I recently completed a 1,500 journey in Canada: British Columbia and Alberta. The object of the trip was to see the rarely visited Kinuseo Falls in Monkman Provincal Park (30 miles SW of Tumbler Ridge). The waterfall is taller than Niagra Falls and is sometimes featured as an ad to entice visitors to “Supernatural British Columbia”. When I mapped the falls, and found them to be 800 miles north of Olympia, WA, I thought “perfect”, now that’s going to be a real walkabout! Expanding the route, my riding buddy Mike and I traversed West to Dawson Creek, then down to Grand Prairie and Hinton to Jasper and Banff National Parks. I’ll comment on a few things that are the heart of “Sport-Touring”.
1. Schedules. My rides are tightly planned. I depend on GPS to keep me on track for an average of 350 miles/day for 5 days, and 2 days of very short riding while at my destination. 350 are the most I can manage if I want to also stop and admire the scenery, but I’ve also done 550 miles when necessary.
2. Outer gear. Which brings me to my next thought: Be prepared! I brought four pairs of gloves (dry cool, dry hot and ventilated, heated, and waterproof). I used all four pairs: The first day the temp. got to 96 F. in the northern Fraser valley. Wenesday, at Atbasca Glacier in Banff NP, it was 36 degrees, snow mixed with rain (altitude 6,600 feet). I also brought a cool gel vest (evaporative cooling) and used it in 96 degrees. 4 days later, I had on 4 layers, including Gerbing’s heated vest and rain bib pants. Packing all this in my hot garage in the days before I left seemed silly; on the road I reflected what a genius I was for doing so.
3. Inner gear. I was introduced to LD comfort elastic boxer shorts. The shorts are blends of synthetic material designed to wick away sweat. It did so and spared me of monkey behind, jock itch, binding of jewels, and other noxious problems. The LD stands for long distance, and they stand up to all their claims. LDcomfort.com , they are big with adventure riders.
4. I don’t go on trips and hope nothing exciting happens. I don’t like surprises on cruise ships, but on my walkabouts, surprises are the memories that are the most lasting. Unfortunately, at the time of the surprise, you may not appreciate it all that much. There are surprises that test you before you are rewarded, and there are surprises with instant reward. In the former, we were 150 miles from our destination on the second day when rain hit us as we climbed into the Rockies on the way to Chetwynd, B.C.. At the top of Pine Pass, the road had been stripped to gravel and compact dirt for 5 miles. It was through this muck and slippery rock we rode; all 700 lbs of bike and gear each. Following those 5 miles, there was a 1 mile stretch of 1 inch gravel we had to negotiate. Having a little experience from rides in the NW, I gripped my handlebars as far as I could on the outside bar weights, used no front brake, and allowed a lot of head shake as normal on deep gravel. We both made it without crashing, much to our surprise. There are virtually no MC warning signs in BC, let the rider beware!
A great reward was had at breakfast at Lake Louise Inn, when the waitress informed us of a magnificent waterfall we were going to pass on Rt. 1, just outside of Field, BC. It is Takakkaw Falls, BC, and is the second highest falls in BC. To get there, you must navigate two 179 degree switchbacks, not so much fun on a laden ST. We made it, and the sight was fantastic; see below photos.
5. Canda is huge, endless and rough on folks not prepared. It is somewhat compensated for by very polite Canadians, and we felt welcome everywhere we went. The roughest part of our journey may have been passing American customs/immigration on the way back home. When we were on the Icefield Parkway in the rain, snow and cold I commented to myself that this was indeed the adventure I had hoped for: I have the rest of my life to stay warm and dry.
1. Schedules. My rides are tightly planned. I depend on GPS to keep me on track for an average of 350 miles/day for 5 days, and 2 days of very short riding while at my destination. 350 are the most I can manage if I want to also stop and admire the scenery, but I’ve also done 550 miles when necessary.
2. Outer gear. Which brings me to my next thought: Be prepared! I brought four pairs of gloves (dry cool, dry hot and ventilated, heated, and waterproof). I used all four pairs: The first day the temp. got to 96 F. in the northern Fraser valley. Wenesday, at Atbasca Glacier in Banff NP, it was 36 degrees, snow mixed with rain (altitude 6,600 feet). I also brought a cool gel vest (evaporative cooling) and used it in 96 degrees. 4 days later, I had on 4 layers, including Gerbing’s heated vest and rain bib pants. Packing all this in my hot garage in the days before I left seemed silly; on the road I reflected what a genius I was for doing so.
3. Inner gear. I was introduced to LD comfort elastic boxer shorts. The shorts are blends of synthetic material designed to wick away sweat. It did so and spared me of monkey behind, jock itch, binding of jewels, and other noxious problems. The LD stands for long distance, and they stand up to all their claims. LDcomfort.com , they are big with adventure riders.
4. I don’t go on trips and hope nothing exciting happens. I don’t like surprises on cruise ships, but on my walkabouts, surprises are the memories that are the most lasting. Unfortunately, at the time of the surprise, you may not appreciate it all that much. There are surprises that test you before you are rewarded, and there are surprises with instant reward. In the former, we were 150 miles from our destination on the second day when rain hit us as we climbed into the Rockies on the way to Chetwynd, B.C.. At the top of Pine Pass, the road had been stripped to gravel and compact dirt for 5 miles. It was through this muck and slippery rock we rode; all 700 lbs of bike and gear each. Following those 5 miles, there was a 1 mile stretch of 1 inch gravel we had to negotiate. Having a little experience from rides in the NW, I gripped my handlebars as far as I could on the outside bar weights, used no front brake, and allowed a lot of head shake as normal on deep gravel. We both made it without crashing, much to our surprise. There are virtually no MC warning signs in BC, let the rider beware!
A great reward was had at breakfast at Lake Louise Inn, when the waitress informed us of a magnificent waterfall we were going to pass on Rt. 1, just outside of Field, BC. It is Takakkaw Falls, BC, and is the second highest falls in BC. To get there, you must navigate two 179 degree switchbacks, not so much fun on a laden ST. We made it, and the sight was fantastic; see below photos.
5. Canda is huge, endless and rough on folks not prepared. It is somewhat compensated for by very polite Canadians, and we felt welcome everywhere we went. The roughest part of our journey may have been passing American customs/immigration on the way back home. When we were on the Icefield Parkway in the rain, snow and cold I commented to myself that this was indeed the adventure I had hoped for: I have the rest of my life to stay warm and dry.
Attachments
Last edited:
