The Wanderings of a 36 year old Electraglide

Hi Brian. We just got back from a trip through Princeton and the OK valley. Cold in the am (0 C) but OK later in the day. Hang in there and get home safe.
Bill

I had kind of figured that being so much lower in elevation, that it would be a bit warmer in the morning. But it was well into the 20s when I went for breakfast. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
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I went to check the bike, and there was still a fair bit of frost on it. <o></o>
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The old bike wasn’t quite as excited about starting this morning, but with a bit of coaxing she fired up ok.<o></o>
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I waited around for a bit, and hit the road, well before 32F. I mean, people ride snowmobiles in a lot colder weather than this, right? The sun was shining, so I wasn’t bad for cold, just my fingers complained a bit.<o></o>
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I stopped at a rest stop for a break and to warm up near Look Out Pass.<o></o>
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I carried on, twisting through the mountains, and by the time I was in Coeur d’Alene it was pretty nice out. <o></o>
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I stopped at a Harley shop in Spokane for a quart of oil, and a couple guys came over to check out my bike. This surprised me a bit. A lot of places I stopped along the way, people would come up and ask about the bike or say they used to have one like it or something, EXCEPT at Harley shops. Whenever I stopped in at one for something, people would pretty much ignore me and my old bike. There would be people around, looking at the new iron or some ones custom ride, but usually no one would make eye contact with me ( And I would stare at them, just to make sure J )<o></o>
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So this young fellow comes up to me and says “Nice bike” and I says, “ It’s not new” and he says “I know, that’s why it’s so nice” <o></o>
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So I am thinking “Right on, buddy”<o></o>
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He asks me what year, so I tell him 76, and he says “it’s a shovel then.” Like he had read about them but didn’t know quite what one looked like. He walked around it for a good look. We talked a bit about what it’s like riding an old bike, he wished me a safe ride and wandered into the Harley store.<o></o>
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I was pretty impressed with the young fellow. He was showing a lot of interest in a bike that was built before he was born, and was willing to listen about it, instead of quoting what he might have read about them.<o></o>
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I stopped just out of Spokane for lunch, and removed all my cold weather gear. It was that nice out.<o></o>
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I headed down hwy 2, through rural Washington and through some nice little country towns. Then onto hwy 174 and past the Grand Coulee dam. Then the road headed up and up, and it cooled down a bit again, but not so much that I needed my warm gear.<o></o>
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I went over another pass and headed down towards Omak, and the air was getting pretty smoky. Not smoky like it was in Idaho on the way down, but pretty smoky.<o></o>
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As I got close to Omak, the Forestry had roads blocked off to the south and you could see big plumes of smoke billowing out of a nearby (and I mean nearby) forest fire. The smoke was all going East, and in Omak you could hardly even tell there was a fire anywhere close by.<o></o>
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I dicked around in Omak for a bit, the headed north to the border. I crossed back into Canada without a hitch, and rode to Oliver for the night.<o></o>

That would be a great bike for the trip. Oil is cheap if you buy bulk :)

I might avoid the Hwy 90 through Montana with a rigid frame. There are some pretty rough patches that had me slowing down from my already relaxed pace.....

Its beautiful here this morning. Already warming up to a pretty decent (relatively) temperature.

even with all the snow, I am still thinking it was better than the +100 weather in Arizona and Nevada.

If it was 105 in Hardin, I might have been inclined to rent a U-haul with air conditioning......

Hi Bill
Heading for Princeton this morning, then up to Merrit (I think, anyhow)

Supposed to be cool nights and nice days for the next while.

If the weather man is right, its going to make for some pretty nice riding :)

I woke up to a beautiful sunny morning. The temperature was around freezing, but the sky was clear and you could feel some heat in the sun.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
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I dicked around a bit and went out to check the bike over. In front of the motel, I got talking with an aging flower child, Norman, a local who had done some travelling in his youth.<o></o>
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He was telling me about some good local roads between Oliver and Penticton, and what roads were the best for motorcycles. When he started telling me about the roads from Penticton to Kelowna, I let him know that I was planning on heading for Princeton and up to Kamloops on the back road.<o></o>
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Well!! Did he know some roads going that way. This one is paved, this one is great, but it&#8217;s gravel, you can do this, you can do that, You can go here, you can go there.<o></o>
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We finally decided that I would turn left at the lights and follow that road up the hill, and turn here, and turn there and follow this and I would be in Keremeos, and a straight shot up to Princeton.<o></o>
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I dicked around a while more, loaded the bike, and when the day was feeling reasonably warm, I headed out, sans &#8220;cold weather gear&#8221;<o></o>
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I found the road he was talking about (I had pretty detailed directions) and followed it as it climbed up the hills. I was thinking that maybe I should have put on a bit more clothes, but not so much as to stop and dig them out J<o></o>
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It was a nice, twisty, scenic ride up to Twin Lakes and then down into Keremeos.<o></o>
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I got onto hwy 3 to Princeton, and the road climbed, and I was feeling cooler. Bu the time I got to Princeton I was ready for a break. I had a bite to eat and wandered around town a bit.<o></o>
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I checked out a local flea market ( the whole town came out for it)<o></o>
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It was around noon, but still pretty cool out. Everyone I talked to was concerned about how cold I was, and how cold it would be going over the next couple of passes. When I explained that I was going north to Kamloops, they all seemed to relax and tell me I should be OK J<o></o>
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There was an old, one lane bridge to get to the old highway. I didn&#8217;t need to cross it to get to the new highway, but I could if I wanted to.<o></o>
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I wanted to.<o></o>
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I carried on along highway 5a, up hills, around twisty corners and past little lakes with fishermen doing their thing. The traffic was light, and I was taking it easy. After a while I pulled into Merritt for gas.<o></o>
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I was thinking I would take the Coquihalla freeway the rest of the way to Kamloops, but I had taken it so many times&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.. Then I saw the sign for the OLD highway to Kamloops. Oh Yeah. I haven&#8217;t been on that road for a long, long,&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.. long time.<o></o>
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Away I went, through the open country, around twisty curves, past Nicola Lake.<o></o>
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I twisted and turned in very light traffic (everybody is always in a rush so the freeway is busy) to Kamloops, and to my Mom&#8217;s place, where my wife and kids were meeting me for the weekend.<o></o>

Nice route and nice country. I've always loved Merritt. That valley just does it for me. Kamloops not so much owing to traffic and such. Friends of mine from Calgary have a mining lease on the Similkimeen outside Princeton where they camp and dabble with gold panning as a hobby. They keep a older camper trailer in Kamloops and only haul it that far when needed. The ride from there (Old Hedley Road?) over to the Okanagan is magnificent but you know that of course.

Keep it coming.

Know what you mean about being ignored at Harley shops. I have an Ultra and when you stop, it's almost like if your not their buddy, they won't speak to you. I think they teach that at Harley school.

I have officially blown off all responsibilities this morning to read your ride report. Great report and ride safe !

thanks for sharing, i' m trying to figure out a way to make a trip out west next summer. & can use all the inspiration i can get

Hey Brian,

Good to see you made it home safe. Sounds like you went through some pretty cold temps. Nice to have that big windsheild to help keep the cold off. We went to New Orleans this weekend for the last round of AMA racing. Hot, 90 on Saturday and cooler, about 70 on Sunday. Triumph had their hugh display of bikes there and they had the new Explorer XC for everyone to look at. It will be available in January, I think. Major difference in it and mine is it has wire spoke wheels with tubeless tires and some more off road stuff. It only comes in one color. Army green. I hope that is everyone's favorite. Take care and we will be in touch.

ok who's in charge of making sure a diesel sticker gets put on this bike when he's not looking

Thanks Red Dog Alberta

I really like riding that area, and haven't seen enough of it. The twisty paved roads are almost endless........... and the dirt roads and trails.........

Hey 1955 BIKER

Yeah, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I just kind of figured "Harley shop - guys who like Harleys- cool old Harley......"

Nope, not much interest there.....

It's all good, though. Although it would make them happier people, not everybody HAS to like my bike LOL

I am happy to do my part to make the world a more irresponsible place........

Thanks....... and thanks.

