The black bike alongside it is identical to my 2009 model. When I sat on this new 2011, it felt lower and more compact than my 2009...its handling is supposed to be fantastic.

After the long wait, it was exciting to finally see these new models first hand. I eagerly look forward to taking them for test rides!

Austin Vince speaking at Touratech USA in just under 2 weeks!

Most adventure/touring motorcyclists have heard of Austin Vince in the context of Mondo Enduro or Terra Circa. Anyway, Austin is visiting the US and will be speaking at Touratech USA in Seattle on Wednesday, March 23:

http://www.touratech-usa.com/Adventure/Events/cGaDRi/Touratech-USA-Presents-Austin-Vince

If you don’t know any of these names, I encourage a look at this page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondo_Enduro

Basically, in 1995-1996, these Brits rode DR350s (earlier/smaller versions of the DRZ400) around the world: think Long Way Round and Long Way Down tacked together on small dual-sports. They were unable to make it across the Zilov Gap in Siberia and so went back later and did cross the Gap in the Terra Circa trip.

This COULD happen...

In keeping with the notion that you can never have too many laws and that anything that isn't banned ought to be mandated and regulated to death, the state of California has decided to make the biker "wave" mandatory.

As of January 1, 2011, any time two or more bikers pass each other, they will be required to wave at each other. Moreover, the occasion of the wave will do double duty by promoting the important safety message that riders should wear full gear at all times.

This then is the Official state of California Biker Wave:

2010 Canadian parks Tour Conclusions

My tour through the Canadian parks was a wonderful experience. There was some wear and tear involved. A camera that ALMOST passed the 65 mph drop test, a waist buckle on my backpack melted on the Triumph's exhaust pipes. This righteous callous on my throttle hand after 5 days:


If I was doing this trip over again, I would have either added 2-3 days to it so I could do some real hiking or paddling or aimed for less road miles, with the same objective. Riding through was fantastic but I desperately wanted to get off and wander on foot a bit and the schedule didn't allow for it.

As with previous trips, some people I met along the way were highlights of the trip. For some reason, people seemed to want to say Hello and yack a bit with a middle aged, solo biker, which only added to the trip. It was fantastic meeting the trip of New Zealand Harley riders at the Athabasca Glacier and I hope to visit their home roads, some day.

I can't wait to return to the Canadian Rockies because I know I only barely scratched the surface with this trip...

Resources used in planning the trip:
The Canada Cool web site - @CanadaCool on twitter

Books:
Handbook of the Canadian Rockies by Ben Gadd - samples, my review
This is THE book to have for a trip to the Canadian Rockies, if you can have only one

The Moon Books guide to Western Canada - Andrew Hempstead - my review at Amazon
Covers not only the Rockies but all points of interest in British Columbia, Alberta, the northern Territories

The Canadian Rockies Access Guide - John Dodd, Gail Helgason - I need to review this, it's an excellent guide to trails and outdoor resources

2010 Canadian Parks Tour - Day #5 Heading home Part 2

Since leaving Jasper on the previous day, it seemed that my trip home through the Cariboo would carry reminders of my first ride to Lillooet. I often paralleled the Fraser River or its tributary the Thompson. As with the ride to Lillooet, I saw a black bear.

And the town where I spent my last night in BC was measured in relation to Lillooet. Lillooet was the start of the old Cariboo Trail and there is a whole string of town named for their distance from it. So 100 Mile House is named for its distance from Lillooet along that route. Shots outside the motel where I stayed.




And the Visitors Centre in 100 Mile House is home to the world's largest cross country skis.


A neat inukshuk carved from wood.


Continuing on towards Cache Creek


And in Cache Creek





Continuing South, this river looks kind of sedate, so could be the Bonaparte, North of Lytton


Now, THIS looks like the mighty Fraser!


Boston Bar sign - only including this as it's my last photo taken en route.


From this point, I was pretty much in 'homing' mode. Stopped for a bite in Hope but otherwise headed for home at a good clip. There was an hour's backup at the border on this fine summer day, so that by the time I spoke with the US immigration officer, I had sweated THROUGH my leather jacket. Soon, i was home...and looking forward to more journeys North.

2010 Canadian Parks Tour - Day #4 Heading home Part 1

The journey home from my visit to the Canadian Rockies started when I left Jasper National Park and traveled through Mount Robson Provincial Park. The entrance to Mount Robson Park contained the only mountain goat that I saw on my trip:


Mount Robson is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, towering to 3954 metere/12972 feet.




Pressing on through Mount Robson park, I was also reacquainted with an old friend. The Fraser River, which I journeyed alongside on my first ride up to Lilllooet, originates in Mount Robson Park and it would be accompanying me down through much of my journey back to the Vancouver area.

The gorgeous mountain vistas continued along the way.


I rode through a lot of small towns as I continued on towards Wells Gray Provincial Park but did not make many stops, as I was going for a bit over 300 miles on the fourth day.
As with the mountain goat at Mount Robson, the only moose that I saw on my trip was not very lively.


Past Clearwater, I traveled on to Little Fort. There, I abandoned the Coquihalla (which I had taken South from Tête Jaune Cache) and headed West on 24.

Amusingly, I had been prepared to see bears anywhere along my journey, especially in Banff and Jasper. But I did not see a bear until just after I had passed McDonald Pass on 24. As I rode along, a black bear suddenly ran across the road about 100 yards ahead. As I slowed to have more reaction time, he also slowed and then resumed running across the road.

Why did the bear cross the road? I don't know, maybe he was following a chicken? :)

One reason I was hurrying a bit was that the skies had been threatening rain since Clearwater and eventually they followed through on their threats. A light rain started, accompanied by some thunder. Having learned last year that it's smart not to ride in thunderstorms and heavy rain, I pulled into a small general store at Bridge Lake to wait out the thunderstorm and see if it would stop raining. The owners were very nice in letting me wait on their front porch.





After I thanked them and rode on, the rain did start up again but fortunately there was no more thunder/lightning. I reached the town of 100 Mile House and stopped for the night.