New wheels for 2012

The 2012 Kawasaki Ninja 650R had me hooked from the first video I saw of it. According to the head of Kawasaki Canada (that I had a chance to meet at the motorcycle show), the bike has been redesigned from the ground up. It's not just a couple of nice additions, and is a real overhaul of the machine.

So I did what any sensible person did and decided to just go for it. The deposit is down, and one of the 2012s will be mine to take when it's riding season once again.

I hadn't been totally sold on making the jump from my 500 to something else. This is a beautiful and solid bike. I'm looking forward to the snow clearing out in... oh, four or five more months. I'll have to make a day of the un-crating. It's my first new bike purchase, and it's going to be so new that I'll be the first one to even peek at my bike on this continent. Very exciting!

Last big ride of 2011

Here it is, a video. I suggest going to the youtube video directly to see it in HD:

It's part of the 3 hour ride. The fall colors here are gorgeous. Too bad the bikes will sit for another 4 or 5 months.

Bad Drivers

Every time I go out, riding leaves me with a certain set of feelings. It’s a little hard to describe at times. One of the feelings that comes up with frequency is frustration. There are entirely too many piss-poor drivers on the road. I don’t mean just a little bad. I mean they’re a danger to everyone around them, especially people on two wheels, and they’re totally oblivious end entitled.

This past weekend Justin was cut off by one such driver. The driver went into his lane with no signal while completely ignoring the rider. Justin slowed down and used his horn. Horn use is really meant as a “hey, watch out!” kind of thing. It can really help. This driver? He proceeded to flip Justin off. What a horrible response.

I’ve had similar happen. On my first big riding day (this was last season), I was in a parking lot and going a reasonable speed in the proper lanes. A cab driver whips through the parking lot, and I thankfully stop quickly or I would have been hit on my right side. He stops. I give a gesture of “watch out” and he got angry and started giving rude gestures. I had a few choice words for him that wound up muffled by the full-face helmet.

More recently I had someone come right into my lane as I was riding. They didn’t see me at all. They didn’t signal. I braked, they continued into the lane where I would have been if I maintained speed. I used the horn, and Justin showed them a gesture of appreciation up ahead.

Be kind, share the road, and check for your blind spots. Even then, some people can’t be helped. Be vigilant.

Aesthetics and Personalization

Vehicles of any type are often quite personal (unless one has no soul). Motorcycles are no different and, quite possibly, more personal than larger vehicles. Then again, Rhiannon's Dad drives a concrete truck which he has personalized with a rainbow decal, so who am I to judge? It's all about how you want to express or present yourself to the world, and personalizing your vehicle is a spectacular way to do that!

The Duke 690, which I am fondly getting acquainted with this year, is in prime position for a subtle makeover; after pushing my limits (too far, once or twice) and being an all around terrible driver for the first half of the season, there are plenty of things to tweak and imperfections to replace.

My overall inclination in the field of aesthetics predisposes me to lean towards the "clean" look. Whenever I buy ANYTHING, I am in the process of unwrapping it and peeling off any stickers or branding I can find and safely remove before I get the damn thing home. Maybe I am a little vain (at minimum), but form is in fact a function.

With my beloved KTM, I'm a little conflicted. Sleek, she surely is. No contest! However, there is something undeniably different about this bike when compared to other things I like. The machine is apparently of two souls: a high performance road only sport bike, and an unwieldy big single with off road ergonomics. Neither of these personalities can be ignored if you have ridden this bike!

So, the only plausible option? Change her into the highest functioning streetfighter that my wallet can muster. While I suspect that this course of action will include my usual refinements and stripping down, it may include adding some things as well. Specifically, I'm imagining hand guards with running lights and an air horn (which I understand can be quite large). Ultimately, I'd be excited to try out some of the more complex and permanent chops and hacks that I see on some really spiffy nakeds, but for now, the steep angles of all the Duke's plastic are still tickling me orange. I've got some basic bolt on parts that I'm just waiting on to arrive before the first installment of the Magnificent Duke Makover, but during the first serious wash of the summer, I pulled off the rear passenger foot pegs and the little stick on reflectors on the front forks.

IT BEGINS.

