High_Sides Trips and Pics

[High_Side]

Not usual for a front to scrub off like that,

are you riding the viffer motard style ?

Nope - I save that for the KTM And it gets 10+KM out of a front Pilot Road - although it is lightly loaded.....

[High_Side]

Late to this thread, but........ were they BT-021's by chance? I've had horrible experience with the front BT-021 cupping on my Trophy 1200, and heard the same from Connie 14 owners. I switched to Pilot Road 3's, love them, will NEVER go back to Bridgestones for sport-touring. Bridgestones for other applications are fine (I run them on my Bonneville), but not for sport-touring.

Yep - BT-021s

[High_Side]

2012 was a great year for touring and our third and final trip in late July was a good one.

Jen would be riding her "new" touring bike which came in the form of a 2009 CBF1000. We managed to pick it up for a very reasonable price from a family in Edmonton just a few weeks prior to our trip. The story goes that the son convinced the father to buy a bike head out on a trip. They just happened to be on that very trip the same time that we were on our rainy spring trip covered a page or two ago in this blog. By the time they got back home, the father told the son to get rid of the bike - he never wanted to see it again! Thus a good deal for us

We'll pick this one up in Osoyoos, on our second day as the space between Calgary and here has been well covered in this blog.....


The two Honda's take an early day break on the hill overlooking Osoyoos.


While stopped in Osoyoos we took on the appearance of lost tourists as we looked at the map and had a juice outside a gas station. It was when we were discussing where we would be going next and nice guy on a Bandit 1250 came over to offer his assistance. As it turns out he was running some errands for his wife and he was looking to share his knowledge with a guided tour around the back roads between Osoyoos and Penticton. With an offer like that - how could we say no?

After a short conversation with his wife on the phone, we were on our way! It turns out our tour guide Florian, was now semi retired and has spent years ripping around the back-roads of this area. He was no slow old guy on this Bandit either. The pace was quick but we had lots of stops to talk about the sites.



We start off in the dry dessert country with a spirited ride. Just before this picture was taken I narrowly missed a deer who darted out on to the road mid-corner. Between birds (hit two this year), and deer (Jen hit one this year), we feel like nature is gunning for us. Luckily this one is a near miss...



I stop to grab a picture of this old barn (as I seem to collect them in this blog ), and Florian tells us that it was the first one in the area, built by the first settlers. Not much a historic site these days as it is likely just a couple of years away from being a pile of sticks. Apparently it is also home to quite a few rattlers at the moment....



Farm country...



Wine country...



In to the hills...



....and through a meadow. I had to crank on it following a stop to take pictures as Florian certainly was. There was a lot to see. Many of these roads I have hit individually at one time or another, but it was nice knowing our guide was going to make them all connect.



As with the best of all back roads, traffic was light, the pavement was great, and the scenery made you want to slow down. This is one of the best detours I have had in a long time - and I am going to enjoy it!



And now a shot from my "on-board" cam. Meaning "on-board in" my throttle hand as I coast along getting an action shot of these two motoring away in the distance...



I stop to grab a shot of this small dam, and this turns in to a few more. I was likely stopped for under 30 seconds but I failed to see the two of them crossing the dam in front of me! After tucking the camera quickly back in to my tank bag I rocket ahead in search of these two. After a couple minutes of speeds that would get me arrested, I return to the bridge to find them waiting for me. I even had one shot with them passing over the bridge and I didn't see them!



There is never a trip to the Okanagan that doesn't make me want to move there. Shots like this are the reason why....



To be cont....

[blues2cruise]

Thanks for the memories. I was in Osoyoos in the Fall. It was nice to re-visit via your pictures. I also love the area around Fernie.

[dr_bar]

Dang, I was in Osoyoos the las week of July and first two of Aug...

[High_Side]

Dang, I was in Osoyoos the las week of July and first two of Aug...

I remember reading about that and thinking that we just missed each other. Some of the pictures that you posted were exactly where we went

[High_Side]

...cont......

It's shortly after this point that we stop and part company with Florian to allow him to get back to running errands for his wife. I got his cell phone # and had intended to give him a follow-up message thanking him for his efforts but I managed to mess up the numbers some how. Therefore, if you ever end up reading this bud, thanks again for the great tour!

Along the lake south of Penticton...


We take one more detour down some of the back-roads made famous by the now defunct Sportbike West rally. Now THESE are awesome back-roads - no traffic, decent pavement, and great scenery. The VFR is working great and I force myself to stop for a moment to take a few pictures....


