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12 hours and 500km later....

Day trip to Duffy Lake and back Saturday May 19, 2012

I left home on Zena just before 8:30 AM. My plan was to ride to Whistler or Pemberton and then back. I was not sure how much stamina I would have, but knew I could do that much at least.
Highway 99 is commonly known as the Sea Sky highway. It gets a bad rap because of the speeders and crazy motorcyclists.
The road itself is great! If you are ever visiting the area it is worth the drive or ride.

My first stop of the day was to be my usual coffee stop at Galileo Coffee in Britannia. However, when I arrived it was so crowded I left. The one washroom had a long line and the line for the counter service was to the door. You would have thought a tour bus had arrived, except there was no bus.
I then rode to Shannon Falls thinking I could stop in at the washroom there. But there were several tour buses in there and it looked like every passenger was lined up for the washrooms. I did a u-turn and kept going north to Squamish.
I will not go to Starbucks in Squamish. Everybody goes there and it is like a show for the posers.

I stopped in at the Squamish Adventure Centre. It is on the right hand side of the highway as you go north. It has a visitor centre, big clean washrooms, adventure tours and.....Galileo Coffee. I only saw the CAFE sign on my way by which is why I pulled in. I was delighted to find it was Galileo.....same good coffee and baked goods and breakfast...but no crowds.

http://www.adventurecentre.ca/


I won’t have to stop in at Britannia Beach for coffee anymore. I’ll go straight to Squamish.
Once I had my coffee and a quiche I pulled in front of the building for my obligatory picture of my bike in front of the building.


.......and then rode north toward Whistler.

I stopped for a few view points along the way and to get a few snap shots.
This was at Green Lake with Blackcomb and the Horstman glacier in the background.

Riding along at the speed limit was quite relaxing. Not only is it more relaxing to go the speed limit, but the tank of gas goes farther, too. I stayed in the right lane so the speedy people could go by.

The big lighted overhead sings clearly state....
CAUTION. Wildlife near highway. Do not stop to view or to feed.
It’s a good thing I was paying attention to my surroundings and that I was only riding 80kmh. Suddenly from my right side, a bear cub came darting out of the bushes and across the highway. I braked and downshifted and stopped without any problems. If I had been speeding there was potential to have collided with that bear.
Well...apparently people have no concept of safety on the winding road...as the traffic was humming along nicely; we suddenly came to a grinding halt. There were several vehicles pulled over on the right side.... (And on the other side going south)...the cars were on the curve and some were sticking out into the driving lane. There were also some people carrying camera across the road....I’d guess they spotted a bear....suddenly a black pickup truck turned on its red and blue flashing lights and pulled over to the other side and into the pasture like area. It was a conservation officer.
Due to the appearance of the officer, one of the men with a camera suddenly decided to come back across the road. By now traffic was moving again, but the man just walked out into the moving traffic forcing everyone to brake hard. I guess he wanted to avoid getting a fine, but sheesh....what’s a fine compared to being crushed by a car.

One other stop along the way was to get a view of the river that goes into Nairn Falls.



I stopped in Pemberton for fuel for the bike and water and a snack for me. I re-set the odometer and decided that since I was still feeling energetic I would ride to Duffy Lake. It has taken me a long time to gain back my riding stamina. There are still days when I don’t ride at all because my back hurts too much or my torso is aching. (I suspect they will be lifelong reminders of the crash), but on days when I am feeling ok, I build up the time and distance. (Of course, Tylenol extra extra strength helps or so do anti inflammatory meds on other days .... and sometimes I might wear a back brace.....I also have to make sure to stop once in a while to get off the bike and walk around a little bit. It helps to prevent getting too stiff.
The cruise along the Lillooet Lake road and to the Duffy Lake road was so nice. At one point not far in front of me a coyote burst from the bushed and across the road. I am of the belief that where there is one wild animal there may be two.....so I slowed down....and sure enough right behind the coyote were two big barking dogs chasing the coyote off their property. They may not have been wild, but the fact that I had anticipated something might be coming was a good thing.
I stopped again for some view shots of mountains and my bike. It was in the middle of nowhere.


It was silent except for the wind; and the occasional car or motorcycle that went by. Once I had my fill of the magnificence of the area, (suddenly needing to find a private place spurred me into action) I got back on my bike and rode toward Duffy Lake hoping to find a place to pull over. (Where I had been stopped would have been fine except for the fact that it was in the middle of nowhere and every vehicle that went by was looking to make sure I was ok. I figured if I walked away and into the bushes that it might look suspicious to see a motorcycle parked /possible abandoned in the middle of nowhere. ) At least if I could make it to the lake it would look proper to see something parked. There was a pullout for the scenery there.
My situation was getting desperate but there was no place to pull over. The road is a winding highway with gravel shoulders and no place to stop. Finally I came to the opening at the lake and pulled across the highway to park. I left my bike and walked rather briskly some distance away into the bushes. I barely made it on time. I am not prone to uh......um........diarrhea....so this was a shock to me. I felt a bit shaken but much better after.
Once back at my bike, I got my camera out and took a few pictures. I had walked across the highway and stood in the ditch to try to get a good angle.

