The 6 to Vancouver - packing list and preparation

[Fr33On2Wh33ls]

Mac, I appreciate the warnings regarding critters. Personally I was disappointed after riding through Northern Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan I was beginning to think that I was riding in the future and all these wild animals were extinct. I failed to see one bear, moose, elk, deer, mountain goat, turtle, rabbit etc. I saw one mountain goat at the side of the road riding through banff provincial park. I know I should consider myself very lucky. I was riding at night from basically Kamloops to Vancouver (which had signs warning that due to the elevation expect rapid changes in weather) and I very well knew the risks that animals on the road could cause. I did stop in a small town but they were having a festival and wanted $150 for a room and I decided to take my chances on the road, over tired and just get there. There was also a fair bit of traffic on the road at that time (which was quite surprising) and I decided if I hung 30 feet back from a semi I would have his headlights ahead on the road for better vision of upcoming turns (and there were a lot of them!) as well as thinking myself safer being behind him. I had both high and low beams (HIDs) on and it paid off, but others reading please be aware that my stupidity could have just as easily lead to me being featured in a similar story as posted above.

DDean, pass me along your contact info and perhaps we can meet at Tsawassan and ride the cocahola together on my return trip

Right now I am on Vancouver Island and rode downtown for the best fish and chips I have ever had in my life at Red Fish Blue Fish. It is nauseatingly fantastic. I have also climbed Mount Tolmie and Mount Douglas (now Mount PKOL) and have washed and waxed the bike and degreased the chain, brushed it and lubed it back up. I still need to find a shop for a rear tire and oil change but I might do that on the mainland. There is a dealer here on Vancouver Island that sells Drift Innovation products and am considering bringing my camera there to see if it simply needs a new battery or is completely done. (It wont charge, turn on etc,). Going to be heading to the West Coast Trail Mon, Tues and Wed. and will be back on the radar after that.

I took a look at Pot Alberni and have added it to my list of places to ride to on the island. It is just past Nanaimo and very doable and the google images look spectacular!

Wednesday evening I added up all the receipts and it totaled $450 which included 1 night hotel stay, fuel for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Food etc (Though keep in mind I was eating extremely frugally just drinking 6L of water each day! I had one subway sandwich along the way split between lunch and dinner as mentioned in a post above somewhere and mostly just a fruit or granola bar and back on the road in less then 15 minutes of filling up the tank and eating. If anybody is attempting this please have a proper meal plan available as I found that when I started getting grumpy and tired and losing focus it was dangerous and after eating a quick bite felt energized and ready to go back at it! It is important aspect that I feel I neglected and won't be that stupid on the return trip. I think factoring in Thursday and Friday I spent another $100 so likely around $550 for the journey. It could have been done cheaper though. I will have a chance to go through all receipts when I am back in Toronto and I will share exact breakdowns for Fuel, Food and Accommodation. I did enter provincial parks after the office closed, twice and departed in the morning before they opened thereby saving $80+.

Open contest (GUESS THE NUMBER OF LITRES IT TOOK MY BIKE TO GET ME AND MY GEAR OUT WEST FROM TORONTO TO VANCOUVER) and win a prize of....of...being called the winner! Open until I tally the total litres and post it online next month!

 

[MacDoc]

nd I decided if I hung 30 feet back from a semi I would have his headlights ahead on the road for better vision of upcoming turns (and there were a lot of them!) as well as thinking myself safer being behind him.

I call them critter catchers and that's exactly what to do

Tuff City Powersports Ltd.  
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Address: 151 Terminal Ave, Nanaimo, BC V9R 5C6, Canada
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Gotta give a shout out to these guys for helping me with problem with my AFX helmet. Needed a part shipped ( which AFX provided free ) and they agreed to receive for me.
Really helped me out and quick responses

 

[Jayell]

Thirty feet behind a semi at sixty miles per hour? You're living dangerously, mate. Surely you're exaggerating.

Also, you ought to be lubing your chain every day.

Save travels. Enjoying your ride report.

via Tapatalk

 

[danp]

Open contest (GUESS THE NUMBER OF LITRES IT TOOK MY BIKE TO GET ME AND MY GEAR OUT WEST FROM TORONTO TO VANCOUVER) and win a prize of....of...being called the winner! Open until I tally the total litres and post it online next month!

253 liters

 

[Fr33On2Wh33ls]

Thirty feet behind a semi at sixty miles per hour? You're living dangerously, mate. Surely you're exaggerating.

Also, you ought to be lubing your chain every day.

