The Summer Solstice Ride 2020 is done and sent out for certification!
I was restless on Thursday night and had to check everything again and again. Did I pack this? Do I have this? Is the route saved correctly on the GPS? I went to bed later than expected and needed a bit more sleep, that's why I left Surrey at 4:45am instead of 4am.
Same procedure again at the gas station before feeling up: turn on Spotwalla, send out the link for live tracking. Then feeling up, label the receipt, pack it all up and GO!!!!
For rides like this I have my clear visor on the helmet and I immediately put on my sunglasses at 4:45am.
Between Abbotsford and Chilliwack I got greeted by the sun
Quick stops in Hope, Osoyoos and Castlegar. Shortly after Castlegar there is construction and they are renewing the road. I had 4 cars in front of me, turned the engine off and listened to good music. After about a minute the flagger came over and asked me to pull ahead of everyone. They want motorcycles to be the first to follow the leader car, so we don't have to ride in all the dust. I pulled to the front and we were chatting for about 15mins before finally the leader car showed up and we could move again.
The next stop was Creston. I rode by there 2 weeks ago and wanted to check out that little fish'n chips place I saw there.
It's called "Tim's Fish'n Chips". A very small but super busy place. I ordered 1 piece Halibut and chips, the cost was CAD19.95. A bit much, but it was well worth it. Tim is a super funny guy and always entertains his customers. I was eating inside (it was nice and cool in there) and I had to giggle many times because of him interacting with customers. Very entertaining!
Going back the same way to Castlegar I had to go through the construction site again. This time I pulled right to the front and we were rolling again in less than 5 minutes.
It doesn't look like much in this pic, but when the cars and semi trucks passed by you couldn't see further than 20m due to all the dust.
Fuel stop in Castlegar again and then going North on HWY3a and then turning on HWY6.
That's where I was getting excited because @MSB Mike said it's his favourite road in BC. And oh boy is he right!!!! The area is beautiful and the road is fantastic!
Shortly after Slocan Park I had a car with a trailer in front of me. They were about 300m in front of me but I could tell immediately that there was a Valkyrie on the trailer behind the car. I followed for a bit, checked out the bike and then rode by and gave the driver a big thumbs up.
I now understand why Mike likes this road so much. You don't need your brakes, you just ride along, swing left and right and use the gears to slow you down. This road can be ridden so smooth and my smile got bigger and bigger with every corner. It felt like the perfect harmony between rider, bike and road! Beautiful big patches of fireweed growing along the road and then Slocan Lake comes into sight.
I made a quick stop at Silverton to take some pics and kept going...
I brought the jerry can again this time because Google Maps said that all the gas stations around Nakusp were closed permanently. I rode by an open gas station in Nakusp and fuelled up there before hitting the Needles ferry. The ferry crossing takes 5mins and is leaving every 30mins, and it is free to use.
The road just kept on being amazing and it was pure joy to ride there!!!!
In Vernon it changes over to HWY97 and all of the surface is brand new. It's a nice road and the little towns are beautiful along the route. My goal was to get to Kamloops before it gets dark. The GPS said sunset at 21:10 and I arrived in Kamloops at 21:10. Quick fuel stop and some messages and then I had to leave, the mosquitos were eating me alive. On both my hands I have more than 20 mosquito bites!
I made another stop in Merritt. I had to clean my visor, all I got was a glare from all the cars coming towards me, I barely could see the road. I also needed a Red Bull and a little longer break and had to refocus. I knew that I would get rained on soon and had to tell myself to slow down, be safe and bring us home safely. I had enough time and would finish within the 24hrs anyway.
The last receipt of the trip was printed at 1:43am. My odometer says the trip was 1605km, the GPS says 1615km., Google Maps says 1610km. And apparently Google Mpas is what is used for certification.
Another long distance ride in the books and I can't wait for the next one!
Thanks for following @Gordon! The main reason why I want people to follow is safety for me. If I land in the ditch, I need people to start some action and call 911 with my last location. You never know what can happen.
Apparently the live tracking uses around 2MB per hour, that's not too bad.
