Pre-adventure... is always an adventure.

Уважаемые русские читатели, в течение ряда лет я вел блог мой мотоцикл путешествия и заметили, что я получаю много просмотров страниц от читателей внутри России. Это всегда меня удивило, потому что я действительно только опубликовать мои блоги для друзей и семьи. Тем не менее, я рад, что есть и другие заинтересованные читатели там кроме моей собственной матери. Я хотел включить русскую привет и сказать, добро пожаловать! Я сожалею, что я не могу на самом деле обратиться к вам на русском языке, но попросили Google перевести эту приветственное сообщение. Пожалуйста, не стесняйтесь обратиться ко мне и поделиться своими мотоцикла опытом. Надеюсь, вам понравится блог! Howi

Welcome to the Kiss'n Ride 2014 Motorcycle Adventure.

I had the bike in for service by the guys at Scona Cycle before the trip and on the day that I was going to pick the bike up, Nan dropped me off at the LRT station so that I didn't have a vehicle. That way, I could just jump on the bus to the south side, retrieve the bike and ride home. I spotted the above sign and, with no plan, snapped this picture. Turned out to be the idea for the blog.

Our trip starts today, sometime this afternoon, depending on when I can get away from the office. In the mean time, here are a couple of tidbits:

One of our choice motorcycle pleasures is being able to talk while we are on the road. Oddly enough, when I describe this to many of my motorcycling friends, none seem to think this is an asset. Anyway, we like to discuss what we see; it is not just a matter of "let's eat" or "let's not forego getting gas so that we can follow that courier truck".  

Our intercom system, while not always faultless, has been pretty good however, it has tended to be a little on the quiet side when we are travelling down the highway at speed. Well great news: the manufacturer, recognizing this limitation, has made an add-on, which is a little power booster to insert in the audio circuit. I promptly ordered it, and this is the box:

You will note that there is a warning on the box that "the volume should be kept low or off" which seems counter-intuitive for a device that is meant to make the volume louder. Turns out there didn't need to be a lawyeresque disclaimer on the box as there was a safety feature built in: as soon as I inserted the power booster into the circuit it fried the control panel of the intercom, rendering the whole system useless. That left me scrambling for a solution, as per usual, at the last minute.

Readers of my past motorcycle blogs will recognize this picture:

Invariably, on every trip, Nan takes this requisite picture, I think as a reminder that this is her ongoing view. I invite you to stay tuned so that you can see how this view evolves over the course of our Kiss'n Ride Adventure. Please leave comments (nice ones) or reach out to me. You can figure out how to reach me by viewing my profile.  This blog is for you!

Day 1 travel statistics:

Avalon Acreage to Pyramid Lake Resort, 5 km west of Jasper: 361.5 km
Cumulative distance: 361.5 km
Maximum speed: 135 kph
Moving average: 99 kph
Overall average: 91 kph
Moving time: 3:38
Total time: 4:44

As I left the parkade office today, I note that the wind was howling, blossoms were being stripped from the trees and the sky was heavy and grey, laden with leaking moisture. Not an auspicious kind of day to start a motorcycle trip. We are committed, though. Reservations are made and a schedule is at hand; we are going unless the weather is impassable for motorcycles.

I get home, install the new intercom, attached the various cases to the bike, said our emotional goodbyes to Kisura, Malaika and Obi Jones, otherwise known as O.J., or simply, The Juice, or Juicy, or Jonesy (think:
"Alien" as opposed to "Garfield") and we roll by 4:20 p.m., which was later than I hoped or anticipated but earlier than Nan anticipated.

It is nasty windy.  Winds are strong and gusty and the bike is being jostled all over the highway. It is nerve-wracking for me and I am squeezing the hand grips extra hard. Not on purpose. The sky is dark and threatening and while I am waiting for the Heavens to open up on us, we are excused that misfortune but I am wondering to myself why I consider this recreation. The first hour and forty five minutes are an exercise in stamina, endurance and perseverance. Until Tim Horton's in Edson.

We arrive and are due for a break. Nan hasn't complained but she is thankful to get off the bike. We have a small bite and a coffee to tide us over till dinner and we take all of forty five minutes, which went much faster than the hour and forty five minute ride. Relativity.  But low and behold, the winds have died down and the sun is doing it's level best to burn the clouds away. In fact, it is downright pleasant! Wow, all of a sudden, this is fun! The temperature climbs from 15 to 20, the sun is shining, all the rain clouds are in my rear view mirrors and the wind, while still present, are much more manageable.

Time is flying by and we are riding through Jasper Park, noting the preponderance of sheep, deer and elk on the roadside. The elk all have huge, velvety racks and we see several. Jasper is a bustling little town filled with tourists wandering the streets but because it is 8:45 pm, we opt to not stop in town and head straight to the beautiful Pyramid Lake Resort. We check in and because it is late, we have to make a bee line to the restaurant, which closes at 9:30.

I am going to let the pictures tell the rest of the story for today but I am going to post them tomorrow because we are out in the sticks and the internet is slow.

The weather threatened all the way to Edson. You can see the trees leaning from the wind.

Looks like the heavens could open up on us.

After Edson, another matter entirely. Not too much wind, a lot more sunshine, not rain anywhere in sight.

Inside Jasper National Park, lots of elk along the road. We noticed that they all had a lot of velvet on their antlers.

Beautiful, rolling into Jasper about 8:30 p.m.

Dinner at the restaurant at Pyramid Lake Resort. Not too many places to have a great dinner with a great view like this.