Riding Dry on the Pacific 'Wet' Coast

To stay dry, a good rainsuit is a necessity when riding but especially on the Pacific 'Wet' Coast. We tend to get more rain than the interior of British Columbia or Central Canada particularly at this time of year during October and November. I've been wearing a two piece Nelson-Rigg Stormrider rainsuit for about two years now over my motorcycle jacket and jeans, but it is now showing signs of serious deterioration in the pants. About two weeks ago while riding to work in the rain I felt the entire seat of my pants and crotch area get so wet I thought the rainwater had made it's way down my back and seeped into my pants at the waist.

When I later removed my Stormrider pants, however, I could see the stiching was worn and undone in the crotch area and the PVC material that lined the inside and that made it waterproof had deteriorated and fallen off in patches. As a temporary solution, I grabbed a needle and thread and did my best to sew the crotch back up and then used some black Gorrilla tape over the seam where I had sewn. Naturally, the "two-year hassle-free warranty" offered by Nelson-Rigg has likely expired and I cannot locate my original receipt so replacing the pant with like kind and quality at no cost is not going to happen. So, I am shopping for a new two piece rainsuit, but do I get an even better one than the Stormrider I bought for about $75 a couple years ago or spend about three times as much on an Olympia Moto Sports black/neon yellow two piece Horizon rain jacket and pants? I have an Olympia black/neon yellow armoured jacket with linings and love it. The quality is among the best you can get. Since the Stormrider jacket is still okay and I have a pair of Joe Rocket Alter Ego 12.0 pants, maybe I'll take plenty of time shopping.

Faulty Study Targets Older Motorcyclists

A research paper recently published in the British Columbia Medical Journal unfairly targets older male motorcyclists. See http://bcmj.org/sites/default/files/BCMJ_56_Vol8_motorcycle.pdf The study examines limited data between 2001 and 2010 and reveals an increase in the rate of hospitalization among older motorcyclists. This could be for many reasons, but the researchers nevertheless feel compelled to produce their own biased and faulty conclusions. For example, older motorcyclists are increasing hospital costs and are a greater burden on the public purse. This is ageism and the same is often said about all seniors in our society these days. Another example, older motorcyclists need injury prevention training by health care professionals regarding age related physical and cognitive impairments that can influence riding skills and behavior. They do not even know the causes or have an explanation for the increased hospital rate yet they are already assuming that it is age-related and requires some kind of 'education' from a health nurse who may never even have sat on a motorcycle, let alone owned one.

The study is replete with disclaimers regarding research data and the lack thereof, such as the following: '...we did not have data on the circumstances of the crashes, such as time of day, invovlement of drugs or alchohol, use of safety equipment, weather conditions, or other information that would help us to understand trends and target safety efforts.' There are so many factors that may explain the increase in rate of hospitalization, (eg. distracted, inconsiderate motor-vehicle drivers, inadequate training or licensing requirements, powerful heavy bikes, poor attitude, poor economic decisions) but to make it appear worse than younger riders or compare it to motor-vehicle hospitalization rates is not useful and a gross distortion of what may really be going on.

This is a specious study that in my opinion is incomplete, faulty and poorly vetted so it never should have been published. It relies on dubious stale data up to a period that is already 4 years old and not current. The dissemination of this kind of misinformation can do more harm than good. It erodes public confidence in the health care and scientific professions, increases skepticism towards even good studies that include any kind of statistics and certainly does nothing to reduce injuries. (On a related topic, see my December 2012 post entitled, Middle-Aged Men .....based on my own armchair analysis of crash statistics in British Columbia).

A Great Day for an Oyster

Sunday September 28 was a beautiful sunny day. We planned on meeting two acquaintances on the American side of the Aldergrove Border Crossing at 10:30 am and taking Hwy 539 straight down to Bellingham where we would get on to Chuckanut Drive (aka Route 11) and take our time to Anacortes through Edison and along the Bay View - Edison Road (not the Farm to Market Road) to join in on the fun and celebration known as the Oyster Run.

