Prince George to the Prairies (barely) and back.

[GISdood]

Its a couple months away yet, and I've got a bit of work to do on the bikes still... but I wanted to start posting in hopes of meeting a few Canadian ADV'ers along the way and perhaps even having anyone join us for a leg of our road trip this summer. At this point, our tentative departure date is August 7.

Introductions first:

Yours truly:



And this is why I wear a cage and not a visor when i play hockey these days. The other guy didn't even get a damned penalty! Stupid refs... but I digress.

I saved the attractive one for last - my lovely wife (we'll just use her xbox gamertag as a name for now) SuZziE:




and the bikes...



My 2002 DR650 and her 2008 DRZ400SM.

The bikes will each be getting a few added things to make the trip out to Saskatchewan and back a little more manageable. Both our bikes will be getting larger tanks - an IMS 4.9 gal tank for the DR650 and a Clarke 3.9 gal upgrade for the DRZ, both sourced from Jeff @ Procycle.

In the luggage department, I'll be adding Wolfman Expedition bags and side racks to the DR (from Procycle as well). In addition to that, we ordered a pair of Wolfman Enduro tank bags for the bikes and a Pat Walsh Designs tailrack for the DR so I can carry an extra duffel and some extra fuel when needed.

SuZziE's DRZ is pretty much stock with respect to engine/carb/gearing, but there's been a few additions that you can see in the above photo.
- National Cycle Deflector windscreen
- Zeta Bend Armor guards and XC Deflectors with LED flashers
- heated grips
- Givi E370 top case

And the DR's present accessories include:
- Slipstreamer Spitfire windscreen
- FMF Q2 slip-on
- snorkel removed and "Jesse's airbox mod"
- heated grips
- 520 chain conversion, 16/42 gearing for the long haul

I'm debating whether to go one tooth larger for the cs sprocket on the wife's DRZ to make the trip a little less buzzy for her as well. Anyone else done this? Comments? I also need to address the 2x4 of a seat on her ride. I'm thinking for the short term, we'll try the Walmart ATV pad or a sheepskin. If she enjoys the road trip and it doesn't put her off of long road trips altogether, maybe she'll find a Renazco under the tree this year.

I'm a bit concerned with how well she'll weather this trip mainly for one reason. I won't go into the details cuz its a long story... but this picture should sum it up:



That xray was taken about 2 months after the car accident and subsequent surgery. The driver of the vehicle she was in swerved, went off the road and rolled the vehicle. In addition to a small collection of scars, she wound up with this souvenir hardware for life. The accident was in September of 2007.

As a test of how she'd tolerate time in the saddle we did a quick road trip from PG south to Kamloops and Hope earlier this year and really pushed the limits of her endurance on the way home. We wound up covering ~800km in one day. For this trip, we've planned more time to allow for a relaxed pace of 400-500km per day.

So... on to the planned route - which of course may fall by the wayside before the second day, but we've gotta start somewhere, right?

Here's a link to the Google Maps route of the trip.
http://tinyurl.com/29o4eq9

Due to SuZziE's obvious back issues, we won't be camping this trip at all. Hotels or B&B's where necessary, and staying with friends and family where possible. The ultimate purpose of the trip is to make the annual trek out to visit my last remaining grandparent who lives in Eston, SK. With any luck we'll have time for a day off from making a mile here and there and we'll explore and do some riding 'just for fun'. We also want to take time for visiting family in Edmonton, friends in Calgary, then more family in Trail, Hope, and Clearwater.

If anyone has any suggestions for minor route changes or recommended side trips, I'd love to hear them. And we'd love to have the opportunity to meet or ride with anyone that happens to be on the road as we're out there traveling. I can't wait to get goin!

GISdood

[Gale B.T.]

Kelly, sound great. Hope that back holds up , I know you two deserve a great trip.

May I suggest Royal Tyrrell museum, Drumheller, Alberta. I was with several school groups that toured that place and it is truly one if not the best collection of dinosaurs in the world.

As you ride the Yellowhead , at about 5 miles from the Tete Jaune Cache junction of 5 south and 16 to the west is Carr Road, please stand on your pegs and give a loud YAHOOOOOOOOOO for me, that is my road for 25 years. Thanks ahead of time.

Have a great trip, we leave for Winnipeg June 6th, sorry to miss you and B.!!1

ride safe /smart

gale OOOPPPS , just saw you are returning on 97, next time:)

[GISdood]

Hey Gale,

We might just dip into Drumheller if we have time and we need a break. We've been before, but its always a cool stopover and Horseshoe Canyon is always a great stop for a photo or two, as well.

Unfortunately we won't be going north from Clearwater. Its a long empty stretch of road for the most part, and with this being one of B's first big road trips, I'd rather have more options for stopovers and rest stops if needed, so 97 will have to do for this trip.

We'll be sure to do the 'Yahoooo!' thing for ya the next time we're through that neck of the woods.

Enjoy your trip to Manitoba and we'll talk to you again soon!

Cheers!

K&B

[Gale B.T.]

K & B, have a great trip, I can totally understand your decision to ride 97 over 5.

