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Log 18 - Summer
Vacation 2003
Aug
8th to Sept 22th, 2003 - Motorbike Trip across
Canada and the United States.
What I Did on my Summer Vacation, by Mike
Whitby
7 PROVINCES, 24 STATES, 10
FERRIES, 10,000 MILES, 38 DAYS ... 2
SPEEDING TICKETS
Most
of us have goals, lifetime achievements, things we
want to do before we die - often a list that we
can check off as we go through life. I guess I'm
greedy, as my list is quite long. Ever since
seeing photographs of great sailing ships, I've
wanted to sail afar. Unfortunately, these days
very few get paid to follow that dream. Since
riding on the back of my Dad's little 197cc
Francis Barnett motorbike to visit my grandmother
(a whole 60 miles away), I've wanted to ride
motorbikes. Again a profession that only the best
get paid to do (unless you want to be a motorcycle
courier or cop, neither of which suit me). So I've
had to work at something else to pay the way, a
common enough complaint.
For
years in England I played with bikes, owned three
or four, attended the T.T. bike races on the Isle
of Man. I watched some of the world's
greatest bike riders flying down country lanes and
across mountain passes. I never got tired of being
wet and being cold. (Bike gear wasn't that great
in the '60's.) Even after moving to Canada, I
didn't lose the passion. I shipped a 1969 BSA
Goldstar over with me - a now quite rare bike that
I sold 25 years ago for over $4,000. I did keep my
Ducati 900 SS. It was another now-quite-rare
bike, 900cc V twin. It was noisy, fast and
went around corners like it was on rails.
Eventually even that had to go, as sailing was
calling and I needed money for the down payment on
my next boat.
For a
few years, motorbikes took a backseat to my other
passion, for the most part. My brother in
law, Phil, had a nice little 380cc, 3 cylinder
Suzuki that was sitting idle, so I bought that,
got it running, used it for a while, but it wasn't
cantankerous enough. I found a perfect (but
non-running) Triumph Trident wasting way in
someone's garage. This was the bike of racing
legends. After getting it home, blowing blue smoke
all the way, I stripped it down, rebuilt the
recently rebuilt engine properly, and I was riding
a legend again. This fun lasted about two years
until another boat project came along. Bye-bye,
Triumph.
It's
been 15 years since then, and besides renting
mopeds or riding my son's "crotch
rockets" for the odd errand run, motor biking
has been a distant memory. However, last year when
Catharine and I were in New York and Washington DC
for our summer vacation from sailing, I tried
"wouldn't it be fun to ride a motorbike back
to Portland". Not entirely to my surprise,
Catharine thought it would be a great idea.
Although not exactly a biker chick, Cath had fun
on a Honda 750, when she traveled to the Maritimes
and back from Ontario in her youth. So the seed
was planted and during our last sailing season in
Mexico, it definitely germinated.
We
approached our friends David and Alice Price from
West Vancouver, BC, with the idea of joining us on
their beautiful new BMW R1150 GS. As they
were already planning a trip from BC to Toronto,
adding an additional 8000 miles seemed like a good
idea to them. To begin the planning, we consumed
and digested tons of material on long distance
bike travel, how to pack, what to see, maintenance
and repair, and the history and geography of the
areas we were going to visit. We used
Microsoft's Streets and Trips program to define
our route, adding our personal preferences for
stops, plus time for meals, coffee/pee/fuel
breaks, and enough time to check out accommodation
or campsites as required each day.
Amazingly, after months of planning, the actual
trip and the virtual trip on the computer were
almost identical. Then we had to find the
perfect bike for the trip.
The
list of probable bikes was quite short. At first
we thought we might try finding a used Honda
Goldwing, but they were just too stodgy-feeling
for us. We narrowed it down to 3 bikes: the
BMW R1100RT, Kawasaki Concours and the Honda
St1100. We wanted a performance bike that could
cover lots of miles in a day and just keep going.
We knew we were looking for a gently used bike, so
spent lots of time looking around. We finally
called the BMW dealer in Portland to make an offer
on a BMW RT only to be told it had been sold the
day before. On a trip to Vancouver BC we checked
on buying a bike in Canada and taking it south -
not possible as all Canadian BMW's are made for
that market and not allowed into the states.
Driving back through Seattle, we stopped at a
dealer who had an ST1100, haggled over the price
and bought it.
As
most stock bike seats are only good for short
rides, we added a new custom leather seat, plus
new suspension all around, new brakes and new
tires. Then we added a rack for luggage and we
were ready. It took me about 2 months to get used
to the bike, as it was big and heavy when not
moving, but eventually it got to feel like a sport
bike and could be ridden hard and fast.
Our
route had three legs: 1) North from Portland
OR to the BC Rockies, then east across Canada,
ending at Tadoussac, Quebec, on the northern shore
of the St. Lawrence River.
2) South along the eastern seaboard, as far as
Savannah GA.
3) West and North across the southern US to
Portland.