Chuckanut Drive, as the City of Bellingham's official brochure explains, is 'a Native American word meaning beach on a bay with a small entrance. For over 8,000 years, local tribes harvested shellfish from the waters of the sheltered cove of Chuckanut.' Of course, on such an occasion, lunch at the Rock Fish Grill in Anacortes wouldn't seem right without trying the raw oyster shooter and the fried breaded oysters and chips.

And since the restaurant is attached to a micro-brewery, a cold pint of ale seemed an obvious and refreshing accompaniment.

Following our late lunch, we strolled the avenues of downtown Anacortes along Commercial Street admiring the wide assortment of colors and styles of hundreds of motorcycles. There was a small instrumental band, and venders evenly distributed on the side streets for about five blocks. Everyone was smiling and just happy to be there among such a large community of riders like themselves in that place on that special day.

Our ride home involved the faster, more direct route of taking Hwy 20 out of Anacortes to the I-5 north to Vancouver. It was about 5 pm and thanks to good road and traffic conditions, splendid early fall weather and speeds of 120 KMS, we made it to the Peace Arch border crossing just after 6 pm. As we waited almost two hours to go through customs, we watched the sun slowly descend upon the Pacific on the coast of Blaine, Washington, until it disappeared into darkness leaving us and hundreds of other cross-border commuters in our own unnatural lights, waiting and wondering.

Horne Lake Caves - Sunshine Coast Loop

On Tuesday September 2, we crossed over from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo and rode north on the Inland Island Highway to Qualicum Bay Resort where we rented a 'camper' cabin for two nights. This would act as our home base while we visited nearby Qualicum Beach the next day and took a 3-hour guided tour of the Horne Lake Caves. The cave exploration was a focal point for this half of our trip and turned out to be an educational and fun recreational experience.

Early Thursday morning, we were up and riding north to Comox to get the ferry across to Powell River. Meeting and chatting with other bikers while waiting for the ferry at the front of the line is something I look forward to while touring. On this sailing, we talked with a couple from Victoria each riding their own bikes to Gibsons to visit an old friend. The guy confessed that he had just been stopped for speeding that morning and then surprised us by pointing out some recent damage to his bike and helmet following a flip-over about two weeks previously.
He had forcefully and suddenly applied his front brake to avoid a deer and was flung forward. While it was good to know he and the deer survived intact, he was now in shoes with a damaged helmet riding a bike that may not be mechanically safe and getting scolded by a police officer for speeding on a highway!

When we landed in Powell River, we had a few hours before our next ferry crossing from Saltery Bay to Earl's Cove so we turned left on the 101 and rode to the end to the old fishing village of Lund for lunch at the Boardwalk Restaurant. The mussels, fish tacos and white wine were a perfect accompaniment to a beautiful ocean-view setting.

The ride from Lund along the 101 through Powell River to Saltery Bay was a biker's dream, relaxing and captivating at the same time.

We arrived at Ruby Lake Resort around 5 pm and checked in for our two night stay in a 'safari tent.' Friday we rode to the West Coast Wilderness Lodge in Egmont for a delicious breakfast and then parked our bikes at the Skookumchuck Narrows trailhead parking lot nearby. The hike down to the 'narrows' was an easy 5 KM, the sun was shining, fish were jumping and we stayed long enough to see the calm waters begin to stir into rapids with the tide which is what makes this area so famous and intriguing.

Back at Ruby Lake later that afternoon, we changed into our swimwear and walked down to the resort dock to try paddle-boarding for the first and probably last time. The board would rock from side to side and was very hard on the ankles. I struggled hard to balance standing, but John quickly resigned himself to a sitting position after several failed attempts.  A lesson with an expert really would have helped but that was not included in the resort package. A dinner at the resort restaurant, however, was so that evening was topped off with a refreshing pitcher of sangria, fresh trout and salad and a genuine espresso with a shared light chocolate cake dessert.

Saturday morning  we left Ruby Lake for the ferry back to Horseshoe Bay from the Langdale terminal. Again, we had plenty of time to just sit and wait, but it was sunny and we were a little tired as is often the case at the end of a touring vacation. While waiting for the ferry to arrive and unload, another guy parked his BMW F800 GS beside us and was willing to talk about his bike and riding experiences. His bike attracted my attention because it looked so much like my Triumph Tiger 800.

