Day 9 – To Canmore
Sadly, today began the re-entry into reality. After eight days on the road, I had to go to work. This evening and tomorrow, I would be facilitating a strategic planning session for a customer in Canmore. Dianne and Mom would be getting an opportunity to spend some time together, while I spent some time earning my keep. Read more…
Day 8 – Still in Kelowna
Having arrived in Kelowna last night, today was a rest day. After 2,337 km in 6 days, Wolfgang pretty much spent the day catching his breath. In the meantime, we did what any other self-respecting bikers do upon descending upon Kelowna. We went wine tasting. Read more…
Day 7 – To Kelowna
I should have seen it coming. I should have recognized the inevitable. There would be consequences. You don’t get away with ridiculing the Catholic Church without there being consequences. And as could be reasonably expected, those consequences would be swift, ruthless and painful. Especially given that it’s Friday the 13th. Read more…
Day 6 – Back to Vancouver
Today marked our return trip to Vancouver. Travelling back through Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay, we had a choice of two sailings – a 12:30pm and a 3:00pm. The 3:00pm sailing would put us back into Vancouver just in time for rush hour. The 12:30pm sailing meant we need to be on the road by no later than 8:45am in order to catch the ferry. Early sailing it is. Read more…
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
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
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
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
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
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…