You are welcome red bud

There is so much to see, and the people are great. I want to do it again, and maybe again :)

Hi Jim

Yeah, it was a bit on the chilly side. The big windshield, and all my clothes helped, but there was still the occasional cold area

Sounds like an awesome time in New Orleans. I'll hope for re-runs on speed and I'll try to spot you in the crowd


Sounds like a pretty nice bike. I guess a guy could always buy paint.........

Its probably a good time for you and your better half start planning a trip to Alaska, northern BC and our place. You could even bring your cowboy buddy and his better half along for the ride.

Just sayin'.................

Yeah, no doubt. Maybe one for my forehead as well.......

I was thinking about not including that little tid bit in my RR, but I figured someone might get a kick out of it.......

If it seemed like I was pushing it a bit, like I was kind of motivated to get back into BC, it’s probably because I was.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
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Here’s why<o></o>
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She opened presents<o></o>
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My grown up son and 2 of my older daughters and one boyfriend had come for the weekend, so we took everybody (10 tickets) to the movie of the birthday girl’s choice. (Frankenweinie. (One of the bonus’ having kids is you get to see kid’s movies))<o></o>
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We then went back to Mom’s for Thanksgiving dinner (we do Thanksgiving differently here in the Great White North)<o></o>
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It was a great day and everybody had a great time. Especially the birthday girl.<o></o>

This morning, everybody got up and headed out for home. My better half and the little kids headed out pretty early. I waited for a bit for it to warm up. ( It was actually already warmer than mid-afternoon in MontanaJ )<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
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I got loaded up after a bit and took the opportunity for a photo with My step dad and his scooter.<o></o>
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I headed up hwy 5. It’s a nicer ride, less traffic and I wanted to make a couple stops on the way.<o></o>
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I stopped for fuel, went up to Little Fort BC and onto hwy 24. There is a bigassed hill on hwy 24 (Climbs about 2500ft in about 10 kms) I had been wanting to lube my chain, as it was getting worn and I hadn’t lubed it since all the rain and snow in Montana. I didn’t lube it at my Mom’s place as I didn’t want to get lube all over their driveway. I stopped at a likely looking rest stop, went to the outhouse, and decided NOT to lube the chain until I got to my good friend’s (Buck n BC) place, about 40 miles down the road (It had cooled off considerably on the climb.)<o></o>
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I head down the road, and although cool, it was a nice ride. Very little traffic and great scenery. I turned onto the road to my friend’s house, and….. <o></o>
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BANG<o></o>
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CLANK<o></o>
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GRIND<o></o>
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Crap.<o></o>
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I grab the clutch and roll to a stop just off the road.<o></o>
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Note to self: Lube your fricken chain more often.<o></o>
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The chain had come apart. Luckily the weakest point was the masterlink, and I had more of those. But, it had twisted the chain up a bit. I was able to untwist it enough to get the masterlink in, applying copious amounts of chain lube to the masterlink and the rest of chain. I figured I could limp it the mile and a half to buck’s place. (I figured he might have a chain kicking around as he has a Shovel just a few years newer than mine.)<o></o>
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I made it there OK, but there was no one home. At least I had a place off the road to work on the chain. I pulled it all apart again. Bent and twisted the chain until things lined up again. Soaked it in MORE lube, put it back together, and carried on, confidant that with a cell phone and a credit card I would make it home. (Thanks Buck for letting me use your yard. (I haven’t told him yet I was thereJ ))<o></o>
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Bike all buttoned up at Buck n BC’s place.<o></o>
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I carried on to Lone Butte BC, a small central BC town where I was born and raised.<o></o>
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Lone Butte<o></o>
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The butte standing all by itself that gives the town its name.<o></o>
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There was a monument at the graveyard that honored local pioneers and old timers, and this year it had been re-carved and was to include my father’s name, so I checked that out.<o></o>
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I headed North for home. It had warmed up a lot, and the fall colors were making the ride even more enjoyable.<o></o>
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My photos do NOT do justice to the fall colors along the way.<o></o>
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I pulled into my yard just as it was getting dark, fought off the dogs ( I was ready for them this time) hugged my wife and kids (I had just seen them this morning) and I was home.<o></o>