I meant to grab a picture of the infamous wooden bridges that were the source of so many bike crashes back in the rally days. But there is not much to see, just an unassuming wooden deck that lures you in to thinking that you can lean your bike on a wooden deck mid corner..... so you get another shot of the Viffer instead...



Mmmmmmmm twisties.....


After a great morning we stop for a beer on the patio in Penticton. We haven't traveled far today but it's been a hell of a ride. What we have to discuss over lunch is whether or not we will still be able to reach Whistler in the time we have....


The decision is to head to Lilloet and miss Whistler for this time, knowing that we will save ourselves the aggravation that comes with trying to break through Vancouver traffic. It might be that I just have bad luck with traffic jams in that city, or that they really haven't done anything to increase the traffic capacity on hwy#1 since I was a kid, but I have a sense of relief that we will not be stuck in the heat and this makes me feel good about our decision. Not that I don't love Vancouver, but getting across it without losing 1/2 day doing so seems to never be in the cards for me.

We pass the irrigation canal popular for vacationers as we leave Penticton.


Then north towards the #97 hwy with plans to head to Merritt. Somewhere along the way on a side road I see this old church in a beautiful setting on the hill.....


The main reason that I started this "blog" is to keep track of where the heck I had ridden, as to use it for a reference point when I am planning future trips. After many years of riding out in the middle of nowhere and remembering - "hey, I have been here before", I thought I could keep better track of things. As I sit here in the middle of winter way behind in updating my trips though, I cannot remember which town we slept in on this evening so looking at the map, I'll go with Merritt.... yep that's the place. And now you know why I need the blog

The view of a couple of Honda's from the balcony of our motel in "Merritt"....


From Merritt we head west along hwy #8 until we come to the exit for the Lilooet hwy. One thing I have come to expect from this road is very little traffic mixed with decent pavement and curves. It's a great ride -and it feels like a much better alternative at the moment than sitting in Vancouver traffic.

Our first rest along the way by a serene little lake




This pic pretty much sums up the story of this road... There is so little traffic that getting pics like this with no cars in the shot is simple. There are lots of curves but basically no "rhythm" to the road so you really need to pay attention to what you are doing.



Which brings us to Lillooet.....almost. Because we were taking #99 across to Cache Creek we never actually crossed the river so the best you get is a view from above....

Jen wasn't posing so much as rubbing a sore neck at an in-opportune moment. I have dozens of pics of her being caught off guard and one of these times I am going to end up getting beaten with this camera


A couple from somewhere along hwy#99 - if I am wrong the B.C. crew will straighten me out


And another. ....


From Cache Creek we're off on a pursuit of more back-roads on our way to Kamloops. This little side road adventure brings us to Logan Lake, and although the picture doesn't do it justice, this place has a really weird vibe about it. Maybe it was the funky weather, or all of the silt at the west end but at first we weren't sure that it was anything more than a gigantic tailings pond. The massive copper mine reinforces this image, but upon our return home I look it up and apparently the fishing is great. Who knew?



A short stop to cool down in Kamloops (is this place never smoking hot?), and we blast out of town with a burst of speed in an attempt to keep cool. Somehow just as I crest a hill I meet an RC who obviously had other priorities. It's enough of a wake up call to keep our speeds in check until we reach Vernon where we set up for the night.


The path from here home through the Monashee Pass is well documented in previous pages of this blog so that about wraps up my 2012 rides - finally updated in March 2013 And what of the new VFR? With somewhere north of 12000km on the clock for the season, I have to say it is a pretty great bike. It didn't start out that way, and I'm glad that others were able to sort out the issues before me so I could learn from them online. The restriction in the first couple of gears was an easy fix, and made a massive difference in the rideability of the bike. The mileage came around after several tanks and the bikes total range was up to a calculated 330km by the ~6K mark. But the real transformation in the bike came with the tires. The Pilot Roads make the handling of the bike light and neutral, and they actually stuck when pushed. I wasn't really sure that this one was a keeper in the beginning but the more time we have together the more this one is growing on me.

Looking forward to a great summer.

Cheers,

High_Side

[blues2cruise]

Did you know? You don't have to go to Vancouver to get to Whistler.

From Lillooet you ride the Duffy Lake Road to Pemberton and Whistler.

[High_Side]

Did you know? You don't have to go to Vancouver to get to Whistler.

From Lillooet you ride the Duffy Lake Road to Pemberton and Whistler.

Thanks Blues. I've been through that way a few times but the way time was working against us the double-back option wasn't really in the cards either. Its been a while though so I really have to allow enough time to pull it off one of these days...

Cheers!

[sapaul]

Awesome stuff mate, really enjoyed that, thanks for posting. I was working on tour last week, so never got a chance to take pics.