Day 8: Clearwater to Edmonton

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We got a nice early start. Feeling a little tired and a little refreshed in one, we headed out, hoping to make it home for the night. I was much worse for the ear after all that riding, with pain shooting in my arms and legs from so much time on the bike.

It was a great day for riding and we were a bit too tired and determined to put miles on the rubber to really enjoy it fully. Almost completely sunny, beautiful roads, and so much to see. I found myself being less pleased with the scenery as time went on and more concerned with wildlife or traffic backing up from tourists gawking at something or another.

We gassed up here and there, and only stopped to eat very briefly in Hinton (L&W has great burgers, what can I say?) in the entire long stretch that day. We made it in to Edmonton by 7:30 that evening, stripped down the bikes, and finally got to relax. It was the best time we'd made on any stretch in the trip and it was exhausting.

It was an amazing trip. I encountered roads I'd never seen anything like, got to visit a bunch of new places, talked with many new people, and also got a better appreciation for being at home. The one big thing I would have liked to change would be to take more time for such a big trip. It was quite the effort to do what we did, and a lot of the really neat things we came across couldn't be properly appreciated with tight time constraints. All in all, still a great experience.

Total travel: ~660km

Final Odometer reading: 3327km

Day 7: Victoria to Clearwater

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It was the start of the return leg. We left early in the morning and made it to the ferry without any issue. It was Canada Day morning, and there was quite a gathering of people on board to go to the mainland for the festivities. On first and off first, it's nice to be on a bike for the ferry.

We were separated again in Vancouver. I can't emphasize how lousy it is to be lacking good headsets for group riding in an unknown city, especially after becoming accustomed to headset use for regular rides. We did manage to get back together and continue on.

The first big stop was Chilliwack. I had the lovely opportunity to meet up with a friend of mine who had moved out west. Initially we weren't going to go on the 1, but it seemed like a rare opportunity (and a shorter way back) so we went for it.

The riding was generally favorable, nice and sunny and warmer than most of the trip had been. Getting closer to Kamloops and the desert area brought more heat that kept us going further and further. We made it to Clearwater for the night--a place so small there were no real Canada Day festivities still going on when we arrived around 8PM. The locals were thankfully all nice, and we found a decent place to eat and rest which is all you can ask for some days.

Total riding: ~600km

Days 5 & 6: Vancouver Island

Not much can be said in terms of riding for these days. We were safely on Vancouver Island, checking out the sights in Victoria, and just enjoying some relaxation.



One of the few bits of riding done was up to the top of Mount Douglas. You can see all of Victoria from up there.



The ocean was nice as well.

If you would like to, you can view the photo set for the trip here: Motorcycle Trip Pictures

Day 4: Kelowna to Victoria

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The last day before a break. We set out after a nice bit of food, and made our way to Merritt. Maybe it was just the way we went through the town, but it seemed so unremarkable and small. I'm glad it was a short stop.

Highway 5 south was exciting. Beautiful scenery the whole way. Quit a big chill coming off the mountains the whole way down, and regrettably not much of a highway to stop on for photos as nearly the entire stretch was considered avalanche and slide area. Not where you really want to get caught.

Stopped in Hope, and met a couple local bikers who suggested we opt for the Highway 7 rather than the Trans-Canada Highway. It's less congested and more scenic. One thing he neglected to say about that highway was that the smell would be unpleasant. It was a constant cycling of manure, garbage, and stagnant water smells throughout.

Getting to Vancouver was easy. Finding the Tsawassen ferry from where we came in was not. We ended up separated, without working headsets, and me without any kind of a map or way to get directions. I was very unhappy with this, to say the least. We eventually made it back together and found out how to get where we needed to be.

At this time I was starting to feel a bit of pain from repetitive motions. My left hand and arm through the elbow were in throbbing pain and I couldn't wait to get off the bike.

When in Tswassen, we got lost trying to find the ferry. I find some of the road signs near Vancouver extremely ambiguous. Way too many arrows pointing too and from destinations on the same roads. Despite the setbacks, we did make it.