Save travels. Enjoying your ride report.

via Tapatalk

Between 30 to to 60 feet and the trucks out here do more than 60mph! Yes it was dangerous at times as I am so used to passing trucks and staying ahead of them on the 401 back home and such. I typically feel uneasy being behind any vehicle I can't see in front of but when it's night time and you can't see very well there are no streetlights and you're on mountaintops and you dont quite know where youre headed oddly following the big rigs made me feel more comfortable.

I brought lube and lubed the chain on Wednesday but when I arrived I did a full cleaning and lube.

Hoping to get pictures up soon also! Thanks for Sharing!!

 

[MacDoc]

I suspect you are a bit further back than that. If not you should be....truck is going to take care of the critter but he has a lot more time to react and lot of rubber on the road to stop. I'd keep normal distance - best catcher is a regular vehicle you can see through going at a pace you like and with enough space to stop if there is a panic stop. I''ll use a truck if nothing else available ....critters are quick but if you are doing 110-120 real they can't between you and your front runner unless you are well back.
Your risk is the vehicle you are following.

After midnight after linked 1000 km days any respite would seem nice to snuggle up to.

 

[Joe Bass]

253 liters

Lolz
I was gonna guess 252 L

Sent from my custom purple Joe Bass mobile device using Tapatalk

 

[MacDoc]

If anybody is attempting this please have a proper meal plan available as I found that when I started getting grumpy and tired and losing focus it was dangerous and after eating a quick bite felt energized and ready to go back at it!

Snickers bar in the tank bag.
MIO Energy drink in the water bottle ....hyrdration system

I drink more if it's flavoured and they have a variety for different purposes.

 

[empty]

... I'd keep normal distance - best catcher is a regular vehicle you can see through going at a pace you like and with enough space to stop if there is a panic stop. I''ll use a truck if nothing else available ....critters are quick but if you are doing 110-120 real they can't between you and your front runner unless you are well back.
Your risk is the vehicle you are following.
....

I'd be ****** at you if I was driving the car. Headlights from behind are annoyingly bright when the road is empty and dark.
We drove back from the East Coast with two cars. At night the second car stayed WAY back.

 

[MacDoc]

Properly aimed headlights are easily dimmed by the dimming mirrors modern vehicles have and no one should be driving behind another vehicle with their high beams on day or night.
Normal distance is fine for using a vehicle as a critter catcher.
If I were driving the vehicle ahead in critter country ...I'd know exactly what the rider was up to and award him a gold star for safe riding.....as long as a reasonable distance is kept...happy to run blocking.

 

[danp]

Snickers bar in the tank bag.
MIO Energy drink in the water bottle ....hyrdration system

I drink more if it's flavoured and they have a variety for different purposes.

How are you people getting dehydrated? It's not like you're pedaling a bicycle. You're literally just sitting there, there is no reason you would get dehydrated. I have taken many multi-day rides and have literally never packed any food or drink with me. I like to travel light and there are more important things I need space in my tail bag for. If you do get thirsty, every gas station sells drinks. I usually wake up, eat a breakfast, then ride all day without eating or drinking anything until I stop riding in the evening. A bonus to this is that if you don't drink, you don't have to stop to pee.

 

[conundrum]

How are you people getting dehydrated? It's not like you're pedaling a bicycle. You're literally just sitting there, there is no reason you would get dehydrated. I have taken many multi-day rides and have literally never packed any food or drink with me. I like to travel light and there are more important things I need space in my tail bag for. If you do get thirsty, every gas station sells drinks. I usually wake up, eat a breakfast, then ride all day without eating or drinking anything until I stop riding in the evening. A bonus to this is that if you don't drink, you don't have to stop to pee.

Simple...evaporation. You sweat when you are riding, and that evaporates to regulate body temperature. Water out also means you need water in.

http://motorbikewriter.com/10-tips-beat-dehydration-riding/

As for the amount of gas? 42....since that is the answer to everything lol

 

[danp]

Sounds like you're dressing too warm then. I never sweat while riding unless it's extremely hot.

I found that temps can vary a lot in a day northern Ontario. When I left the motel in the morning it was 8 degrees and got into the high 20s in the afternoon. Dressing in layers you can easily remove is a good idea.

 

[MacDoc]

You can get yourself into serious trouble not hydrating ....it creeps up on you and it does not need to be warm - just a dry air mass. I used to think the way you do until a long cool sunny day on the northern TransCanada in Quebec saw me almost passing out. Day started at 9 degrees in Rouyn Noranda so I had no sense of dehydration.
And it takes a good while to rehydrate.

