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blues2cruise
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#91 Unread post by blues2cruise »

I should mention the reason I am not riding to the Princeton lunch meet is that it will be dark before I get back to highway #1.
The Hope Princeton Highway is very black at night and I don't have enough confidence yet to be riding when it is that dark.
I don't mind the night riding in Vancouver because there are street lights on the main roads so it is quite easy to see and be seen, but coming through Manning Park and down towards Hope will be pitch black.
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BuzZz
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#92 Unread post by BuzZz »

blues2cruise wrote:You want to move to BC, BuzZz? If you move to Abbotsford you better get used to the "lovely" aroma of "farms". :laughing:

I have ridden in so much rain now that I have had enough for a little bit. It gets a bit tiresome always having to wash off all the mud and grit and road spray.

I finally got the pictures into the photobucket album, so you will see the all the "hardcores" who braved the day for the kids.

Here is the starting point in Abbotsford where we were lined up waiting for the riders from Mission to arrive.
http://photobucket.com/albums/b334/blue ... gpoint.jpg
Yep, I'm sick-n-tired of standing in 50 mph winds, freezing my HooHaa's off, staring at poker-straight roads...... I'm doing all I can to make this my last winter at this crud. I did my time in the artic, I did my time in the northern bush, I did my time in the baldass prairie..... time for me to move someplace to improve my quality of life, for my own selfish benefit. :mrgreen: Strange thing is that everyone here acts like I'm either a traitor or a puzzy. All I got to say is ...... Meow.

And this time of year is magical here..... thousands of square miles of farmland for hundreds of miles in every direction. And all of them covered an inch deep in liquified pig craap at this very moment. I can live with a few berry farms and vineyards...... :wink:
No Witnesses.... :shifty:

blues2cruise
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#93 Unread post by blues2cruise »

BuzZz, it will definitely be somewhat warmer than Alberta if you move to the Fraser Valley. If you go to the Okanagan you will still be frezzing your Hoo Ha's off. It can get extremely cold in the winter. That's why the wineries can make ice wine.

On the south coast one can ride all year if they want with the exception of a handful of days....and if you have decent raingear.....

I rode all last fall and winter and took my road test in February. It was cold, but sunny.

Here's hoping you can find gainful emplyoyment here. Keep in mind you will have to pay sales tax in BC.
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blues2cruise
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After a month of gloomy rainy days, the sun came out

#94 Unread post by blues2cruise »

November 19, 2005

Apparently I have been derelict in my blogging duties. Thank you to the people who messaged me to inquire about me and tell me they missed me on the forums. After the last entry from the toy run my insurance expired. I was planning on getting occasional day permits to ride, but this weekend has been the first dry weekend in over a month. I was so sick of riding in the rain I had to give the biking a break. Today however………

There was a “Rumble” in the Fraser Valley today

I received an email last week from a member of the Southern Cruisers Riding Club asking me to join them for a ride today. Apparently the weather forecast was for sunshine. I messaged back and told him that if it was a dry day I would purchase a day permit and go with them.