I heard the group of motorcyclist coming so I got a grab shot of them.

Then from the other direction came a Porsche club out driving for the day. There must have been about 20 Porsches that went by.
While I was still standing in the ditch, I heard another motorcycle coming. I tuned my camera his direction hoping to get a picture, but when he saw me standing there he slowed down....I think he thought I was a police officer with a radar gun. LOL. Probably because of my bright vest with the reflective strips on it.
I got back on my bike to ride north a bit more and was going to keep going for a bit more...but....there was a tour bus at the boat launch area...facing south....Hmmmm...I decided that was just the time to turn around and start going south also. I wanted to be ahead of the bus for the winding road.
On my way south the views were different. I stopped a couple of times to take some pictures and then carried on into Pemberton. I rode along some back road in Pemberton for a while before asking someone if they knew how far the road went. I was hoping it would at some point join up with Highway 99 going south. Alas, it did not. It only went for another ten km and then became gravel. I have since looked on a Google map to see the road. That gravel road goes on for miles into the mountains and eventually comes to a dead end. It could be perfect for adventure riders.
I did not stop in Pemberton but kept going. I rode until just past Whistler before stopping. I was getting cold and so stopped to put on my extra layer and my warmer gloves.
I did not stop again until North Vancouver to send a text message to my guy to let him know I was back in town. By the time I was in North Van, I was tired and aching. If only I had not bothered with the back road extra side trip in Pemberton....but...I was almost home at this point so I kept going.
As soon as I got home, I moved my car out of the garage to put my bike in and make room for the Super Ten that was coming over.
I unloaded my bike and went in and made a big cup of tea, ran hot bath and cooked up some food. I felt somewhat revived after that. It didn’t last long though. The tiredness caught up to me. I have to say...I slept well that night.

Oh yes...I basically rode the speed limit most of the day. It was most enjoyable.

Another picture....

A hair pin turn.

A “Roll your eyes” funny kind of story.

Sunday Super Ten left to go to the interior of the province to go visit family. He was going as far as the valley to stay at his sister’s the first night and then would leave for the interior in the morning.
I was originally going to ride with him to his sister’s, visit the farm, have dinner and then ride home. However, it was raining so hard that by the time I would be coming home the visibility would be nil. So I opted to go in my car.
The plan was for me to lead to the freeway and then once on the freeway he would pass and get in front of me.
When I got to freeway I noticed a car like mine just up ahead of me. The only difference was that it had roof racks. The reason it was so noticeable was because it was the same blue. There aren’t very many blue ones around.
So...once we were up to speed on the freeway, Super Ten changed lanes, passed and then moved over in front of me. We travelled like this for several minutes until someone cut in between us. Then a second car cut in....No problem...I could still see Super Ten and just kept the pace. There was a good chance that those two cars were going to exit at the next exit.
Suddenly I could not see Super Ten. I kept driving trying to get a glimpse of his helmet up ahead...
After several minutes of driving and still not seeing Super Ten, I changed lanes and sped up. I figured he must have picked up speed unwittingly... He had told me how fast this new bike was...so...I kept picking up speed to try to find him. No luck. I finally saw a wide space on the shoulder so I pulled off to stop.
I phoned his cell and left a voice message to ask him where he was. I said he was either going so fast he was almost there or he had exited. I said I would stay stopped until I heard from him.
A moment later my phone rang. He had indeed taken an exit.
He had seen the blue car and followed it off the freeway and into the town for a few km. When the car stopped at a red light, he pulled up into the lane beside it and was going to ask me what was going on. He then saw that the driver was not me. He asked me how to get back to the freeway. I told him I would stay put until I saw him...it took him about 25 minutes to get to where I was.

Finally...when we got to his sister’s was when I got to razz him...He was shaking his head and I was laughing so hard....I asked him if he had noticed the roof racks...He said he did, but he still followed it anyway. He told me he even looked at the license plate number and knew it was not mine....but followed it anyway ....I mentioned the fact that he had passed me and I was behind him....he said he thought I had somehow got by him and so he followed the blue car....



Here is a picture of him ahead of me on the freeway.
Here he his again after we came off the freeway in the valley. The rain had lightened up just a little.
Here is what we went to see....6 weeks old.
When I left it was still daylight, but the rain was pouring even harder than before. Once I got back to the freeway, I set the car on cruise control and drove at the speed limit. I stayed in the right lane and let all the speed demons go by.

Once I got near town I turned off the cruise control. There was too much traffic then.

One comment, cruise control and rain don't mix. Even though you're doing the speed limit, you can still hydroplane. It's best to just stick with manual control of your throttle in the rain.

Blue,

Just catching up on your last few posts. Congratulations on a day well spent in the saddle, and the pictures are incredible. To have such unspoiled and majestic places close enough for a day trip is a special kind of wealth, though it looks a bit cold for my blood. (-: Bear cubs and coyotes -- simply amazing.

Keep 'em coming, I'm excited to see more.

