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The Days Are Getting Longer!

2012-01-28T01:11:00.003-06:00

Yep, it's true... the sky is no longer black when I go to work - now it's just mostly black. The days are getting longer!

We've had some pretty crazy weather here this winter. Lots of days when the temperature was above 0C (it got up to +7C or something a little while ago, and was +3C one day this week), and I think most of the winter has been warm enough for me to ride. Unfortunately, while we don't have nearly as much snow as normal, there's still enough ice and packed snow on the roads to make riding impossible for me. Ah, well...

I've been quite busy with school but things are going quite well. Last term was particularly difficult, as I needed to get used to balancing between working a full-time job and fitting in time for studying, but things went quite well and this term so far has been going pretty well I think.

But enough about that - this blog is all about riding and riding stuff!

Let's see - quick recap about this past riding year. Lots of firsts in there, too:
- First replacement of OEM part with an aftermarket part (LED brake light).
- My first solo trip. Planned for 23 days, crashed on Day 6, but had an amazing time, made some great friends, saw places and things I'd never seen before, and learned a lot about myself and riding.
- First crash (see above).
- First broken bone (see above above).
- Retrieved the bike the day after my little boot cast thing came off, and rode back with a friend from town. It sure was nice to have someone along for the ride back, especially when I was fighting to get my confidence back!
- Rode it to work every day I could (missed out on about seven weeks, what with me not being able to ride for a while and then needing to get it fixed).
- Discovered that either I need to lose a whole schwack of weight, or the KLR needs a stiffer rear spring, heh.
- Rode 7198km (so sayeth the odometer).

Despite the small setbacks, 2011 was a really great riding year for me, I learned a LOT and thoroughly enjoyed doing it.

I got a pair of heated grips from my folks for Christmas, too, so that'll make riding in the cold and/or rain even easier! I haven't had the chance to install them yet - I'm waiting on a switched fuse block and a ground terminal - once they arrive, I'll be putting the grips on as soon as it warms up a bit.

So far, I'm not sure what my plans for this riding year are. I'm hoping to take a month off work and do a summer term of University classes, so I'm not sure how much time I'll have left over. I'd really like to do another trip (and Mrs. HAL has voiced her support of it), but if I do, it will probably not be 23 days long - probably in the 10-15 day range. I'd still really like to get back out to Bella Coola and take that ferry, but it may need to wait another year. As soon as I figure out what's going on, I'll be posting.

What I'd really like to do is take a trip once a year or every couple of years and try to cover a different part of the country. Once I complete a trip through BC, I can then think of heading east, or north, or anywhere! A neat thing about Canada is that it's huge and there's so much stuff to see.

Ugh... the more I think about this stuff, the more I want to get out and ride!

Let's see... gear. My gear this past year held up quite well. The only thing that really didn't cut it was my boots. To be fair, they weren't full-length or anything, but I think that if I'd been wearing motocross boots (or something similar), I would've been able to continue my trip this summer. I can't remember if I mentioned this earlier, but I did end up picking up a pair of Alpinestars Tech3 boots. Mrs. HAL calls them my "hooker boots", and I wore them on the trip to ride the KLR back home in August. I do believe that I'll be wearing them on any trip I take out of town from this point on.

My jacket, helmet, and gloves did their jobs quite well and I'm happy with them. I did, however, pick up an HJC modular helmet, and I think it makes a great helmet for bopping around in town with. I'm still quite pleased with the Icon Variant, though, and will be purchasing another one soon!

And the big question - what about the KLR? Well, to be honest, I feel that this bike is nearly a perfect fit for me and the kind of riding I like doing. If I could change one thing on it, it would be to give it a touch more power so that I didn't have to wring the life out of the poor thing to keep up with highway traffic sometimes. Oh, and the manual says you can load the bike to a maximum of 400lbs, but even with the preload set to 5, the rear spring can't support anywhere near that amount. Wait - I guess that's two things. But other than those two minor things, I still love my KLR and if I could go back in time and talk to myself when I was looking for a bike, I wouldn't suggest anything for me other than a KLR. I'm very happy with it!

But it's getting late and I can feel my eyes starting to close on me here so I should probably close off this entry. I realize I haven't been around much lately and I do apologize for that. I plan to be a little more consistent next year.

A bit belated, but Happy New Year to you all, and I with you all the best in 2012!

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 16277.1km

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooo...

2011-11-06T23:03:00.002-06:00

It's not fair!

Just a little more time... pleeeeeeeease?

Safe riding!

Whoo... Been A While

2011-10-17T22:11:00.003-05:00

Nope, I'm not dead... just been really busy.

I'm taking some University classes, so my evenings and weekends are pretty much shot right now.

I did, however, get the KLR back from Main where I had dropped it off a short while ago to get un-bent. I'm quite pleased with the results, and it's running very well.

I haven't had much in the way of riding adventures since I got back, although I did discover that gravel now makes me tense right up. Hmm... going to have to deal with that one soon, I think.

Anyway, I hope to write more soon and sorry it's been a while!

Oh, and the KLR turned 16 on September 24th!

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 16106.4km

Distance since last fill: 129.6km

Operation KLRetrieval Complete!

2011-08-29T20:04:00.002-05:00

The KLR and I are back home!

BCB took good care of the bike while I was gone, and I got an escort back home from another Adventure Rider. I haven't worked out the numbers yet but it worked out to somewhere around 2400km in two and a half days of riding.

Didn't take a lot of pictures on the road - the objective was to get home, so I only took photos during rest stops or in the morning or evening.

A couple of good stories, but they'll have to wait since I'm beat... but the bottom line is the KLR is back home and got here under its own power all the way!

Oh, and the KLR turned 14 on Saturday and 15 on Sunday!

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now... is upstairs in some luggage somewhere.

Operation KLR Retrieval begins!

2011-08-26T18:30:00.000-05:00

Hal flew out to Williams Lake this morning, and was reunited with his faithful KLR. Sounds like he spent a lot of time going over the bike today, but that it was in decent shape. No large puddles of important fluids on the ground and it started well.

He fixed up some of the damage and will need a bigger hammer to fix other parts later. Hopefully it will be good enough to get him and the bike home.

Things are coming together!

Operation KLRetrieval!

2011-08-25T22:11:00.002-05:00

Things are coming together!

Went to the Pan Am clinic today to get my ankle checked, and everything's good! I can't even see where the break was on the x-ray anymore, and the doctor is quite happy with how it looks. He says it's going to be stiff and weak for a while, so I need to do some exercises, go see a physiotherapist for a little bit, and be careful because it will be easy to roll my ankle by accident.

Today's the first day since July 12th that I've worn shoes on both feet!

On a completely related note, I'm heading out tomorrow morning to Williams Lake to prep the bike and ride it home. It will be good to see BCB again and shoot the breeze with him and not need a ride to the hospital or the pharmacy!

If all goes well, the KLR will be fixed up and ready to go on Saturday morning. I'm planning on meeting a fellow Adventure Rider from Winnipeg there (who's being really flexible in his timings) and we'll ride back home together. It'll be nice to ride with another person!

No camping this time - hotels and motels all the way.

Safe riding!

(I'll know the odometer reading tomorrow!)

Day 6 - Clearwater, BC To Williams Lake, BC - 331.8km

2011-08-20T17:29:00.018-05:00

Sorry I haven't been updating this very fast, things have been a little crazy...

I woke up on Day 6 to the sound of rain hitting the tent. It had rained for a good part of the night which kept the air nice and fresh.

I got ready for the day and had a small breakfast and then started to pack everything up. Fortunately, the rain stopped as I was just about to take down the tent, so I let it sit out a little longer to try and dry it as much as I could before putting it away.

I checked out at the office and when I walked outside the sun was shining in a way that made the rain of the previous night feel like it had all been a dream. I checked over the bike, was happy with what I saw, then started it up and headed out.

Got gas in the town of Clearwater (52MPG) and then headed for the FSRs that would lead me to my next stop in Williams Lake. I was looking forward to spending some time off the pavement, and I'd planned two big off-highway jaunts. This one, and a much larger one on the return trip between Penticton and Grand Forks. You may have figured it out by now, but I'm not a huge fan of seeing the major attractions in the cities and towns - I want to see the stuff and places that aren't in the tourist pamphlets, and I really want to do it at my own pace.

Anyway, in a matter of minutes after leaving the gas station, I was on gravel, heading west. The smell of the trees and the air were very potent - it was very pleasant to ride.

The FSRs are used for logging, so there's a very strange blend of "holy crap, what on earth did they do to that forest?" and "holy crap, look at that view!"

The road itself was pretty interesting, too. Nice drop-off to one side, and lots of curves and hills to climb:
The occasional bit of cloud would skim by as I was riding, but for the most part, the roads were nice and dry. I did come across a couple of areas where there were large puddles in the road - the KLR handled them quite well (I was very glad that we made that inch of rear suspension travel before I left), but with each splash, I could feel my boots filling up with water.

Some of the trees out there were very, very tall. They don't get like this where I'm from (at least, I don't think they do):
Despite the wet feet, I was thoroughly enjoying myself. My plan was to put up my tent in BCB's back yard that evening - a fellow rider who I'd contacted on an adventure riding website. He was going to be at work when I expected to get to Williams Lake, so I'd already planned to find a picnic table somewhere in town and be sitting there and drying my socks when we met up.

Despite no longer riding through the giant mountain areas, the views out here were still gorgeous. Even my GoPro was taking good pictures:
By the time I'd made it about 35km from Clearwater, it had started to rain again. Not much, just an intermittent light rain, but as I kept riding, the roads were less gravel, and more dirt:
Shortly after that point, I decided it would probably be prudent to turn around - I didn't want to be caught in the rain on these roads. I turned the KLR around and started to follow my trail back to Clearwater, where I'd then hop on the highway and get to Williams Lake that way. It'd put me a little behind schedule, but the scenery was still great and I still had some clean dry socks in the trunk.

Since the road was getting tacky, it was pretty easy to see where I'd been (and how few other people had been here - I saw some tracks, but didn't see a single other vehicle while I was on the FSRs):
I guess all the rain from the night before had softened everything up - despite the road being in good shape when I left, it was starting to get a little less good:
And then even less good:
The GoPro was running and set to take a picture every 10 seconds. So, 10 seconds after that picture was taken, the camera got this one:
I'll be blunt - I have no idea what happened. I think I was doing around 30-40kph when the bars suddenly jumped all the way one way, then the other, then I was in the air and landed on my right side in the mud about four feet down the road.

Very confused, and with my heart pounding, I jumped up and looked back - the KLR was on its side in the mud, perpidicular to the road. I realized then I must have fallen. I whipped off my helmet and took a quick look at it to see if it was bashed in - it only looked like there was some mud splashed on it, a bit of a relief there. I wiggled my fingers and toes, which now that I think of it was pretty dumb - I was already standing up, but fortunately they worked, too.

For some strange reason, it really bothered me that the KLR was lying there, quiet. I started yelling, "ARE YOU OKAY???" at the bike, and ran over and shut it off. At that point, I could smell the gas and see the water turning rainbow colours under the bike. I had a sudden bolt of fear that I'd put a hole in the engine and it was oil - I still had the SPOT but really, really didn't want to use it unless I really needed to.

I tried to pick up the bike - stupidly, I tried lifting it the wrong way - and at that point I realized that something was wrong with my ankle - it wasn't quite cooperating when I was asking it to do stuff. It didn't hurt (shock and adrenaline can be a beautiful thing), it just wasn't working properly.

I paced around the bike and then tried to lift it up again, this time properly. No luck - between my ankle and the mud, I couldn't get a good grip on either it or the ground.

I removed the topcase and Ortlieb bag and, after a few deep breaths:
I heard some hissing and found that the gasoline that had come through the vent cap had soaked into the tankbag and was slowly dripping on to (and boiling off of) the hot exhaust. Probably a good thing it took me a couple of minutes to lift the KLR up...

I loaded the bike back up and then went over it as best as I could in the circumstances. Both mirrors broken, front cowl broken at the windshield, lots of gashes and gouging, and strangely enough - there was gouging on the top of the topcase. I don't know if I would have wanted to see it, but I kind of wish I'd had the GoPro set to take video instead of photos every 10 seconds. Mud was packed into the back side of both handguards, and the right handguard was pushed in towards the grip.

I couldn't find any evidence of engine or exhaust damage - the SW-Motech crash bars and panniers did their job. I couldn't tell if the forks were bent, and frankly, if the bike rolled, that's all I really wanted.

Of course, as soon as I'm standing out in the middle of nowhere, wearing all my gear after a crash and soaked to the skin, the sun comes out (note the shadows on the ground):
After waiting for a little while longer, I decided I needed to get out of there. Dropoff to one side, lots of blind curves, and it's a logging road - I figured that statistically, the longer I stayed in one place, the more likely it was a logging truck was going to come by and flatten me or knock me off the road. Just before I got on the bike, though, I noticed something in the mud about 15 feet down the road. I went over, picked it up, and it was my phone. I still haven't figured that out - my phone was in the belt holster... under my jacket.

I took a quick photo of the scene. Sorry I didn't have the presence of mind to take one while the bike was still lying in the mud, but I had bigger things to worry about. If you look closely, you can see the mud angel I made when I hit the ground at the bottom of the photo:
And, since I was at it, I did the self-portrait thing. If you ever want to know what I look like when I'm stressed out, it's pretty much like this:
I went back to the bike, and decided to try and start it. Dark clouds were starting to slide in (you can see them in the above picture with the bike) and I wanted to get out of there really, really badly. I turned on the ignition, waited a couple of seconds and listened carefully in case there were any sounds, sniffed around a few times to make sure there were no smells, and then hit the starter.

Two cranks and it was running. The giant black wall of despair I was starting to feel cracked a little when the engine started - I have never been so relieved when a machine did what it was supposed to. That bike is awesome!

Then it was time to get on the bike. I have little stumpy legs, so to get on the KLR, I put my left foot on the peg, stand up, and swing my right leg over the bike... kind of like getting on a horse. When I went to get on, I once again noticed that my ankle wasn't working properly, but I still really didn't feel much discomfort.

A couple of revs and some test gear shifts, and I was rolling down the road.

My only rule for riding during the summer is that I avoid lightning. I won't ride in a thunderstorm. Minutes later, as the KLR and I were crawling back to Clearwater, the skies got dark and the clouds opened up. Thunder, lightning, and rain:
The rain was near biblical in places, and visibility dropped off to almost nothing in places. Between the lightning, worries about crashing again (the whole road was a swamp by this point) and meeting a logging truck in a bad way, any calm levelheadedness I may have had remaining was leaving quickly. I've never been more scared in my entire life.

After crawling along in 2nd gear for what felt like eternity, I finally made it back to Clearwater. Of course, as soon as I got onto pavement, the rain tapered off.

I pulled into the first gas station I found:
I pulled up to the pump where a young fellow was working, and friendly yellow dog was sitting there, watching the world go by. I filled up the tank (57MPG) and then rolled the bike to the side of the building.

I went inside, paid for the gas, and then asked the fellow and the young lady he was working with if I could change in their restroom. They said sure and kept asking if I was okay. I was limping pretty badly by this time, and they were really friendly and helpful. After I changed into a set of dry clothes and then put on my rain gear (I wasn't going to make that mistake again), I felt a little more civilized and my head had cleared a bit. I borrowed a mop and cleaned up the trail of mud I'd left through the store and then went outside to check over the bike.

Both of the people who worked at the gas station were very pleasant and kept me company while I took out my tools (which somehow had mud on them) and got to work. The front cowl was broken from where the windshield bolted to it, down to where it flattened out... probably about 3-4 inches. A couple of pieces of duct tape made a temporary patch.

The right handguard was loose but easy enough to tighten up a bit. Both of the mirrors were shattered beyond any semblance of use. I was able to tighten the left one up, but I couldn't fix the right one and ended up using some wire to hold it backwards so at least it wasn't flopping around.

While I was working, two guys on Harleys stopped for gas. One of them kept asking me if I was okay. Not just if I was okay, but if _I_ was okay. I appreciated his concern, but all I was worried about at that point was getting the bike back on the road.

I asked the young lady if she knew which way it was to Williams Lake. She pointed a direction down the road (which at the time didn't make any sense) and told me that I'd need to get onto Hwy 24 at Little Fort. I took my map out of the pannier and asked her exactly where we were and she pointed it out.

Another fellow showed up in his truck, saw I'd been in an accident, and then offered me the use of all his tools he had with him - another nice gesture which I wasn't expecting at all. Between what I had on hand and a couple of his tools, the KLR was as patched up as I could get it.

I went over the whole bike once more. The oil and coolant levels were still good, which made me very, very happy. Brakes looked okay, and as far as I could tell, the forks and swingarm looked okay. All of the lights were still attached and working, which was another relief - last thing I wanted was a ticket!

I thanked the gas station crew, started the KLR, and then headed off down the road towards what I hoped would be Little Fort.

Despite taking a spill, the KLR ran magnificently. I was still a little shaky, but I was already way behind schedule and while BCB was being nice enough to let me put up my tent in his back yard, I didn't want to inconvenience him if I could help it.

A short while later, I was already starting to get worried that I'd headed the right way. I seemed to be heading away from Williams Lake, but by then my ankle was really hurting quite badly and I could feel it swelling in my boot. I couldn't bend my foot to shift - I had to swing my foot out and under the shift lever and then pull up with my whole leg, or put my heel on the lever and step down if I wanted to change gears, and that was quite painful. I really, REALLY didn't want to get off the bike and go through the panniers again.

I don't blindly follow my GPS. I trust it to tell me where I am and where I've been, but I'll never be one of those people who you read about in the papers who drove off a cliff or into a swamp because that's what their GPS said to do. Besides, the GPS was an older Magellan Explorist 500, and while it was a great unit in its day, it was getting a little long in the tooth. Just as I was about to consult it, there was a sign for Little Fort. More importantly, there was another one for Hwy 24. I turned west and everything was going well... until I looked down at my GPS. I was supposed to be on Hwy 24, but I had apparently turned off it and was heading north:
All the despair and uncertainty I'd felt earlier came crashing back. I was hurt, the KLR was hurt, and I had no idea where the !@&* we were going.

I made no attempt to work out where I was or where I was going to end up - I figured there would be a town along the way somewhere and I could grab a hotel or something there.

The scenery was nice enough, but between the discomfort I was feeling and the complete and utter lack of traffic and road signs, I wasn't particularly paying attention to it. I'd also put the GoPro into one of the panniers at the gas station, too, so no photos along this stretch.

Eventually, I came across a small construction crew on the highway. One bored-looking woman was holding the SLOW sign. I'll call her Barry.

Anyway, I rolled up to Barry and stopped. She pointed at her sign and said, "YOU CAN KEEP GOING!"

I flipped up my visor and said, "Is this the road to Williams Lake?"

She said, "IT SURE IS! ONLY A COUPLA HOURS THAT WAY!"

Feeling like a drowning man who'd just floated to the surface of the water, I said, "Thank you so much! I could kiss you!"

She smiled (or grimaced, I couldn't really tell) and said, "YOU HAVE A NICE DAY!"

I waved and drove away.

A little while later, I made it to 100 Mile House. By this point, my left ankle and right hip were solid knots of pain. I pulled into a gas station and very, very slowly got off the bike. I got gas (56MPG), and then decided to call Mrs. HAL. Actually, I needed to talk to Mrs. HAL. The folks at the gas stations had been friendly, but I felt very, very alone. I was also running way behind schedule and wasn't sure what to do, and Mrs. HAL knows what to do in pretty much any situation. My cell phone was still showing "NO SERVICE" (stupid coverage plan) but I was able to find a payphone (there aren't a lot of those around anymore).

I called and while the phone rang, I was silently pleading for someone to pick up. Finally, she picked up the phone and said hello. I told her I'd fallen and the KLR and I were both a little beat up, and then asked her if she could call BCB and let him know what was going on and that I may need a little help. She listened intently and then just said she'd get right on it - no extra questions or anything. I was so relieved to talk to her and she didn't freak out or anything, just handled everything like a champ. I have a truly awesome wife.

We said our goodbyes and I limped back out to the bike. One of the gas station attendants held the bike for me while I got on - it took me a couple of minutes to get on the bike. I had to keep repositioning my foot to try and get it so I could get on the bike. I was still pretty sure I'd only sprained it or something like that, but it was starting to click a bit while I was walking on it.

Back on the bike, I headed off to Williams Lake. About an hour later, I was pulling into Williams Lake and wondering why on earth I hadn't called BCB myself. I had no idea where to meet him, where his house was... and the thought of getting off and on the bike again made my stomach turn.

I pulled into the first gas station I saw, and rolled up near the propane tank. Just as I shut the bike off, a big truck rolled up beside me, the window rolled down, and a fellow with a beard and glasses said, "You must be HAL. I'm BCB."

Holy. Crap. You know how those commercials used to spell relief "rolaids"? Well, in this case, it was "stranger in a truck". What I didn't know is that as I was getting back on the bike in 100 Mile House, Mrs. HAL was on the phone with BCB, and he threw some ramps in his truck and came out to meet me. That was my fault - I don't think I was 100% clear on the phone about what had happened. BCB got a description of me and the KLR from my wife, then headed out. He passed me on the highway, turned around, and followed me back into town. I would've only had glimpses of him as I shoulder checked - my mirrors were completely useless.

BCB asked if I could ride for a couple more km, and then I followed him back to his place, where his wife was standing in the carport, waving me in. I rolled to a stop, and BCB asked me what was going on - I gave him a quick summary, and he held the bike while I got off it on the right side (which was soooo much better than getting off the normal way).

We went inside where they sat me down and gave me a diet pepsi and what was quite possibly the best plate of spaghetti I'd ever eaten. Their young daughter wandered by, said hello, and then asked me if my elbow hurt. I took a look and there was a raised red lump on my right elbow - I hadn't even noticed. Out came the Polysporin! BCB and his wife asked me if I wanted to go to the hospital, and after a little while, I agreed. My ankle and hip were killing me.

BCB lent me a pair of his shoes (I still have them, sorry about that) as I only had my riding boots and a pair of flip-flops for footwear. We got into his truck and headed for the hospital.

After a short wait in the triage area, where BCB and I swapped stories, I went in to see the doctor. She poked and prodded a bit and then sent me for x-rays. I shuffled down the hallway to the x-ray area, and after a couple of minutes, the x-ray tech arrived and took me inside. A couple of pictures later, and I was in a wheelchair, headed back to the triage area:
The doctor came by and told me she had good news and bad news. Good news was my hip looked okay - nothing broken. Bad news was I'd broken my left lateral malleolus. I think I spelled that right. Basically, I'd broken the outside bump on my left ankle. BCB went outside to call my wife and let her know what was going on.

She gave me two options - because of its location and the ligaments in the area, the break was quite stable so I could get a (something) cast, or a (something) cast. I'm calling them (something) casts because I couldn't really make out what she said. I asked what the difference was, and she said that a (something) cast is like a regular cast, but a (something) cast had some inflatable air bladders that I could deflate as the swelling went down.

BCB and I looked at each other - that cast with the air bladders sounded like something that I could maybe fit in my boot! Maybe I could keep going! I looked back at the doctor and her face was, well... "not overly impressed" when I mentioned continuing on.

We got the prescription and headed out. BCB took me to three different pharmacies, and we finally got to one that had the casts. We arrived at two minutes to closing, but the pharmacist was great and stayed until 10 or 15 minutes after closing just to make sure everything fit properly!

Unfortunately, it became quite apparent that this was not going to work on the bike, and my trip was now over.

With the cast on, I was already able to move around a little faster - it held my ankle in place so I could lurch around on the cast without flexing anything.

We headed back to BCB's place and swapped stories for a while. Instead of feeling like I'd just literally shown up out of the blue, I felt like good friends with BCB and his family - they were very accomodating and friendly.

Before long it was time to head towards bed. They had set up a bed for me, which I really, really appreciated - the thought of setting up my tent and sleeping on the ground really didn't do much for me at that point. I took a quick shower (which felt heavenly) and then went to bed. Here's my right forearm:
Right heel:
Left Ankle with cast on (yep, that's definitely not going to work on the bike):
And... with it off:
Despite feeling very tired, my mind was still racing with everything that had happened during the day - good and bad. My first crash, my first broken bone. I was very, very lucky - I broke one of the best bones to break, and in the best place, and when I fell, I fell onto mud. Sure, I was alone, but it worked out very well - I think I would rather fall by myself onto mud at low speed, than surrounded by trucks on pavement at high speed...

I sat up in bed, and wrote a long email out to Mrs. HAL, my parents, and a couple of other people, describing what had happened and that I was okay and being well taken care of. That was relaxing in its own way, and once I was done, I fell asleep shortly after.

I'd been looking for an adventure - and I'd found it. Not only that, but I'd met some fantastic new friends. And, when I really needed her, Mrs. HAL was there. I'll never forget that!

Safe riding!

Odometer reading at the end of Day 6: 13143.6km

Distance so far this trip: 2579.6km

Day 5 - Valemount, BC To Clearwater, BC - 198.9km

2011-08-14T18:46:00.008-05:00

This morning, I woke up again arount 3:00AM. No idea why - I wasn't cold this time and everything sounded pretty much the same as it did when I went to sleep, so I just flipped over and went back to sleep.

I woke up for real at about 6:30, and the air was cool (not cold) and very fresh. Highway traffic was quite easy to hear, and it sounded like some of the truckers were having jake braking competitions or something. I felt very refreshed and despite briefly waking up earlier, I felt like I'd had a great sleep. Here's my first view outside of the tent:
I got up, got cleaned up, had a small bite to eat, and pondered the mosquito netting in my tent. It worked very well - with the swarms that were out in the evening, I was worried I was going to wake up a dried husk, emptied of blood. Fortunately, this was what happened:
Yeah, &*@% you, mosquito... you and all your annoying little friends. I hope you had fun all night, trying to get me through the netting, BWAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!

Anyway, I had tons of time to work with, so I did everything nice and slow this morning and took my time. By the time I'd showered and flipped the tent over to dry, a lot of the RVs had gone (and so had the one other tenter). I checked the BC highway website and good news - the crash and spill had been cleaned up and the highway was clear.

I couldn't help looking around - the scenery was still catching my eye:
After the tent had dried, I finished packing up the bike and went into the main building to check out. While I was there, I asked about what in the world was making all the "eeeeeeeeeee" sounds last night. The lady at the desk gave me a very piercing "well, duh" look and said, "Crickets. You know, crickets."

Well, crickets don't make that kind of sound where I'm from - they do the "chirp, chirp" thing, not one constant, loud tone. I wonder how they relate to the crickets I'm familiar with in terms of size, hmm...

Anyway, I finished checking out, checked over the KLR again, and headed out. I had a short day scheduled, and I'm sure that the KLR as well as myself were happy about that. Got gas in Valemount (54MPG) and hit the highway.

The views by this time had taken on a whole new form, but were still spectacular. From Harkonnen Hill:
To other places that left me wondering if people had ever been there. For example, if you got into a helicopter and flew to the top of this mountain, would you see footprints crossing the bowl where all the snow was? And if so, would they be human? Deer? Yeti? If you went back 500 or 1000 or 10000 years, would there be footprints there then, too? How long ago would you have to go to find when that snowy mountainside was a lush, humid jungle? What kind of dinosaurs lived there? Is my bike using their remains as fuel right now? You see, this is the kind of stuff I think about.
The highway was in good shape and there was less RV and bus traffic than I'd seen for the past few days:
Fortunately, the road was quite level at this point, so everyone was doing a good, constant speed. There were still good places to pull over and take pictures, though - like here, where I had a sip from my water pack and ate some beef jerky while gazing at Mount Boobies (I've indicated Mount Superfluousthirdnipple with a red arrow):
Got gas and stretched my legs in Blue River (60MPG) and enjoyed the sights and smells. It was starting to get quite warm out and after just a couple of minutes off the bike I was sweating heavily.

A short ride later, I was in Clearwater. The KOA was very easy to find - it's huge and the signage was good. I pulled in, signed in (once again, the only motorcyclist at the campground), and then headed off to my campsite. The campsite itself was quite nice - partially enclosed, a gravel pad, and a picnic table:
The KOA itself feels much more commercial than, say, Sundance Lodges did. Lots more kids running around, lots more slurpee-style drinks and playgrounds, that sort of thing.

It was very humid and warm, and while setting up the tent didn't take any more time, it left me, well, feeling pretty gross. Just as I got the rainfly on the tent, it started to rain. I tossed everything into the tent that needed to be there, and scampered off to the main building to look at what they had for supplies, do some laundry, and try to catch up on email and postings.

Just as I was putting in laundry, the rain went from a light drizzle to something biblical. I could feel the air being pushed out of the way of the rain as it started to fall. Fortunately, it brought with it some instant cooling and after it stopped, the air - while still humid - was much cooler and more pleasant.

I noticed something here, though - if I decide to do this kind of trip again and camp at private sites like this, I really don't need to carry, well... anything in the way of food. Every place I'd been to had a little store, and while some of then charged ridiculous amounts for it, that's a fair amount of room and weight I could save next time. Most of the sites were located either in or by a town, too - so just hit a grocery store or something for some soup or beans or whatever and do it that way...

After laundry was done (and I'd pretty much given up on internet access), I wandered around the campground a bit and then returned to my campsite to do up some supper. As my freeze-dried grilled chicken and mashed potatoes (which were delicious again, by the way) cooked, I spent some very pleasant time relaxing, listening to music, and jotting down some notes.

As the evening went on, the mosquitoes came out in force again - enough so that I didn't even bother with the bug repellent, and just headed into the tent. As the sun went down I didn't worry about what kind of insect was making those weird noises, I just relaxed and enjoyed how everything was going.

While I still missed Mrs. HAL tremendously, I didn't feel homesick and I felt like I had finally gotten into my groove and was really enjoying the adventure. Maybe because it was a short day and I'd had a good sleep? I don't know. But I sure felt good about how everything was going. And - I had clean laundry! And the heavy rain had washed most of the rain crud off the bike!

As I was lying in my sleeping bag, a steady rain started and brought a light, fresh breeze with it that cut through my headphones and lulled me to sleep quite nicely.

Safe riding!

Odometer reading at the end of Day 5: 12811.8km

Distance so far this trip: 2247.8km

Day 4 - Canmore, AB To Valemount, BC - 487km

2011-08-04T19:47:00.021-05:00

Despite briefly waking up around 3:00AM (I was freezing my buns off - just tucked down into my sleeping bag and went back to sleep all comfy), I slept very well. No bears, no screaming, and no car races interrupted my sleep. I woke up for the day at about 7:30AM and enjoyed the sounds of the birds waking up before getting up and starting my day.

I opened the tent door and was greeted with this view:

Man, what a great way to start the day. Refreshed after a good sleep, and the first things I see when I look outside are the KLR (was nice to see it wasn't lying on its side), the trees, and, of course, Mount Bruticus.

There's just something about sleeping outdoors - I find that a good sleep outdoors is just that much more invigorating. I did notice that it was still cool, however, so I took some time to set up my portable weather station to get some readings:
Considering it was 31C the previous day, it was a bit of a change.

I had a delightful breakfast of one very, very hard power bar and some cherry juice, and then spent a little more time than normal going over the KLR. I was going to be doing the up-and-down-the-mountain thing today and wanted to make sure everything was in good shape. Everything was great - I couldn't even find a single loose fairing bolt. Weird.

Oh, and I suppose now is as good a time as any to mention my great invention:
While I was in Brandon on Day 1, my dad came up with a solution to a problem I was having with the bike. You see, I have two sidestands. When I bought the bike, I had it lowered due to my little stubby legs. The folks at the dealership cut about an inch and a half off the sidestand so the bike wouldn't fall over. Last year, however, my confidence and comfort on the KLR was such that I had the bike raised back up to stock height... which made the shortened sidestand too small. I ordered a new stock sidestand and that fixed the problem.

Then, for some reason, I decided to go on a trip, so I loaded the bike down with all kinds of stuff. The bike got lower and lower as the suspension compressed... and then almost fell over. The stock sidestand was too long again, so the old, short sidestand went back on. Unfortunately, this still meant that the bike was leaned over quite far, and it would sink into the ground quite quickly.

Now, again, due to my little stubby legs, I get on the bike like someone gets on a horse. I put my left foot on the left peg, stand on it, and then swing my right leg up and over the seat (and any other stuff that's strapped on or bolted to the bike) before I sit down. This, unfortunately, means I need to keep the sidestand down.

Anyway, so my dad gave me a piece of plywood that served two purposes - it raised the sidestand a little bit, which lessened the angle that the bike leaned at, and it also kept the sidestand from sinking into the ground, particularly in sand or gravel when I was getting on the bike.

I did, however, still have a problem - if I wanted to use this piece of wood while I got on the bike, I had no way to retrieve it from the ground. Fortunately, I was carrying a bunch of extra cord and the plywood had a hole in one end.

Presto - easily retrievable sidestand rest thing. If I'd had more time (and some red paint), I would've painted it red, but it still did the job quite well. I'm thinking of patenting it and selling it to the millions of other people who have short legs and two sidestands - one that's too short and one that's too long.

Anyway, that was an awful lot of typing for a piece of wood with some string attached. Moving on...

As I was checking over the bike, I did notice two things. Firstly, my trusty Joe Rocket jacket was starting to smell, and bad. Secondly, the realization that I could actually smell my Joe Rocket jacket led me to the conclusion that... THERE WAS NO WIND!!!

Finally! A day with no buffetting! No stopping to get the dust out of my eyes! No holding the throttle open so far that the gas tank sounded like a draining bathtub!

I walked back to the lodge, said good morning to the staff and retrieved my food, and packed up Camp KLR. A short while later I was headed back up Hwy 40, and thoroughly enjoying the view, the road, and the smells once again. If you're ever in the Canmore/Kananaskis area, I'd highly recommend spending at least some time on that road!

I rode past Canmore and then turned north towards Banff and Jasper. All the way, the scenery was stunning:
I found myself pulling over quite often to get more pictures (and spending more time waiting for the RVs and tour buses to get out of the frame):
I planned to get gas in Banff, and saw my first sign a short while later. It didn't have gas listed amongst the service icons, and immediately after there was another sign saying Banff was ahead, so I kept going.

Of course, the next "Banff" sign didn't show gas in its rather short list of services, either.

No worries. I still had a fair amount of gas. These must've been campgrounds or something, so I just needed to keep going until I got to the real Banff.

A little while later, I realized that yep, I'd missed Banff.. and gas. Not knowing where the next stop was (and hoping it wasn't Jasper), I figured I'd best take a photo of the situation:
Fortunately, only a short while later there was a sign for Castle Mountain Chalets... and it had a gas icon on it! I was saved, and it was easy to find, too:
It was a nice little place with an old-looking gas pump (53.1MPG) and the staff was very friendly. Mind you, wouldn't you be friendly if you worked at a place like this:
and knew that every day when you went to work, you'd see Mount Murgatroyd if you looked out across the parking lot?
I would.

As I was sitting on the bike and putting my gloves on to leave, I couldn't help but notice that motorcycle after motorcycle was riding by. All types, too - Goldwings, big cruisers, sport bikes... probably more bikes than I'd ever seen in one place. It was pretty much constant.

Just as three bikes pulled off the road and started rolling towards me, I dropped one of my gloves. Not wanting to hold anyone up at the single pump, I started the bike and rode about 20 feet to get out of the way. As I was getting off the bike to go and retrieve my glove, the lead rider had already stopped his bike at the pump and was holding my glove up.

I didn't care about the glove, though - all three of them were riding KLRs!

I walked over and greeted them with, "NICE BIKES!"

They looked at me strangely for a second and said, "Thanks."

I took my glove and thanked the lead rider for picking it up for me, and then the four of us started to chat while they got gas. The three of them were from Montana and were riding to Alaska, taking an adventure together as the three of them had recently retired. Despite riding older KLRs, and having been riding for quite some time, I couldn't help but notice how much cleaner their bikes looked than mine...

Anyway, they were hungry and I wanted to get back on the road so after a short chat we wished each other good rides and I hit the road.

I quickly started to feel overwhelmed. I wanted to take pictures of everything - there was so much to see and so many convenient pull-outs to take pictures from. This was supposed to be a relatively short day but it was much longer than I'd expected due to all the stops. I couldn't be blamed for some of them, though - anyone who's in the area needs to get a picture of Mount Pufnstuf:
Every kilometre of road had gorgeous views. Diplodocus Peak stood silently and majestically:

At some point while I was standing on the side of the road, staring agog at the scenery and taking pictures, the three KLR riders rode by, with waves all around. I think it was right around when I was taking this picture of Mount Larry and Mount Darryl (the other Mount Darryl was off to the right):
I believe Mounts Larry, Darryl, and Darryl are part of the Ghas Range, which was easy to see if I turned around a bit:
Before I left, Dad said, "Make sure you get some pictures with you in them!" Here you go, Dad - here's me standing in front of Apocalypse Peak:

After riding for a while longer, I noticed my GPS was saying I was riding at an elevation of 1918 metres. So, not only had I travelled 1500km west from Winnipeg, I'd also travelled almost 1.7km up!

Another thing that really surprised me was the colour of the rivers and lakes. Where I come from, they're usually... well, brown. There's Clear Lake, which is pretty clear, but yeah, most of them are brown or occasionally greeny-yellow. Sometimes they're blue-green too, but the scientists tell us to stay away from them when that happens. They're never this colour, though:
I'm no animal behaviour specialist, but when a bird this big walks right by you, despite you yelling and waving your arms at it, it's either deaf, not afraid of humans, or waiting for food:
It picked up a stray french fry that was sitting by the bear-proof garbage bin and casually walked away with it.

I rode for a little while longer and suddenly I saw a familiar sight - three KLRs sitting in a small recreational area (I think it was Bow Lake). I pulled in and started chatting again with the same fellows from the Castle Mountain Chalets! We talked for a little while and then another rider pulled in - a V-strom rider from (get this) Maui. He'd quit his job, shipped his bike over, and was riding around and having a good time before settling down to a new job. The five of us talked for a while before I dashed out and grabbed a photo:
The view was extraordinary, and the five of us took turns gawking at the scenery and rejoining the conversation.
While we were talking, a little friend stopped by to say hello:
As soon as they were sure the bird wasn't going to claw or bite through his luggage, one of the guys tossed a little piece of food at the bird, which flew up and caught it in mid-air. It then landed on his brand-spanking-new GoPro camera:

To reduce the chance the bird would use the camera as its own private urinal, he tossed another bit, which the bird caught again and then landed on the ground. It obviously figured out the game by then, because it simply waddled towards any additional food and didn't catch it in the air.

After a great long talk, we all decided it was time to head out. The other guys left first and I hung behind them for a while before it was time to take more pictures. There was so much that caught my eye. This sign, for instance, was wrong:
It should have said:
... and it looked like this. The photo doesn't do it justice, but it's basically a giant wall of rock. It's not as tall as a bunch of the other mountains and it doesn't have snow at its peak, but it's really close and crane-your-neck big:
I know I keep repeating myself, but everywhere I looked, there was something else awesome or incredible to take a picture of:
The road headed upwards as it started to climb a mountain. I was trapped in what felt like a sea of RV's, camper trailers, and tour buses, and we were doing about 60kph which was just fine with me. The road wound around and around until finally we were at the top. There was a pullout that was packed with people who all wanted to get pictures. I was particularly struck by the waterfall cutting through the trees on its way down from Mount Coldheart:
... and by looking back down the road that led to this point:
I was feeling particularly proud of myself for making it this far and seeing things I'd never seen before. Proud enough for a self-serving thumbs-up:
We then headed back down the mountain. I put the bike into fourth gear and let engine braking do the work for me. I was behind an RV called "The Princess", and I stayed a healthy distance behind Her Majesty, just in case. I'd never let engine braking do the work for quite that long before, I was pretty sure I'd spent around ten minutes with the engine doing 3500RPM with no throttle. It was kind of weird.

Suddenly, I smelled something. Something bad. Something that made me immediately worry about the KLR. At the next pullout, I got off the road and stopped the bike. I hopped off and ran around it, looking for melting or burning parts. I couldn't find any, and strangely enough, the KLR didn't smell weird anymore. A couple of seconds later, another RV rolled by, and I caught another whiff of the smell. Another RV, and the smell again.

I've smelled hot brakes before, but I've never smelled burning brakes. Like, "let's cook dinner on the rotors" type of brakes, but that's what was happening. The Princess and her oversized, underengined and underbraked bretheren were cooking off their brake pads as tribute to the mountain gods.

Relieved in some ways (the KLR wasn't on fire), but nervous in others, (I might get run down by a giant motorhome with failed brakes), I got back on the road and despite the smell, got back down the mountain with no problems.

Next stop was Moose Lake. "Idyllic" pretty much sums it up:
Now, I'm not sure, but I'm going to take a shot in the dark here and call this Mount Robson. The sign on the road said something like, "Now Leaving Mount Robson Park" or something like that, and besides, this kind of looks like something I'd call Mount Robson:
I was having such a good time I missed the British Columbia provincial marker. Whoops.

I did, however, notice a difference almost immediately after entering BC. I've probably written it here already, but where the Alberta Rockies are like a tall, square-jawed lumberjack with two days' worth of stubble and a flannel shirt, the BC Rockies are like a graceful ballerina who smells of pinecones and cinnamon. Rugged rock faces versus rolling tree-covered mountains.

Unfortunately, as soon as I got into BC, I was stuck behind a truck that I named "Smelly". Smelly would coast whenever there was a double solid line or oncoming traffic, and then gun it whenever I had an opportunity to pass, leaving the air fouled with exhaust that reeked of burning oil:
I was on Hwy 16 for a little while and then, much to my dismay, there was something going on ahead. What looked like police cars and construction workers were at the intersection of Highways 16 and 5. It was quite warm at this point, and the line of stopped traffic was very long. Both the KLR and I started to melt as the line crept forward so very slowly. Occasionally, the KLR would show its displeasure by belching a stream of hot air onto my left leg - hot enough that I would look down to make sure my pant leg wasn't on fire.

Eventually, I got to the front of the line, and lo and behold:

It was the one, the only - Barry!

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" asked Barry.

"I'm headed to Valemount," I replied.

"GOOD, BECAUSE IF YOU CAN'T GO MUCH FURTHER!" said Barry.

"Okay, thanks - have a good day," I said.

"YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY TOO!" said Barry.

He turned his sign from STOP to SLOW and I turned south on Hwy 5.

Eventually, I got to my destination - iRVin's RV Campground:
I signed in and the lady at the desk asked which campsite I had booked. I hadn't booked any specific site, so she told me to just go out and pick one. As you can see, I wasn't under any particular pressure:
One of the tent sites was right up against kind of a berm. Since there were no trees or privacy between the tent sites, I figured I'd back my stuff up against the berm and at least give the illusion of privacy on one side. It was only after I finished setting up Camp KLR that I realized the mistake I'd made:
While I was unpacking the bike, two kids came by on their bicycles and started to chat. They helped me put up my tent and asked me all kinds of questions about the bike. They were cousins and there with their families, but their RV had broken down and they were stuck there... and very, very bored. We talked for a while and then they went off for supper and it was time for me to make mine. Oh, yeah - grilled chicken and mashed potatoes. I bought some extra supplies from the campground store:
And as I was getting everything together, the view overtop of the campground pavillion caught my eye. Nothing like a sunbeam over Mount Badenov:
It was a good day. I was completely overwhelmed by the scenery - there was just too much to look at - if I'd tried to take a picture of everything I wanted to, I'd still be there, standing in a pile of dead batteries.

Just before I got ready for bed, I went and sat down at one of the tables in the pavillion to jot down my notes from the day. One other fellow was there, he was trying to get to Clearwater but had been turned back, apparently the reason for the traffic stop at Hwy 16 and 5 was there was a big accident and chemical spill of some sort so nothing was getting through. We talked for a while - he was on a trip with his daughter to see all of the national parks in Canada and the US.

I left the pavillion a little before I was done my notes, because I'd finally run into a problem I'd never had up to this point - mosquitoes. And by mosquitoes, I mean holy crap - huge clouds of the little bloodsuckers. I beat a hasty retreat back to my tent, went on a mosquito squishing spree, wished the KLR a good night, and got into my sleeping bag.

A few seconds later, I heard a weird sound:

"eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"

Followed about 30 seconds later with:

"eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"

It kept repeating every 30 seconds or so. I lay in bed with my eyes wide open, trying to figure out what kind of insect it could possibly be, and how large it probably was.

Another one joined in, and as darkness fell, more and more, until it sounded like I was surrounded by a plague of locusts, all of which were carrying little violins. I'd never heard anything like it before. Loud, too.

I waited a little while, and satisfied I wouldn't be found as a polished while skeleton in the morning, I turned on my mp3 player and drifted off to sleep.

Safe riding!

Odometer reading at the end of Day 4: 12612.9km

Distance so far this trip: 2048.9km

Day 3 - Oyen, AB To Canmore, AB - 413.5km

2011-08-03T19:13:00.015-05:00

Despite having a little bit of trouble falling asleep the night before (I always find it difficult to fall asleep the first night or two when I'm away from home), I woke up feeling quite refreshed. Unfortunately, the first thing I heard was the wind rattling the windows again. At least this time they were coming from the west, so I'd be heading right into them instead of fighting to ride in a straight line.

As I was getting up, I could hear the guest in the other room going through his morning routine, which pretty much consisted of making nasty cat-like hacking noises. I showered, packed, and then headed downstairs. I'm unfamiliar with B&B protocol, so I don't know if this is normal, but the previous evening I was asked when I would like breakfast. I said 8:30.

Lo and behold, when I went downstairs, breakfast was ready - poached eggs on toast and a sausage. Fresh fruit on the side. It was excellent. The other guest and Cheryle and Manfred were at the table too and we all swapped stories and had a good time. And I'll reiterate - the food was excellent!

After we finished breakfast, it was time to go pick up the KLR from its safe spot (it was very nice to have a safe place to keep it overnight). The wind was blowing pretty hard but nothing like the previous day. Got the KLR back to Prairie Bells and started to load it up.

Once all the luggage was on and secure, I said goodbye to Cheryle, Manfred, and their grandkids. One of them was very interested in the bike and asked me many questions about it in rapid-fire succession (yes, I've made it go fast... no, not THAT fast, that's kind of scary... yes, I can go over a curb with it... yes, I can put two people on it if I want... no, I've only done a jump once and that was by accident...), again, it just drove the point home that these are good people who are comfortable with people staying at their B&B.

Prairie Bells is a great place and I will stay there again. They're also motorcycle friendly!

I got gas on the way out of town (38.7MPG, ouch) and headed west. I decided to take Hwy 570 instead of Hwy 9 because I wanted to enjoy more remote roads. What a great decision. Hwy 570 was... well, let's let the picture do the talking:
Oh yeah... absolutely gorgeous pavement, and wonder of wonders, almost no traffic again! I felt like I was one with the KLR - despite the headwind, the bike ate up the road like it was no effort at all. As we travelled west, the road had more light curves in it and became gradually more hilly.

Ah, bliss.

Two things really caught my attention while I was on Hwy 570. The first was Drumheller. Seriously, as soon as this stuff swam up out of the distance, it finally hit me that I was far from home:
It was amazing. I don't care if it's natural rock formations, excavated rock from a mine, or a giant pile of garbage that has stuff growing on it - when you look at the prairie around it and then back at it, it's jarring how different it is.

Eventually I got to the Hoodoo rest stop, which again looks amazing, but there are some stairs up part of the way and you can climb around on it if you want. I pulled in and parked the KLR amongst the giant RVs and trucks:
The area is quite clean and the signs are in good shape and easy to read:
Anyone looking for a new job? I have it on good authority they're looking for coal miners in the Drumheller area (people who can't travel through time need not apply):
And the rock itself was amazing:
I went up the stairs and crawled around on the rock a bit but decided it would be really ironic if I fell and hit my head while my helmet was hanging on the handlebars a few hundred feet away. Besides, I had more ground to cover! Back on the road (I should mention again how great the roads are in the area), I got gas in Drumheller (41MPG).

The second thing that caught my attention was I had my first real look at the Rockies from the ground. Distant, but real:
I must admit, I was very, very excited at this point. My trusty KLR and I had now officially ventured farther from home than ever before. Actually... I'd never driven anything this far before. The scenery, the smells... what an eye-opener!

I rode for a while longer and got gas again (49MPG, coming back up, whew). It sounds silly, but it was really neat watching the mountains grow closer and closer. I wish I'd stopped and taken more photos!

I turned south on Hwy 22 (the Cowboy Trail). I expected it to be more great views, but it feels very... overdeveloped? Manufactured? Something like that. Not the rugged beauty that I had seen growing on the horizon.

Hwy 22 met Hwy 1, where I turned west. Now THAT was a busy highway. Tons of traffic, and everyone seemed to want me to go faster. I was running the KLR hard to keep up.

A short time later, it was time to turn sough on Hwy 40, also known as the Kananaskis Trail.

If I had to pick a piece of road to ride day in and day out for the rest of my life, this would be it. Nice curves and hills, the mountains looming... there were tons of people out on bicycles, too - it seems to be a very popular area, but you get the feeling that nobody is rushing and everyone's just enjoying their day on the road. It's fantastic:
It's an absolutely gorgeous road, really. After enjoying about 20km of it, I saw the sign for my stop for the evening - Sundance Lodges. I turned off and followed the signs until I came to the main building:
I went in and was greeted warmly by the two ladies at the desk. They were friendly but emphasized the fact that the site is in bear country and it was very important to follow a few rules. No problem - I've no desire to be mauled by a bear (or to have to break up an attempted mating session between a bear and the KLR), so I listened closely and handed them my extra food for them to store in the lodge overnight.

There were lots of families there, which was great to see... but I must admit, it did make me lonely and a little homesick. No time for that, though - I needed to set up Camp KLR for the first time. The KLR unloaded nicely (and I think it gave a happy sigh when its fat owner and a bunch of luggage finally got off it), and I set about putting up the tent. A groundsheet, two poles and four little pins later and that was pretty much it.

I couldn't for the life of me get the pegs into the ground - it was too hard. And, of course, I'd left my little hatchet at home because of weight and space restrictions. I hunted around and found a universal tool that did the job quite nicely:
With the tent up and secure, camp KLR was up and running:
Then... it was time for supper. I broke out my little Trangia stove and the food:
Supper was freeze-dried grilled chicken and mashed potatoes with some Twizzler-ish things for desert.

After supper, I cleaned up and wandered around the campground for a while. The sites are treed on three sides and there is a decent amount of room between them. The main lodge is clean and has everything from real food to junk food (hence the Twizzler things) to souveniers and t-shirts. The staff was really friendly, even to some smelly guy on a motorcycle, and... the bathrooms were great, which was a relief because I can't hack dirty or poorly-maintained bathrooms (blugh).

There is a little open area with some nets for playing soccer or volleyball or badminton, but who cares about that - it's all about the view. Absolutely stunning!

I kept walking up and down this one particular pathway to watch this one mountain come into view as I rounded a curve - it was stunning. Everyone knows Mount Greyskull, right?

And there was Mount Bruticus:
Turning around and walking a few steps the other way revealed the majesty of Melmac Peak:
Everywhere I looked, there was more amazing scenery:
It was a great place for my first campsite. Nestled at the base of the Rockies. This was the first time since I'd left home that I'd felt the air was different. It wasn't prairie air anymore.

I sat down at the picnic table to jot down my notes from the day and copy the pictures off of the cameras. Occasionally, a vehicle would drive slowly by, or some parents would be walking their kids to the field to play or to the lodge to get ready for bed. A couple of people waved and said hello as they went by, I waved back.

It felt kind of strange to be so far away from home, but before I left, Mrs. HAL had a great idea and suggested I pick up a new mp3 player (my old one was getting long in the tooth) and make sure I had good music on it. As I turned it on, I immediately felt better about everything - she was right again!

A little while later, I settled down into my tent and listened to the various birds and animals going about their business before putting my music back on and falling asleep.

The KLR turned 12 today!

Safe riding!

Odometer reading at the end of Day 3: 12125.9km

Distance so far this trip: 1561.9km

Day 2 - Brandon, MB To Oyen, AB - 943.9km

2011-08-02T18:18:00.018-05:00

Day 2 started out well. Got up early, had breakfast with my parents, and then we sat down and chatted for a while before I loaded the KLR back up and hit the road around 7:30AM.

It was already quite warm and the air was pretty thick, but it looked like it was going to be a good riding day. Stopped for gas at a Safeway (got 54MPG), and then headed out of town.

Ahh, the prairies:
There's still an awful lot of water and flooding:
Turned north on Hwy 83 and went up to Birtle, where I got some gas (58MPG), but noticed that the wind was coming up from the south, and unfortunately it was still so humid that it didn't bring any kind of relief with it.

Sixty-three:
I ended up on Hwy 16, heading west. The winds were now up even higher and hitting me from the side, all gusty-like. That's okay, though - the road was in great shape and the riding was still good. The KLR was running great and felt great to ride, and despite the suspension being loaded right down, I barely noticed all the luggage or the weight.

Eventually, I crossed into...
Sorry for the dork pose (I hate it on TV where people on, say, a money show cross their arms and try to look tough or mean), but I thought the bird in mid-flight was cool.

Back on the KLR and finding the winds were even stronger, I continued on to a small town called Bredenbury. I figured it would've been really neat if the founder (or even the current mayor) was named Ray. I know it's not exactly right, but it would've been cool nonetheless.

My next turnoff was Hwy 15, but I saw a sign for a place called Saltcoats and figured it sounded interesting. It was still early in the day, I was making good time, and if there was a chance that there was some kind of salt flat or salt mountain or coats made of salt, it would be neat to see, so I continued on Hwy 16 for a little while longer.

As I approached Saltcoats, I was startled to see... more grass, more water, and the occasional tree. I should've guessed, but hey, this was supposed to be an adventure, right?

What I didn't know is that everyone back at home (mostly Mrs HAL and the guys at work) were watching my progress on the SPOT page and were saying one of two things:
- NOOO!!! TURN AROUND!!! YOU MISSED YOUR TURN!!!, or
- BWAHAHAHA!!! You're lost already, ya putz!

Anyway, I doubled back to Bredenbury and turned onto Hwy 15. This was to be a mistake - I should have stayed on Hwy 16.

Why, you may ask?

Well, Highway 15 starts out like this:

Which, despite someone parking a train in a manner that looks like they're just waiting for you to cross the tracks and BLAMMO, is not too bad. Unfortunately, it then has patches of the following:
But I bet you're saying - but HAL - you're riding a KLR, this shouldn't be a problem!

You're right. A few little rough spots here and there wasn't a problem at all. The wind was annoying, but nothing too bad. I've got more pictures, but I stopped for gas in Melville first.

Interesting thing about Melville - there were no gas stations along the main strip. I thought that kind of weird. I rode around for a little bit but, getting tired of the wind buffeting, finally stopped in a grocery store parking lot and waited for some unwary Melvillian to stumble into my "ask directions" trap. This fellow was the victim:

MUAHAHAHAAA!!! With my thirst for information quenched by this very friendly fellow (I doubt you'll ever read this... or for that matter recognize yourself, but thanks) I rolled out of the parking lot, over a couple of blocks, and into... Bonick's Auto Service:
And here I met one of the first very interesting people so far on the trip. Out at the pumps, asking if she could fill the tank, was someone who reminded me very strongly of Carol Kester:

I said it was okay and I'd fill the tank, she said okay and went back inside. I filled the tank (got 49.7MPG) and went inside. Carol (I'll just call her Carol) and I then had an interesting conversation that went something like this:
Carol: "How much?"
Me: "Uh, what?"
Carol: "How much did you put in?"
Me: "I'm sorry?"
Carol (still friendly as heck, but a little louder): "How much did you put in?"
Me: "I, the... what?"
Carol ( still friendly, but smiling openly now, and speaking slowly like one would to someone just coming out of sedation): "How much... GAS... did you put in your... MOTORBIKE?"
Me: "Oh, uh, I have no idea. I'll go and check."

I scampered back outside, got the numbers off the pumps, and went back inside, thinking that this was a great town - they don't have cameras and speakers and stuff all over the place... they don't even have the pump connected to the till! It was a bit of an eye-opener for me. Small towns are awesome.

Anyway, I went back inside, gave her the numbers, and as she punched it into the till, she started asking me all kinds of questions about where I was from, where I was going, how long I was going to be away for, and a bunch of questions about the bike. She was very friendly and after being blown around on the highway in the heat for a while, it was refreshing and enjoyable to talk with her. We chatted for a little while before another customer stopped by. I thanked her for the time and as I was on my way out, asked her if Hwy 15 got any better.

She smiled and said that it was best around the towns, but it would get rougher as I headed west.

Back on the road, Carol's prophecy rapidly came true. I started getting tired of seeing the "Broken Pavement, next 24km" and "Loose Stones" signs, and those helpful little orange diamonds on the road that tell you where you're next most likely to fall into a chasm or slide sideways on gravel or bottom out in potholes. I'm pretty sure the Province of Saskatchewan could just pave the highway over with the amount of money they spent on those signs.

Some parts weren't too bad, but there were places where it looked like they'd tried to fill in the larger potholes with gravel, which passing vehicles then spread over what was left of the asphalt. It's creepy when you're already leaned over to counter the wind and you just start slowly sliding to the right when you ride over the gravel that's now basically functioning as marbles on the road.

Here are a few of my favourites. I swear - anyone out there who rides a dirt bike would have a great time on Saskatchewan Hwy 15. Eventually I'd just stop signalling to change lanes (I was usually the only one out there, anyway), and just pick a line through the mess, stand up on the pegs, and ride through. Spent some time on the shoulder, some time in the oncoming lane, some time on the shoulder of the oncoming lane... all kinds of fun:
And no, these are not pictures of some roads in Siberia or Mongolia.

Eventually I got to another town - Keliher, I think it was, and got some more gas (50.8MPG). I talked to the kid at the counter, asked him about the wind. He said it was running 70kph, gusting to 92. I didn't think it was quite that bad, but it was definitely getting nasty. At least it was a crosswind that would blow me into the ditch, and not oncoming traffic. Got to stay optimistic.

I stopped at another town and gassed up again (50.2MPG). I was getting fuel a lot more frequently than I needed to, but I really needed to get out of the wind for a couple of minutes. My water pack (actually, it's a Crystal Light pack) was much lighter on my back by this point, and I bought a bottle of water and dumped it in.

I make it a general rule to NOT use my GPS to navigate by. I use it to tell me where I am and where I've come from, but I don't trust it blindly - I've no desire to be the next person on the news who drove into a swamp or off a mountain (probably shouldn't joke about that, but what the heck) because they were staring at their GPS, but it was disheartening to see Saskatoon crawling by so slowly to the north on the display.

By this point, the wind was insane. No more stopping for photos - the last time I tried, I almost got blown over while I was sitting still. I was hot, getting sore, and getting tired. Between the road, the heat, and the wind, this was the hardest riding I'd ever done.

During one smooth stretch of Hwy 15, I saw another rider on the side of the road. Stopped to offer assistance (if he needed it):
He was fine - he was taking out some maps and preparing to turn around. We talked for a minute or two and then went our separate ways with a wave.

After what seemed like forever (again), Hwy 15 turned into nice, smooth pavement for the last short stretch. I guess they're redoing it (I guess miracles do happen - I feel really sorry for the people who have to drive that day after day), so if you want to ride a 3rd world highway with 1st world amenities, better do it quick!

Hwy 15 ended and I headed north on Hwy 4 to Rosetown and got gas again (41.6MPG), then headed west on Hwy 7. The road was so much better than before, but the wind was still ridiculous. About an hour and a half later:
Which, if you ask me, should actually read:
A short while later, I arrived in Oyen, Alberta. Oyen is a nice, clean, well-organized little town just over the border. It's definitely a farming community but has all the amenities you'd want.

There were pieces of tree all over the place, it was obvious that it had been stupid windy all day there, too. After riding around town a little bit (I'll be honest, I got lost), I arrived at my destination - the Prairie Bells Bed & Breakfast:

It's a well-kept Eaton Catalogue house. Yes - back in the day, you could buy a house out of the Eaton's catalogue. The majority of the construction is original, including baseboards, some of the windows, and the arches (really beautiful wood).

Anyway, I parked beside the building and stumbled my way inside, sweaty, smelly, and splattered with bugs. One of the owners (Cheryle) came out from the kitchen area and greeted me warmly. She was surprised I'd made it, they were expecting to get a call from me saying I was staying somewhere else or had given up for the day. She showed me in, showed me my room, and then gave me some time to haul my gear inside and freshen up.

After I came back downstairs, she gave me the tour of the building - there's a main room where there are couches and a TV, a dining room where breakfast was served, and upstairs there was the bathroom, bedrooms, and a library and reading room. I really liked the library, it _smelled_ like a library. This isn't a great photo (none of them were, the light was bad and I didn't take them on really good angles), but trust me, it's really cool:

There was another floor with rooms above the one I was staying in, too.

Why do they call it Prairie Bells? Because there are more than a thousand bells in the building:

The house looks to be in marvellous shape, and the work and pride they've put into decorating and maintaining it shows through everywhere you look. I've never stayed at a B&B before, but I was really impressed by the hospitality and how everyone there was comfortable with people showing up out of nowhere.

I dashed out to get a sub for supper and made it back just in time before a storm hit. I love prairie storms... you can see them coming from miles away, growing in the sky and making the odd rumble of thunder as they get closer (oddly enough, this will play a part in my undoing four days later).

As I was eating my dinner, Manfred (Cheryle's husband and the other owner) came home from work. Cheryle, Manfred, and their two grandchildren sat down with me and we all ate (they had pizza, I ate my sub). It was still hot and muggy as heck, but let me tell you, it sure was nice to end a long day at a place where I didn't have to worry about anything.

Right after we finished eating, Manfred offered me a spot to keep the KLR overnight about a block or so away. I grabbed my lid and hopped back on the bike and slowly followed him to a house. He opened up the garage door, I rolled the KLR inside, and presto - secure, dry, and wind-free storage for the night.

After we got back, I stayed downstairs in the main room and chatted with Cheryle, Manfred, and their grandkids. It didn't take long for me to get tired, so after a while I said good-night and headed up to bed (and to send a few emails and do some posts, heh).

Overall, it was a good day. A very hard day, but a very good day. That was the farthest I've ever taken the bike in one day, and in the highest winds and on by far the crappiest highway (if it had just been gravel all the way, it would've been better). I was pretty content with how things were going. The KLR was running great, I felt good (if a bit homesick) about the trip, and the route cards I'd drawn up were accurate. Everything was going well.

Oh, and the KLR turned 11 today!

Safe riding!

Odometer reading at the end of Day 2: 11712.4km

Distance so far this trip: 1148.4km ***BIGGEST DAY YET***

Day 1 - Winnipeg To Brandon - Map

2011-08-01T17:45:00.006-05:00

The SPOT tracker and web service did a very good job of keeping track of where I was. After some fiddling around, I managed to get it imported into Google Maps, so here's where I went on Day 1. The red squares are the start and stop points:
Odometer reading after Day 1: 10768.5km

Distance so far this trip: 204.5km

Okay, Let's Try This Again, Shall We?

2011-08-01T17:40:00.002-05:00

Well, as Delores said below, I'm home safe and healing up well. Been pretty busy and it took a long time to go through all the pictures I had, so I'm finally going to write up the BC trip properly.

Day 1 was pretty cut and dry - riding from Winnipeg to Brandon is not a big trip anymore. Besides, the only exciting thing was oil and sand on the road, and meeting Barry.

So, I'll start again at Day 2 and fill in the details!

Safe riding!

Home and Recovering Well

2011-07-31T11:17:00.000-05:00

Here's the short version for those of you playing along at home...
(I'll leave most of the story for Hal to tell, but I figured everyone might be wondering what happened to Hal. And I didn't want anyone to be worrying)

Hal arrived back home a week after his accident. What a relief!
The KLR stayed in Williams Lake with the great family who helped him out after his accident - Hal or Crash will head out there to pick it up later this summer. Hal flew to another part of BC to visit family and enjoy a bit more of a vacation before heading back home.
Since coming home, we've discovered many more bruises, lumps and bumps. Poor Hal! But he's doing great! The ankle is healing well and he doesn't even have many of those scars that make for good stories.
Since looking over Hal and his gear (and the poor KLR), we're feeling really lucky that Hal came out of his crash in such good shape.

The moral of the story here: Kids, wear your proper helmets, gloves, jackets, boots, motorcycle pants EVERY TIME you ride.

Change Of Plans...

2011-07-13T02:05:00.003-05:00

After all, I can't change gears with one of these on (and it hurts quite a bit with it off):

~sigh~

I'm being very well taken care of by a friend and his family in Williams Lake. Need to make some phone calls tomorrow, see what I can figure out.

More to follow.

Safe riding (ouch)!

Odometer reading now: Don't know, it's outside and likely covered in mud.

Williams Lake

2011-07-12T21:54:00.000-05:00

Hal has made it to Williams Lake and is staying with a friend there tonight. Internet, email and cell phone have been really spotty the past couple of days, so I haven't had many details to pass on.
Apparently, it's been raining a lot too.

Hal will fill in the details later.

I'm Alive!

2011-07-11T00:00:00.002-05:00

Quick post - as Delores mentioned, I got into Valemount today. What a ride, it was fantastic weather and the roads and view were astounding:
If all goes well, I'll be in Clearwater tomorrow!

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: don't know, it's on the other side of the campground, sorry...

Day 4: Valemount, B.C.

2011-07-10T21:42:00.000-05:00

Hal has made it safely to his campsite in Valemount, B.C. and is setting up there for the night.

More news to follow...

Day 3: Canmore!

2011-07-09T18:58:00.002-05:00

Heard from Hal a little while ago and today was much better riding than yesterday. Smooth and beautiful!
He had a great stay at the B & B in Oyen - thanks to those wornderful people at Prairie Bells for being a welcoming place after such a rough day.

The wind finally calmed down (after apparently being 70 km gusting to 95 at one point) and he made good time to Kananaskis Country where he's camping at Sundance Lodges tonight.

Hal has never travelled through the mountains before (as far as I know) and he was amazed by the sights today. He mentioned taking a rest in Drumheller earlier and is now enjoying the sights at the campground, and finally getting to use his camping gear.

Safe riding Hal, and make sure to stop and look at the mountains, and the trees, and the animals, and...all the other neat sights out there.

Day 2 - Brandon, MB To Oyen, AB

2011-07-09T00:43:00.003-05:00

Another quick post, it's well past my bedtime. Hard ride today. Very hard. Almost all of Saskatchewan highway 15 is in really bad shape. Parts of it are in really, really bad shape.

I'll get into the details later, but just wanted to say the KLR and I made it to Oyen safe and sound and we're on our way to the Canmore area tomorrow!

Oyen is a neat little town and the Prairie Bells B&B has so far been a fantastic experience.

A prairie storm blew up just after I arrived here, I used to love watching these approach as I was a kid:
More tomorrow - I'm off to bed.

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 11712.4km

Distance today: 943.9km **Biggest day yet**

Distance so far this trip: 1148.4km

Day 1 - Winnipeg, MB To Brandon, MB

2011-07-07T23:55:00.005-05:00

Short post... sorry, I've got to get to bed.

After a very, very hectic and discouraging evening yesterday, I finally got on the road today. Mrs. HAL was, frankly, an amazing help in making everything work. I wouldn't have been able to get the trip going without her help. If you read this, THANK YOU!!!

Crash was also a huge help today, helping me prune the tools and spares I didn't really need or wouldn't be able to use anyway from my kits (if you read this, you got me that 20lbs I needed!)

The bottom line - the KLR and I are safe and healthy in Brandon and are just about to turn in for the night.

Got gas on the way out of Winnipeg, last tank was 52MPG. Not bad.

Just outside of Brandon, saw a sign that said, "Next 20km fresh oil and sand on road". Met a nice guy who I've decided to call Barry (no idea if that's his real name):
After meeting Barry, I got to follow a pilot vehicle behind a truck that was dumping sand on the road. Oil and sand - my two favourite surfaces to ride on.

Got into Brandon at about 8:30PM, and all is well. Had a good chat with my parents, it was great to see them again.

If all goes well, I'll be on the road around 7:30 tomorrow morning, and my next stop should be in Oyen, Alberta!

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 10768.5km

Distance today: 204.5km

Distance so far this trip: 204.5km (trip started at 10564.0km)

On The Road Tomorrow!

2011-07-06T17:39:00.002-05:00

Well, this is it - tomorrow I hit the road!

Months of planning... and yet I'm still running around today like a chicken with its head cut off.

Changed the oil and oil filter on the KLR last night and rode into work with full panniers and topcase. It handled pretty well, although I could feel the difference when accelerating and braking.

I know I've overpacked, so tonight Mrs. HAL and I are going to empty out everything onto the floor and we'll see if there's anything I don't need. I know I packed too many tools - I can get rid of some there, and I probably have too many other doodads.

Depending on which minute you catch me, I'm either really excited or really worried. I'm sure that once I hit the road things will calm down.

Sorry for the short post, but there's still stuff to do!

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 10551.4km

Distance since last fill: 306.2km

Seven Days...

2011-06-30T13:21:00.002-05:00

... and I'll be on the road. Getting pretty nervous!

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 10518.0km

Distance since last fill: 272.9km

Put Through The Paces

2011-06-26T00:02:00.003-05:00

Took a trip to Brandon yesterday to get some paperwork done and see family. It was also an opportunity to finally put the KLR through its paces with the new tires and carrying all of the gear I plan to take on my trip.

I put the panniers on the bike and started loading everything up, but unfortunately the stock height sidestand is a little too long - as I was filling the panniers and putting the tent and bag on, the bike almost fell over as the suspension compressed. I was running out of time so I just unloaded some stuff and then took off.

The ride was great - it was pretty warm but traffic was light and there was a nice bit of cloud to keep the worst of the sun out of my eyes. Not too interested in adventure this time, I took the Trans-Canada the whole way and it was a very pleasant, if uneventful ride.

I got into town and took care of the paperwork, and as I was leaving, I almost dropped the bike in a low-speed sharp turn. Having all the extra weight on the sides sure makes a difference in handling in that situation, but it's easy enough to correct for now that I'm aware of it.

I got to my parents' place and we had a great visit. It's been a while since I've been there and we took the opportunity to sit down and have a really good chat and catch up on stuff. Good conversations and good food - it was a great time!

This morning we hung around and shot the breeze some more, and then it was time for me to hit the road. It was warm out again (+26C, I think) and I grabbed gas at the Shell station on the way out of town (fuel economy for the trip out worked out to 5.4L/100km or 52.31MPG). I tell you - I sure do like the "pay at the pump" feature. Saves quite a bit of time if you're in a hurry.

I took the Trans-Canada out of Brandon, and figured I'd do a friend a favour and head down Highway 5 to stop by his place and say hi. This year has been horrible for flooding - earlier this year it was the Assiniboine, and now the Souris river is flooding badly. As I rode down Hwy 5, I passed an electronic "HWY 5 CLOSED AHEAD" sign on the side of the road. A little while later, I passed a black and white "ROAD CLOSED" sign on the shoulder of the road. That was kind of strange, it looked very out of place - there were no flags or cones or anything, just a big sign on the side of the road. I stopped for a minute and gave my friend a call, he said there should be a detour just a little bit up the road.

I continued on until I came to another "ROAD CLOSED" sign. This one was in the middle of the highway, had orange flags leading up to it, and there was orange snow fence stretched across the road. I stopped and took a look:
Up ahead, it looked like there was some water on the road. No problem, the KLR would be just fine if there was a little bit of water on the road. A closer look, however, indicated that the water wasn't so much ON the road as it was IN it:
Now, don't get me wrong. I think the KLR and I are a great team, but we are NOT getting across THAT. Sizeable chunks of the pavement and road bed are now in a field or trees somewhere to the left of this picture. The water is moving quite quickly, too. The worst part is that nothing in this picture is supposed to be water. There's no bridge there, no dugout, not even a well... the river is a little way off to the right and really shouldn't be out this far. I suppose that's kind of what they mean by "flooding" though.

I was tempted to ride a little closer (as you can see, the fencing looks like it was either moved recently or put up in a hurry), but I didn't want to chance it. I really don't want to end up being one of those boneheads on the news who figure that they can cross a river or whatever and end up sitting on the roof of their truck, waiting for a helicopter to save them.

I was still trying to figure out how to meet up with my buddy, and with there being zero cell reception, I figured I'd try one of the little side roads or trails and see if I could meet up with one of the other roads and somehow get around the washout. I found one narrow little sand and gravel road that seemed promising. It looked like there had been heavy equipment on it at some point when it was wet, the road was chewed up in one spot. I was trying to figure out where I was going to meet up with another north-south road, when it suddenly became apparent that my master plan wasn't going to work:

Yep, Mother Nature strikes again. My little road ended and there was water everywhere.

I poked around for a little longer but the sky was darkening and I could see a bunch of lightning. As I didn't want to be stuck in the sticks (or on the highway, for that matter) in a thunderstorm, I decided to head back to Hwy 5 and then take the Trans-Canada home and try to beat the storm.

The rest of the ride home was uneventful. I managed to outrun the storm (well, actually, the KLR did all the work - I just sat on it and occasionally glanced nervously at the sky), and traffic stayed nice and light, which kind of surprised me for a Saturday afternoon.

I got home in good time and as I rolled up the driveway, Mrs. HAL came outside to say hello. It was a great trip, but it was nice to be home!

This was the first ride I'd done with the panniers on. They didn't affect the handling of the bike all that much on the highway (I didn't notice they were there for the most part), but like I mentioned earlier, I need to remember there's a bunch of weight hanging off the sides of the bike now when I'm rolling along at walking speed.

The new tires should be broken in now. They're a LOT louder on the highway - above 60kph or so, they start to howl a lot, but I find they handle much better in the sand and gravel than the stock tires did. Hopefully they won't disappoint on tread life, either!

Less than two weeks before I hit the road for the big trip. Excited, yet nervous. A little scared, perhaps...

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 10507.1km

Distance since last fill: 261.9km

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

2011-06-22T21:30:00.002-05:00

Wait... not yet...

Almost there...

WHOO! The KLR turned 10 today!

That's a quarter of the way around the planet, and it's still running great!

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 10009.1km

Distance since last fill: 71.1km

Bike Maint Done!

2011-06-19T01:23:00.003-05:00

Haven't posted much lately because I didn't have the KLR... brought it into Main and just picked it up again on Friday afternoon.

Valves done, brakes done, new plug, new tires on... the only thing I need to do now is change the oil, oil filter, and air filter and the bike is ready to go!

I need to head to Brandon sometime this week to pick some stuff up, so I'll toss all of the new luggage on the bike and use it as an opportunity to test it and break in the tires a bit.

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 9936.3km

Distance since last fill: 375.1km

Charley Boorman Is Riding Around Canada!

2011-06-08T19:41:00.003-05:00

I heard about this a little while ago and was quite excited but half expected it to be a fake. But, it looks like it's true - Charley Boorman is riding through/across/around Canada starting on June 9th!

I wonder if we'll hear anything about him riding into Manitoba... if that's the case (and assuming there isn't a 10km cordon around him), it'd be really cool to see and/or ride along with him for a bit.

Safe riding!

Equipment Test #2 - Supper!

2011-06-08T19:06:00.005-05:00

I've tested my little Trangia camp stove before (way back here) and it was a success, but it was in a very controlled environment - a flat surface and protected from any wind. Mrs. HAL thought it would be a good idea if I tried it out again (she's very smart that way), and I figured that since I would most likely be setting up the stove on picnic tables and stuff like that, I'd test it on the deck. As an added bonus, it was rather breezy out. Not a gale or anything, but enough to blow papers and leaves around on the street.

I went through my spare camping food and picked a Chicken Teriyaki. Just for kicks (and for filler), I grabbed a pack of dried peas and carrots, too. I gathered up the rest of my stuff and headed outside. About ten minutes later, I was all set up, the stove was lit, and my neighbour was glancing at me with an odd look on her face, probably wondering what the heck I was doing. Here's the setup:

From left to right: Plate/bowl/measuring cup/strainer/foon set (Light My Fire), fondue fuel (from the dollar store, I'll be taking along a 1L jug of fuel when I go instead of a couple of those things), the Trangia stove (lid and handle is up at the top), peas & carrots (Richmoor), and Chicken Teriyaki with Rice (Mountain House).

The stove was easy to fill and light, and I thought I'd try to soften up the carrot chunks as much as I could so I put them in with the water right at the start. Even with the wind, it didn't take too long for the water/peas/carrots to boil:

I let it boil another minute while I contemplated the chicken teriyaki. It kind of reminded me of a bulk bag of oriental snack mix that had been sat upon one too many times:
Somehow, I was able to pour the water/peas/carrots mix into the bag without spilling any or burning my hands. The handle that came with the Trangia stove sure looks flimsy, but it really does a good job, even with a full pot!

Immediately after dumping the pot into the bag, it didn't look much better. Kind of like smashed oriental snack mix that had a really weak pea and carrot soup poured over it:

Now, I know you're supposed to be able to eat the food straight out of the bag, but no matter how hard I try, one of two (or both, if I'm having a bad day) happen:

1) The spices aren't mixed around enough, making 90% of the meal bland and the other 10% almost inedible due to the salt, and

2) I burn the crap out of my hands because I'm too impatient to slow down.

Fortunately, Mrs. HAL is a lot smarter than I am and got me a neat little camp kitchen kit for Christmas. It's compact, light, easy to clean, and has all manner of things in it. It also does a great job of insulating hot things (like, say, food) from things you shouldn't get hot (like, oh, fingers):

As an added bonus, by this time, the food had actually sat in the bag for its ten minutes and congealed quite nicely. It actually looks like food now, and, frankly, it tasted pretty good.

Guh... 29 days until I hit the road, and I already feel a bit of panic about not being ready. The thing is, I really don't know what else I should do. I mean, I've got a couple of things I need to get ready and I need to test packing, but I feel like I'm forgetting something that is not insignificant. Know what I mean?

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 9907.7km

Distance since last fill: 346.5km

In For Maintenance

2011-06-05T14:36:00.003-05:00

Brought the KLR into Main Motorsports yesterday to get the new tires put on and get it ready for the trip. I was hoping to get the odometer to 10000km but didn't have time.

I felt kind of bad because I was also hoping to give the bike a bit of a wash before bringing it in, but I've got stuff going on all next week and won't have a chance to get the bike in any evening.

Regardless, the bike is in. I gave them a little list of things that I was wondering about and it's all now in their capable hands. I think they did an excellent job last time and that was the first time I'd had any work done there. We'll see what happens this time!

I expect to not have the KLR for about a week, which is okay because I wouldn't have been able to really use it this week anyway. Still, I'll miss it.

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 9907.7km

Distance since last fill: 346.5km (note - I added 3.5L of gas to the tank before going to Main because I didn't want to take the chance of running out on the Perimeter, heh)

Equipment Test

2011-05-29T20:24:00.005-05:00

Riding has been good lately - the weather has (mostly) cooperated, and I've only really needed my rain gear twice now. The KLR has been running quite well and the pannier racks haven't rattled their way off the bike yet.

This past Friday evening around 10PM, I had a sudden thought - I hadn't really tried out the tent I'm taking on the trip yet. I've set it up in the basement, but never outside, and I certainly never slept in it.

I mentioned it to Mrs. HAL and we decided that - despite it having rained all day and threatening more - we'd put up the tent in the back yard and see how well it worked.

The ground was mushy with the water that had fallen throughout the day. Despite it being dark and a little windy, it only took about five minutes for us to put the tarp down and get the tent ready to put stuff in. We grabbed our sleeping bags, books, flashlights, pillows, drinks, and an extra blanket, just in case.

We live well within city limits, but the air was cool (about 10C) and fresh from the rain. The last tents we'd used were the old-school canvas or nylon tents that were one-piece shells with no rain fly, so we were wondering if we were going to wake up freezing or soaked in the middle of the night.

We slept like logs.

We woke up with the alarm at 8:30AM and, to our surprise, we were both very comfortable and dry. The rain fly kept the dew out of the tent, and the screen that the rain fly covered vented the inside of the tent so our breath didn't condense on the inside.

All of you who have been camping in the last 10 or 15 years are probably rolling your eyes right now, but we were both really impressed. I can remember being in Cub Scouts and waking up all damp because the tent held all the water vapour in.

Not too bad for a $25 Wal-Mart tent!
Anyway, we got up, went outside, and it was 12C. The outside of the tent (and the side of the house, and the deck) was covered in dew. It had beaded up on the rain fly. Mrs. HAL headed out to do her stuff for the day, and I went inside to do some things.

About two hours later, I went outside to take another look. By then, the outside of the tent was nice and dry so I took it down. It took me about nine minutes to take the tent down, get it back into its bag, and fold up the tarp. Not too bad.

As an aside, I'd been a little concerned about how well my little sleeping bag was going to work. It's a tiny, thin thing I got from Canadian Tire when it was on sale. It packs up really small but I was concerned about how warm it was going to be. Well, between it and my MEC air mattress, I was nice and toasty warm - no need for the extra blanket at all. I believe it got down to about 8C overnight, so I'm pretty sure the sleeping bag and mattress will also do the trick for me, even when I'm up in the mountains. I'll have an extra blanket along with me just in case.

All of my bookings for the trip are done and my main job now is to figure out exactly what I need to take along. I'll also be taking the KLR into Main next weekend so they can put on the new tires and give it a once-over so it's ready to go for the trip.

I'm very excited (and more than a little nervous, too)!

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 9812.1km

Distance since last fill: 250.9km

Two In A Row!

2011-05-19T22:48:00.002-05:00

Today was a great day for riding. I think it was around 13C this morning when I left for work, and with just a few clouds, a light breeze, and not a lot of traffic, it was almost perfect. Except... I was late for work so I had to take the direct route in. Ah well.

It rained briefly early in the afternoon - just enough to make the air smell nice and make black KLRs look dirtier.

Got out of work late and when I got outside it was still around 26C (one of the electronic time/temperature signs on the street said 28C). I ran into Crash, MC, and D in the parking lot. We got to chatting about bikes - D is selling his and MC is getting to the point where she's looking for a bike so there was some test riding and gabbing about bike stuff. I managed to convince Crash and MC to test ride the KLR, they went for a short trip around the parking lot.

MC's evaluation? Sitting on the KLR felt like sitting on a couch. Heh.

After chatting for a while, we decided to get in a quick ride out to Headingley. Ended up riding down Inkster to the Perimeter and then to Portage to get to Headingley. It was a great ride - both Crash and D have bikes with vastly more power and acceleration than the KLR does, but they're polite enough about it to wait for me to catch up before turning onto another road.

I'm getting used to leaning again - with the water, ice, and sand/gravel on the streets, I was slowing way down for my turns. Now that they're gone, I'm trying to get back into the habit of taking turns at speeds approaching normal. I took one today at Sturgeon and Inkster where I could feel the rear wheel walking out a bit on me as I turned, I must have been taking it a little too fast. I put my faith in the bike, though, and it held on and all was well.

But where was I... oh, right - the ride through Headingley was great, as always. A few slight curves, not a lot of traffic, great scenery, and lots of good smells (unlike the dump yesterday, blugh). We rode straight in on Roblin and then went our separate ways.

I enjoy riding by myself a lot, but I also enjoy riding with friends - particularly those who aren't trying to turn it into a race or something like that. It's relaxing and fun to geek out about riding with them later on!

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 9742.7km

Distance since last fill: 181.5km

Riding The Perimeter...

2011-05-18T22:04:00.002-05:00

Life's been pretty hectic lately, but I had a bit of time right after work today and took advantage of it by riding straight to the Perimeter and riding it all the way around the city before heading for home.

It the first time this year that the KLR and I had been at highway speeds for more than ten minutes, and it sure felt good to get out. The sky was nice and sunny and it was around +25C. There was a little bit of wind, but just enough to keep things interesting and not be dangerous.

I saw lots of other people riding two-wheeled contraptions today, too - there were a bunch of other motorcycles out there (lots of waving, too), and a few bicycles (although I don't envy them for riding a bicycle on the Perimeter during rush hour).

The traffic was heavy almost the entire way, but it flowed very well and nobody was acting impatient or like they were more important than anyone else. It was really very pleasant.

Of course, now that the air and ground are warming up, riding by the dump isn't quite as stink-free as it used to be, but that's part of what makes riding interesting for me.

At one point near the dump, there was a bunch of cardboard lying on the road and the trucks kept kicking it up. Got to practice swerving within my lane!

It felt great to go for more than just the regular commute... I need to find time to do more riding, maybe take a run out to Lockport again soon!

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 9693.9km

Distance since last fill: 132.7km

Panniers Installed!

2011-05-08T22:52:00.006-05:00

Had all kinds of plans for today, but for one reason or another, things didn't work out. It was nice out, though, so I decided to trundle out to the garage and install the new racks and panniers on the KLR.

First things first - got to get an inventory of all the parts. The HT SU racks come in three pieces - two sides and a "bumper" that connects both behind the bike. It also came with a bag of hardware and a wire extension, and a "puck" set, which connects the panniers to the racks.

I must say, the instructions were mostly quite good but the photos could be a little better. First, I had to take off the inner fender and the rear rack (which was a bit of a bummer as that meant taking off the Givi rack too). Note where the inner fender is now:
And there's the luggage rack:
Things were going well, if a little slowly. The electrical connections for the signal lights were quite difficult to get apart, as they were thoroughly caked in two years of dirt. Patient jiggling and some cursing under my breath seemed to do the trick, though.

As I mentioned earlier, the instructions were pretty decent. I had noticed earlier that the bumper part seemed to be a little, well... "off". When I first put it on, the bend in the centre was about two inches to the right of where it should have been. I took it off, flipped it over, and it fit like a charm. Of course, right at that moment it made perfect sense - the racks themselves aren't symmetrical, since the one on the right side of the bike sticks out farther to make room for the exhaust!

With that figured out, it was time to get out the Loctite and start torquing the bolts in properly. After that, I had to re-run the wiring for the signal lights. The kit came with a neat little screw-on extension that seems to work well, but I may end up letting paranoia get the best of me and replace the extension with wire, solder, and heat shrink tubing. We'll see.

Everything fit back together well and after I re-routed the wiring twice (it was too close to the exhaust on the right side), the racks were on. I tested all of the lights... everything worked, and I let out a little sigh of relief.

Here's what the racks look like without the panniers:

Last thing to do was get the panniers in the racks. I opened the puck kit and immediately ran into a problem. The threads didn't go all the way through the little claw parts/pucks that bolt onto the panniers. They started at the far side but tapered off well before where the bolt was supposed to go.

Time to get out the ol' tap and die set:
The pucks are made of aluminum, so it was very easy to fix the threads. After about half an hour, they were all fixed and installed on the panniers.

Then it was time to install the panniers on the racks. I noticed right away that I'm going to have to extend two of the holes for the bolts in the panniers downwards a bit as the pucks don't rotate the full amount to lock in perfectly. Regardless, the panniers went on and (mostly) locked into place. By this time, it was approaching 8PM and I'd been at this for four hours. I'll drill out the holes tomorrow.

Here's the (almost) finished install:
I'm quite pleased with how they look. Mrs. HAL picked up some gaudy yellow and orange reflective tape from Princess Auto today (thank you!). It will be put on the panniers along with some other reflective stickers I've got kicking around. It should help the KLR stand out a little more!

If I had to pick something that I wasn't too impressed with, it's the way the rear signal lights are extended. With just one bolt holding the extensions on, I wonder how long it'll be before they start to sag. Obviously, it's something that will get checked frequently, but I still wonder why it was done that way. I may be able to fit a second smaller bolt in there to help keep it level... might be worth looking into.

Other than that, I did my weekly check today. The chain is going to need tightening shortly, and I had to pump up the tires a bit, but other than that, everything looks great.

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 9457.5km

Distance since last fill: 114.5km

Windy This Afternoon!

2011-04-29T19:43:00.003-05:00

The ride in this morning was great, but short. Great, because the air was almost the perfect temperature for me for in-town riding and the smell of freshly cut grass is already in the air. Short, because I was going to be late for work and had to take the direct route in.

This afternoon, the air was still a great temperature but clouds were moving in from the west and the wind had come up quite a bit. Not a big deal, but I think it's the strongest wind I've seen so far this riding season. The temperature is supposed to drop quite a bit (it's around 21C now, supposed to be around 2C tomorrow and 1C on Sunday with snow), but I hope it's winter's last gasp for the year.

I'm happy to report that the new trunk stayed on quite well. I didn't have anything heavy in it, but it was still nice to see that I didn't have to circle back and pick it up off the road somewhere! I had a few moments, so I finally took a couple of pictures. As you can see, the trunk is pretty wide (but not as wide as the handlebars... or me, for that matter):

The red stripe is a sticker that I expect to last about two weeks before it peels off. Looks fancy, though:
It's quite roomy inside. There's a rubber gasket inlaid in the top to keep water out, a stay on each side to keep the lid from flopping all the way open, and a tie-down built in:
Underneath the lid, there's a handy little snap-closed compartment that can be used to hold documents or paper-ish stuff you don't want to lose (it also has the user guide printed inside):
And... the whole thing can be detached from the rack plate and carried around like a suitcase (it has a handle). It's kind of a funny shape, though - if it was heavy, it'd probably be a little awkward to carry and leave the odd bruise on your leg (foot put there to give a sense of scale):

All in all, I'm pleased so far. Not a heck of a lot to really form an opinion on yet, though. It does look a wee bit silly, but that doesn't really bother me as long as I've got space to stow stuff!

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 9391.0km

Distance since last fill: 48.1km

New Tail Trunk

2011-04-27T20:19:00.003-05:00

I still don't have the panniers on yet, but a couple of days ago my new tail trunk was in at Wildwood Sports. I went and picked it up and it sat for a couple of days.

The instructions looked pretty straightforward, so I thought I'd install it this morning before work. Unfortunately, I'd downloaded the wrong instructions and they didn't go with the mounting rack. As soon as I got home from work, I grabbed the right instructions and thought I'd get it done quickly. As my luck would have it, the bolts included with the kit were a little too short.

Fortunately, Mrs. HAL and I had some other stuff we needed to do out in the world that would take us close by a Canadian Tire. We stopped in there on the way home and picked up some longer bolts and a few washers for good measure.

After we got home, Mrs. HAL gave me a hand and after drilling two holes (gasp!) in the KLR's luggage rack, the new trunk is now installed. I forgot to take my camera out with me and the light is kind of crummy now, I'll try to remember to take some pictures tomorrow.

The trunk seems to be quite sturdy. I wouldn't trust it to hold up to a couple of lumberjacks with crowbars, but for the most part it seems like it should hold a lot of, say, groceries or clothes, that sort of stuff. It also (barely) fits my helmet - it's going to be great to have a place to stow my helmet when I'm in a store or something!

So that's the exciting news. In other news, it was a beautiful morning, +7C with somewhat clear skies. I say "somewhat", because there was a lot of dust just hanging in the air. It looked kind of like fog but made the sunlight look a little strange. I got out of the house a little earlier than normal and thupped off to the Safeway for gas. Today was the first time I put gas in the KLR since I put it away for the winter. Ended up getting 5.7L/100km or 49.6MPG. Not too bad for old gas and spending so much time warming the bike up twice a day.

Oh, I forgot - I have other exciting news, too. I've been working on my trip whenever I've had a chance, and I've got all of the campsites, hotels, B&Bs, ferries, and whatever booked between here and Port Hardy. I've also got more than half of the sites on the way back booked. I'm very excited about how things are coming together!

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 9362.5km

Distance since last fill: 19.6km

A Bright Idea

2011-04-20T17:40:00.006-05:00

Things are busy but have been going quite well lately. The KLR has been running very well and I've been riding into work every day. After getting some more snow this past weekend, the temperature is slowly crawling its way back up to normal. No more ice on the roads, and even the sand is starting to disappear in some places.

I bought an LED brakelight replacement from Dual Sport Plus a couple of months ago. Unfortunately, there was a labelling mixup and I got the wrong one. I tried to install it about a week and a half ago, but found out then that it wasn't going to fit.

I was a little concerned because I didn't have my receipt and I'd bought the thing back in January, but I called them and they were great about it, giving me a shipping number and sending a new one out to me the next day. The new one arrived in the mail yesterday, so right after work today I went out to the garage to see if I could get it working.

The old bulb came out easy enough (as you'd expect). Here it is next to the replacement:
There are 28 high-intensity LEDs on a circuit board, that's about it. There's a little switch up at the top that lets you change the behaviour of the light when you hit the brake, but I just left it set on the default, which is to act like a normal brake light (no flashing, etc).

It fit exactly as the instructions said, and the swap took about three minutes. It would have been shorter, but I was fighting a bit with the rubber gasket that sits under the brake light lens.

Mrs. HAL had mentioned last year that the rear brake light wasn't very bright, particularly in the rain. I took before and after photos to see if there was much of a difference between the stock bulb and the LED replacement. Both of these are about 6 feet away from a white sheet that's hanging in the garage, and were taken within 5 minutes of each other under very similar lighting conditions (it was sunny outside) and the same camera settings.

Stock bulb:

LED bulb replacement:
Looks like there's quite a bit of difference. This should help make me stand out in traffic, particularly on foggy/misty/rainy days and at dawn and dusk.

Here's the pattern as seen through the rear lens:
A little strange, but again, as long as it helps people see me, I'm happy with it.

Other than that, gas prices just jumped up to something like $1.249 a litre. Yikes. The KLR is fairly good on gas, but perhaps I should start looking at riding it a little easier to see if I can get a constant 50-55MPG out of it...

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 9319.7km

Distance since last fill: 241.0km

I Blame The Politicians

2011-04-13T21:51:00.004-05:00

The clock radio in our house is set on CBC. It's often interesting in the morning, but every time there's an election, it gets pretty tedious to listen to. So does everything else, for that matter - the Sun websites get all campy and annoying, and every time I see "Iggy" or "Harper", I get more annoyed.

Anyway, I'm getting off topic here. Since CBC is getting tedious to listen to, I'm not paying as much attention in the morning as I should be. As a result, when I was about 1/3 of the way to work this morning, I couldn't help but wonder why my hands were burning.

Oh, wait - they weren't burning, they were FREEZING.

It looked deceptively pleasant through the window this morning, and while I knew it was supposed to cool down a bit, I was expecting something like +1 or +3C. Not -9C, yikes.

Other than my hands feeling like they were going to fall off and my visor freezing shut (I'd just rinsed it this morning to clean it off), the ride was great. I know I've said it about a dozen times already, but that new battery makes a heck of a difference when it's cold. I worked late this evening, and even after sitting outside all day and after the sun started to set, the KLR still cranked over and started like a charm.

Tomorrow I will make sure to listen to the radio and find out if I need to put on my woolies before hitting the road.

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 9250.7km

Distance since last fill: 172.0km

DUDE!!!

2011-04-11T23:10:00.002-05:00

Today was an interesting day. I took that slightly longer route in again and it was a great way to start the day. Most of the water is off the road now and all that's left is some sand. The creeks and rivers around here are something else, though - Mrs. HAL's been taking some great pictures of them, if I remember I'll haul a camera along with me and snap some too.

The ride home this afternoon was neat, though - after work I had to do some shopping, and after I was done I thought I'd take the scenic route home and spend some time on the Perimeter again. I figured I'd ride out to Inkster and then cut down Sturgeon before heading home. It was so nice this afternoon - around 14C, with just a little breeze and a few clouds - that I really wanted to ride a little more. I continued past Inkster and turned on to Sturgeon at the Perimeter.

Wow, what a mess. The stretch between the Perimeter and Inkster is "gravel", and I do use the term lightly. It actually looks a lot more like planes have been doing bombing runs on it, it's full of nasty potholes and washboards and whoops. Strangely, the first thing I thought of was a book I got recently called, "The Essential Guide to Dual Sport Motorcycling" by Carl Adams, and that the road would give me the opportunity to tell how the KLR's suspension is.

Well, I didn't think much past that, because an old blue beater truck turned off the Perimeter and was a little ways behind me. He was staying a good ways back, which I always appreciate.

Now, today I was feeling great - it felt like the KLR was an extension of myself. Shifts were spot on, I didn't even need to look at the speedometer to know how fast I was going (I could feel it from the revs without looking at the tachometer), that sort of thing. My confidence in myself and the KLR was soaring. So, I decided to turn that nasty stretch of road into a learning experience.

A twist of the throttle and the KLR and I were off like a shot. Despite my best intentions, I couldn't miss all of the holes and bumps - there were just too many. I hit the first set of potholes and hoisted my butt up off the seat and stood on the pegs, elbows wide out to the sides. The KLR bucked and bounced over the potholes and kept its course.

Confidence buoyed even more, I goosed the bike again and brought it up to 90kph. In the brief instants when my mirrors weren't showing a blue/brown blur, I could see the fellow in the blue truck beating the heck out of his suspension but not falling too far back.

The first set of big whoops almost did me in - the front suspension compressed after the first one and didn't unload properly by the time I got to the next one, so I got tossed around a bit, but the bike kept going. One section of washboard bumped me sideways a couple of times so that my legs kept banging against the gas tank, I clenched my jaw and gave it a bit more gas and it settled out.

Eventually, I came up to another fellow who was very gingerly driving his car at about 20kph around and through the potholes. I pulled up behind him, waited for the road to be clear (and made sure he knew I was there), and then passed him and got back up to speed. A few seconds later, the blue truck did the same. More of the same nasty holes and bumps, and there was a short stretch where it smoothed out long enough to almost convince me that it was probably going to be nice the rest of the way. Before I sat back down, the KLR was bouncing and jumping underneath me again like a meth-addled donkey licking an electric fence.

Eventually, I could see the traffic lights - we were getting close to Inkster. As I slowed down, sat down, and finally stopped at the lights, the blue beater pulled up beside me.

The driver (a fellow probably in his 20's) rolled down his window, waved at me and started yelling, "DUDE! THAT WAS *(&%#@ AWESOME I'VE NEVER ()@!&)(*& SEEN A MOTORCYCLE GO THAT $)(*@*!@%)& FAST ON THE $*@(&( ROAD HOLY *(@^($( (*&@($^ DUDE YOU WERE BOOKIN THERE I WOW $&(@*^ HOLY *@(^$( WHEN YOU PASSED THAT DUDE I THOUGHT FOR *(^@(*&% SURE YOU WERE GONNA @*#&%^!_ CRASH !%#(^* DUDE THAT ($*@*^((% WOW HOLY !*&%$#@ THAT WAS AWESOME WHAT KIND OF @(*^# BIKE IS THAT I CAN'T !$(*^#@ BELIEVE THAT HOLY @^(!@("

And so on. When the light turned green, I waved back at him, yelled "THANKS MAN!" and the we both went our separate ways.

The rest of my ride home was uneventful, and I spent it alternating between laughing my butt off and feeling rather proud of myself and the KLR. A year ago, there's no way I would've attempted that, but for some reason today everything just felt RIGHT. It's hard to explain. Granted, I was just going the speed limit on a pretty nasty road, but when buddy pulled up and started yelling all excitedly, that made me feel pretty good.

I gave the KLR an extra pat after I pushed it into its spot in the garage, and stood there for a minute or two looking it over while it ticked and clicked as it cooled down. Everything looked just fine.

I really wish I'd had my GoPro on and running, or a chase car - I would pay real money to see how the KLR and I looked as we boogied down the road. There is NO way I'd take the Civic on that road right now, and especially no way I'd do it at those speeds. The KLR is a big, heavy pig... but I think it did really well.

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 9223.1km

Distance since last fill: 144.4km

Panniers

2011-04-09T23:32:00.005-05:00

Had a busy day today, spent a lot of time outside doing stuff. Didn't get out for any riding, but I did spend some time cleaning up and sorting out my KLR workbench. Found some oil and an oil filter o-ring that I didn't know I had, that was a nice surprise.

Anyway, I had some time to get a better look at the panniers and take a couple of pictures. I must say, I'm pretty happy with the build quality, they look really good and seem quite sturdy. I haven't mustered up the guts to try sitting on them yet, but they look like they could support my weight.

Anyway, without further ado - the Happy Trails Teton panniers:

The lid is hinged, but not with a typical hinge. When unlocked, the whole lid lifts and then pivots outward. I also like the loops on top for tying more gear to, those will come in very handy, I think.

Here's a view inside one of them, with a can of Chef Boyardee for a sense of scale:

You can see the rubber gasket and the rivets that hold the loops on.

The panniers are 33L each. Oh, and that reminds me - the topcase I ordered (the Givi E20N) appears to be on backorder from the company for another month or two. I think I'm going to have to change my order - I really don't want to take the chance of waiting two more months just to find out there's something wrong with it or something. Either way, I'm hoping for something with a 35-40L capacity, that'd give me a little over 100L of lockable cargo area, which will be great.

It's supposed to rain all day tomorrow, depending on what it's like I may get a chance to install the rack and panniers!

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 9179.6km

Distance since last fill: 100.9km

Going To Need Some Loctite

2011-04-08T21:41:00.003-05:00

Rode in again today. It was warmer again than yesterday, and there was no ice on the roads at all! I had to make a quick pit stop at the bank to use the ATM, and then I took a bit of a detour to make for a longer ride into work. There was quite a bit of cloud in the sky, so there was no glare off the roads at all. A great and relaxing ride into work today!

It rained this afternoon, and by the time I left to go home it had slowed to a drizzle. With the dampness in the air, it actually felt cooler this afternoon than it did this morning. It didn't take long for my fingers to get cold, so I ended up going pretty much straight home. It was still a great ride, though. I was concerned for a moment when I was sure I smelled burning plastic, but it must have been some of the other traffic around me - I only smelled it once and a thorough sniffing and looking over the KLR when I got home didn't give me any ideas.

When I got home, I found I couldn't put the KLR back into its spot in the garage because a large cardboard box was in its place. Mrs. HAL had picked up my panniers from the post office!

I took them out of the box and brought them inside. They're quite light and look great. They're a little larger than I thought they'd be (in a good way). I'll post some pictures of them this weekend.

It's supposed to be quite warm out over the next few days. If I'm not too busy thupping around on the KLR, I'll put it back up on the lift and put the panniers on. I'm quite excited about how much more stuff I'll be able to carry on the bike with them!

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 9179.6km

Distance since last fill: 100.9km

Almost Dumped It...

2011-04-07T21:09:00.003-05:00

Almost had an incident this morning on the way into work. It was a little warmer than yesterday so there was a lot more water and less ice sitting around. I was coming up to an intersection where I had to turn right. I slowed down for the stop sign and suddenly noticed the KLR starting to turn counter-clockwise. The water I was on had a little coat of ice under it.

I must have looked pretty funny doing a really weird jogging/shuffling dance with my feet trying to keep upright. I finally stopped, just before the stop sign, but at a 45 degree angle facing in the opposite direction from where I wanted to turn.

Two things worked in my favour here - I was only doing about 10kph when I started to slide, and there was nobody around. 10kph doesn't seem too fast, but when you're a husky fellow on a 430 pound bike on a road surface that's suddenly decided to go friction-free, it makes for a clenched jaw. Chalk that one up as a lesson learned.

Not that I believe it or anything, but the weather forecast is currently showing that the low tonight is going to be -1C and the high tomorrow is 10C. After a warm and sunny day like today, I'm starting to think that the icy mornings aren't going to be around much longer!

On the way home I skipped out to the Perimeter for a bit to enjoy some time at highway speeds. The KLR ran great all the way up to 100kph and did everything I asked, like a loyal and trusty horse. Not a thoroughbred, mind you, but one of those horses that used to be hooked up to milk carts back in the old days.

It sure feels great to be back on the bike. I don't think the novelty of riding will ever wear off - every time I get on the KLR I can't help but smile. Ask Mrs. HAL - it's true.

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 9162.9km

Distance since last fill: 84.2km

First Ride Into Work This Year!

2011-04-06T20:48:00.003-05:00

Well, the snow and ice near the roads have nearly disappeared, so I decided to ride in to work this morning. It was -3C and I don't think there was even a breath of wind. Despite being cool, it was quite pleasant. The KLR started like a charm, the engine cranked fast and caught after two, even in the cool air.

From scouting it out on Monday and Tuesday, I knew that my regular route to work had a lot of ice so I took a different path in. There was a bunch of sand on the road, which despite making for the odd interesting turn, helped immensely when I rode over ice on the road. There was only one point along the way where I felt the back wheel start to slowly slide sideways. Fortunately, it wasn't too long of a stretch before I was back on dry pavement, so the rear wheel just skipped a tiny bit and everything was back to normal.

This afternoon it was a little windy and cloudy but the air was quite comfortable - somewhere around +5C, I think. I left work a little late so I ended up going pretty much straight home.

So... unless we get another blizzard or another batch of freezing rain, it looks like my riding season has officially started!

I've got to say, though - the KLR is fantastic when dealing with potholes. It's probably because I've got the suspension set too soft, but boy is it comfy. I'd rather be on a rough road on the KLR than in the car!

Oh, and on another note, it looks like my panniers have finally made it through customs, hopefully they'll be here in a week or two. With luck, it'll be warm enough for me to put on the pannier racks, too.

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 9129.2km

Distance since last fill: 50.5km

MOM!!! JESUS IS MOCKING ME!

2011-04-03T10:54:00.004-05:00

Sometimes I really wonder...

~sigh~

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 9114.6km

Distance since last fill: 35.9km

On The Road!

2011-04-02T20:16:00.003-05:00

It was gorgeous outside today - up around 10C and sunny with just a little bit of cloud, and the snow was in full retreat.

I couldn't pass up the opportunity, so I went out to the garage to spend a bit of time with the KLR. I put the fairings and seat on, and checked it over once more. Everything looked good, and between the weather, the lack of snow on the road, and the KLR being ready for action, I got pretty excited about riding.

I went inside, grabbed my gear, and headed back outside to start the bike. I went through the pre-flight check, and hit the starter button. Despite having started the bike two days ago, I was still expecting some smoke or hard starting.

Two quick cranks and it thup-thupped to life nice and happily. A little bit of warmup time and we were rolling down the road. I rode on the side streets for a while and eventually ended up on Portage, where I rode out to the Perimeter. I took the Perimeter south for a bit and then turned off on the road to the town of Headingley.

I rode around the town for a bit before heading up to the Trans-Canada and then back into town before I decided to head home. I was having a great time and felt like I could have stayed out forever, but time was flying by and I had some stuff I needed to get done.

Of course, no motorcycle ride would be complete without some old person in a big car doing something scary. I should've seen it coming - he just drifted in from the overpass across lanes of traffic with no blinker on, forcing the cars beside him to slam on their brakes to stay out of the way. Then it was my turn. I was right beside his window - there was no way I was in his blind spot, and suddenly he was half in my lane. Horn, brakes, and I was safe, watching his pristine giant car slowly move away in traffic. Gaaah.

I passed three other riders while I was out, all on cruisers. This early in the season, everyone is happy to be out, and everyone waves. The best part about the beginning of the riding season is that when everyone waves, they're smiling, too!

I was very happy with how the KLR ran, and everything felt just like it did in the fall. Everything sounded, felt, and shifted the same. Granted, I took it a little easy, but the bike just felt fantastic to ride again!

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 9114.6km

Distance since last fill: 35.9km

ALIVE! ALLIIIIIIIVEEE!!!

2011-04-01T21:01:00.002-05:00

It was raining a bit when I got home from work yesterday. I was getting impatient, so I grabbed the new battery out of the basement and plodded out to the garage to see if I could get the KLR started.

I'd taken the cover off it and got it off the lift when Mrs. HAL and I first got home, and everything looked good - no mouse houses or frayed wiring. After I got back out to the garage, I gave the KLR a once over, everything looked fine. Hoses, wiring, air box, fuel, liquids, controls, tires... everything seemed to be in good order. Well, almost everything - the throttle is a little sticky, so I'll need to lube it a bit.

Anyway, so the next thing was to put the battery in. The new battery is supposed to be the same size as the old one, and it is... mostly. I spent a bit of time cursing at it a bit before everything went into place.

A quick turn of the key and the headlight turned on. At least something was working! Since I'd left the bike in 5th gear over the winter (so I could move the piston a bit by turning the rear wheel) I had to wiggle the bike back and forth while tapping the shifter to get it back into neutral. Then, it was a matter of turning the fuel on, full choke, ignition, clutch, and hitting the starter.

The KLR cranked strongly (I'm already impressed with that new battery - it's been sitting for two weeks) and after about seven seconds it started to catch. Another second or so and it was firing strongly enough for me to let go of the starter. A few seconds later it had settled into a stinky and smoky idle as it warmed up. About a minute after that, the exhaust was clear and the KLR was running like a charm. A few blips of the throttle to make sure everything sounded okay, and then I shut the bike down.

By this time, the rain had turned into fat fluffy snowflakes and I was starting to get chilly. I was thinking of putting the fairings back on but it was still going to be too cold to ride in the mornings, so I went back inside.

I'm hoping tomorrow to get everything back together and maybe take the bike out for a short ride. There's a lot of really salty water around, and if I ride through too much of that I'll probably be able to hear the KLR rusting. The other problem with riding now is all the sand and gravel still on the roads, makes riding pretty interesting at times.

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 9078.7km

Distance since last fill: N/A

Haven't Had A Lot Of Time...

2011-03-28T20:43:00.003-05:00

It's been crazy around here lately so I haven't had as much time to work on trip planning as I'd hoped.

It's also still too cold to get the KLR running and ride it to work, which is really disappointing. It's okay in the afternoon, but in the mornings the roads are covered in ice...

On the upside, I think I've finally worked out my route:

View Larger Map

My mother-in-law suggested that if Bella Coola was where I needed to be at a particular time, then maybe I should add another day in the area. Since I'm also really looking forward to the ride between Williams Lake and Bella Coola, I decided to add another stop - this one at Anahim Lake. That way, I'll have more time in the area, more wiggle room if I fall behind earlier in the trip, and - maybe best of all - I'll wake up and be fresh for when I ride Heckman Pass.

I'll have more time to stop and take pictures, too.

So, the west-bound schedule is now:

Day 1: Winnipeg, MB -> Brandon, MB

Day 2: Brandon, MB -> Oyen, AB

Day 3: Oyen, AB -> Canmore, AB

Day 4: Canmore, AB -> Valemount, BC

Day 5: Valemount, BC -> Clearwater, BC

Day 6: Clearwater, BC -> Williams Lake, BC

Day 7: Williams Lake, BC -> Anahim Lake, BC

Day 8: Anahim Lake, BC -> Bella Coola, BC

Day 9: Bella Coola, BC -> Port Hardy, BC (Ferry ride)

Day 10: Port Hardy, BC -> Victoria, BC

I'm hoping that both the temperature warms up a bit and I get a couple of minutes to sit down and work out more of the trip plans. There are a couple of factors that will determine how long I hang out in Victoria; once I know those details, I'll be in a better position to plan my route and schedule back home.

Safe riding!

Doin' The AGM Dance...

2011-03-14T20:06:00.005-05:00

Mother Nature has been very finicky lately. It was looking so promising for a while there that I was really hoping to be out on the KLR by now, but alas - we had another blizzard this past weekend. No hyperbole, either - it was a blizzard.

With the roads plowed and the snow starting to melt (again), Mrs. HAL and I headed off to Main Motorsports to pick up a new battery I'd ordered a couple of days earlier. We walked in and had a pleasant conversation with the staff there. Actually, Mrs. HAL had a good way of putting it. She said that walking into that place was like walking into a friendly bar - conversations start up and everyone swaps stories.

After I'd paid for the battery, the fellow at the desk showed me a set of heated grips that they'd just got in. I must admit, I was quite tempted to pick them up on the spot but decided to hold off for a little while. They only pull about 30 watts when set to full, and the KLR can handle that. They'd set me back about a hundred bucks, but then I wouldn't be riding down the highway in traffic with one hand on the radiator trying to warm my fingers up. Very tempting!

Anyway, so here's the battery:
It's a re-branded Yuasa YTX14AHL-BS AGM (absorbed glass mat) battery. It's the same size as the stock KLR battery, and if you look closely you'll notice that there are two things missing: the caps to add water, and the vent port.

That's right - no more fussing with distilled water and no more acid venting/spilling. No more worrying about corroded wiring and wiping down the battery with baking soda every fall. AGM batteries are much more vibration resistant than regular lead-acid batteries, and they'll work well in the cold, too. With luck, no more slow cranking in the morning!

I really, really want to put that battery in and start up the KLR. Must... resist...

I also finally took a picture of the MEFO tires. Well, the rear tire, anyway:

I'm quite excited about these tires - they're supposed to handle similarly to the stock tires (which I quite like) on the street but they're supposed to be much better offroad. They're also supposed to be a much longer wearing tire. Apparently, there are people who regularly get 9000-14000km out of a rear tire. Obviously it's not a fair comparison, but I measured the tread depth on the stock rear tire that's on right now and it's at a little less than 4mm. The tread depth on the MEFO is a little over 11mm! I think the stock tire came in at about 8mm new, and it's considered worn out at 2mm. I'm hoping that the MEFOs will get me out to BC and back on one set!

I brought the rear tire into work and Crash took a quick look at it. He made a good point when he said that if the tires are supposed to last that long, I should be careful on cold days because they'll probably be a lot harder (and more slippery) than what I'm used to. I'll keep an eye out and make sure I try to warm up the tires a bit on cold days before getting out on the roads.

Other than that, I haven't had a lot of time lately to plan, but my ferry/hotel package worked out and has been booked, so that's set.

Safe riding!

Good Service

2011-03-08T22:12:00.004-06:00

The replacement SPOT unit showed up in the mail yesterday. I unpacked it and I think it's a new unit and not refurbished, which makes me happy...

Since the subscriptions are based on the unique device number, I was wondering how to switch from the broken one to the new one. I couldn't find anything on the site about it, so I gave customer support a call.

I was on hold for about 30 seconds before someone picked up, and she immediately knew what I wanted to do. Five minutes later the GPS and message lights were flashing a nice happy green on the SPOT and I had an email with my coordinates - everything was working perfectly.

So... despite a bit of hesitation from the first unit dying in less than a week, I'm pretty impressed with the service I got. The new one is going to get driven around this weekend and hopefully it'll work like a champ.

I also got an email today from Happy Trail - my panniers and rack shipped today. That was a lot faster than I was expecting!

Now, if the weather would start cooperating, things would be perfect!

Safe riding!

New Luggage On The Way

2011-03-06T22:16:00.004-06:00

I've been trying to figure out a way to securely carry more gear since I got the KLR. Well, after a lot of investigation (and Mrs. HAL's help), I had narrowed down hard (lockable) luggage to two possibilities: the Packrat Adventure rack with Pelican cases, and the Happy Trail SU rack with aluminum cases.

The Packrat with Pelican cases is less expensive, but while I'm a big fan of Pelican cases (and their durability), they're still plastic and can be cut through quite easily. In the size I need, they also only open to the side, which can make retrieving or stowing gear a bit more tricky. The Packrat rack does look to be a really beefy and well made rack, though. Digging around, it looks like Packrat owners are almost universally happy with their purchase.

The HT SU rack is also highly regarded. Metal panniers will be harder (and louder) to cut through than plastic, and HT sells them in several sizes. Their SU rack is also quite beefy and looks like it can take quite a bit of abuse.

I've been flip-flopping on what to get for a while now, but Happy Trail is having a sale on their Teton pannier kit, which comes with the SU rack, two aluminum panniers, and all the mounting hardware. Additionally, they are also currently offering powdercoat and pre-drilling of the panniers for free (which is great because the KLR will look much better if the panniers aren't all crooked and at different heights. HT also ships to Canada, where the Packrat doesn't.

That clinched it for me. I just put an order in and we'll see how long it takes to get here. The panniers I picked hold 33L each. Add those to the topcase and that's 105L of lockable, waterproof capacity!

I emailed my route to my in-laws a little while ago and my Mother-in-law (who has been to BC quite a bit) had a couple of suggestions for the route. Her main point (aside from suggesting I take a car instead of a motorcycle) was that since the whole trip really revolves around catching that one particular ferry that runs once a week, I should make sure I have enough time. So, I'm thinking of adding a second night in the Bella Coola area. That would give me lots of time to look around and an extra day in case something happens and I fall way behind. Stuff to ponder.

Oh, and BC Ferries Vacations got back to me about a package deal for the ferry and a one-night hotel stay in Bella Coola. It works out to about $80 less than if I booked the ferry and hotel separately, so I'm going to move my ferry reservation into the vacation package and go that route.

Stuff is coming together...

Safe riding!

Sick SPOT

2011-03-04T18:58:00.002-06:00

Was away visiting family in Victoria this past week. I was hoping to rent a bike and get a bit of riding in but, strangely, it snowed before and during the visit. Ah, well.

I also brought the SPOT out to play with it some. Unfortunately, after successful testing the previous weekend, the device could no longer lock in on the GPS satellites. Everything looked okay, but no matter what I tried (or where I tried it), the GPS LED would flash red. I was a little dismayed, but thought that maybe the landscape was causing problems. Unfortunately, I tried it again when I got home and it didn't work then, either - even in places where it had worked previously.

So... I put in a message to SPOT technical support. They got back to me within four hours and suggested I put in a warranty claim and directed me to the site. I filled in the information and got an RMA number within ten hours. Not too shabby. I can expect a new unit in the mail within 7-10 days and I have to ship the broken one back to them. So far, the customer service has been quite good. I'm a little foggy on how to migrate the subscriptions over to the new device but I'm sure there will be instructions for that. More details as they become available!