When I woke up this morning and looked out the window I couldn’t believe my eyes. Not only was it dry but the sun was shining. It has been so long since we have had any sunny mornings here I had all but given up on going riding until Spring. I put on a pot of coffee to drip while I loosened up my aching muscles in a hot shower. That is another story in itself.
2 days ago at work I had been asked to drive the “Sprinter” van to give an evaluation. I managed to drive it for ½ day and put on a wholloping 36km. At lunch time I drove it back to our lot and parked it. Driving the Sprinter caused me to get a sore shoulder, arm and neck as well as my low back and hips. Talk about bad ergonomics. The unfortunate thing is that the Sprinter has a quality seat in it with lots of adjustments, but the steering wheel is so darn far away that unless you have arms like a gorilla you are in constant strain trying to steer.
Which brings me back to today and why I needed some hot pounding water on my neck and shoulders; after some coffee and breakfast and a bit of Ibuprofren, I went to vote in the civic election and then walked over to the insurance store to buy my day permit.
What the heck? They don’t open until 10am on Saturdays. I went home to get my car and drove to the Vancity nearby. Their insurance office didn’t open until 9:30am. I then walked a couple of blocks away and found an insurance office that opened at 9am. I paid my $32.00 for my insurance coverage for the day and hightailed it home where I left my car in my neighbours parking space. I then left them a message to let her know. We have an arrangement so that if I use her space and someone happens to come over she can use my space while I’m using hers. Today I needed to save some time. My bike is parked parallel against the wall with my car in front of it. This usually means pulling out the car, moving out the bike and then pulling the car back in. I didn’t have the extra time to spare this morning if I was going to get to Langley on time before the club left for the ride.
Getting geared up when it’s cold out takes a little extra effort and time. I opened a pack of “Toe Warmers” and placed one on the bottom of each sock before putting on my boots. They really do work to help keep your feet from feeling frozen. I zipped the lining back into my riding jacket and put it on over my down liner jacket. I then put on a balaclava and topped it off with my helmet. The balaclava feels so-o-o-o good. It keeps your chin and neck warm.
If one dresses for the conditions it is a sublime experience riding on a cold sunny day. I made it to the meeting place in Langley with 5 minutes to spare. Upon arrival, Gary walked over, laughed, and said he thought I had “candy-a$$ed” out on them. After introductions were made to a few people I had not yet met, we mounted and followed our road captain, Ray, through Langley and to the Albion ferry. We must have been quite a sight to see because all along our route people stopped what they were doing to watch us go by. I suppose 15 motorcyclists going by is an impressive sight. It certainly would be a noisy one.

The ferry people halted the line up of cars going on and allowed all 15 of us on the ferry at the same time. The Albion ferry workers are very biker friendly. In comparison the BC Ferry workers are not always. As I looked around me I saw that absolutely everyone had a smile on their face. We were all loving the chance to ride on this fine November day.
After leaving the ferry we rode to Mission to meet up with a couple more riders and to fuel up our bikes….well, most of did…..I’ll get to Ray later…..

Now that our group was complete, we rode towards Harrison via highway #7. Unlike the last few times I rode out this way, I was feeling much more confident and in control today. When we got the steep downhill twisty bit, I didn’t have to lag behind this time. In fact, I had to slow down part way down because the rider in front of me had suddenly slowed down and I found myself approaching him too fast. I don’t remember what I did first, but I remember thinking “this is not a good idea”. I may have eased off the throttle or pulled in the clutch to prepare to downshift but I really don’t remember. I ended up just adding a bit of brake to slow me a bit. I know I am not supposed to brake in a corner so I used it gently to slow just enough to stay away from the fellow in front of me. The last couple of time I rode with this group I had no problems but this fellow today was new and seemed very inconsistent.
Speed up, slow down, speed up, slow down, speed up………. :roll:
I must remember to ask how to deal with this situation correctly. If anyone reading feels like answering feel free. :)

At the junction to Harrison and Agassiz we turned right and went through Agassiz and on to Chilliwack. Antonio led us through the back winding country roads to Dukes pub in Chilliwack. All along the route people stopped what they were doing to watch as we rode by. I’m sure they must have heard the rumble of 15 motorcycles from a mile away. I suspect we woke up the sleepy Fraser Valley today.

At Dukes there were already over a dozen bikes parked and with our 15 added it was quite a sight. We were not all able to get seated together because the place was quite busy today. The server got quite overwhelmed by having so many people show up at one time. We were not in a big hurry though so we just table hopped and talked until the food came out. After lunch we all went our separate ways because several people had to get back early for various reasons.

