Decent day. Some rain, lots of cold. I got as far as Graingeville then tied down. I didn't stop much for Picts. The light was not good but I got a few.....
Oh oh....
Nice twisty roads on Hwy 55
Onto 95 I live three blocks south of this Highway in Cranbrook.
Beautiful scenery on 95
The zigzag is Old 95
Which is just in front of Darlas Windshield
From the side. I rode up this road last year on my BMW. Pretty cool ride up. If I remember correctly, Old 95 is twice as long as New 95 to climb the same grade. As a truck driver I have a great deal of respect for the drivers who had to both climb and decend Old 95.
Just looked outside. It's raining. And is supposed to all night. I will fight the rain and the cold all day tomorrow. I am about 10 hrs away from home, riding and stopping. I will do my best to get some pics and will wrap this up over the weekend. I have a few things to chat about as to my summer on Darla.
It was a Pretty good day rain wise, except for between Sandpoint and Bonners Ferry where it poured. It was cold the whole way, so I had the electrics on. Here's a few Picts. I will do a more complete update tomorrow....
One last shot on the road. This is at a lookout just south of the Canadian/US border.
Thank you so much for sharing your trip, blog and the awesome pictures you posted pretty much daily.
I have followed your blog since it began, and enjoyed the daily updates. It's a long way from Ontario but someday I would like to do the western route.
Glad you enjoyed the ride and most important of all made it home safe and sound!
Cheers and thanks!
Terry
Thank you so much for sharing your trip, blog and the awesome pictures you posted pretty much daily.
I have followed your blog since it began, and enjoyed the daily updates. It's a long way from Ontario but someday I would like to do the western route.
Glad you enjoyed the ride and most important of all made it home safe and sound!
Cheers and thanks!
Terry
Thanks Terry, it has been a blast all summer on all the different rides. I tried my best to update as I went along. Sometimes when you get into the States, the cell connections don't work like you wished they had. One of the reasons I took as many pics and posted as often as I did is because of the great support I got from those viewing the thread.
I never expected the kind of response, or the viewership, this thread received when I first started it up.
The only thing I wanted all summer was to run into one person who had seen this thread. Oh well, next year.
What a great ride. I'm glad you made it back safe and sound, but I truly am going to miss following this thread. I have a ways to go until I can take that much time to go touring, but I'm looking forward to it when my time comes.
Ok, time to wrap up this years adventures. It was a great year. I crossed the border so many times, this last time the fellow just scanned my passport and said, "Where you going this time, Bob"?
I met a lot of great people. Almost everyone i met commented on the bike and asked where I was either going, or coming, from. Only once in all of my travels and stops, was it made clear to me that I was not welcome. It was a gas station in the middle of Montana somewhere. I dunno, maybe they where all having a bad day.
Something I noticed that really bothered me. As you can all see, I stopped in some pretty precarious places to get the pictures I wanted. I didn't always look for an easy place. What I saw, was the amount of garbage on the side of the roads. And it didn't matter where I stopped. It was there. And in some of these places it was clear that no one would stop, to dump it there. It was coming out of car Windows. It was very sad to see.
Of course it is the silly season (Federal Election) and I had a lot of comments and questions, mostly once they found out I was a Canadian. I wont get into it, but after a while I just avoided the discussions.
Darla ran like a finely tuned watch. I spent a lot of time over 80 Mph, and some at 100 mph. The only glitch I had was one load of bad gas, and I was at elevation. She backfired a few times.
I never got hassled by the law once. Even when I was going way over the speed limit. But, I made sure when I went through small towns, I slowed down to the posted speed limit. I was in Nevada coming up 93 at about 160 Kmph (100 Mph) and this white truck starts coming up behind me slowly. He eventually catches me, and passes. I was still going 100 mph. As he went by he waved. On the side of the truck it said Sheriff. Thanks you Sir!
Now for some numbers. I rode through Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, Colorado, and for a very brief moment New Mexico. That is 10 states. And of course, British Columbia.
This last trip was over 5,600 kilometers (Close to 3,500 miles) and from May to now, I put on a grand total of about 31,500 kilometers (about 19,500 miles).
All of that was on the tires I bought with the bike.
I had to change the oils. That was it except for the handle grip warmers which calved mid summer and one clutch adjustment. I am pretty sure that was it.
All of mods I made where welcome additions. Reach seat, reach brake peddle, back rest and rack, windshield pockets, a few chrome bits and pieces for looks .... and most importantly, the coffee cup holder.
As you know, if you have been reading along. I ordered a new 2017. I just called the dealer and canceled the order. I am going to keep Darla for one more years Journeys. I will live without the trunk for another year.
In the end, she has been such a great bike, I cannot let her go .... not just yet.
Last edited by CanadianRocky; 10-16-2016 at 03:53 PM.
10-13-2016, 08:40 PM
