IT'S DONE!!!!!
On Thursday night after work I packed everything I wanted to bring for the ride: beef jerky, cereal bars, drinks, some tools. I set my alarm to 3am, had a shower, got dressed, packed the bike and rode to the gas station. At the gas station I parked the bike at the pump, got off the bike and went through my list.
- set the GPS to zero on everything
- activate Spotwalla tracking on the phone
- send out the link for the live tracking
- fuel up
- take pictures of receipt with odometer
- GO!!!!!
The first receipt is from Friday morning 4:16am. Now the challenge has begun.
I hit the highway towards Hope for the next fuel stop and got the next receipt at 5:28am.
My initial plan was to leave Surrey around 3:30am. I decided to leave later so I would have daylight when I leave Hope. So far so good.
Stop #3 was in Osoyoos.
Stop #4 was in Castlegar.
Small cut beef jerky from the Deroche General Store are the perfect snack on a long ride like this ;-)
Leaving Castlegar I came up to the first construction area and had to wait for almost 10 minutes. It feels like forever though when you're on a tight schedule and you're baking under your motorcycle gear.
Next stop was #5 in Cranbrook
Leaving Cranbrook...
On the whole ride I counted more than 20 bears...
Stop #6 in Lake Louise
Leaving Lake Louise and riding the Icefield Park Highway...
Bow Lake
Athabasca Glacier
The bear sightings now were after almost every corner. Shortly after the pic stop at the glacier I had a massive truck closing up on me, then overtaking me, and I kept following him until Jasper. After he realized I am sticking with him for safety reasons, he warned me about every bear and blocked me off. After 2 close encounters that was exactly what I was hoping for. I gave him the thumbs up and thanked him in Jasper. He took off and I had to fuel up again.
Stop #7 in Jasper.
Jasper was very windy and grey, it gave me a weird feeling for some reason. I left Jasper at almost 8pm and there was deer everywhere. I got lucky again and rode up to a group of 4 big industrial trucks and decided to ride sandwich. I had one truck in front of me and 3 behind me. Once he realized why I was staying behind him, he was going at a good speed and I stayed with them almost all the way to Blue River.
Shortly before Blue River we got stopped due to a massive accident between an industrial truck and a passenger car. I had a little stretch and had a good chat with the truck driver I was following.
Stop #8, Blue River
After I fuelled up I had a chat with some truckers and they said I am crazy for riding that road at night. They warned me of all the wildlife. I told them I had no other choice right now and that I will do my best to stay safe. I jumped on the bike and decided to wait next to the road until the next vehicle came by, then just follow them. And what happened? Nothing! Not one car, nobody. After standing there for almost 15minutes I decided to ride by myself. I had my high beams on and decided to ride in the middle of the road, so if anything comes out of the bushes I have room to the left or right. At one point I had a car coming towards me and I changed to low beams. Exactly in that moment, while changing from high beams to low beams, I saw something moving on the right side of the road. I immediately switched back to high beams, pulled over to the left, and the bear just in time stopped, made a push with his front paws and turned back 180 degrees on his hind legs towards the bushes. It reminded me of trained circus horses standing on their hind legs. That shook me up and I was totally awake and scared at the same time. I now knew that this might be a neck breaker for my ride. I had to get to Kamloops safe and also hold my average speed above 85kph to make the 2000km in time. I was riding at 70kph, scanning left and right, and hoping to see some headlights in my mirrors. Nothing! It almost took 45mins until finally a car came up that I could then follow. This was definitely the scariest and slowest part of the ride.
Stop #9 in Kamloops
I still managed to arrive in Kamloops with an average speed of 87kph, so I knew I was still in time.
I was a bit shaken up and took a longer break in Kamloops. Drink, snack, vape, ride on.
I had a strong finish on the Coquihalla last year and I wanted to do the same again this time.
I turned the high beams on and let her run...
Stop #10 in Hope again
I had 1970km total so I decided to just ride to Chilliwack, fuel up there and then call it done.
Stop #11 Chilliwack
I did it! It took me a couple of minutes to realize what just happened and then I had friends calling in. They were watching the live tracking and following it like we normally follow the 24hrs race at the Nordschleife in Germany. I was overwhelmed with emotions, happy to have arrived safely. It was a crazy adventure.
I took a rest in Chilliwack before I rode the last couple kms back home, then I took some pics of the bike...
And then it was time for a cold refreshment
I want to thank all of you for the motivation and well wishes!!!
That ride went by so fast and I can't believe how well I felt all the time. Nothing hurt. I don't have a cruise control and normally I start to feel my wrist, not this time. This time was also the first time that I rode with a Cardo and could listen to music. I think that made a big difference as well.
I planned the ride well and focused on everything for a week. I talked myself into what needs to be accomplished and I think my body and mind were well prepared. I yawned 3 times during the whole ride, that's it. I was focused and felt well all the time.
And of course the most important thing on a ride like this is to have a reliable motorcycle! Valerie did well and not once did I have any concerns that she wouldn't hold up.
Here are the total numbers for the ride:
Time to plan the next adventure...
