Total Motorcycle Community Forums

July 1, 2006

Happy Canada Day



It has been brought to my attention that I am falling behind in my journal. I have a very plausible explanation.

I have been riding.

After the Vernon ride, I didn’t have much time to ride for a week. I was going to work and helping a friend with her garden and winding up my union duties.

Although I did use the bike to commute a couple of times and went to my photography club via bike, but those are just your everyday rides of a few miles.

Last weekend I went with 3 other bikes across the line to Mount Baker. I met Starman and his lady at 8:15 whereupon we headed for the border. When we got there, though, the lineup was over an hour long….and this was the short lineup. The other border crossing would have taken 2 hours. I know it’s a long weekend, but this was crazy.

It used to be so easy for us to cross the border for a daytrip, but sometimes I think twice about it now. Historically there has always been an easy going back and forth for the Canadians and the Americans. That all changed after 9/11. The threat of terrorism has forever changed the relaxed relationship we had with the USA. Now they look at us all as if we were the enemy. It is so sad. When we came through the border, I noticed that the USA side has more electronic gadgetry than you can count. There are sensors and scanners, cameras and x-ray machines as well as guards with dogs. We never used to need to carry much ID either. Your word was good. I went and got myself a new passport (another government money grab) to make it easier for going across. It’s still not good enough. They make me take off my helmet, too. I don’t know why they make me take off my helmet when they don’t make others take off their helmet. Even with my helmet on, you can still my blue eyes, white skin and wisps’ of blonde hair.

So, back to Saturday….As we sat at the light in a line that was going nowhere, a woman in a van came from the opposite direction and stopped at the light. She recommended going a different way in to the border. Starman should have known that since he goes down there so often. We inched along until we got to the end of the median and then we made a u-turn to head back to the light. We made a right onto 8th Avenue and followed it until 184th. We then turned onto Zero Avenue and followed it right to the border area. We stopped at the stop sign and then gently inserted ourselves into the line up. Well, I should say, I gently inserted myself. Starman just sort of “went” in. The old man in the Subaru saw me so he waved at me to go in ahead of him. I rode my bike close enough to his driver’s window so he could see my eyes and leaned in close to say thank you. He and his wife both smiled at me.

A little courtesy and politeness can sure go along way.

I caught up to Starman and his lady. It still felt like an eternity to get to the border because it was so hot outside and there was a lot of exhaust, but in reality we were through the border in about 20 minutes. We will definitely go in via Zero Avenue next time.

Although the border guard asked me to take off my helmet, he was quick about letting me go. I rode over to where Starman was waiting hoping to do up my helmet and put on my gloves, but he was off and riding. All I could do was follow until we got into Blaine. I knew we were only going a few blocks so I wasn’t too worried. We pulled up outside the appointed meeting place to wait for Fringes and Hubby while Starman’s lady went in search of coffee and muffins. Finally Starman’s cell phone rang. It was hubby. They were still in the lineup to cross the border. So, we just hung around in the sunshine enjoying our coffees and talking to the locals who happen to walk by. Two different men in trucks stopped to see if we needed any help. Blaine is such a small town that people are quite friendly here.

Finally Fringes and her hubby arrived. We took a few minutes to chat while they cooled down a bit. Having been sitting in the border lineup for so long made them extremely hot and thirsty. After they got hydrated and cooled down, we got ready to go. Starman showed us a map of where we were going and then explained where we would be stopping.

Starman led the way to Lyndon for our first stop. We fuelled the bikes, made use of the washrooms and bought some cold drinks. We needed to make sure we drank lots of water today. After our short break, we geared up again and started on our trek to Mount Baker.

It was an exhilarating feeling riding along with this select group of people. A year ago I never knew any of them and here I was riding along on my own motorcycle with a great group of people to ride some challenging roads.

I was smiling inside my helmet. I still marvel at the fact that I am a motorcyclist.

Next….Mount Baker.


Canada Day is the day to show your love for your country. Be proud and loud about being a Canadian.

blues2cruise wrote:The threat of terrorism has forever changed the relaxed relationship we had with the USA. Now they look at us all as if we were the enemy.

Don't feel too bad, they look at us the same way, and we live here! You're a photographer, try carrying a camera these days near an airport or a Federal building or a powerplant. Activities supposedly protected by our Constitution, yet not advisable any more if you don't want to be in hassles with police and security guards. The triumph of hysteria over common sense...

Mount Baker Part 2 Happy Canada Day

After we stopped at the general store for more cold drinks, we carried on to Mount Baker. I think that this next part of the ride was the best…..probably because it was so pretty.

The road was gently winding and soon it was gently winding uphill. That didn’t last for too long, though. It soon became tightly twisting and steeply uphill. Starman had given us a pre-ride talk on what to expect, so when I saw the signs with a 300 degree turn on them recommending 15mph, I paid attention. Although Starman had warned us that we may even need to go down to first gear, I managed them in second.

I was paying close attention to the road and the signs. At some curves the road had just a sheer drop off on the curve. Seeing that sure does make one more aware of the necessity to be in the correct gear and slowed down before entering the curve. One little miscalculation and it would be a wild ride down the mountainside.

I don’t plan on ever finding out.

Some of the curves had a little gravel on them so the gearing down and taking it easy became even more important.

The bigger problem going up this mountain is the sport bike riders coming down. Some of them ride so fast in those curves and have such severe lean angles that they are leaned over into the oncoming lane. A few times I had to move over to make sure we didn’t “swipe” each other. I could tell a couple of them had a good startle because of the abrupt way in which they suddenly straightened up. I understand that it is a lot of fun for those sport bike riders, but this is, after all, a public road that winds its way up a mountain. There are more blind curves than you can keep track of…and a steady flow of traffic.