While we were gone, our neighbour was nice enough to check our mail. Just after we got home, he was outside and got my attention - he had mail for us. I wandered over to his place and he gave me the mail. Just as I was about to leave, he said, "Hang on a second, I've got a surprise for you!"

He disappeared down into his basement and then came back up with... my new tires. We both had a bit of a chuckle at that - I'd specifically put **DO NOT LEAVE AT FRONT DOOR** as instructions for Canada Post when I placed the order, but looks like they did just that (again). My neighbour was a little perplexed when he wandered over that day to check the mail, he had no idea what they were until he took a look at them. That was nice of him to haul them over to his place, he could have just thrown them over the fence and been done with them. We should really get him a card or something...

Anyway, the MEFO tires look pretty impressive. Of course, I don't know a heck of a lot about tires, but the treads look deeper than the ones on the stock tires, and the compound does feel a little harder. I'm looking forward to getting them put on and trying them out!

Other than that, not much has changed. It's still too cold to go out and work on the KLR (and I'm kind of broken right now, which would preclude that anyway), and there is a lot of snow out there. I was hoping to be riding in March, but with the way things are going, I'm not sure if that's going to be possible this year...

Safe riding!

Here, SPOT!

2011-02-17T22:27:00.009-06:00

A package was waiting for me when I got home today. In it was the SPOT tracker I'd ordered a couple of days ago. I was quite excited to open it but Mrs HAL distracted me by surprising me with a season of the A-Team on DVD, whoo! (Best wife EVER!!)

The distraction was a good thing, since that gave the package some time to warm up gradually (it was quite cold when I brought it in). After opening the package, here's what I saw:

It was a lot smaller than I'd expected - about the size of a deck of cards. I opened the box and here's what was inside:

An armband, manuals, the device, and three Energizer lithium batteries.

Like I said, the SPOT is pretty small. Here's the back (with its handy little quick reference):

And the front:

The manual is small but detailed. I didn't have any trouble signing up for the service or getting the device running, but I could see how it would be very easy to get completely lost if you accidentally missed one instruction along the way. Good news is, it fired right up the first time and a couple of minutes later, I had my first email confirming my location. Pretty awesome!

The directions said to go outside to where there was a clear view of the whole sky before turning it on, but there's a bit of a blizzard going on outside. I just put it down on a table, turned it on, and left it alone. I get the impression that the GPS receiver built into it is much more sensitive than the one in my Explorist, as the SPOT worked first try and the Explorist often doesn't work inside at all.

The thing that really creeps me out about the SPOT, though, is one of it's greatest features - the SOS button. It has a little snap cover that will (hopefully) keep the actual button from being pressed, but it kind of freaks me out that if I accidentally press that button then police cars and/or helicopters and/or fire trucks and/or any other brightly coloured vehicle with flashing lights will be summoned. I'll get used to it... maybe I'll put an extra layer of tape on it or something.

But yes - so far I'm impressed with this little device. So far, so good!

Safe riding!

Moving Along...

2011-02-16T18:24:00.005-06:00

It's been really nice out the last few days - so much so that a lot of snow has melted and it's almost easy to think that it's springtime out there. I was tempted to start up the KLR and take a ride but the garden hose is still frozen in under the deck and I really didn't want to ride through all that salty water and slush without being able to hose the bike down after.

And... any water that was left on or in the KLR would freeze tomorrow as the temperature is supposed to drop back down to the -15C range again. Ah, well.

My order from DualSport Plus arrived the other day, I had some time today to pick it up from the post office. Here are the goodies:

That's the LED brakelight on the left, then the rear master cylinder guard, then the tire iron, and finally the Clymer KLR manual. Everything looks good, and I've got to say that after a few minutes of glancing through the pages, the Clymer manual is awesome - all kinds of information, pictures, and instructions. Not just a picture of which part comes off of what, but how to find it, how to remove and clean it... all kinds of stuff.

Speaking of orders, I've been agonizing over what kind of tires I should put on the bike for the summer. I was thinking about another set of stock tires since I'm quite comfortable on them, but the rear seems to only last about 3000-3500km before getting spooky. It was a bit of a conundrum... should I stop thinking about the whole dual-sport thing and get tires that were great for the highway, or should I keep going the way I have been and have tires that are decent on and off the road?

Eventually, I worked my way down to four different tires:

- Dunlop K750 (Stock KLR tire, rated as 50% on-road, 50% off-road)

- Continental TKC80 (rated 50/50)

- Shinko 705 (rated 75/25)

- Mefo Explorer 99 (rated 50/50)

The less maintenance I have to do on the road this summer, the better. So, I'd really like to have a tire that will likely last me my entire trip. That, unfortunately, gets rid of both the K750 and the TKC80, which were my two top choices.

That left me with the Shinko 705 and the Mefo Explorer 99. I hadn't read up much on either of them, but both of them can get above 8000km on a rear tire. What really made up my mind was thinking about what the weather could be like. I want to spend some time on gravel and dirt, and the Mefo has the edge there.

I hope.

Of course, as soon as I decide on a tire, I try to order it. Nobody I called in town can get ahold of them, so after a bit of looking around I ordered them online from A Vicious Cycle. I should have them in about two weeks.

The other thing I ordered was a lockable tail trunk. I was looking for something that could hold a decent amount and came across the Givi E20N. It's a boxy and dull looking thing that holds 39 litres of cargo. That's perfect!

Mrs HAL is a book fiend - she's always going to book stores and putting in Amazon orders, and she found a book called "The Essential Guide to Dual Sport Motorcycling" by Carl Adams. It also showed up today so I haven't had a chance to go through it yet, but it looks like another good read!

Once it warms up again I'm going to head outside and install the master cylinder guard and new brake light. I've also got three little totes that will hold about the same amount of stuff that the bike luggage will and I'm slowly tossing things in them to get an idea of how much room I'm going to have or how much stuff I'll have to get rid of so it fits...

Safe riding!

Getting Things Moving

2011-02-07T22:29:00.002-06:00

Well, plans for the BC trip are coming along quite well. I've been spending time when I can on the details and have finally hammered out my route - both there and back.

After talking with Mrs. HAL and working out the dates, I finally set my jaw, picked up the phone, and booked a spot on the ferry from Bella Coola to Port Hardy. It was just a phone call, but hoo-boy, I had a squadron of butterflies fluttering around in my stomach.

So here's the route. It's nine days to Victoria, and nine days (maybe eight, depending on conditions) back. Keep in mind that it's still not carved in stone, but it's written on a whiteboard and printed up on paper, so that's pretty close.

Here's the route out West:

Day 1: Winnipeg, MB to Brandon, MB

Day 2: Brandon, MB to Oyen, AB

Day 3: Oyen, AB to Canmore, AB

Day 4: Canmore, AB to Valemount, BC

Day 5: Valemount, BC to Clearwater, BC

Day 6: Clearwater, BC to Williams Lake, BC

Day 7: Williams Lake, BC to Bella Coola, BC

Day 8: Bella Coola, BC to Port Hardy, BC (via ferry)

Day 9: Port Hardy, BC to Victoria, BC

If I'm running behind, I'll skip the stop in Clearwater and head straight through to Williams Lake. If I'm running really really behind, I'll go to Williams Lake, then turn back and head south to take one of the ferries further south that runs more than once a week (although that would be a real downer).

The route back home has me starting out on the Sea to Sky highway (which many people have told me I MUST ride on), and then scooting along the US border and southern parts of the provinces the rest of the way:

Day 1: Victoria, BC to Pemberton, BC

Day 2: Pemberton, BC to Manning Park, BC

Day 3: Manning Park, BC to Grand Forks, BC

Day 4: Grand Forks, BC to Balfour, BC (Toad Rock Campground)

Day 5: Balfour, BC to Sparwood, BC

Day 6: Sparwood, BC to Seven Persons, AB

Day 7: Seven Persons, AB to Weyburn, SK

Day 8: Weyburn, SK to Brandon, MB

Day 9: Brandon, MB to Winnipeg, MB

Depending on how Day 7 is going on the way back, I may skip the stop in Weyburn and go straight to Brandon, but we'll see.

So that's where things are now. With a date set and spot on the ferry booked, I now have a good framework in place to build the rest of the trip around.

This is going to be awesome... more details to follow!

Safe riding!

Put In Another Order

2011-02-01T17:46:00.002-06:00

When she was following me home last March on the first ride of the season, Mrs. HAL noticed that the brake light on the KLR was a little hard to see in the drizzle and rain. I was looking at ways to fix it up a bit and found that LED replacements seem to be a rather popular way to do this. So, I looked around a bit and finally ordered one up about 20 minutes ago. I ordered through an online place called Dual Sport Plus. They only take orders over the phone, but the person I dealt with was very pleasant.

Of course, I couldn't stop there... I ended up also ordering a rear master cylinder guard, a Clymer manual for the KLR, and a tire iron. They're out of stock on the guards but I'm in no big rush so they're going to wait for it to come in and then send the whole order at once.

Other than that, when I've had spare time I've been working on my route to BC. I've pretty much got my overnight stops figured out for the way there, now I'm working on filling in the gaps between towns. If you just punch places into Google Maps or the GPS, you end up with the most direct and fastest route. Unfortunately, that always seems to be the biggest highways and routes around or through large cities. I'm trying to avoid that where I can.

For instance, if you go to Google Maps and ask for directions from Clearwater, BC to Williams Lake, BC, you'll get the following:

View Larger Map

Highway all the way. I spent a little bit of time looking around and found the following route:

View Larger Map

For most of this route, the ride is off the highway and goes by a bunch of lakes. It'll be a little harder to ride, but fit much more into the spirit of having an adventure along with taking a trip!

Safe riding!

Getting Itchy...

2011-01-29T13:17:00.003-06:00

Been a little while since I posted. Winter is crawling along more slowly than I ever thought possible!

I've been itching to ride lately - just walking by the poor KLR sitting under its cover makes me wish it was spring already. I've been turning the rear wheel about a quarter turn once a week just to keep things from staying in one position for too long, and every once in a while I'll drizzle a little more oil on the chain.

Once springtime arrives, the KLR is going to get a bit of a treat. A valve adjustment, a new battery, and maybe a new chain and sprockets! The tires are worn quite a bit (particularly the rear) but I'm going to hold off changing them out for a bit.

I've also been busy looking through maps and figuring out a trip to BC. I have family out there, but even if I didn't, it's still a trip I'd like to make. I've never driven in western Alberta or BC at all, nevermind a bike, and the only way I've seen the mountains has been from a distance or flying over them in a plane.

I've been working on the route quite a bit already, and might as well share what I've got so far. At this point, the route to Victoria is:
- Day 1: Winnipeg, MB -> Brandon, MB (200km, stay with family)
- Day 2: Brandon, MB -> Oyen, AB (850km, stay at a B&B)
- Day 3: Oyen, AB -> Canmore, AB (450km, camping)
- Day 4: Canmore, AB -> Valemount, BC (450km, camping)
- Day 5: Valemount, BC -> Clearwater, BC (200km, camping)
- Day 6: Clearwater, BC -> Williams Lake, BC (250km, stay with friends or camping)
- Day 7: Williams Lake, BC -> Bella Coola, BC (450km, stay in hotel)
- Day 8: Take ferry from Bella Coola, BC to Port Hardy, BC (25 hour ferry trip, sleep on ferry)
- Day 9: Port Hardy, BC -> Victoria, BC (500km, arrive at destination)

If it looks like I'm blowing by the prairies, it's because I am. Not because there's nothing to see here (because there is, in fact, an awful lot to see and explore on the prairies), but because I can get to much of Manitoba and Saskatchewan during a regular weekend.

I'm particularly excited about three parts of the trip - the Canmore to Valemount leg (Day 4), the Williams Lake to Bella Coola leg (Day 7), and the 25 hour ferry trip (Day 8). Like I said, I've never driven in the mountains before, so once i get to Canmore things will start getting interesting for me. Riding the road between Banff and Jasper should have some pretty incredible sights.

Likewise, Williams Lake to Bella Coola should be an amazing trip. Not much out there, and there's a stretch of around 60km that's not paved, very steep, and is only one lane. Seriously - do a search for "Bella Coola Hill", and you'll see what I mean.

The ferry ride should also be incredible. There is a direct ferry from Bella Coola to Port Hardy in 13 hours, but there is also a roundabout route called the Discovery Coast Passage that goes from Bella Coola to Ocean Falls, then to Shearwater, then to Bella Bella, before heading to Port Hardy. I really like the idea of spending a lot of time on the ferry - I've always liked the ocean, and the thought of watching mountains slide by on both sides of the ferry as we head towards the ocean is pretty enticing. There's always the chance to spot whales, too. Since it's 25 hours, it leaves at 8:00AM on Friday and arrives in Port Hardy at 9:00AM on Saturday. Assuming I get some sleep, that makes it pretty much perfect to start the day riding to get to Victoria! The direct ferry would arrive in Port Hardy at 9:00PM, so I'd have to camp or hotel in the area anyway (nothing like riding with lumber trucks and wildlife in the dark).

One thing I have to worry about, though, is that the ferry only leaves once a week - Friday morning at 8:00AM. So the rest of the route is set to lead up to that. An earlier version of my route had me riding from Oyen to Jasper, then to Williams Lake, which in addition to being an awful lot of hard riding would give me zero wiggle room if I had a problem. The stops in Canmore, Valemount, and especially Clearwater are meant to give me an extra day or two if I need it. For example, if I'm running a day behind when I get to Canmore, I can just blow through Valemount and Clearwater, if necessary, to make it to Williams Lake.

I suppose another advantage to having more days on the route is that it gives me more opportunity to do things like take pictures, walk the odd hiking trail, and see the sights. I know there's far too much to take in during one trip (and I'm pretty sure I'll spend quite a lot of time being overwhelmed), but I want to at least be able to smell the air and feel the mountains and ocean!

So yes, I'm quite excited. I'm slowly getting things together - I have the B&B in Oyen arranged, the campsite in Canmore arranged, two possibilities for Valemount, two in Clearwater, two in Williams Lake, and the hotel in Bella Coola arranged (I figured if I was going to spend 25 hours straight on a ferry after camping for four days, I should probably spend some time in a place that has a bathtub first).

I haven't figured out much of the return route yet, but I'm leaning towards trying to run along the Canada/US border for most of it. I'd like to spend a night at the Toad Rock campground and see Frank Slide, but other than that, I haven't figured out much yet.

I'm also working on luggage and gear - I think I'm going to end up going the Pelican case route for luggage. I want something lockable so I can leave the KLR sitting out of sight for a little while, and I also like the idea of hard cases in the event that the bike falls over (or I crash). I kept my equipment lists from the MPNMRR so I have a good place to start from.

Oh, and speaking of gear, check this out - I got this cook set and utensils from Mrs. HAL for Christmas:
And I got some of these water-resistant notepads and notebooks from my sister and Mrs. HAL:
I also just updated the firmware on my GoPro Wide (standard def) camera - it sure makes a difference! It seems to start up a little faster, and the "take pictures every n seconds" function used to have two options: two and five seconds. Now it's got 2, 5, 10, 30, and 60. That'll make it a lot more useful, particularly on those long stretches of highway!

But, I suppose that's about it for now. Time to get back to my maps and lists!

Safe riding!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T15:38:00.001-06:00

All the best for you and those you care about in 2011!

Off To Bed...

2010-11-30T21:15:00.002-06:00

Finished putting the KLR to bed for the winter. Carb drained, battery pulled, exhaust oiled and plugged, and the cover is on.

It's going to be a long winter... time to start planning for spring!

Almost Tucked In...

2010-11-21T19:38:00.002-06:00

Spent some time working on the KLR today to get it ready for winter. I pulled the front and rear fairings off, got the gas tank off, pulled the spark plug, and sprayed some fogging oil inside the cylinder. That done, I put the plug back in and tank back on, and filled the tank to the brim with fresh gas (Shell premium - no ethanol, whoo - thanks, Mrs. HAL!) and Sta-Bil.

The KLR is up on the lift now (and tied to it) so the wheels are off the ground. The transmission is in 5th gear so I can turn the rear wheel and make the engine innards move once or twice a week over the winter, keep things from sitting in one place for too long.

I put some heavy gear oil on the chain. Since the bike is just going to sit there over the winter, I'd rather use oil instead of wax - I trust oil to make a better air/water barrier to help keep the chain from rusting.

All I have to do now is drain the carb bowl, pull the battery, drop the pressure in the tires by 10-15PSI, and spray some WD-40 up the tailpipe and cap it. Oh, then cover it up, too.

I'm glad I stopped riding when I did - we've had quite a bit of snow in the last few days - I don't think it's going away until spring.

~sigh~

Safe riding!

Done For The Year...

2010-11-17T22:41:00.002-06:00

Just a quick entry, I'll write more later... but it looks like that's it for the KLR this year. Snow and ice on the road this evening (I worked late) made for an interesting ride on the way home.

Oh, and the KLR _almost_ didn't start after work today, I spent a lot of time holding the starter button down, but eventually it caught. I guess I can't really blame it - it's running summer-weight oil and it was about -7C... after sitting outside in the parking lot all day. More later.

Safe riding!

Oil Change!

2010-11-16T20:55:00.005-06:00

It was quite chilly again this morning - more ice on the creek and cars were all frosted over.

The ride in was pretty good. I wore my big snowmobile gloves over top of my riding gloves so my hands were nice and warm. I've noticed that my new helmet does a much better job of keeping the inside of the visor (and my glasses) from fogging up, even with the helmet completely closed.

After work, I took off to HSS to pick up some oil, a filter, an o-ring, some oil drain plug gaskets, and some fogging oil. I had a nice chat with Ken and with the folks at the parts desk.

I took the scenic route through Headingley on the way home and even though it was dark out, it was still a nice trip. I can't believe how early it gets dark this time of year - every year it catches me off guard.

As soon as I got home, I drained the oil and pulled the filter:
The oil was pretty dark but was still pretty thick. I've heard that KLR motors are pretty hard on oil, and sometimes if the oil is in bad shape, it can come out more like water than oil. Apparently, it's something called "viscosity shear", and it's the oil molecules literally getting ground up into smaller and smaller molecules. Eventually, they get so small they can't lubricate worth beans anymore.

Anyway... I left it while Mrs. HAL and I had supper, and then after we were done, we went back outside to finish the job. The magnetic drain plug told a pretty happy story:
Yep - only a little bit of fine metal particles on there. No heavy shavings, no gear teeth, no springs... I was pretty happy with that!

I did, however, get a bit of a jolt when I looked inside the oil filler cap:

I was puzzling over it for a minute before I realized it looked just like the oil does when it's got a bit of moisture in it. It probably frothed up a bit and stuck to the inside of the cap. I cleaned it out and it was indeed oily and smelled like oil.

So... it was time to button the bike back up. A new filter, fresh oil, and the change was done. I started the bike up to circulate the oil a bit, and that was it.

Tomorrow will probably be my last riding day for this year. Like I said, I don't want to get caught where I can't ride it - I'd rather shut things down on my own. I'm going to do a loop around the Perimeter on the way home from work to get the oil right up to temperature and burn off any moisture, and that'll be it.
Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 9047.2km

Distance since last fill: 180.7km

Almost Done...

2010-11-15T22:16:00.003-06:00

It was around -3C this morning when I left. With the cold thickening up the oil and robbing the battery of power, the KLR was cranking a little slower than usual. It still started and warmed up well, though.

The ride in was good but cold - I really need to wear some woolies if I'm going to ride at these temperatures. Jeans just don't cut it. There were patches of ice on the side of the road again.

During the ride home this afternoon, I noticed something. Not only did it feel about as cold as it did in the morning, but the patches of ice were still on the ground. There was also a thin skim of ice near the bank of the creek I rode by.

Not a good sign.

With the short trips to work I've been taking lately, there's a lot of fog in the sight glass again. I was hoping that it was going to stay away - after my last trip to Brandon the glass was clear as... well, GLASS, but I just haven't got the oil hot enough to burn off the moisture that's collecting in it. I really want to get rid of that before I put the KLR to bed for the winter.

