Last weekend Doc and I went for a short road trip. I had asked him if he felt inclined to go for a day ride. It's been a long time since we went riding just for the pleasure of it. Sometimes life and circumstances get in the way.
He said yes to a whole day.
Therefore I asked him if he wanted to go to Osoyoos. He was hoping to go for a few days at some point....so this was a perfect opportunity. I could only stay one day....but he was on vacation time from work so he stayed a for a few. He got a campsite booked....fortunately we were tenting or there would have been zero space. He and his family have been going to that particular campground for many years....it's a favourite place for him. I am indifferent.
Anyway...we met at the gas station near my place at 7AM. Bikes fuelled and bottles of water for the journey.....He had told me he only had a few hours of sleep and nothing to eat yet.
But he was fine, he said.
We rode as far as Langley where I led us off the freeway to a close by Starbuck's. He claimed he was fine....but I thought it might be prudent to get him something to eat and some coffee prior to going any further.
Yeah, yeah....I know...he's a grown man...however....I'd rather lose a bit of time than possible having him fall asleep or get light headed from having an empty stomach.
Our official breakfast stop was in Hope, BC.
We also topped up the gas tanks prior to leaving Hope.
When we ride together I ride in front. I tend to be a bit more of a conservative rider than Doc. When he rides with me, he gets better gas mileage.
We weren't in an great rush...we had all day..so we were riding at the speed limit. The Hope Princeton Highway that travels through Manning Park often has police patrolling the highway. Sure enough...there were 2 radar traps set up. When I see the amount of cars pulled over getting tickets, I feel good about taking it easy.
The next stop for us was a brake check pullout. Apparently Doc had been flashing his lights before that to try to get me to pull over....I never saw them.....it was time for a potty break...
Funny thing about that brake check area.....several cars and occupants were pulled in to take a break or use the outhouses...but no truckers. Finally one trucker pulled in...sat in his truck for a few minutes....making sure there were no police in sight....and he left. He never did check his brakes. It's actually a common sight.....The thing about this particular brake check are is that the hill that comes after it is very long and very steep. There are two run away lanes on this hill.
After that pulled into Princeton to fuel up again and get some refreshments. By now the temperature outside was smoking hot. Approximately 36 degrees Celsius. Although it was very hot....I was managing ok.
Even though I said I would always wear a full face helmet on the highway....it was too hot for it. I wore my 3/4 helmet. It allowed me to drink lots of water while riding. Doc on the other hand....was having a hard time with the heat. He poured water over himself in an attempt to cool down. It was so hot though, that his shirt dried in about three minutes.
This is just small spot on the road by Sidewinder Provincial Park.
When we got to Keremeos, I found a shady place to pull over to ask if he needed a break here....He was fine...so we kept going. The ride from Princeton to Keremeos to though Cawston to Osoyoos is fantastic. Traffic is light....civilization is sparse. Rolling hills, vineyards, orchards dot the landscape.
We made a stop in downtown Osoyoos....downtown Osoyoos takes about 2 minutes to go through.
I was so pleased with myself when I packed for the trip...I packed very light....but I forgot to pack a towel.
We made a stop at the popular Home Hardware...before heading to the campsite.
When we got to the campsite, Doc set up his tent trailer and I set up my humble tent. All around us people were "Glamping".
Doc got his tent trailer partially done but he was not feeling well. He went to buy some ice and a jug of water.....he was suffering from heat stroke. It took about an hour....but he finally started feeling better and finished the tent awning.
It was 42 degrees Celsius there. I knew it would be hot....so I packed only a sheet for a blanket.
Zena at the campsite.
Doc's tent trailer is in the background.
After we got everything set up, we rode our bikes back into town for dinner. We went to a good Italian restaurant....After we got back...I snapped this shot...it's starting to get dark...
I think we were both too tired to go to the beach...so we sat around and talked and watched the world go by. This included bats flying up in the trees as well little kids going by on their scooters with wheels that lit up. The bats don't bother anybody. They eat bugs...so the mosquito population there is almost nil. I actually did not get any bites. Heck...I can go out to my small garden at home to water the plants and come in with three new bites.
Part of my camping gear includes a self inflating pad. I worked very hard at home to get all the air out to be able to pack it onto the bike. I got my tent up and bedding ready....I was looking forward to crawling into bed....granted it's not so easy crawling out in the morning anymore....the body is getting to old for sleeping on the ground. I tossed and turned all night.
The ground felt hard....my hip was hurting...and I got cold. Very cold. I made a middle of the night trip to the washroom and when I came back to the tent, I found my long sleeved shirt and the bath towel I had bought in town. The bath towel helped to act like a blanket....
Finally it was daylight....I got up about 7 and went to have a nice long hot shower. I think it cost me three dollars. Doc was still asleep in his tent trailer so I quietly packed away my things and rolled up the tent, etc., When I pulled the sleeping pad out of the tent was when I realized I had forgotten to close the valve. I actually smacked myself upside the head.
It has inflated just fine when I set up my camp....but I got distracted and forgot to close it so the air would stay in. Of course...as soon as I lay on it, the air came out. No wonder the ground felt so hard and I was so cold.
I had everything of mine stowed away and just sat quietly in the zero gravity chair while the campground slowly came to life.
Doc got up about 8:30 and after getting ready we rode into town for breakfast. Osoyoos has one of the few remaining Smitty's restaurants. After breakfast, I headed for home and Doc headed for the campsite....and the lake.
Because it was the middle day of a long weekend...traffic was light. I never went over the speed limit... but made good time. I stopped only a twice for quick photo stops...and once for fuel.
Here is the first of my photo stops....same thing...just a couple of different angles...
This big chair is what gave me the idea for the riding game.
I stopped in Princeton for fuel. There were a few other bikers at that gas station....I was behind one of them when he decided to start it up....It sounded like an explosion and I jumped about 2 feet back and shrieked... He hadn't realized someone was behind hm...he smiled and said sorry....
I stopped again near the Hope Slide area. Where I stopped was across from Sunshine Valley. The old Hope Princeton used to be on the other side of the meadows....but when the slide happened part of the road way was gone. I remember at the time it was a devastating slide....not just for the environment...but for the fact that a few people were trapped and died under the debris. For a long time, it felt eerie to me to drive over that knowing that dead people were under there.
I stopped at the meadow....a lot of the highway is very winding....and not safe to make a stop....so I picked this portion because of its long straight stretch....It was rather windy and the gusts kept buffeting me....
I left after just 2...aside from the wind....some ATV's came along and stirred up a lot of dust.
I rode into Hope for some late lunch and then headed straight home. I didn't even bother to stop at Chilliwack for fuel....it costs about 14 cents a litre less than in town.
I figure 5-1/2 hours of riding time was good for me....I usually take longer because I stop a lot to gawk at the scenery.
Now I need to clean the bike. It is covered with bugs.