June 18th and 19th 2013, Grande Prairie AB to Fort Nelson BC

Grande Prairie to Fort Nelson – Day 1 of my 2013 Bikers United in Remembrance Conga

At Gaudin's Honda in Beaverlodge AB

Due to a variety of things, miss Rita and I did not get to hit the road until about 1:00 pm on June 18^th.

The sun had been shining gloriously all morning, but the sky was starting to darken with ominous clouds.

We headed to Beaverlodge, I wanted to get a photo of Rita with the Beaverlodge Beaver and a kind tourist agreed to snap a few photos for me.  Back on the bike we stopped in at Gaudin’s Honda, I needed to borrow a screwdriver to tighten up a couple of things that had come loose during the shake down ride to Fairview on Sunday the 16^th. Alan Gaudin and his guys wished me safe journey and off we went.

I had managed to miss the big downpour that had gone through, but the road spray wasn’t dealt with so easily!

We pulled into Elbow Grease Ventures in Dawson Creek at about 3:pm and had a light lunch with Mike and he got his photo taken with Rita.  After thanking him for sponsoring me with such great cleaning products, Rita and I were off

Rita meeting the Beaverlodge Beaver

again. (Mike is a Bike Magik distributor.)

The rest of the ride to Fort Nelson was reasonably uneventful, except for the wet spray being kicked up by the trucks and the frigid temperatures.  It was 38F degrees out according to the air temp gauge on the bike and it felt like there was snow in the air.  I stopped at a rest area and threw some hotshots into my Olympia jacket and a couple into my new Held gloves and continued on. 

The gloves kept my hands nice and dry, and I love the built in windshield wiper on the left index finger – a handy little contraption to say the least. It does take of a few times of poking yourself with that hard bit of rubber to remember its there and not scratch or try to rub your nose, and even with grimy road spray, the wiper works fabulously.

Mike from Elbow Grease Ventures in
Dawson Creek BC

The verdict is still out on the Olympia Jacket – I find it too short in the waist for me and the sleeves are short.

I also don’t care for how easily the liner sleeves separate from the outer when taking the jacket off. 

Some of it is probably operator issue…like forgetting to undo the Velcro at the sleeve before trying to pull your hand out.

The difference in wearing a leather jacket with zippers and a textile one with Velcro is something that takes a bit getting used to.  

The jacket is not that warm at 38F with wet conditions. At one point I stopped and put my Frogg Toggs jacket on underneath. That made a huge difference in the warmth factor.

As I cruised along I saw a rider on the side of the road, I pulled over and sure enough, Nick from Florida had run out of fuel. One of the cardinal rules of riding in the north – NEVER pass up a gas station!  

Kitchen in my room at the Woodlands

We syphoned some gas out of my tank and I put some Amsoil Motorcycle Octane Boost in his tank to help  things along.  We got him to within 6 KMs of Fort Nelson when he ran out. I flagged down a pick up and the kind gent took Nick and his one gallon jerry can (that he’d forgotten to fill) into town and brought him back to the bikes.

After fueling up we parted company at 11:30 pm – he to go pitch a tent and me to check into my room at the Woodlands Inn & Suites.

What a HOTEL!  Super friendly front desk staff, Steven, the clerk who checked me in had a wicked sense of humour and made sure I knew I could either park my bike under the canopy by a window and he could keep an eye on it or there was great parking right outside the room with a door on the outside with an entrance to the hotel right handy!

The work stattion in my room

I walked into the room and was floored; a junior suite with a fireplace, full kitchen, a huge bathroom and a separate bedroom replete with glass door. Oh and a KING SIZE bed!

The room was without a doubt gorgeous. There were lots of amenities, a 24-hour convenience store, a full gym and laundry facilities and yes, in the morning a hose was available to wash poor Black Betty off.

After a fabulous sleep, I got up, got ready and headed for breakfast.  This is an oilfield town and the portions are generous. After seeing the size of the meals people were getting I opted to eat off the kid’s menu!

