2500 kms in the Mountains

[bdking]

Got home last night after a solo 3-day, 2500 km trip to the mountains of British Columbia. Left Calgary, Alberta 6 pm, June 15th and returned to Edmonton, Alberta 9 pm, June 18th via Banff, Golden, Revelstoke, Sicamous, Chase, Kamloops, Ashcroft, Clinton, Hat Creek, Lilloet, Lytton, Spences Bridge, Merritt, Princeton, Keremeous, Penticton, Kelowna, Vernon, Kamloops, Clearwater, Blue River, Valemount, Jasper, Hinton, Edmonton and all points in between!

I'll try attach some pics as soon as I can figure out how to shrink them to 75kb.

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[Herleman]

Great trip.

Any issues with the bike that we should know about? How did it do in the mountains? How did it do on fuel?

[brian]

I luv ride reports! [lurk]
Can't wait for pics!
What kind of gear did you have? luggage, soft/hard? rain gear? boots? jacket, pants? helmit?
How'd the bike perform? MPG?
What would you ADD/REMOVE to/from the bike now that you have a tour under your belt?
Can't wait![ahh]

[bdking]

Originally posted by brian

I luv ride reports! [lurk]
Can't wait for pics!
What kind of gear did you have? luggage, soft/hard? rain gear? boots? jacket, pants? helmit?
How'd the bike perform? MPG?
What would you ADD/REMOVE to/from the bike now that you have a tour under your belt?
Can't wait![ahh]


Ok, got some pics posted! As you can see by the pictures, I used the BMW large (41L) softbag and that was it for luggage. Also strapped my sleeping bag and tent in front. I'm really happy with this bag; it has lots of room and it fits very tight to the bike. An attached strap at the bottom of the bag fits underneath the bike rack--you push the bag onto the rack with the strap underneath. Then you just mount straps to the bike and clip them to the front of the bag. Instructions say to keep max speed under 140 kph. I did find a tendency for the bike to get pushed side-to-side when I was sitting up fully and going 140+, but this wasn't an issue when I leaned forward a bit. I'm guessing that the aerodynamics works better if the air can move around behind my upper body and then get deflected again by the bag rather than my body and the bag making one big mass that the air has to move all the way past. I had absolutely no stability issues even at 185 kph as long as I was leaning forward rather than backward.

I've ordered a tank bag from RKA, which should allow me to put my tent and sleeping bag inside the BMW softbag rather than strapping them to the outside.

I had no issues with the bike at all. Didn't calculate fuel consumption this trip but I have posted on this before.

For personal gear, I used an M2R Waterproof Textile Touring Jacket and Joe Rocket Textile pants. Both worked great. They are both cool weather gear and did keep me dry and warm. I did encounter some heavy downpours and the only thing that got wet were my gloves.

[de100kb]

Nice pics Bdking, sure makes me want to pack my bike and just go for it.

Thanks for sharing.

[WAP]

Great pics bdking thanks for sharing. [bow] Did you stick to camping grounds during the entire trip, or did you "rough" it at all by finding your own unauthorized spot? What kind of tent do you use? Any other camping/gear tips?

[the1sen]

wow. that's a pretty nifty trip you did. [ahh] i think the wife would like the whole camping idea... gonna have to get on that one.[drink]

how was Banff? any cool pics of the reflective mountain lake i see so much of with your bike? it looks like the bike held up fairly well for you. were you pleased all around with the performance of the bike?

thanks for sharing. good stuff.:D

[bdking]

There are a lot of options for camping in BC, from full service campgrounds with power and showers to basic, unsupervisored government sites and of course you can just throw up your tent on crown land pretty much anywhere. I prefer the basic sites that are typically by a small lake or river and have a tent site, a picnic table, and sometimes a fire pit.
I use a small 2-person tent called "Opera 2" that I bought at Mountain Equipment Co-op. Also use a small white-gas camp stove and mess kit for cooking and that's about it. I keep it pretty basic.

About Banff: I actually don't like the Banff area because it is too busy and not a real outdoor experience. The townsite is too commercialized and chock full of shopping tourists. The elk have figured out that the wolves won't come very close to town so the elk reside right in and around Banff. So, I just went right on by Banff without stopping. I did stop at Jasper (the other National Park just north of Banff) on the way home though. Jasper is less developed and although it too is more like a zoo than wilderness, as far as the animals go, it's a better experience than Banff. The deer and sheep pics I posted were taken in Jasper Park when I just sat down among the trees for a rest and soon found myself visited by the deer and then surrounded by the sheep.

I didn't get my bike in this picture and it isn't in Banff but it is a nice little mountain lake near Princeton, BC.

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[the1sen]

sad to hear that commercialism has reached Banff - i would have thought it to be better in Canada than the US. some places have become pretty pathetic indeed here in AZ also.

SEDONA - used to be for a great getaway - now it's great for a good traffic jam. ALL DAY LONG. and everywhere you turn, new money is showing up destroying yet another part of the charm that place once held. and Sedona is just the tip of the iceberg, as just about every other natural attraction in AZ has followed suit.

it's rather nauseating.