Layers is correct ...sweating and riding = hypothermia right quick if you have cotton on. Learned that too on a chilly day in Pennsylvania. Never wore cotton again.

Your body sweats whether you are aware of it or not and you lose water with every breath.

 

[Riceburner]

Even on short day rides, I pack water and snack bars. If you wait till you are thirsty, you have already lost a lot of water from your system.

 

[Fr33On2Wh33ls]

Day 1 was Exciting.

I was as ready and prepared for the trip as I could ever be. I wasn’t able to sleep a wink partially due to excitement and also due to a huge storm making its way into the GTA. I left later than anticipated around 9am instead of 5am as I waited the storm to pass. The drive north on the 400 moved along and when it turned into Hwy 69 around the Magnetawan River I already felt far away from home. The road changed into single lane in each direction with no light poles. Rivers and Trees adorning the sides of the roads made for a very pleasant ride up to Sudbury. The weather was great and roads in decent shape, so far so good. I stopped in town for fuel and I bought a 6 pack of eggs, loaf of french bread and red pepper dip. I ate the bread and dip and saved the eggs to be hardboiled later in the evening half for dinner and the other half for breakfast the next morning.

The drive from Sudbury to Sault St. Marie was somewhat troublesome. The ear plugs I had purchased for $30 from marks work warehouse were hurting my ear causing a headache and my butt was so incredibly sore I was second guessing the entire trip. A walmart appeared luckily and I found 4$ ear plugs and a pillow - which were both game changers. The pillow was strapped to my seat and gave my butt incredible comfort to get through the rest of the day and the ear plugs got the job done well. I listened to music on my Sena mostly and had my GPS on my phone on and off intermittently. I also filled up the hydration bladder at nearly every gas station. I ended up stopping between 200-250km to fill the tank up - even though my tank could likely take me 300+ km I decided that more frequent breaks were better for my health. I was also unsure when the next gas station would be and decided the total gas expense wouldn’t significantly be affected by more frequent gas fill ups. Prices varied but never came close to running out. So many angels on motorcycles flying around lake superior. Oh and I tagged along for a stretch and made excellent time but when they stopped for gas the leader was ****** and told me to stop f-ing following them. I stopped.

Sault St Marie north you begin to travel around and get a decent look at Lake Superior and this is when the scenery changed yet again. Elevation changes a plenty and also many wonderful curves to ride through. Laying eyes on Lake Superior was such an amazing feeling! If you have never gone that far north I highly recommend it!

I made it into Lake Superior Provincial Park just south of Wawa and approx 858km into the journey. I started at 9am and arrived there at 7pm with plenty of time and daylight left to set up camp. Exhausted I unpacked camp and began to boil eggs for dinner and breakfast. I also uploaded video from the sd card of my ghost drift to my external hard drive. I fell asleep shortly thereafter.

Day 2 was grueling.

I was up at 5am packing up camp and departed at 6am sharp. I was exhausted from the previous day but had set a 12.5hr and 1190km goal for the day. I wanted to be out of Ontario and in Winnipeg by nightfall so I could feel well on my way and pushed myself from the moment I woke up. Riding from Wawa to Nipigon and ThunderBay was amazing! Northern Ontario is spectacular. Lake views, bald eagles, long stretches of great road!

Unfortunately my 12v charger died (It was the switch that died at the time I did not know it!) and I was running my phone off my battery bank (and kept my Sena off the whole day!) I found a Canadian Tire and replaced the switch as I figured this is the cheapest place to start troubleshooting and it started working again. I lost about 30 minutes at Canadian Tire farking around and after it was fixed I was happy but annoyed that I was falling behind schedule. I also kept the Sena off and the ghost drift off, to prevent blowing the new switch.

A police helicopter was following me through some twisties and I paid no attention. The next gas station I was at, an OPP cruiser was waiting there and motioned me to come over to his window. He told me there were complains of a motorcycle matching mine crossing double yellow lines. He told me to ride safe and that was that. FYI, in Ontario passing over a double yellow is legal so long as there is NO curve head within 150 meters, not within 150 meters of a bridge, not within 150 meters of oncoming traffic, if it is safe to do so and if you are not speeding. The lines are recommendations. I was stuck a few times behind trucks doing 50 to 80 in a 90 trying to make it up a long hill and typically backing up traffic quite a ways!