I met with David Moore, the general manager and he and I had a brief chat – turns out he rides and really understands the need for riders to have the kinds of services and amenities they need.  Rita had her photo taken with David and then I was off to my next stop.

The king size bed

At David’s recommendation I went and met Ken from the Bear 103, and he had his picture taken with Rita.

While I was there, I ran into George Crummey and his daughter Natasha. They bought some patches as had David! 

After more photos with Rita and some hugs, I went to the Fort Nelson Historical Museum. Now, here is a place one could get immersed in!  The man who founded the Museum, Marl Brown is not only the curator and founder but he has done 90% of the restorations too!

There is too much to see in a short hour and a half, especially if Marl is there to chat with you. The stories this man has to tell are utterly captivating. The seasonal staff is very knowledgeable and friendly and very willing to ensure that every visitor has a great experience.

I fell absolutely in love with Marl who is in his 80’s and more active and with it that most 16 year olds I know. The man is a human dynamo! He happily had his photo taken with Rita and I said goodbye to him with a promise to return to capture some of this man’s amazing stories on video.  

Ken from the BEAR!

At about 1pm, I got on the bike and started making my way to Watson Lake YT.  About a half hour into the ride, I ran across Nick on the side of the road, this time he was lighting a smoke and not out of fuel!!!

There was so much game out. I saw Stone Mountain Sheep, goats, moose, bear and buffalo along with a couple of caribou…it was an utterly picture perfect day. 21C, blue sky and PERFECT. 

It was the kind of day that every rider dreams of.  

The roads were in good shape until about 150 KMs outside of Watson.  There were three major construction spots. Nothing horrible though and the waits were not long at all.

Marl of the Fort Nelson Heritage Museum with Rita

Woodlands Inn & Suites – a brand new member of the Rider Friendly Business Association

Box 568, 3995-50th Avenue South

Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Canada V0C 1R0

Mile 300 Alaska Highway

For Reservations

Toll Free: 1-866-966-3466

Local: 250-774-6669

Email: info@woodlandsinn.ca

The Fort Nelson Heritage Museum: http://www.fortnelsonmuseum.ca

At Muncho Lake BC on the way to Watson Lake YT

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Sturgis North – Days 12 - 14

 After all of the challenges that the organizers of Sturgis North faced the event finally went off – not without hiccups and challenges but fir a first time event, many things were done REALLY well.

The venues were in my humble opinion too far apart and should have all been contained to one area but I am sure that now that the coordinators were able to actually work the venues they will change many things for next year. What looks great on paper does not always translate as well in practice!

As you road up to the top venue where the main stage for the nostalgia bands was, the planning and effort was very evident. Parking areas were created in the ditches that were simply incredible. Well packed gravel with ties, created road type parking that was well used.

The main stage was incredible as well, boasting two jumbotron screens so that people in the beer gardens and VIP area were able to take in the music and see what was happening on stage.

There was a houseboat for the VIPs to use to get a higher vantage point to view the stage as well. (Some jerk however decided to wreck that for everybody by attempting to destroy the interior of the house boat and then proceeded to fall out of it – I wished I had been there later on Thursday night when that happened, I think I would have helped to push the jerk out of the house boat!)

After talking to Quentin, Denise and Dennis, our reporters for the event, I headed to Sicamous to check in to my room.  (Denise was going to head in to Merritt on Friday morning for me, to cover the Great Canadian Bike Rally – I can’t wait for her report!)

What a place Joe Schmucks is! My cabin was big enough to throw a party in, the bathroom was enormous and the hot water in the shower was plentiful.  Ken and the staff of Joe Schmucks are so wonderful. I can’t say enough good thins about this place. The food was wonderful, the service incredible and the accommodations, what can I say! The bed was the most comfortable one of the trip to date! I slept like a baby.

Friday morning, after a great feed of Eggs Benedict which was done to perfection, I headed up to the fair grounds venue in Salmon Arm to check things out and see Chica and Roger Goldammer. I got to see Bert – Roger’s Mentor and Bert’s newest protégé, Ashley who is apprenticing to be an automotive machinist.