The similarities are amazing, but there are a few subtle differences one might only notice by reading a detailed review of each or test riding both of them on and off road. I am happy with my Tiger and having reviewed a couple comparisons, I would also say that I made the right decision. My Tiger appears to have a little more torque, horsepower and fuel capacity and is about 15% or so less expensive. For an objective video comparison review of the 2011 models, go to Cycle Canada at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjWSYCWXQz0 .

B. C. - Alberta Rocky Mountain Loop

This trip began on June 16 in Burnaby, British Columbia. We rode to Salmon Arm on day 1 in a light, intermittent rain and opted for the Best Western. Next day we made it to Lake Louise in the same rain, but it was colder, of course, and we were wet. We had little option other than camping so we could not really dry off. This meant several hours up through the Icefields Parkway at times shivering uncomfortably. The scenery was breathtaking and the trip was well worth it. We were able to refill our tanks at The Crossing Resort about half-way up and that helped alot.

As we descended to lower elevation and approached Jasper in the afternoon where the sun was shining, we couldn't have been happier. In fact, for the next three days of camping in Jasper, three days in Edmonton and another three days Dinosaur Provincial Park, there wasn't barely a cloud in the sky. While in Jasper, we rode to Maligne Lake and had to steer our way around a family of mountain goats on the way back. John broke the key to his top box and had to get one custom made in Edmonton.  I managed to capture some video along the Icefields Parkway with my GoPro camera and a portion of the guided tour we took in Dinosaur Park and would have had more but experienced some technical difficulties either of my own making or GoPro's, I'm not sure which.

The day we left Dinosaur Park for Waterton Lakes National Park via Smashed-in Head Buffalo Jump,
it was pouring rain from just after we left right up until we arrived in Waterton. We did not camp, although we could have. There is a small campground located inside the town on the back edge and the weather cleared beautifully. The next day we enjoyed a three-hour trail ride with a young cowboy named Josh with stunning views of the lakes and Prince of Wales hotel, mountains and fields and forest. We even came upon a couple bears on or near the trail both coming and going.

The remainder of our trip was mostly just riding home, and except for the extremely dangerous winds around the Crowsnest Pass on the Alberta side, the ride was nice and smooth. Fortunately, we did not use the bear spray or bear bangers or tire repair kits that I had  brought on the trip, but the extra engine oil and chain lube were needed for the three week, 4,000 KM plus trip.

First Aid Should Always Come First

On a recent two-week, 4,000 KM motorcycle trip across British Columbia, through the Rocky Mountains and half-way into Alberta and back, I made sure my Triumph Tiger 800 was in good working order. I packed some extra oil, chain cleaner and lube and two different tire repair kits for the journey. Fortunately, I did not get a flat and the trip went well; however, it about a month after returning, I realized that I had not packed a repair kit for me or my riding partner. Learning First Aid and proudly displaying a First Aid certificate had always been on my 'to do' list but I guess I had procrastinated so long I had forgotten about it. By chance, I came upon the following website http://www.traumatech.com and enrolled in a weekend Standard First Aid /CPR/ AED Level C Canadian Red Cross course.  Now I feel I have at least a degree of competence and confidence in the event of an emergency. But that's not enough. You need to have access to a good First Aid kit, too, if you are to be most effective, in addition to a phone to call 9-1-1 and an AED if needed. Disappointed with the drug-store type first aid kits around, I created my own based on what I learned in the course.

According to British Columbia Occupational Health & Safety Guidelines, my First Aid kit is better than basic and pretty much equivalent to a Level 1. The Level is determined by a combination of factors, such as occupational risk and distance to a hospital. The criteria are not really applicable to my situation and I customized my kit based on what I learned and could afford. It cost about $60 in total on top of the $150 for the course and text. But my riding jacket costs more than that, and I think the investment is just as valuable. If I had $2,000 to spare, I'd buy an AED to complete the kit, but I don't. However, I do know how to use one if necessary and that's more than I knew before. Naturally, I hope I never need to spring into action or require aid for myself, but it's not realistic for anyone who spends any length of time on the roads to delude himself into thinking that nothing is going to happen to him and nobody will ever need his help. The course and the kit have increased my sense of security and peace of mind, and that makes for an enjoyable ride.