In that vein, I think I'm going to have to put the KLR away before it snows. I was thinking of riding it right up until I couldn't ride it anymore, but I expect that very shortly I will either wake up in the morning or get out of work and there will be two feet of snow on the ground. If that happens, I won't be able to get the ride in I need to clear the oil.

So... if all goes to plan, I'm going to head to HSS tomorrow after work and pick up oil, a filter, an O-ring, and a spark plug. The ride to HSS should get the engine nice and warm, and as soon as I get the bike home, I'll drop the old oil and filter and replace them in the evening. Then, one more get-the-KLR-up-to-temperature ride and then that'll be it for this year - it'll go up on the lift and I'll finish winterizing it later this week.

It's been a great year! I've been able to ride the bike to work a lot longer this year, and even when it's cold out I'm still enjoying the ride!

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 9013.4km

Distance since last fill: 146.9km

Happy Birthday!

2010-11-13T00:14:00.003-06:00

It was a chilly -3C this morning. It had been down to about -7C overnight so there was a skim of frost on houses and cars, and there were patches of ice on the road where puddles had frozen over. Fortunately, there was still plenty of dry, clear road to ride on. The KLR cranked a little slow but started easily, and it warmed up pretty quickly.

The ride itself was good - like I said, a little chilly, but enjoyable nonetheless. It's getting to the time of year where I'm getting strange looks from pedestrians and car drivers - kind of the "What on earth are you doing out on that thing?" look. Fortunately, I've got a reasonably short commute and I'm wearing a vest underneath my riding jacket so it's not too bad.

The ride home this afternoon was also pleasant - traffic was pretty light and the temperature was warm enough to keep the chill off me. While I was on the way home, I approached what appeared to be a motorcycle with its high beams on. It didn't bother me (it was still daylight out) but I couldn't see exactly what it was. Finally, I got close enough to see it was a big dude wearing a ton of winter clothes while riding a little blue scooter. I waved, he nodded. Despite all the clothes, he looked pretty cold.

As I was approaching home, I took a look at the odometer - 8996km! I rode a couple of extra circuits around the neighbourhood and once I rolled into the garage, this is what I saw:

The KLR just turned nine!

I'm not sure what to get it... perhaps a valve check in the spring.

I've been reading a lot of articles on riding in the winter. There are quite a few people who do it, and as long as you use some common sense, it's pretty safe and reliable. I'm tempted to try, but my big concern about it is how badly the salt will rot the KLR away. My exhaust already has some rust on it, and if I was riding to work daily in the winter, I'm pretty sure that there'd be rust all over the place. Still, something that may be worth investigating further...

If I don't ride during the winter, I'm going to have to get things in place to put the KLR away soon. After some short trips to work, there is fog in the oil sight glass again, so I'd like to get the bike up to speed for a bit to burn it off before winter. So many things to think about!

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 9000.2km

Distance since last fill: 133.7km

The End Is Near...

2010-11-09T21:42:00.002-06:00

Uh-oh...

Looks like the great weather we've been enjoying is nearing an end. I don't think I'll be out on the KLR for much longer.

On the neat side, though - the sunrise was incredible this morning. A band of cloud stretched across the sky and was lit up a bright red/pink by the rising sun. It was such a stark contrast to the clear blue sky above and below it... it was fantastic.

Oh, and something else I forgot to mention in my previous post - there is a LOT of standing water in the fields, ditches, and yards between Winnipeg and Brandon. If we get a lot of snow this winter, a quick melt will probably mean nasty flooding in the spring...

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 8966.1km

Distance since last fill: 99.5km

Support Call!

2010-11-07T20:25:00.007-06:00

After a bit of a scare when there was some snow on the ground just before Halloween, the weather has been great. I'd been hoping to get another little trip or two in before winter finally shut the KLR down for four to five months, but life's been really busy lately and it looked like I wasn't going to get the chance.

Then suddenly, out of the blue, I got a phone call - my father's computer had bought the farm and he needed some advice and some troubleshooting.

ROAD TRIP, WHOO!!!

Friday night, I went over the KLR and got everything ready to leave Saturday morning. The weather forecast said it was supposed to be 8C on Saturday and 9C on Sunday. Cool, but not too bad.

I said goodbye to Mrs. HAL and left the house Saturday morning at about 10AM. It was 3C and a little cloudy out and just a bit of a breeze. The KLR was running like a champ and the road was clear and traffic was light:
I thought I was in good shape because I was wearing a fleece vest and long underwear but by the time I got to Elie I was already quite cold. I pulled over and put on my rain gear and swapped out my riding gloves for snowmobile gloves. Back on the bike, I warmed up right away and had a comfortable ride the rest of the way.

Speaking of comfortable ride - check this out:

Yep, there's lots of fresh pavement between Winnipeg and Brandon. Smoooooth!

Oh, and it's not a trip to Brandon on the Trans-Canada unless you say hello to the Halfway Tree:

More good news - the construction near Portage is finally done. No detours!

I passed two other riders heading towards Winnipeg. One was on a cruiser and the other was on a bright green bike that looked suspiciously like a dual-sport. Even on the highway and separated by the big ditch between the roads, there were still waves all around.

I wish I could figure out what that green bike was...

I took the Brandon bypass south and then took the low road into town. All the way, traffic stayed light and everything was great. The KLR was running smoothly (well, as smoothly as it runs, I suppose), and I was having one of those rides where I felt like I could have easily sat on the KLR and rode until I reached the moon.

I rode through Brandon and pulled into my parents' driveway at about noon.

My time at my folks' place was great - it's been too long since I'd seen them, and we had lots of time to talk and catch up on the family gossip. We got their computer working, ate lots of great food, and talked some more.

I left Sunday at about 12:30. The sky was clear and the temperature outside was an amazing 14C! Before the weekend, Crash had mentioned that if I was in the neighbourhood I could stop by his den of solitude to say hello, so I thought I'd take advantage of the opportunity and see if I could find it.

Once again, the riding was great, with light traffic and just a bit of a breeze. I was enjoying the ride thoroughly, and after a bunch of highway, side roads, gravel, and dirt, I finally ended up at Crash's place. Crash and MC were there, getting the den of solitude ready for winter. They were pretty busy, but Crash invited me along on some trail riding, and I was happy to give it a shot again - after all, when I followed Crash on the trails last year, it was a blast and very interesting.

So, off we went - Crash on his dirt bike, and me on the KLR. Shortly after we started, we came across some sand and as the KLR bogged down and slid sideways, I remembered just how much I enjoyed riding on sand. Or, actually, IN sand, since I don't seem to be able to actually ride ON it. I was trying to remember all the hints I'd heard over the years, but between my inexperience, the weight of the KLR, and the rear tire being almost worn out and over-inflated for dirt, I spent a lot of time holding on for dear life (note the angle of the handlebars in the shadow... and yeah - the picture should be pretty much level):
Crash will probably roll his eyes if he reads this, but the path we took this time was a lot more intense than last time. I was following a fair distance behind Crash (he was giving hand signals where the turns and other features were) when suddenly he went straight down and disappeared from sight. I slowed down just in time to see him motoring up a steep slope on the other side of a little... well, it looked like a giant valley to me.

I stopped with the front wheel just a few inches from the edge where the ground dropped away and stared at what appeared to be a 200 foot, 90 degree drop. I'm sure that in reality it was a lot less than that, but at the time it looked pretty nasty. I tried to remember all of the things I'd heard about going up and down hills. I backed up a few feet, then stood up and back a bit, covered the rear brake, let the clutch out, and rolled toward the edge.

The front wheel went over and, for the first time, the KLR's skidplate and frame were dragging on the ground until the rear wheel also went over the edge. About halfway down, I realized that things were going much better than I'd expected - after all, I was still on the bike and not stuck in a tree. Right after that realization, it occurred to me that I was still going to have to make it up the other side. Crash had made it look so easy. When I reached the bottom, I shifted forward as best I could and goosed it. The KLR dug in and tractored to the top.

I really wish I'd had the camera running at the time. That was by far the steepest slope both downwards and up I'd ever tried, but when looking at it after getting to the top, it really didn't look that bad. Once again, I learned something that the KLR and I could do... and neither of us got hurt. I'm also glad I got that low-profile oil drain plug - the old one would have definitely been dragging on the ground when I went over the edge of that slope.

Crash is a really good guide - he indicates the turns really well and, while he goes zipping on ahead, he's quite patient about waiting while the fat city-rider on the KLR with the bad tires catches up.

We rode around some more (I was getting a little less scared in the sand), and then swapped bikes for a bit. Wow, what a difference a light, purpose-built dirtbike (Yamaha WR) with real dirt tires makes. Last year, we'd swapped bikes for a bit, and back then there was a big difference but this time I had more than two months of riding experience and was less nervous. Especially in the sand, the WR inspired immeasurably more confidence than the KLR did. Even on the KLR, Crash left me in the dust. I must admit it was kind of neat to see the big fat KLR trucking away, bouncing over the trail.

We headed back and, after a bit of chatting (well, it was more me watching them work (sorry about that, by the way)), I had to get going. The three of us took a short but enjoyable ride, after which I hit the road to head home.

I'm still amazed at how great the riding was this weekend! Eventually, I made it back to Highway 1 and was greeted with this:

Unfortunately, the sun set shortly after, and the temperature started to drop. Between that and running low on fuel, I stopped for gas just outside of Portage and dropped Mrs. HAL an email to let her know I was running a little behind. I put my rain gear back on (it does a great job as a windbreaker), and got back on the road.

As I got closer to Winnipeg, the sun got closer to the horizon... until finally:

The KLR and I were back in town. A little bit more riding around, and before I knew it I was in the driveway, shutting the bike down.

Once again, it had been a great trip, and while part of me would have been perfectly happy riding on until I got to an ocean somewhere, it was great to get home and see Mrs. HAL again.

I was really lucky to get that last ride in, and even better that I accomplished something while on the trip! I don't know how much longer the weather will hold, but who knows... there may be a little more time for me and the KLR yet!

Oh, and I got fuel three times this weekend - on the way out of Winnipeg on Saturday (the fuel economy worked out to 46.8MPG), on the way out of Brandon on Sunday (48.3MPG), and at Portage on Sunday (49.9MPG). Definitely not the best ever, but nothing to sneeze at.

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 8935.5km

Distance since last fill: 68.9km

Winter's Almost Here...

2010-11-02T22:34:00.003-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted much lately, been pretty busy.

Had a bit of a scare last weekend - when I looked out the window first thing in the morning, there was snow on the ground! Fortunately, it disappeared pretty quickly but it was a pretty forceful reminder that winter is just around the corner.

I'm still riding to work every day. For the last few weeks it's been pretty dark in the morning, and I've been wearing my little reflective belt when I leave the house. It's not particularly stylish, but hey - I'd prefer to look silly instead of looking stylish while being loaded into an ambulance.

For the most part, the weather has cooperated, too. A week ago or so there was some pretty nasty wind and rain that made riding quite interesting, but it was still great to be out and riding. My rain gear has been worth its weight in gold!

Today ended up being a great day for riding. It was about 5C in the morning and the sky was overcast, so it was pretty much like riding in the middle of the night. Traffic was light and I was having such a good time I could have just sat on the KLR and rode it all the way to the ocean. The afternoon felt pretty much the same. It was about 10C out, and the morning cloud and light rain gave way to sunny skies and a light breeze. I really wanted to keep riding but had a bunch of stuff at home I needed to work on.

After getting some stuff done at home, I dragged the KLR out to the back yard and gave it a wash. It had been a while since the last time (some people say KLRs look their best when they're dirty), and as I may run out of chances soon, I thought I'd get the "last wash before winter" done. The high windscreen has a couple of little rock chips in it, I'm much happier to see them there than on my helmet or chest!

After the wash, I dried the bike off and rolled it back into the garage to give it a quick once-over (I've been doing my weekly checks, don't worry!) and then started it and warmed it up to burn the water off the exhaust and other various parts.

I'm hoping to get another two weeks of riding in before I have to put the KLR away for the winter... then it'll be back to scheming about what things I want to add or change on it as well as what I want to do with it next year. Last winter, I was planning a trip to BC for this summer, but I didn't have the experience. I think I proved to myself this summer that both myself and the KLR can make a trip to BC, so I think I'll be back to spreading maps over the dining room table again once there's snow on the roads...

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 8404.3km

Distance since last fill: 137.9km

Friends And Co-workers

2010-10-16T21:51:00.003-05:00

A co-worker of mine and I worked late a couple of nights ago. We left work after dark, and while I was going to head home on the KLR, he was on his way to buy a guitar he'd seen for sale online.

My ride home was pleasant - I enjoy riding at night if traffic is light - and I got home with no problems. I went inside, said hello to Mrs. HAL, and went downstairs to do some painting (the big paint roller type, not the Bob Ross type). While I was downstairs, I heard the phone ring, and then Mrs. HAL called down that she was going to get it.

Two minutes later, she came downstairs and said that it had been my co-worker calling to make sure I was home OK - he'd seen a motorcycle accident on Route 90 and wanted to make sure it wasn't me.

We both thought that was very thoughtful of him. I've known him for almost ten years now, and while we don't hang around outside of work, I enjoy working with him and hanging around during breaks. The next morning, I made sure to say thanks - not just from me, but from Mrs. HAL as well.

I wasn't able to find out any details about that motorcycle accident, other than it sounds like the rider left in an ambulance. I hope that everything turns out well for both the rider and passenger (if any), but also for the people in the other vehicle involved.

One last thing - I picked up gas the other day. Since it looks like fall is here to stay, I got premium gas at Shell instead of stopping at Safeway (Shell is the only nearby place that can confirm there isn't any ethanol in their premium gas). I want to make sure there's as little ethanol as possible in the gas when I put the KLR to bed for the winter. With the longer warm-up times in the morning and short trips, fuel economy has suffered a bit, but this time it worked out to 5.75L/100km or 49.11MPG. Not great, but I'm not concerned.

I'd really like to get at least one more short trip in before the snow falls. Since the morning after I got back from the MPNMRR ride, I've been yearning to get back out and take another trip. Maybe head to Brandon, but take back roads all the way? Hmm...

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 8277.9km

Distance since last fill: 11.5km

Trip Aftermath

2010-10-16T20:06:00.005-05:00

I've had a little while now to think about the ride to Cold Lake and back, and here's a short list of what I think made the trip easier (or even possible) for me.

The sheepskin seat pad made a world of difference. I don't mind the stock KLR seat - I could sit on it for a couple of hours with no real problems. That being the case, I wasn't sure what kind of difference having a piece of dead animal strapped to the bike would make. Boy, was I in for a surprise! It made a world of difference! The sheepskin acts as padding, while increasing ventilation and making it a lot easier to move around on the seat. It really turned all-day rides into a real possibility for me on the KLR. I'm pretty sure that from now on I'll be using it on any trip I take over two hours or so!

The water pack also made riding all day much easier. Having three litres of cool Gatorade just a sip away makes riding all day in the heat much more comfortable (and even possible). The shoulder straps and across-the-chest straps made sure it didn't move around, and the cap and bite valve were easy to use with one gloved hand. I also like all the extra reflective patches built into it - a little extra visibility goes a long way!

I only really needed it one day, but if I hadn't had my rain gear I would have had to sit out until it cleared. Rain by itself doesn't bother me all that much (even when I'm caught in it without my rain gear), but rain and cold while riding on the highway is just too much for me. I waited a little too long, but after I put them on, the Frogg Toggs worked very well. They're light, pack small, and let moisture out, which was great. They also do a good job to keep the wind out and help me warm up.

Speaking of protection from rain, the tall Kawasaki windscreen also made a world of difference on the highway. That extra four inches of windscreen height moved the wind up and mostly over top of my head, and the bubble of protection let me keep running my electronics in the rain. Between my new helmet and the windscreen, riding without earplugs is quieter than wearing earplugs with my old helmet and stock windscreen. There was a lot less wind buffetting, too - a huge difference.

I didn't wear riding pants (I have little stumpy legs and couldn't find any that fit in time), I opted to go with armoured shorts and knee/shin guards under jeans. On some stretches of road, I could see rocks being kicked up by oncoming traffic, and on several occasions I heard a "THWOCK" and felt the impact of the stone hitting the guard. My jeans are usually pretty baggy, so the guards and hip armour weren't too obvious.

Anti Monkey-Butt Powder is AMAZING stuff. Seriously. After the first day, the area where the shin/knee guards strapped on behind my knees was irritated, the powder fixed it up quick! After that success, I used it a lot, and it worked really well. I highly recommend this!

I brought a lot of tools/spares/consumables. Lots of them. I know I'm paranoid about the KLR and joke about expecting it to fall apart or something, but I wanted to minimize the chance that I'd have a breakdown that I couldn't do anything about. I brought my regular tool roll, two litres of oil, a spare clutch cable, a spare front tube, a tube patch/CO2 inflation kit, chain wax, spare master link, chain tools, hose clamps, spare brake/signal/headlight bulbs, aluminum tape, solid and stranded heavy-gauge wire, multimeter, Service Manual, and a bunch of other things that I can't quite remember right now. I was carrying 10-15 pounds of tools, most of which fit into the tail trunk. I was very fortunate - the only things I used were what I needed to adjust and wax the chain, and the ratchet and socket to snug up the fairing fasteners. I lent out more tools than I used, and gave someone with a suspected oil line leak a couple of hose clamps. I was surprised that most of the other riders had small tool kits (or even the stock ones that came with their bikes), but I guess that travelling in a group (and with a support vehicle, no less) makes a huge toolkit a lot less of a requirement.

Next time I take a big trip, though, I'll still pack the same tools and spares (if not more). It would be very frustrating to be stuck on the side of the road because of something silly like a broken clutch cable.

I was very impressed with my new helmet - the Icon Variant. Like I said earlier, it seems to be quieter than my CL-SP, but the visor above the face shield gives me some protection from the sun which is great when travelling east in the morning and west in the evening. The seal around the visor didn't let any rain in, and while it took a little while to get used to where the vent switches were, the vents work very well. The visor also stayed a lot clearer in the cold than the CL-SP did - whether this is due to the shape of the helmet or the coatings on the visor, I'm not sure.

But, I guess the other big question is - would I do it again? Yes, definitely. I'd love to do the entire cross-country trip during next year's MPNMRR... but as much as it pains me to say it, I don't think the KLR would be the bike to do it with. Don't get me wrong - it was comfortable and ran like a charm, but riding a 650cc bare-bones single while surrounded by 1000cc twins (and bigger) is a lot of work, and when the other bikes took off from a light and ran up to highway speeds, I had to wring the guts out of the poor KLR to keep up (and I feel bad about doing that).

I would, however, have no qualms about doing another big trip on the KLR either by myself or with one or two other people. Riding out to Cold Lake with H was a great experience and I had a fantastic time. We knew we had deadlines to meet, but we were both relaxed (except for when the coyote ran out in front of us) and didn't feel rushed, so it was easy to enjoy the ride.

Here are a few fun facts from the trip:

- Total distance for the trip was 2592.8km.
- It cost $126.92 to ride from Winnipeg to Cold Lake and back (I used premium gas most of the way there - the KLR will run on warm cat pee but I don't like putting ethanol in the tank if I can help it).
- Best gas mileage: Indian Head, SK to Virden, MB - 64.03MPG
- Worst gas mileage: Cold Lake, AB to Lloydminster, AB - 50.31MPG (this was during the "catch the Goldwing" part of the trip).

And here's a video taken by one of the MPNMRR riders on Day 3, showing most of the Cold Lake to Winnipeg riders. Can you spot the KLR (and it's devilishly handsome rider)?

Safe riding!

Odometer reading now: 8277.9km

Distance since last fill: 11.5km