I took in the vendors from the fair grounds, checked in with my Shuzi partners Michelle and Dee and was gratified to see how many Rider Friendly Phone Books had been handed out.  I spent a bit of time at the B Bands stage and listened to Skard.

After talking to the vendors and checking everything out I headed back to the Custom Bike Show area and Roger, Chica, Ashley, Bert and myself decided to head up to the top venue to take in the Nazareth Concert.

We decided to take the shuttles to the main venue to take in the Nazareth Concert and have supper.  We had a blast. The last time I had seen Chica and Roger was for the Canadian Championship of Custom Bike Building and it was truly wonderful to visit with these two fabulous builders who were going to be, along with myself and Travis from Denco Cycles doing the judging for the Custom Bike Show and Biker Build Off.

Nazareth was a blast; they sang songs from their newest album and some of their oldies which is the music every rider came to hear.  There had to be a good 15K people there!

The shuttles were filled to capacity and moved people back in to Salmon Arm in an amazingly efficient manner. Each bus held about 60 people and what an efficient crew of drivers they had! When we went to leave to concert we got in line and with 200 or so people ahead of us I thought it was going to take forever to get on a bus – I was wrong, in 15 minutes we were on a bus and on our way to our bikes in Salmon Arm!

Saturday morning, I spent time in my room editing pictures and writing and then took in the burn out pits and the arrival of the Veteran’s poker run in downtown Sicamous. 

The town of Sicamous was amazing, the main street was blocked off, there were bike and vendors everywhere and people smiling, laughing and sharing stories.

The beer garden was filled and the band on stage had everyone in a toe tapping mood. The legion was very creative with their bar, using a canoe for their beer tub!

It is estimated that some 3,000 bikes were in Sicamous for the event.

I headed back in to Salmon Arm and the Fair Grounds venue to go look over custom bikes and assist with the judging process.

There were some very well done bikes and after the hard job of going over them with a fine tooth comb and deciding the winners in the 4 categories, I jumped on my bike in the pouring down rain and headed off to Sicamous and the Belt Drive Betty – Minute to Win it party that Rachel from Joe Schmucks had put together.

Even in the rain 30 riders showed up to play some games, win some prizes and have a ton of laughs and folks, I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time! Rachel, the manager of the restaurant/bar and Wendy (Mark’s wife & Co Owner) did an amazing job

At about midnight I headed back to my room to have a good sleep as the next morning I would be back in Salmon Arm to partake in the Celebrity Ride. I finally got to meet the one and only Kimmy Kruz.

All of the builders, Kimmy, Roger, Chica and myself along with a number of people who paid to go on this ride to raise money for Breast Cancer Research saddled up and off to Revelstoke we went. Graham, the ride captain and organizer had a video crew following us and I myself was filming with my Drift HD170 Cameras.

The morning was picture perfect as we headed out. We stopped in Sicamous for fuel and off we went.

It was wonderful for Chica to get a chance to do some riding and see the Canadian Rockies, this California builder kept commenting on the beauty.

When we arrived at the resort we were treated to a luncheon, ribs, salads and burgers along with pop and water were on had. Some of the local breweries were offering beer samples and many enjoyed them.  After lunch, we took a last opportunity for photos with the riders, shared hugs and parted company. The builders to head back in to Salmon Arm to find out who won and I to head to Calgary and begin the next leg of my odyssey across Canada to spread the word about motorcycle awareness.

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SOUTH OKANAGAN-SIMILKAMEEN CIRCLE DAY RIDES - The Basic Circle Tour plus three alternatives.

Photos & Article by Bee Wasnock - Keremeos BC

Keremeos

These four rides range from just over two hours to over 5 hours on the road. You can start anywhere on these routes and they will bring you back to where you started.  You’ll travel through valleys, along rivers and lakes, through orchards and vineyards galore. You’ll be tempted to stop at many spots along the way – for the view, to take some pictures, to sample some fruit, to cool off in one of the many lakes or to enjoy a good meal. For the purposes of this write up we'll start and end at Penticton.

