Day 5 – In Ulcuelet

2008/06 - The West Coast Trail

Day 5 – In Ulcuelet

By accident more than design, today was a day of rest. Sort of. After four days of motorcycling, it’s extremely nice to not have to go anywhere unless we feel like it. We’re staying where we are for tonight. After a brief jaunt out to get some breakfast, we’re back at the cabin for a relaxing morning here. I have some work to catch up on: the inevitable last report that didn’t get done before I left on vacation. Read more…

Day 4 – To Ucluelet

2008/06 - The West Coast Trail

Day 4 – To Ucluelet

Today, the trip gets underway in earnest. Victoria to Ucluelet – 312 kms, and about 5 hours or so of riding. For the most part, the trip is straightforward: north out of Victoria, west to Highway 1, follow that through Nanaimo to Qualicum Beach, and head west over the island on Highway 4 until you run out of land. Hang a left, and you’re in Ucluelet. Of course, the details are always slightly more involved. Read more…

Day 3 – To Victoria

2008/06 - The West Coast Trail

Day 3 – To Victoria

This morning was another crack-of-dawn start, as I got up early to get some work done, in order to be able to relax and be on vacation. There is probably something both ironic and disturbing about that statement, but I’m not going to take the time to analyze it now. Read more…

Day 2 – To Vancouver

2008/06 - The West Coast Trail

Day 2 – To Vancouver

Sunday dawned early and beautiful. Actually, it dawned really early. Too many nights of getting up at 6am, combined with a time zone change, meant my eyes cracked open at 5am and weren’t going to close again. At least, not in any way that was going to be productive.
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Day 1 – To Kamloops

2008/06 - The West Coast Trail

Day 1 – To Kamloops

As we’ve already established, and despite every pretence of planning, the concept of advanced preparation in the face of a long motorcycle tour seems to be an elusive one. While I also got the GPS unit installed on Thursday evening, and I have a list of everything that I want to pack, the actual packing only starts at about 9pm on Friday evening. And continues until about 1 am.
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Prologue – Getting Ready

2008/06 - The West Coast Trail

Prologue – Getting Ready

You would think, after a 6000km trip last year, that getting ready to head out on Wolfgang would be a straightforward exercise. You would think, given the planning and preparation of a winter, that he’d be ready to ride. You would think that after a shake down tour to Jasper to work out the kinks, that heading out would be short work. You would be wrong. Read more…

A Shake Down Tour Of The GS

2008/06 - A Quick Shake Down

A Shake Down Tour Of The GS

I’m really going to have to figure out what it is about me and packing (or preparation in general). An entire winter of Edmonton weather (to be clear, not conducive to riding) and still I can’t quite get the fleet to be ready. May 12, with beautiful weather and 4 bikes in the garage, and only one of them is ready to ride. Read more…

Day 4 – Back to Victoria

2008/03 - The Short Way Across

Day 4 – Back to Victoria

Breton

Woke up Sunday to the sound of running water. Prince MaMu was having his morning jacuzzi. Excellent, that meant I had another two hours to sleep! I settled back into my comfy, warm bed and contemplated life while I listened to the waves crashing on the shore below. Read more…

Day 3 – Ucluelet & Tofino

2008/03 - The Short Way Across

Day 3 – Ucluelet & Tofino

Breton

(Editorial note) I don’t know, to me, three hours in a wingback chair deeply engaged in a pitched battle of romantic seduction leans more to “entrenched” than “ensconced”. …but why quibble? Adventures awaited us that a lack of literary talent and a decent spellchecker could not diminish!

Saturday morning came with a delightful surprise. No rain! Read more…

Day 2 – Victoria to Ucluelet

2008/03 - The Short Way Across

Day 2 – Victoria to Ucluelet

Breton

Woke up Friday morning suffering from altitude sickness causing by drinking too many martinis at lower elevations. Yeah, a wee bit foggy but still anxious to ride. Of course, before we headed out, Mark had to install all of the electronics needed to undertake a perilous journey of this magnitude; iPod mounts, heated vests, GPS and radar detector. Read more…

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