We wake up nice and early to get an early start. Still familiarizing ourselves with the whole tear down the campsite and get going flow of things. Cold water – check. The campsite warden was already out and casting a sharp shadow on the morning dew. I noticed her stop and give us a sharp eye as we rode across the 101 to enjoy the East point view of The Great Bend. The shore was lined with eaten clam shells and it was hard to ignore the sunny day and energizing vibe. We got some breakfast at Hoodsport Coffee Company, some reserves at the Hoodsport IGA and headed deeper into the Peninsula using N Lake Cushman Rd.
Posts Tagged ‘motorcycle’
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Exploring Olympic National Forest
August 17, 2015
Posted on March 5, 2016
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Olympic Peninsula here we come
August 16, 2015
Posted on February 5, 2016We woke up fairly late seeing as how everyone else was already cleaning up after having breakfast. For better or for worse, the burning desire for adventure meant that we were going for the nearest exit out of the country. Some have advised us to take the ferries to get from Vancouver to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington (where we wanted to explore the eponymous National Park), but I try not to take ferries unnecessarily, not when there are less sickening options. It would have made more sense if we stayed on Vancouver Island for a bit, but that would have to wait until next time.
The border guard grilled us a little more than usual. Something about our free spirited demeanour did not sit well with him. Hearing how long we intend to travel for, the border guard asked me if I have a job. And how did I get that much time off. Prioritizing, that’s how. The forklift operator at AC Cargo was saying how he will do something like this when he retires, because he will have all the time in the world then. Makes me cringe. Some things I do have all the time in the world for: like fixing software bugs. Those things, yes, there is no rush to do. I might get to do that some time this year. If I’m bored.
We decided to get some supplies. The ride to Walmart in Bellingham was uneventful, visit to it – overwhelming. A wonderful place where you can buy denaturated alcohol, chain lube, prepaid SIM cards, and milk all in one place. But if you’re doing it for the first time, you’re gonna need a whole team of assistants to figure it out. Which I did. Thanks guys.
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A boat, a plane and two motorcycles
August 15, 2015
Posted on January 14, 2016Similar to a fish floating in a toilet bowl, this west coast adventure was floating in our minds and couldn’t quite get flushed. [M’s note: How is it fucking similar?] Much like the most of you folks, we kept planning, but something always got in the way; mechanical problems, brain problems, sometimes a mix. This year we were haunted by the ghost in the carburator that would cause the bike to stall. Problems were particularly evident in the winter so we hoped that by going to the sunny California in the summer we’d stay out of trouble 🙂
Fully loaded, we rode our motorcycles to the Air Canada Cargo warehouse on a breezy Thursday night. We had to disconnect the bikes’ batteries, but all other crating and handling was left for Air Canada employees to do. The hardest part was waiting for the right people to process the paperwork in the mostly empty warehouse.
One Friday and one 5 hour flight later we were sitting in a rather quiet food court of the Vancouver airport and eating our second breakfast. Having spent so much time and energy preparing for this trip we were relieved to be away from home, away from all the familiar things. There was this calm realization that even if we forgot something, it hardly matters any more. There can be nothing more to worry about. This was officially over the rainbow and all anxiety was left behind.
We walked to the cargo terminal and a forklift brought out the bikes. Not a scratch on them! [M’s note: at least no new ones.] The forklift operator used to ride a bike too, along the Pacific coast to the States. Had some advice about campsites and stories, which I’m not going to share because if you must know, you’ll have to go to the Air Canada cargo warehouse in YVR yourself.
I don’t want to tell you about the Orcas we went to see either, because the Orcas were pissed off and the whole ordeal of whale watching seemed disrespectful to the animals [M’s note: it seemed better in Newfoundland]. Obviously there were some Italian tourists yelling how they want to get closer and how this isn’t worth the money, I totally agree with them. They should have gotten closer and dropped a couple of them tourists in the water, it would have been more educational. Here are a couple of blurry pictures of wildlife seen from the boat.
We originally hoped to pitch a tent in a fellow ADVrider’s backyard, but that fell through, so we stayed at a nearby campground. But hey, at least we got to have awesome seafood at the pier twice that day! Fish and chips, followed by chips and fish.
We decided to load up on groceries and head to our camp site. Considering we packed a fridge and a sink, we had no space to put the groceries so I carried the bags on my hands. On a freeway. At night. I was not amused. I asked my trusty partner in the field of navigation to never do that again. We camped in this lame RV place where we managed to unpack and make some tea [M’s note: the most awful campsite was yet to come].
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Québec Route 132
May 26-27, 2012
Posted on June 28, 2014From here on we were on the road the entire time, and thankfully, it was a great road. Route 132 stretches along the entire length of the St. Lawrence river and gulf in Québec: from its border with New Brunswick in the east, to New York in the west. Where the road hugs the shores of the Gaspé Peninsula, the waters of the wide open gulf are indistinguishable from an ocean.
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