If you empty your saddle bags before you leave and stop along the way to enjoy what the area has to offer you could arrive home at the end of the day with your bags filled with freshly picked fruit, Okanagan cheeses, delicious breads baked in wood fired ovens and fantastic local wines or ales to enjoy with all of it. As you ride, watch for eagles and hawks soaring along your route, mountain sheep and goats scampering on the cliffs above you, deer, bears, cattle, horses and an amazing array of orchards and vineyards, fruit stands and wineries.

THE BASIC CIRCLE TOUR:

Skaha Lake

Heading south out of Penticton, take Hwy 97 up above Skaha Lake about 10 kms to the Princeton/ Vancouver turn off - proceed right onto Hwy 3a and enjoy the 35 kms of twisties through to Keremeos.  Then at Keremeos - top of the hill - gas station on your right - just after you slow to 50 k/h - take a left hand turn and head south-west to Osoyoos on Hwy 3.  Wind your way through vineyards, orchards and ranches and take some time to literally smell the flowers.  At Osoyoos you head north again on Hwy 97 and travel through Oliver to Okanagan Falls.  Take time to have some great Ice Cream at Tickleberries http://www.tickleberrys.com/about.htm and then watch the signs as you go through OK Falls - you'll want to stay on Main St. - do not make the left to Hwy 97.  When you get near to the lake on Main street - take the last turn to the right - go two blocks and then take a left on Eastside Road.  This great road takes you back to Penticton on the East side of Skaha Lake and you will arrive in Penticton with no further directions.

This route could take just a little over two hours if you blast on through - BUT - if you take the time to explore, stop at a fruit stand or two, visit a vineyard and take a lunch break at one of the many pubs and restaurants along the route - you'll have a fantastic few hours in the Okanagan sun. 

If it is July/August, don't forget to wear sunscreen and drink lots of water - temps are 30 to 40 c. and it can be blistering out there.

MAP DETAILS – BASIC CIRCLE TOUR – 2 HOURS AND 13 MINUTES

To make it a longer day, you can extend it in several ways

1. INCLUDE HEDLEY:

When you get to Keremeos do not turn left at the top of the hill – instead, continue straight through and down the hill into town to cruise through downtown Keremeos - grab a coffee with other riders at the K-Café – then travel east out through the Similkameen Valley to Historic Hedley - At Hedley you can stop in to the Museum or make plans to tour the historic Mascot Mines. It is a great photo spot. Visit the Gold Dust Pub on your way there or back - http://www.golddusthedleypub.com/index.html Great meals and great service. When travelling back pass through Keremeos again and on to Osoyoos via Hwy 3. .

MAP DETAILS – 3 HOURS 2 MINUTES ON THE ROAD - 223 kms

The Gold Dust Pub

The Historic Mining town of Hedley

2. INCLUDE HEDLEY AND NIGHT HAWK, USA:

Just before Osoyoos (watch for the small sign NIGHT HAWK US Border), you can turn south (right) over the border to Night Hawk and then travel east to Oroville Washington before turning north again to head up through Osoyoos, Oliver and Okanagan Falls. Then continue on taking Eastside road on the far side of Skaha Lake to return to Penticton. Just a nice little dip into the states. Night Hawk is a small border crossing.

* Remember you MUST have a passport to travel into the US.

3 HOURS 37 MINUTES ON THE ROAD – 242 Kms

3. INCLUDE HEDLEY, NIGHT HAWK, ROCK CREEK AND KELOWNA:

Largest circle

This one takes you east from Osoyoos on Hwy # 3 to Rock Creek then north on Hwy #33 to Beaverdell and on to Kelowna before turning south again to Penticton. As you travel up picturesque Hwy 33, stop at the rider friendly Beaverdell Hotel and enjoy their hospitality before heading north again to Kelowna. At Kelowna you will come to the junction of hwy 33 and Hwy 97 – turn left (south) at Hwy 97 and travel through Kelowna then cross over Lake Okanagan and continue south to Penticton.

5 HRS 26 MINS ON THE ROAD – 418 kms

All routes will take you through lake country, multiple farming valleys, desert, forests and mountains. Enjoy!

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