Doc..duly noted.

Jack..it was actually a warm day. There is snow because of the elevation at which I was riding.

The Duffy Lake Loop Ride June 3, 2012 (13 hours and over 500 km)

Eight riders met up for a day trip. We left Trev Deeley’s at nine AM to ride up Highway 99 (also known as the Sea to Sky Highway). As was advertised in the discussion forum, this ride would be an easy cruise riding the speed limit or close to the speed limit.
I was lead rider so as to set the pace. A couple of times 2 riders sped by to go fast on the twisties, but the waited for us and got back into the group. That enabled them to get a couple of pictures of the group as it approached.
The first stop was Squamish for coffee at the Squamish Adventure Centre. One of our riders went home from here. His wife had just had a baby 2 weeks ago and he was missing his new daughter.

http://www.adventurecentre.ca/

Galileo’s has a coffee shop in there.

http://www.galileocoffee.com/

Next stop was Pemberton where we stopped to fuel the bikes, take bathroom breaks and have a snack or drink. Everyone one in the group seemed to be enjoying themselves except one. We asked him about it...he had not slept well the night before so he was not riding well. He got some food into him and he said it helped. His riding did improve after that.
Up until that point we had been riding in damp conditions. At times it rained hard, but it did not last long. Nearing Pemberton the sun came out. It was a bonus to have the roads dry for a bit. . I had dressed for the weather so I was c comfortable. A few of us were feeling good, but a c couple of people were frozen. They had not worn any layers under their jackets.
We left Pemberton to go to Duffy Lake and on to Lillooet. Around the area of the Cayoosh Summit we saw two bears in the road. I signalled to the group that I was pulling over and slowing down. We did not approach the bears, but wanted to be sure the bears would not bolt in our direction by riding past them. It only took a couple of minutes before the bears decided we were boring and moved off into the bush.
We pulled over to let a Porsche go by. I could see the red car following the group....a bit close....in my mirror....so I signalled to pull off the road when I finally saw a place to do so. The Porsche went flying by and we never saw it again.
We stopped a Duffy Lake for the view and pictures and butt breaks. The next stop on route was Seton Lake.

http://www.bchydro.com/community/recrea ... _area.html

We spent several minutes at the pullout at Seton Lake for photos and conversation. At this point we were only several minutes out of Lillooet.

We stopped in at a Greek Restaurant for lunch. We all agreed the food was good.
One rider was having problems with his bike and it would not start. This was the second time this trip. We pushed his bike so he could jump start it. After lunch he took a look and found that some wires had come loose. He was able to fix it and after that the bike was fine.
We topped up the fuel tanks and made our way to Highway 12 which goes to Lytton. In the summer Lytton is known as the hot spot in British Columbia.
On the way to Lytton we saw a beautiful stag and three mountain sheep. It’s always exciting to see wildlife. We turned right from Lytton onto the Highway that goes through the Fraser Canyon. It’s an historical route through the province. It’s also known as The Gold Rush Trail.

http://bcheritage.ca/cariboo/contents.htm

The rain had stopped and riding was so much more enjoyable with the roads being dry. We made another couple of rest stops before reaching Hope. The day had been long and most of us were feeling some kind of aching. My knee was aching, a couple of others had aching butts. Another was feeling shoulder and neck ache.
After leaving the Lake of the Woods rest area, 2 riders waved good bye. When they realized the time, they decided to ride fast and get home. That left 5 of us.
The five of us went into Hope for another fuel top up and what I thought was to ride home. One rider did go home, but the others wanted a snack and refreshment. Although I would have preferred to go home, I felt obligated to stay because of my friend that I had invited on the ride. So, we went to the Blue Moose.

http://www.bluemoosecafe.com/


I had a bowl of soup and a cup of tea. I felt somewhat revived after that and the ride home was quite manageable. From Hope to home is almost 2 hours.

The day was so successful for a first time group ride from this bunch of strangers....that the next one is already in the planning.

Pictures soon.

Click the link to a brief slide show of the ride from my photobucket.

http://s22.photobucket.com/albums/b334/ ... =slideshow

I have not posted in my blog for a while because my internet connection was not working for alomst a month. I have asked the cable company for a credit.

Anyway....a couple of weeks ago, I was to ride over to my sister's to look after her son..my nephew...but she phoned to say her plans had changed and she was staying home.
We talked about her being my guinea pig....

I took some riding gear and helmet on my bike to my sister's. We had a bite to eat and then a neighbour stayed with my nephew, while I took my sister for a motorcycle ride. She used to ride her own bike, so she knew how to be good passenger.
She still has her old bike in her garage and I'm trying to encourage her to get it out and make it rideable.

So...I took her for a short ride in the neighbourhood....then she suggested we go for a bit longer...so I took her around some winding farmland roads in the neighbouring community.

We both loved the experience.

I now feel confident that I could take a passenger if I need to. Aside from taking a friend on the back seat in a parking lot, and a 7 year old kid around his neighbourhood....this was the first real ride....an adult on main roads and winding roads.
It was a very positive experience.