Bob had said to me, “are you going back on the freeway”?
I replied, “Yes, I am “.
I took that to mean he would ride with me back as far as Abbotsford. But when I looked for him he was gone.
I asked Kevin if he saw Bob leave and he told me he saw him leave a bout 5 minutes previous.
Kevin then asked,” Are you going into Burnaby?”
I replied, “Yes, I am.”
I asked him if he knew the way to the freeway. He pointed and said” I’ve been told it’s that way somewhere. Now since I was riding all the way to Burnaby and Kevin had asked if I was heading to Burnaby and the fact that we had left together for the freeway, I thought we would be riding together until we got back to the Burnaby area.
I must remember to clarify things in the future.
As soon as Kevin got onto the freeway, he booted it to get in front of a semi and left me behind. ??? I guess we weren’t riding together after all.

I eventually caught up but he changed lanes with no regard for the fact that we were “riding staggered” together.
Oh well.
He then got stuck behind some slow moving vehicle so I changed lanes and passed him. I figured if he was unconcerned for me I would just carry on as if I was by myself. Now this is where it got interesting. Kevin rode with me. When I changed lanes so did he. He rode staggered behind me until he left the freeway. I surmised that Kevin is just not a leader but a better solo rider or a follower.

As I was crossing the Port Mann Bridge, I noticed an RCMP vehicle coming up behind me in the passing lane. As he got up beside me, he did not pass me. He stayed beside me and then lagged back a bit. I couldn’t figure out what he was doing and then I figured he must have just been taking a close look at my permit taped onto the back of my bike. After that he accelerated rapidly and went on his way.

I fuelled up after I left the freeway and managed to get home before dark. It was such a nice change to ride when it was not raining. I don’t even have to wash my bike or hang up wet gear today. It makes me look forward to some better days ahead when the new season starts again in the Spring.
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blues2cruise
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Snow, rain, sleet, slush, icy roads, black ice

#95 Unread post by blues2cruise »

We've had it all this last little while. The road conditions are not safe to be out on 2 wheels and yet first thing yesterday morning I saw someone on their scooter rounding a corner in the early morning chill. Only a fool would be out on 2 wheels on a morning like that given the icy roads.

This afternoon just as I was heading back to my after dropping off a client, the owner of the Harley that was parked in the bus zone came back to his bike.
I smiled at him and said that he was very brave to be riding on a day like today. I said my bike was tucked safely away in the garage.

He smiled back and said it some kind of endurance thing. I smiled and wished him good luck.
Oh, yeah, did I mention it was lightly snowing today.......

Anyway, he revved up his bike and took off like a bat out of hell....fishtailing for almost half a block before he managed to get it back in control.

Now what do you suppose he was trying to prove? That he's an idiot? Or that he's so manly he doesn't have to worry about the slush and ice on the roads?

Ok, so I'm somewhat cynical, but there are enough goofballs out there with summer tires or who have never seen snow in their life so why risk your life just to be macho?

I don't even take my car out when it's snowing (unless I absolutely have to) because of the other drivers. The snow doesn't last very long so I can take transit or walk to the grocery store.

So-o-o-o, enlighten me, please. Why would anyone be riding their motorcycle in winter conditions?
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Re: Snow, rain, sleet, slush, icy roads, black ice

#96 Unread post by Gummiente »

blues2cruise wrote:So-o-o-o, enlighten me, please. Why would anyone be riding their motorcycle in winter conditions?
Because I can? :D

Some people are diehard riders and don't adapt very well to the "off-season", myself included. I've never been silly enough to take any of my two wheeled bikes out in the snow... well, that's not quite true - there was one time when I rode from Alberta to Ontario in an early April snowstorm but that's a long story... anyway, now that I have a three-wheeler (much more stable than a two-wheeler on slick road surfaces) I can take the occasional ride in the snow and stave off the effects of PMS (Parked Motorcycle Syndrome) long enough to make it through the winter.

I love to ride. I hate it when I can't.
:canada: Mike :gummiente:
It isn't WHAT you ride,
It's THAT you ride

blues2cruise
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Polar Bear Ride January 1, 2006

#97 Unread post by blues2cruise »

Apparently in my motorcycle club there are some very brave or very crazy people. I am referring to the Polar Bear ride we went on.