The park I researched was just a park not a camping grounds and after being awake for 17hrs it didn't occur to me after 1km on gravel that perhaps I wasn't headed somewhere with running water. After the exhausting day I had I was pretty ******. I backtracked to Winnipeg and found a Super8 and spent 100$. I took a needed shower and charged all my backup battery chargers. I took 2 tylenol to ease the body pains. Having a bed to sleep in and not having to deal with camping set up and tear down was really nice and definitely worth the money considering I was not in the best of spirits.

I rode 14.5 hrs and did more than 1200km and made it into Winnipeg just after 10pm.

Day 3 was Liberating.

I woke up at 5:30 and had their complimentary breakfast at 6. I had a cup of coffee and cup of orange juice. I ate a cinnamon bun and a waffle. I took 2 apples and 2 oranges and stuffed them in my backpack for the road also. That morning I left at 7am I told myself it is a new day and by the end of it I will be in Alberta and that kept me going. The goal was approx 1,000km and google said it would take 12 hours to get from Winnipeg to Medicine Hat, Alberta. I felt compelled to follow through with the plan especially as I had stayed in a motel and felt over budget.

My ghost drift S camera shut off and would not turn back on. Not sure if the screen is dead or the cables I brought are bad but I don't have any video after day 3. Day 3 was epic to say the least. The weather cooperated and so did the traffic. The 90 km/hr speed limit changed to 100 and then to 110 and I made great time. The weather was nearly perfect mid 20’s with clear skies. I didn’t even notice that I had crossed into Saskatchewan or out of it into Alberta despite my looking out for the signs. The roads in Saskatchewan are perfect. Straight as an arrow which was an easy task thanks to my cruise control. It took a while to fiddle around with but once I got it working it did its job perfectly! The roads through Saskatchewan were also extremely well maintained. No potholes, no tar snakes and best of all no construction - which was miraculous! I hit medicine hat in the evening as planned although with the extra stops for refueling it ended up taking me nearly 15hrs. I was happy to learn that I gained 2 extra hours from Ontario and this also helped me reach my destination with some light out still!

The campgrounds were nasty and near a marsh and the bugs were out of control. The bathrooms were cesspools and you could hear the bugs swarming inside there before you even opened the door! My tent fly had trapped and killed probably 100 mosquitoes by morning. I transferred the remaining video from my camera sd card to my external hard drive and ate leftover subway sandwich which I purposefully saved for my dinner and went to bed feeling accomplished. I was so tired I didn’t even unroll my thermarest mattress I just jumped into my sleeping bag and snoozed.

Day 4-5 was Life Changing.

I woke up at 6am and GTFO of camp. I was gassed up and left for the day around 8:00am. Today was the day I had been anticipating for a long time. A ride through the Canadian Rocky Mountains, Lake Louise and the holy grail of canadian motorcycling - British Columbia! The goal was 1270km and google said approx 12.5hrs.

Coming up on the mountains and driving through Banff National Park and Glacier National Park was tremendous. It is almost as if these roads were intended and built for motorcycling. Skies were clear and temperature was perfect. Although traffic at times came to a crawl or even a stop it gave me a chance to look around. Truly nearly every bend and corner you could pull off and take a postcard worthy picture! I met up with 3 brothers in Lake Louise and from there we traveled together.

All of a sudden my throttle was unresponsive. What I mean by that was I was twisting the throttle and nothing was happening. I was slowly deccelerating! My initial reaction was to pull off to the tiny shoulder and I signaled one of the brothers that I had a problem. In my mind I was thinking the cable snapped and was thinking about how it would be nearly impossible to get a tow truck out there and even more difficult to get a cable. Luckily he was a mechanic and so generous to lend a hand. We realized that the cable had come loose on the engine side and with a 10mm wrench had re threaded the cable into the bracket and tightened the nut that had vibrated loose. At this point his 2 brothers and the other riders had circled back upon realizing we were missing and within 5 minutes from then we were back again rolling!

The rest of the riding on this day was epic, life changing and well worth the journey. Riding the Trans Canada Highway from Alberta to British Columbia is without a doubt the best motorcycling I have ever done! Time stood still really, while I traveled along mountain sides with views of pristine lakes, mountains with snow on them and clear skies! Rogers Pass was very memorable!

By the time I hit Hope, BC I wanted to call it quits for the night. At a gas station, I befriended two riders who on their way back home from a ride East to and back from Toronto. They had just arrived back home and we stopped for an hour to have some great conversation.

I chose to ride all the way until Tsawassan in British Columbia. Though I arrived 3am Friday well past the last ferry I was technically a day early on my travel plans. I wanted to reach Victoria by Friday night and so I crashed in a Tim Hortons for a few hours overnight and got on the 7am ferry to Vancouver Island the next day!


