April 22, 2015 - first ride with my brother

Today was my first ride with my brother... he has the Honda Goldwing. His bike has not been on the road for over three years now... so needless to say, he had to do a lot of repairs, i.e. clutch and brake lines gummed up, brake shoes jammed, oil change, lighting , etc.

We both met up at Mum's place (where else eh), then left for a nice back road ride behind Maple Ridge and Mission.

The ride was perfect... not much traffic, nice weather and the bikes ran great!

 Now parked at mum's place

 Getting ready for our ride

Rest stop, behind Mission

  We stopped for lunch at the Sasquatch Inn... nice biker pub!

 The weather started to turn bad... winds picking up and rain in the background.
Time to head for Will's place

Will making adjustments to his shifter arm

 Now safe and sound and dry! at Will's place.

I drove home the following day, stopped at Mum's... nice ride... cloudy, but no rain!

...

April 15 2015 - On the road again

Got my motorcycle insurance today - 6 month insurance ($637.00)

Took my first ride to Porteau Cove, less than one hour drive from home.

The next day, drove to my brother's place for a day drive. On the way over, I picked up some oil and oil filter, so I do an oil change at my brother's garage. In addition, I always stop at Mum's place for coffee on my drive. :)
I drove all the way home that evening... 1 1/2 hour on the freeway doing 120 km all the way. Needless to say I was bagged by the time I got home!

...

August 18 - 20, 2014 - trip to 100 mile house

Nothing to do but hit the road... off to see my friend Steve Havas, up in 100 Mile House.

The weather was perfect, clear skies, not too hot or too cold, just right for riding my motorcycle. However, I did have the starting of a summer cold. :( but that did not hinder the ride. :)

All packed up heading out to Steve's place. I took the Whistler route going up and had to take the Fraser Canyon route back home.

Starting at Vancouver (bottom left) then going clockwise.

The nice part of going the Whistler Route, is that I do not have to put up with all the city traffic... most of the time, just me and the open road.

The bike ran perfect (as always) through-out the entire trip. It was a long ride... sore butt, wrists, neck, back and a lot of wind noise to put up with, but hey... that is motorcycle riding eh!

I stopped at Pemberton for gas... around $20.00 to fill

The plan was to stop a lot, but riding by yourself, it seems that you stop less often.

I called Steve when I arrived at Lillooet, to let him know that I will be at the highway junction in 1.5 hours. Steve wanted to go for a ride as well, so we arranged to meet there.

We timed the meeting place perfectly; I only waited about 10 minutes for Steve to arrive.

From this point further, there was a lot more traffic, and greater road/wind noise, caused by all the traffic. In addition, it seemed that everyone was in such a rush... no longer as relaxing and enjoyable as riding through the mountain pass on your own.

We stopped in 100 Mile House for gas ... around $20.00 again.

Then off to Steve's home, just 10km out of town...

Steve and Val, with her lamas in the background

Steve drove me around in his car to Williams Lake the next day. I enjoyed viewing my old stomping grounds, bring back many great memories. We ended up at the Laughing Loon Pub for a few beer and snacks.

My cold was not getting any better and so was the weather predictions, so I decided it was time for home. The thought of riding through a thunderstorm did not sound to appealing.

The next day... off to Vancouver.

My plan was to go home the same way I came... through Whistler. but as I came to the highway junction to turn off to Whistler, the highway was closed due to wash-out... This means either take a two to three hour detour or go the Fraser Canyon route... needless to say I took the Fraser Canyon route. This means that I will be going on the freeway with  lots and lots of traffic... no fun at all!

Stopped at the Dairy Queen for a ice cream break

Lots of smoke from a forest fire near by.

met up with a few motorcycle riders along the way.

I ride was nice, but would of preferred the Whistler Route.

Left Steve's place at 11:00am and arrived home at 5:30pm... a long ride to say the least... sore butt and wrists!

Home now... resting. :)

June 23 2014 - Trip around Sunshine Coast, with Darryl

Second trip of the season...

Trip around our Sunshine Coast...

Above, the trip route taken with my West Vancouver Yacht club, friend Darryl Stodalka; (Darryl  recently got his Honda ST1300). This will be his time on this route.

Motorcycles parked on the ferry, going to Gibson

the weather, traffic and road conditions were GREAT! lots of fantastic scenery!!