I, for some reason, had this impression that it was called a polar bear ride because it was likely to be cold weather. However, it actually meant that one of our members was going in the water on New Year's Day. brrrrrrrr

I went to the insurance store in the afternoon of New year's Eve to get a day permit for New year'sDay. I got there in the nick of time, too because they were closing early that day. I organized my bike gear the evening before (New Year's Eve) so as to save time in the morning. I was going out to a New Year's Eve party and I wasn't sure how late I would be up......and by organizing the night before it saves time in the morning...and I don't have to set the alarm as early.


New Year's Eve
http://photobucket.com/albums/b334/blue ... GP0832.jpg forgive the red eye....I haven't had time to edit the pic.......

New Year's Day was wet :( but mild. As of writing this post, we have had 20 days of rain.

I dressed for the weather and set off to meet up at the meeting place with the folks in Langley. It rained all the way there. I must be a glutton for punishment but I paid $32.00 for my permit to ride today and I was not going to let that money go to waste.

It felt so good to get on my bike and ride. In retrospect, I truly believe that having taken a break from it was a good thing. It felt fresh and new and I could feel myself smiling as I rode along....even if it was raining.
My shifting was top notch and all felt right with the world. After arriving in Langley, we waited for a few more minutes for someone who never showed up. (I think he is strictly a fair weather rider).

Five of us set off to ride to White Rock where one fellow was planning to go in the polar bear swim. It wasn't raining very hard at this point, and the closer we got to White Rock, the less it was raining. :D By the time we got to White Rock it had stopped raining and it made for a much more pleasant afternoon.

http://photobucket.com/albums/b334/blue ... rRun06.jpg

The others have loud pipes and I have loud colours. :wink:

After the big guy went for his swim and got his Polar Bear certificate we mounted up again and rode up the gigantic hill (Oxford St) to get to uptown where we went for lunch.
We had a great time talking over lunch about the upcoming riding season and some of the events. Later this month is the annual Vancouver Motorcycle show which most of us will attend. There is even a bus trip organized so that members from out of town can come. We have organized a dinner for everyone on the Saturday evening after the show. I think there will be close to 30 people coming to dinner.

(They can't ride down from the interior because of winter conditions on the Coquihalla Hwy and the Hope Princeton Hwy).

Anyway, after our lunch, we rode together as far as the turn off for the Port Mann Bridge. While we were riding along 152nd St. the sun came out for a few minutes. :shock:
It seems like it has been so long since we saw the sun.
The others headed east and I headed over the bridge to make my way to Port Coquitlam. I figured it was still early so I may as well head over to my sister's and return her DVD. (plus, I wanted my money's worth out of my day permit.)

I stayed long enough to have a cup of tea and a tart and a shortbread before I had to get ready to come home. In the short time I had been at my sister's it got dark and the monsoons hit again. sigh........

It was a difficult ride home due to the poor visibility. At least it was not cold and it's not very far. I had to go a bit slower than usual because of the conditions so it took a little over 30 minutes to get home.
I did feel a sense of relief pulling into the garage because I knew I was home safe.

Despite the rain, it had been a great day. :)
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blues2cruise
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#98 Unread post by blues2cruise »

I am 36 km away from having 11,000km of riding behind me now. For someone who almost gave it up and was close to selling my bike, I made a strong comeback to find the joy and ride, ride, ride.
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Re: Polar Bear Ride January 1, 2006

#99 Unread post by Gummiente »

WOOT!!! :inlove2: :naughty: :pbjt: :drool: :righton:
More pics, please! :click:
:canada: Mike :gummiente:
It isn't WHAT you ride,
It's THAT you ride

blues2cruise
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#100 Unread post by blues2cruise »

Gosh, Gummiente! :oops:

Ya mean like a biking pic? :P

or something more along these lines....

http://photobucket.com/albums/b334/blue ... t=legs.jpg

yes, there really are legs under all that biking and rain gear. :wink:

22 days of rain......
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