A year ago when I had so little experience I could not take my eyes off the road for a second. This year, I was able to actually observe some of the landscape as I rode past. A good portion of the road wound through a national forest. We also rode past some farms and lovely pastoral neighbourhoods. One of the highlights was seeing two horses casually grazing in a field that upon hearing their owner whistle for them abruptly lifted their heads and with manes flying they took off at a gallop for home. It reminded me of old Westerns like Roy Rogers and Trigger or The Lone Ranger….Hi-ho, Silver, away…..

At last we made our assent to the top. We circled the area to see the views before parking for some photo opportunities. There was still a lot of snow up here. Unlike the mountains here in Vancouver which lose their snow in the summer, Mount Baker has snow on its peak all year. We stayed up top for a little while to cool off and take a break from the saddle. Before too long we all wanted lunch, so we got ready to head back down. We made a view stop on the way down so that we could photograph the bikes with the craggy peaks in the background.

On the way down, I started feeling the first sign of what I think was dehydration. My head seemed to have trouble focusing and I felt a little crampy and headachy. I gave my head a shake a few times to try to help keep me focused. I wasn’t handling the curves on the way down as well as I had on the way up. I started watching Starman instead of the road and the signs. Although I hadn’t recognized it yet until I almost lost it on a very tight curve that I had not downshifted for.

Suddenly the curve seemed too small and tight for the gear I was in. I was going too fast as I entered the curve but by the time I realized it, I was drifting over the double solid yellow lines. My first response was to brake, but then I remembered “Don’t brake in the curve!” Downshift! I had slowed so that the engine was lugging now and it was difficult to control. I managed to wrestle my bike around the curve, but I almost lost it in the process. That was one of those 300 degree turns that said 15mph, but I had been fixated on Starman and had not seen the sign. That was quite a wakeup call.

At first I couldn’t figure out what I had done wrong because I thought I was paying attention. I worked it through in my head until I recognized my errors. My first mistake was not pulling over when I had a chance….I obviously didn’t drink enough for how hot it was outside.
My second mistake was target fixation….Watching Starman instead of the road.
My third mistake because of not paying attention was not downshifting for the curve.
After that little mishap, I was on full alert. I managed to get my head back in tune with the task at hand. I knew it wasn’t long until we got back to the restaurant so I just forged on with the group. When we sat down I drank a large glass of ice water and a large glass of juice. (I’m not supposed to drink icy drinks because of the bronchial condition, but sometimes it’s necessary). After lunch I felt much better. When we suited up for riding again I was thankful I had bought my mesh jacket. It made riding on a day like today much more pleasurable.

We had talked during lunch about the next stage of our journey. We decided that since it might take a long time to get back across the border that we should head back now. We also suggested that after we got back across into Canada, that we should go home via the ice cream place in Fort Langley. Starman led the way and before too long we were into Sumas where we could cross into Canada at the Huntington crossing. Thankfully the lineup was short. There is a lot of heat that comes of the engine when you’re at a standstill.
Another observation as we were sitting there was the extreme differences in the US and Canadian crossings. As reported in part one, the USA had so much electronic surveillance, while the Canadian side seemed to have just a camera. It made me wonder if the USA is so paranoid that their gadgetry is overkill, or if the Canadians are not security conscious enough.

I am currently reading the latest Michael Crichton book in which he talks about the trends of fear. There are always new trends of fear, and as a new fear arrives, the old fear fades out. The fears are created by our governments to keep the populace meek. There was the fear of communism, the fear of everything causing cancer, the fear of global warming, the fear of killer bees, the energy crisis, and now we have terrorism.

Although terrorism may be real, is the fear of it bigger than the threat itself?
And will it fade way when the next new fear comes along?
Enough of that…I still need to finish the book.

Starman led us through some rural areas until we got to Fort Langley. We got there just in time as they were going to close soon. We sat in the shade while we ate our ice cream and shared our adventures of the day. Fringes and hubby made their way home together while I followed Starman and his lady back into town. We went our separate ways at the junction of #91 and #99. I made the exit for the Queensborough Bridge and was home in no time.

I parked my bike, hauled my stuff in and had myself another big glass of water.
I needed to make sure I would be well for tomorrow. I had another ride planned with dr_bar and possibly two other people. I filled my juice and water bottles and put them in the freezer. I wanted to make sure I had enough fluids on Sunday. The Sunshine Coast highway is another twisty highway and I wanted to be sure I would not have a repeat of the day before.

I finished the day in happy anticipation of Sunday….and knowing I still had Monday to recover….

If there is a lesson to be learned it is to drink more than you think you need. Don’t ignore the warning signs of dehydration.

those damn sportbike riders!

anyway... glad to hear nothing seriously bad happened from your wake up call.

your writing style is good, i agree... the blog will be even better w/ pics though.

i need to take your advice though about dehydration... im taking it for granted, which is bad this summer heat.

From when I rode solo to Vernon.



ok, so it's not of the bike, but I rode 6 hours across a mountain highway to get there.

blues2cruise wrote:http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b334/ ... onbike.jpg


http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b334/ ... haview.jpg

i meant for each ride you do... like the other post you had w/ the guy from hellboy.

document the event of the ride, then some pics.

share w/ us the biker scene of vancouver.

From the Chuckanut Ride. Also in Washington State. It's always easy to spot me.....I'm the only one not in black.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b334/ ... nagain.jpg

nice pics!

you don't like using BB code?

im not to demanding aren't i?

I don't know what BB code is. Explain it to me. I'll look in tomorrow.