Darryl leading the way to the pub!

 We took the ferry from Horseshoe bay to Gibson, stopped of just north of Madeira Park, "Garden Bay Hotel Marina Pub" for lunch, then drove to the end of the ride (see the yellow line on the map above), then came back home again.

Looking out into the bay, from the Pub

Looking from the wharf

 Beer, food and company where great! Highly recommend the place!

One happy Darryl with his bike!

not sure why I look so tall along side my motorcycle...must be the camera :)

On our trip back, we stopped over at Gibson... government docks, just to take a look around before we head back on the ferry...

taking a texting break.

Got home safe and sound!....

Till the next trip!

June 17 2014 - Ride to Abbotsford

Today is a great day for a ride to Abbotsford, but going to my mum's friend funeral.

Weather was very good for the ride... not too hot nor too cold.

Stopped over at mum's place first, for coffee and a light lunch... my sister Wendy was over there too! she is taking mum to the funeral.

The drive over was just OK, nothing really to say about the ride... just lots of traffic.

The funeral for was for Simon Koostra, my dad's last friend; now all his friends have passed on :( but that's life.

My ride back was better... love the roads behind Mission... no traffic to speak of. However, as I was getting closer to Pitt Meadows the traffic really started to build (now rush hour). It would seem that every car was in a race to get home... extremely stressful for me... I found it was better to pass the traffic than to have the traffic pass me. Vehicle love to cut you off!

Anyway... safe and sound home.

See map below of my route.. route was around 100 miles.

June 3 - 6, 2014 - Trip to Summerland

 Well, the motorcycle is finally insured again, ready to hit the road!

Another season of riding is a head! First ride of the year...

Off to Summerland, to see my friend Brian Wootton!

Digging up my riding gear, I found that my old motorcycle helmet still smells like mold! Last year, I made the mistake of putting my helmet into my saddlebag wet! When I took it out, 8 months later, it was completely covered in white mold! I tried removing the mold with every chemical there was... but the smell still remained... time for a new helmet! I finally found a replacement... got a "Schuberth C3 Pro" (a newer version of my old one). In addition, I got a helmet speaker system (SRC system). This is integrated into the helmet, looks good. Now I got Bluetooth... connects to my iPhone, music, gps, radio stations and a communication system with other riders. Works OK, but will take some getting use to. I will only use it on long trips.

In for penny in for a pound... purchased a new rain suit (one piece BMW yellow rain suit) and the best thing... a new front tire. Now the bike rides perfectly around the corners! so happy with the tire.

Below are the pictures of my trip...

starting at Vancouver, going counter clockwise

 First stop was at my mum's place for coffee in Port Coquitlam, nice stop over... then off... going the Mission / Harrison Hots spring route...

All loaded at my Mum's place

 Planning to camp over at Manning Park (Skagit Valley - shown in blue), but I am just too old to camp in the snow! so I stayed in their hotel. Nice place with hardly anyone there!

At the look-out at Manning park

Yes, to was cold, but nice!

Just me and my ride...FJR 1300

at the look-out station, looking down at Manning Park

Since no one was at the look-out and early morning, I decided to coast down the mountain... no noise, just air rushing pass. We will surprised what you can see going down the road up there. Seen a few deer, lots of birds and squirrels. Makes you really appreciate life!

At Summerland - Brian's mountain cabin... living on the ledge
note the painting on Brian's cabin wall... not bad eh!

Brian's yearly garden

Preparing dinner!

His dog Monty

peaceful ride!

A lake along the Connector between Summerland and Merritt

After a few days at Brian's place... time for the home run.

Just passed Merritt - hot area.
note... no traffic!!!!

Going up to the Coast Mountains, heading for home

The ride back was a lot longer than I was planning to ride... left Summerland at 10:30 am... got home at 7:30 pm

I was planning to camp around Merritt, but just to hot now! So I kept riding... as I was just starting to go through the Coast Mountains, there was a major paving project going on... stopping all traffic for over a 1/2 hour. This means that I am at the front of the line... with no traffic ahead of me... brand new pavement... new super tires... hey who could stop! the best ride yet... going a MY speed with no cars to hold me up through the mountain. PERFECT!

Stopped at Pemberton for dinner, then home... completely beat!!!

So ends a great ride!!

till next time...