We got in around 7:45 just as the people for the 7:00 ferry were boarding. The ferries were delayed 45 minutes because of a previous medical emergency. While the website said hourly ferries, there was apparently no 8:00 ferry, and we had to wait for the one at 9:00--which wouldn't be leaving until nearly 10:00. After such a long day, being stuck at a ferry terminal wasn't my idea of an awesome time. We made the most of it. There was at least decent food, and free wifi. It was probably the cheapest meal we managed to have the entire trip, and among the best. If you're ever stuck at the ferry terminal at least you won't go hungry.

Eventually we had nothing to do but wait.



And more waiting.



There were a few other bikers there that we started chatting up. There was a very nice woman on a kitted out Honda CBR that gave us a rundown on ferry etiquette. It helped put things a bit more at ease.

We did board, and it was the first big ferry trip I've been on that I can remember. I found it a little unnerving. The hour and a half on the boat went by quickly. They let motorcycles on and off first, which is quite a nice perk. We started riding on the island just shy of 11:30, and got to our destination before midnight. It was a surprise visit for someone on their birthday! And quite the surprise indeed. That started the two days of mostly rest and relaxation that I was aching for by this point.



Total riding: ~460km. Odometer read 2064 at the end of leg 1.

Day 3: Castlegar to Kelowna

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This was the only day of the trip where a destination was set. Castlegar to Kelowna isn't a particularly long trip: 346 km, or thereabouts. But the kind of highway it's on isn't meant to be tackled quickly. Those 346 kilometres get tacked in closer to 6 hours than 3.

The riding was gorgeous. Sunny, warm enough to be comfortable, and a relatively traffic-free roadway. This is a perfect stretch of curvy BC highway. Particularly Castlegar to Osoyoos. Osoyoos takes you out of forested mountains and into a desert valley filled with orchards and vineyards--real BC wine country. Whenever I make it back near that part of the province I want to spend a lot more time somewhere between Osoyoos and Kelowna.

The crazy part about the highways near Osoyoos weren't just the turns--180-degree turn-arounds, spiraling downhill curves asking you to slow to 20kph, or just the insane inclines. No, it was how perfectly paved some of the roads were. In Alberta, you really never see anything like that. Any road remotely pristine gets pitted and scraggly over winter.

We made it to Kelowna in a little more than 6 hours. We then got a little lost finding our accommodation wince Westbank and West Kelowna are not the same thing. It was an early, relaxing night that was well-earned after 3 hard days of riding.

Total riding: ~400km

Day 2: Lake Louise to Castlegar

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The first day went on with aggravating amounts of rain, and the second day started the same. It was cloudy and drizzly waking up and walking around the town. After breakfast it was time for getting the bikes set up again, and rain gear.



Went from Lake Louise to Banff, filled up, and started out towards Radium Hot Springs. Shortly after leaving the town limits, something terrible happened. Justin lowsided the Duke 690! You can see him separated from the bike in the below picture:

After the previous day's crappy weather and poor rest, and now the lowside, I was feeling very nervous about the prospect of another nearly 3,000km that this trip would require. It was only the start of the second day, and already there was wrecked gear and a dinged up bike. The headsets had also shown they were completely not working.


We both agreed we should go on. The day only got better, thankfully. The riding from there on out got warmer and sunny.



And further into BC, it got so much greener.



In Fort Steele, we stopped to have a bit of a break and contemplate where we'd end up that night. I didn't want to get caught at 10 in a strange town that may be having a room shortage and nowhere to eat. But the nearest major city was Cranbrook, which was maybe 20 minutes away. It seemed much too early that day to stop, and with barely any distance covered.

A friendly Edmontonian biker started chatting us up, offering suggestions for biker-friendly lodging on our way. Unfortunately the only place he had to suggest on our route was in Cranbrook! If you are motorcycling and do want to stay in Cranbrook, the Lazy Bear Lodge is apparently very bike-friendly. It was still nice to talk with him.

Immediately after, another biker came to chat us up. What was going to be a 15-minute break to have a snack ended up being nearly an hour after all the people left us to get back.

We pushed on for quite a ways. The ride through was amazing in scenery, and was getting a bit more technically challenging. A few short stops to refuel the bikes and ourselves, and we made it to Castlegar for the night.

A supper of beer, sushi, and samosas was a nice finish.

Total riding: ~595km
Total gear loss: Rain pants, rain jacket, laptop (damaged by lowsiding), headsets
Gear damage: Tailbag, riding jacket