Strange times. When we finished up last riding season no one could have predicted that the world would be in the clutches of a pandemic. But here we are in the middle of a new riding season with a new set of social norms. Now we meet up at our usual spots and physically distance. Some of us wear masks. All of us have noticed the somewhat reduced traffic. And for those of us going on Forest Service Roads (FSR) we have seen a LOT of other motorcyclists (and ATV riders). It has been an interesting summer so far.
Continue reading “Pandemic Riding: Odd and Unpredictable”We’ve had some fun!
NMBL and I have been riding as much as possible so we can be comfortable on our new bikes. And what’s the point of not riding when the weather is nice? Heck, it was so nice in January when the Vancouver Motorcycle show was on we just road out to the Trade Ex because we could. And we weren’t the only ones! There were bikes aplenty in the motorcycle only VIP parking right out front. It was a great ego boost as well since the big Twin got a lot of attention from people heading into and out of the show. Oh, and here’s the new one for 2020 (which I din’t buy). But I did buy a subscription to Motorcycle Mojo magazine! Continue reading “Vancouver Motorcycle Show, Weekend Rides, and Future Posts”
And it’s about time. Last year’s riding season was a bit crazy for us so we didn’t do any big rides or hangs. NMBL had her own adventure last year to GBB Fest but that was it! There was very little hammocking and even less motorcycling.
This year we’re getting our feet back on the pegs, hands on the throttles, and gear on the pillion. To get our butts used to the saddle again we once again trekked off to Tofino for the May long weekend. It was a great choice for a few reasons: first, Tofino is less than a day’s ride with some great mountain highway riding; second, it gives us a chance to suss out our gear with low risk after a year off; third, it’s just so damn beautiful over there! The west coast of Vancouver Island is one of the most striking places in an already stunning Province. We’re lucky to live here and have such a gem to travel to. Continue reading “Back to Tofino!”
Coddiwomple (v.): to travel in a purposeful manner towards a vague destination
A week from today we’re heading off for three weeks on the road. Plans are being made, maps are being prepared, multiple destinations are being contemplated but few are confirmed. Yep, we’re coddiwompling.
The one thing we do know is that we’ll be traveling across BC and through the Canadian Rockies. We’ll meander around Alberta a bit and head into Saskatchewan. We’ve decided to go no further than Regina before we head back, again meandering through Alberta only to muddle our way through Southern BC’s Kootenay region. Unfortunately we’ll have to head back to Vancouver eventually. Gotta get back to making a living to travel more.
Fernweh (n.): “distance-sickness”
Yeah, that’s the feeling right now. A longing for being far away and traveling. It’s like being home-sick but the opposite. We’re both giddy with anticipation but at the same time longing for being out on the road and exploring new places while finding the best hangs we can. The longing is so strong you almost feel sick for it. That’s just where we are. We have our Canada 150 National Parks passes, we know some of the roads less traveled that we’ll take, and we’re planning meals. Fernweh has definitely set in.
We’ll give you all sorts of opportunities to follow along on this summer’s coddiwomple. And we hope you end up feeling a sense of fernweh, enough so that your go on a coddiwomple of your own! Happy travels all.
DES out.
NMBL and I did something different this past weekend. We went to a racetrack. And we traveled up to Pemberton to do it. For those of you who haven’t heard of Pemberton, it’s a town just north or Whistler, BC’s most popular and famous ski resort. The trip up to Pemberton is done on the Sea-to-Sky Highway which, as we’ve written before, is a great stretch of highway to ride. It’s arguably the most popular ride among motorcyclists in Greater Vancouver! The ride up there offers spectacular scenery and fun curvy stretches of asphalt. So much fun!
I finally got through all the pictures from our Tofino trip… just in time to head off to Pemberton and take some more. Plus there is some video I need to edit. Anyone got a suggestion for an easy to use video editing software for bloggers? I need something simple.
Anyway, enjoy the pics! They can be found here or by going to the Photo Gallery. You’ll see the link.
Thanks for checking it out!
DES out.
We love hammock camping! We also love riding our motorcycles so it’s no surprise that we planned yet another motorcycle hammock camping trip. This time we wanted to head to Tofino and Pacific Rim National Park Reserve for the Victoria Day long weekend. NMBL and I both took some extra vacation time as well, stretching our long weekend out by a few more days. Our goal: ultimate hammock-hang relaxation. It was mostly perfect. Continue reading “Danger, Disappointment, and Delight – A Long Weekend in Tofino”
May is motorcycle safety month.
Being on a motorcycle is an exciting experience. Most of the time that experience is amazing. The Venn diagram with motorcycling and joy shows a lot of overlap. However, there are times when the overlap goes into the scary circle. This evening our ride home had one of those. Continue reading “Motorcycle v. Car Interactions”
It’s warm… ish; time to ride! NMBL and I are enjoying some coffee this morning, getting ourselves ready to head out for a bit of an aimless ride. We have a couple of destinations in mind but getting there doesn’t have to be direct or fast. The journey is more important today. We’ve had such a cold, wet spring that we’re just excited to get out for a decent ride. And enjoy our first motorcycle show of the year!
We’ll be heading to the Oil & Rust Motorcycle Show at the Ellis building on Main Street today. If you’re in Vancouver, come join us. There will be all sorts of great bikes plus a raffle for a restored 1977 Kawasaki KZ1000. The bike was rebuilt by Slick Cycle Works and looks absolutely amazing!! Plus Bikers for Autism will be there looking to encourage people to volunteer. It’s going to be a great day!
We look forward to seeing you there!
DES out.
Motorcycle Hammock-Camping 