Fuel expense - 1 way - Toronto to Vancouver on my 2009 Fz6 was 264.9 Litres costing $313.36 ( I filled with premium fuel quite a few times). With food and misc expenses, 1 night in a motel, not including the ferry ride to and off Vancouver Island my trip there cost about $520.

Day 5-13 The Vacation

Vancouver Island was the icing on the cake. Seeing my Sister, Brother in law and Niece was long overdue. The riding through Port Alberni and up to Tofino by far exceeded my expectations. Hair pin turns and corners adorned by protruding rock cliffs, driving through ancient old growth forests and numerous lakes made this ride the best of everything. The cherry on top. During my vacation we also went hiking in Port Renfrew across from the West Coast Trail. Saw the Juan de Fuca Strait during high and again during low tide at Botany Beach. Went camping on Fairy Lake. It was the best place one could spend their birthday! There is definitely magic in the air and if you haven't ever been there you should go, just be sure to thank me later. We also went hiking up mount douglas now called mount pkols and had fun removing a wasp nest from the backyard! Riding along Beach rd to downtown to have world famous fish at Red Fish Blue Fish and the weather was perfect the entire time! I took my bike to get serviced at Action Motorcycles in Esquimalt. The service was incredible. They booked me in on short notice, gave me a detailed breakdown of percentage left on front and rear brakes, front and rear rubber, did a chain service, oil change and filter, lubed all cables and connections and even gave the bike a free wash!

Day 14 Vancouver with Cousins and Catching up with old friends.



Day 15 Official Departure

The ride back home was easy. I knew the stops and had a better feel for the distances. I stopped fewer times for gas and was able to make it home in 4 uncomplicated days. I left BC on Sunday to avoid the storms coming in. Riding through BC and Alberta on the first day was crazy scary. People had been sharing stories of tennis ball sized hail in Manitoba, Tornadoes across the province touching down and severe weather. I really pushed to get as far away from Vancouver as possible and settled in Brooks at Tillebrook Provincial Park in Alberta between Calgary and Medicine Hat. It was 1180 km and took a good 12 hours of riding. I can’t recommend this place enough for a stopover purpose destination. There was running water, flushing toilets, hot showers etc. The forecast showed severe weather moving in and I made sure to stake down the tent and groundsheet and tighten down the fly and use all the guy lines. I even moved my motorcycle underneath a roofed wooden structure meant for visitors to look at the history of the area. I was so relieved in the morning that everything was dry and the storm changed course entirely!

Day 16 Let’s Get It On
From there I rode to Winnipeg about 12 hours of riding and another 1100 km. I ran into a rider whose gloves were stolen presumably by a crack addict from his helmet when he went inside a gas station to pay. I loaned him my spare gloves for as long as he kept up the pace. My stay in Winnipeg was less than desireable. I decided to stay in a hotel again because it made life really convenient after two long days on the road. The hotel had no parking. I had to use a secured lot and carry all my stuff across the street. The hotel water was brown, garbage trucks kept me awake all night, the room had 3 lamps no other lights. In the morning, the complimentary breakfast was super soggy and I was really happy to GFTO of Winnipeg. Just past there I ran into a KLR650 rider who just purchased his motorcycle in Manitoba and was taking it home to Thunder Bay, pulled off to the side of the road. He was duct taping a flashlight to his front fender. I did a quick search and realized he needed an H4 bulb which I happened to have a spare of! I helped him switch out the bulb and 5 minutes later we were riding buddies until Thunder Bay! I settled at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park which is a gem of a campground. Right off the main road and on the water with spectacular views!

Day 17 Finale

From here it dawned on me that the reality of being back in Ontario and having to go back to work would hit me pretty soon. The entire morning and afternoon was spent driving around lake superior. It was amazing to take it in again coming back from another direction. I was able to slow down and stop off at the viewpoints. It was spectacular driving as you are along the water's edge all the way until a bit past Blind River. I made it home safely and exhausted I crawled into bed, thinking about trading my bike for a Super Tenere and doing Alaska next summer!

 

[PrivatePilot]

Sounds like an awesome adventure, enjoyed the write up. Would love to do the same trip some day, although probably with an extra 1 or 2 weeks of time...but my *** gets sore just thinking about it.

 

[Fr33On2Wh33ls]

This picture sums up my experience riding on Vancouver Island!

 

[MacDoc]

Excellent write up. That road to Port Albernie is simply world class. Well done.

 

[RedRover]

Hey Fr33: Great to read your write up. Sounds like it was an awesome journey. Thanks for sharing your experience.