Where ever I may roam

The adventure started easily enough, I left Aki and Reiko’s place around 10:45am and headed towards the border, via Oak St. as I came down the bottom of Boundary Road, I had a fleeting thought that I should drop into my old work place and say bye. The trip towards the border brought back memories of when I uesd to go down to Seattle once a month or so. Things were a lot different this time. Getting across the border was easy enough and once across I filled the bike up. If my calculations are correct, I should get to Vancouver Airport on Sunday with 320km on the clock. The bike needs to be delivered with a 1/4 tank of fuel at the most and 320km will be about the time when the bike needs to be switched to the reserve fuel. Paying $3.39/gal ($0.89/l) for premium fuel was nice, yet annoying at the same time. I only put 7.4l of fuel into the bike, so I couldn’t really take advantage of the cheap price. The price I’ll be paying for most of the trip will be around the $1.50/l mark.

I had a few issues with trying to find a grocery store so that I could get some food. I ended up asking someone who came out of a asian grocery store where the nearest Safeway or Whole Foods may be. They gave me directions and as they were heading in that direction I just followed them. That was a good thing because the way we went had nothing to do with their directions. I got some fruit, avacado and almond butter (think peanut butter) for breakfasts, canned chilli and fresh vegetables for dinners. Both of these selections worked out to be quite tasty. For the next round of dinners I’m thinking of subsituting the canned chilli for canned beans (baked or otherwise), taco seasoning and other vegetables. It’s essentially flavoured soup, but it fulfills the trifecta of tasty, cheap and healthy.

I found the campsite at Larabee State Park easily enough, after a fantastic ride along Chuckanut Drive. The road twists and turns , is lined with trees on both sides, passed through various rock cutaways, and provides the occasional glimpse of the ocean. I had a big grin as I wound my way along the drive. Upon entering into the parking section for the walk in campsites, I misplaced my footing and the bike began to lean towards the left. I tried to fight it but I wasn’t winning. In the end I bailed from the bike and both it and I hit the ground.

After unoading the bike and dragging it around a bit, it was upright again and I assessed the damage. I was un-injured and the bike had a few scrapes on the crash bars and paniers. Hooray for gear working as it should. I’ve since re-packed the paniers so that the load it more even. When I was camping on the Island, the right panier was the heavy one and the bike barely stayed on the stand. I guess I over compensated. After getting the tent setup I figured that I’d hit up the beach for a swim as I was hot and sweaty. Unfortuantly, as I approaced the beach I saw signs advising against swimming there due to health reasons. Boo. Instead I sat on the rocks and watched the water for a while. I ended up relaxing, being a lot cooler, and I got some sun on my very pale legs too.It ended up being quite an early night.

The whole plan for spending two nights at Larabee was to spend an whole day hiking in Chuckanut, which I certainly accomplished today. I ended up hiking 20km of terrain over the course of 6 hours and visiting Fragrance Lake and Lost Lake. I found that the trail around Fragrance Lake provided great views of the water at key locations but it mainly meandered through the trees, providing a quiet and shady environment.

I encountered a few people while I was walking around the lake, including someone swimming. The Rock Trail, on the way to Lost Lake, passed by some enourmous rocks and rock falls. Most of the rocks on the ground were moss covered and there was the occasional cae due to how the rocks landed. There was a lot of up and down in this section, including several sets of stairs, but the hike was definitly worth it.

Lost Lake, on the other hand, I found disapointing. The lake itself was a long way below the trail and there was no way down. There was only the occasional glimpse of water through the trees so it was hard to get an idea of what it looked like.

Larabee State Park has been interesting. While I enjoyed the hiking, the campsite is loud. Traffic on Chuckanut Drive is easliy heard and theres a freight train route that cuts through the park quite close to the campsite, which blow their horns all times of day and night. I’m glad I stayed here and did the hiking, but I don’t think I’ll ever come back.

Tomorrow I plan on being up early and out of here. There’s a 10:30 am ferry to Orca’s Island with my name on it and I need to re-supply before hand.

Here I am staring down the short end of 20 days left until the trip. In reality only have 11 days left before I take off a day of hiking in Chuckanut and then 5 days of Toor Camp.

The KLR, good to go

The bike has been booked on an earlier flight than the one I’m on, giving me the whole of the 13th free. When I arrive in Montreal on the 14th, I should be able to pick up the bike quickly as it would have arrived and been processed the afternoon before. I’ve sorted out the Dangerous Goods shipping information and it’s ready to go. I’ve done a lot of work to the bike, including:

• Upgraded front suspension.
• Upgraded rear suspension.
• Upgraded the sub-frame.
• New front tire.
• Installed a top box.
• Added a few RAM mounts for cameras and phone.
• Put together a tool kit and various spares.
• General service and inspection.

The next time the bike will get a lot of attention is in Ottawa or Toronto, where it will be due for a service and probably new tires.

I swapped out the stock KLR front suspensions springs with a set from Progressive Suspension. The new springs (and oil) resulted in a lot less sag at the front, especially under breaking, and improved handling. After much hassle with finding spring compressors, the rear suspension spring was swapped for a 6.6kg/mm one from Top Gun Motorcycles. This transformed the KLR from being a comfy couch that you sink into, to a stiff and rigid chair that offers support. The ride height has increased to the point where I’m back on tip-toes, instead of flat feet. A ride out to Harrison Hot Springs and back was used as a shake down test. The bike felt great the whole time and I got to see what 250km in an afternoon felt like.

I’m still yet to do a full pack of the bike to assess if everything is going to fit. While optimistic, I have some doubts about some of the gear. There may be a tank bag being purchased in the near future.

I’ve packed up a fair amount of things in my place and filled a bunch of boxes. There’s still a bit more to pack, which will need to be done by this time next week. I’m set to move everything into storage on the 30th, after which I’ll be staying with Aki and Reiko until the 5th. A 10′ x 10′ storage unit has been booked for 4 months (with 25% off!) and all that’s left to do in that area is book a truck.

Last week I was feeling the pressure of trying to get back in order to participate in the Loose Screw Dual Sport ride on the 12th of August in Kamloops. The list of things that I wanted to see and do on the way just kept on increasing. In the end I decided that I wouldn’t be able to make the ride. This meant that the schedule I previously set went out the window and I was a lot more relaxed about the trip. I’m hoping that I’ll take it easier and explore more in my travels across the country.

Something else that will help me slow down is that I’ve managed to set up some contracting work with my soon to be ex employer. It’s nothing too demanding, 10 hours a week or less. This should enable me to spend more time in a place, as I’ll need to make the time to work and I’ll require power and possibly internet access in order to do so. The money will also allow me to take longer on the trip. I only have 3 days left in the role, which I have mixed feelings about. On one hand I’m excited for the adventure, on the other it’s a shame that I won’t get to see some of the projects completed. I find that the people on the team are very capable, great to work with, and some of the upcoming projects excite me.

About a month ago I brought a Canon video camera, which I’ve been getting familiar with. I’m planning on recording some footage along the trip. I’ve also been researching techniques for filming decent video, with Steve Stockman’s ‘How to shoot video that doesn’t suck’ getting the points across in a concise and humours way. Now to think of a story and add intrigue.

Tick tock, tick tock. Tempus Fugit.