Mostly,
we would be on the bikes every day, with several
stops of a few days each to sight-see or catch up
with friends and family. We had some
flexibility to add extra days, but found we didn't
really need them. Our focus was the riding,
and the cross-country experience, and we all felt
we could go back later to revisit places we
especially enjoyed. Here are some of the
highlights:
Scope:
What glorious, huge and diverse countries are
Canada and the U.S. None of us had ever
driven cross-country before, and this was a
particular eye-opener for us.
Scenery: Every day had something special to
save in our memories. We expected the
breathtaking vistas of the Rockies, but the
endless flats of the Prairies were impressive; the
beauty of northern Ontario's rocky shores;
fetching and perfect towns like Nelson BC, Angus
ON, Portsmouth NH, Ste. Anne de Beaupre PQ,
Tadoussac PQ, Portland MN, and many others;
seascapes with beaches or glorious rocky shores;
the lovely rolling Smoky Mountains; the drama of
high passes in Utah and Colorado; and the arid
beauty of the John Day Painted Desert in eastern
Oregon, all exceeded our wildest dreams.
People: We were delighted by the
kindness and interest of people we met on our
journey. The couple from Ashland Maine who
plied us with beverages without our knowing, just
because they loved the idea of our trip; other
travellers we met who shared their road knowledge;
the innkeepers who took care of the special needs
of bike riders; local every where who were
welcoming and patient with tourists; and, of
course, the family and friends who welcomed us in
to their homes and allowed us to take over their
lives for a while.
Cities: We loved the cities where we
stayed a while to sight-see, and none
disappointed. Quebec City, fascinating in
it's history, culture, and a chance to practice
our French; Boston, history, tradition, and some
great pubs; Charleston, stately and historic; and
Savannah, moody, mysterious and charmingly
eccentric. 
Weather:
We really lucked out here, with only two days of
real rain in 38. Now, those two were
miserable, but... We also were especially lucky as
a big hurricane hit the east coast mere hours
after we were there.
Fire Fighting at BC/Alberta border:
The devastation was sobering, and watching the
many helicopters pick up fire retardant from tiny
buckets at the roadside beside us was amazing. And
the smoke - we drove through it for miles and
miles.
Ferries: Every
ferry we took was fun, interesting and
different. Several were real
standouts. The St. Lawrence, which was
impressively wide at our crossing point, so that
it was hard to believe it was a river. The
Big Canoe, across northern Lake Huron; and the
small ferry across the Outer Banks, where we could
see the huge breakers across the sand bars.
New York City: We rode through
Manhattan on a beautiful Saturday, in almost no
traffic. We circumnavigated Central Park,
drove along 42nd Street, and stopped at Katz' Deli
for a pastrami on rye, where two of New York's
finest stood guard over our bikes the whole
time! It could not have been a better day
almost two years to the day after the 9/11
disaster.
Tail of the Dragon: This bikers'
mecca is a terrific road through the Smoky
Mountains of Tennessee. Over 300 turns in 11
miles of road, perfectly banked, newly asphalted,
heavenly woods all around. Put this one on
your list!
Bonneville Salt Flats: We arrived
just in time for some racing on the flats.
All kinds of vehicles - cars, motorcycles, even
bar stools. We stayed an extra day to watch
the timed racing, and drove our bike out on to the
flats. Highly recommended!
Special Events: 100th anniversary of flight
at Kitty Hawk NC, 200th Anniversary of Louisiana
Purchase, 404th Anniversary of First French
Settlement in New World (Tadoussac PQ), these
all coincided with out visits there.
"Largest List": Seen on the
fly: *World's largest truck*Largest wheat
stalk*Largest moose*Largest muskoka (adironack)
chair*Largest inland lake*Largest cross*Hottest
spot in Canada*Oldest bar in the New World.
"High Point" of the Trip:
Crossing the Continental Divide into Aspen
Colorado on Independence Pass, elevation 12,095
feet - 500 feet higher than the top of Mt
Hood.
Longest Day: 516 miles crossing
Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and on into Colorado
Most Distance in an Hour: We left our hotel
in Utah early, got passed by 2 vintage Mercedes'
and decided to tail 'em - over 105 miles traveled.
Oddly, we still got passed by cars and another
bike.
We had
a blast on our trip. It was a fantastic way
to see our two countries. Every day was an
adventure. We really feel it is vital to identify
your dreams and do whatever it takes to make them
happen. 
Epilog:
Sadly, David and Alice were in an accident on the
road home the day before they would have reached
Vancouver. Their beautiful bike was a
write-off. While both David and Alice
sustained injuries, they were of the structural
(broken bones and deep bruising) variety. No
internal injuries, thankfully, and both fully
recovered after five months. In retrospect,
both say they cherish their memories of the trip,
and neither would have missed it. However,
motorcycling can be dangerous. It requires
skill, practice, extra attentiveness and the right
protective gear. Please be careful.
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