I can see you and my son in law there in PG must play for the same "easy fun hockey" league.!!! No rough stuff right!!????

gale

[GISdood]

Originally Posted by Gale B.T.

I can see you and my son in law there in PG must play for the same "easy fun hockey" league.!!! No rough stuff right!!????
gale

The ref can only watch so many players at once... 'stuff' happens

[rob1313]

I'm a northern BC boy (Quesnel) that was transplanted to Edmonton 10 years ago. We've got space here at the house and I'm sure we can cram those bikes into the garage for you. Give me some advance notice and we can have a crew of the local riders over to meet and greet. The house here is a riders hang out in the local area.

[GISdood]

Thanks very much for the offer, rob1313! As it happens, Edmonton is one of the places we have family who we'll likely be staying with. If time allows, we'd certainly be up for a meet & greet and a beer or three tho!

I'll keep ya posted on our schedule as we get closer to our planned departure date!

[b_uffalo]

If you're interested

When your heading south on Hwy 93\95 towards Cranbrook take the Kimberly turn off, and then take the Gray Creek Forest Service Rd (favorite for those that know about it) to the east shore of Kootenay Lake. The road has awsome scenery and goes over the Gray Creek Pass. It's gravel but isn't difficult just a hell of a lot of fun, about 85km.
You pop out at Gray Creek on Kootenay Lake you can go north to Crawford Bay and take the longest free ferry in North America to Balfour and then head to Nelson and back to your original route. But I would take Hwy 3A South from Gray Creek along the east side of Kootenay Lake to Creston. It's rated as one of the best motorcycle roads in Canada nice and twisty!

[Night_Wolf]

is just a wee bit South of Calgary and while The_Filly doesn't ride, if I'm not working, I'd say we can meet in Calgary for a drink (coffee for me) or you would be welcome to come down & have a meal with us.

BTW Rob is a great guy

[GISdood]

Originally Posted by b_uffalo

If you're interested

When your heading south on Hwy 93\95 towards Cranbrook take the Kimberly turn off, and then take the Gray Creek Forest Service Rd (favorite for those that know about it) to the east shore of Kootenay Lake. The road has awsome scenery and goes over the Gray Creek Pass. It's gravel but isn't difficult just a hell of a lot of fun, about 85km.
You pop out at Gray Creek on Kootenay Lake you can go north to Crawford Bay and take the longest free ferry in North America to Balfour and then head to Nelson and back to your original route. But I would take Hwy 3A South from Gray Creek along the east side of Kootenay Lake to Creston. It's rated as one of the best motorcycle roads in Canada nice and twisty!

I'll see how the wife feels about any kind of distance on gravel with the supermoto tires. Sounds like a great route, but she's only got a few thousand kms under her belt, so gravel might be a little more than she's wanting to tackle just yet.

Originally Posted by Night_Wolf

is just a wee bit South of Calgary and while The_Filly doesn't ride, if I'm not working, I'd say we can meet in Calgary for a drink (coffee for me) or you would be welcome to come down & have a meal with us.

BTW Rob is a great guy

Calgary plans are up in the air still - tentatively staying overnight with a on old high school buddy that lives there now, but nothing set in stone just yet. I'll drop you a PM when I know for sure when we'll be through Cowtown.

[Night_Wolf]

Originally Posted by GISdood

Calgary plans are up in the air still - tentatively staying overnight with a on old high school buddy that lives there now, but nothing set in stone just yet. I'll drop you a PM when I know for sure when we'll be through Cowtown.

[RedDogAlberta]

Red Deer here. I'll certainly ride a bit be it the David Thompson or Drumheller valley. We must hit the Last Chance Saloon in Wayne, AB in the Badlands.

You're also welcome here. Catch up on laundry, etc. There's secured, alarmed parking for your machines.

[GISdood]

Originally Posted by RedDogAlberta

Red Deer here. I'll certainly ride a bit be it the David Thompson or Drumheller valley. We must hit the Last Chance Saloon in Wayne, AB in the Badlands.

You're also welcome here. Catch up on laundry, etc. There's secured, alarmed parking for your machines.

We'd certainly enjoy some company for any leg of the journey... thanks for the offer of accommodations as well. Pretty sure we'll be heading straight to Edmonton to crash with family the day we're through that area.

I'll post again here the day we leave PG. We'll be going from Jasper to Edmonton via 93 & 11 on Day 2. I don't think we'll be taking a laptop for the trip, but I'll try to pm you via my phone en route.

[Night_Wolf]

Once you get your dates firmed up drop those of us who offered help of any type a PM and we can send you our Cell #'s so you can get a text to us . doG forbid anything happen, but I have a truck and a trailer that would easily fit both bikes should the need arise

Originally Posted by GISdood

I'll post again here the day we leave PG. We'll be going from Jasper to Edmonton via 93 & 11 on Day 2. I don't think we'll be taking a laptop for the trip, but I'll try to pm you via my phone en route.

[GISdood]

Originally Posted by Night_Wolf

Once you get your dates firmed up drop those of us who offered help of any type a PM and we can send you our Cell #'s so you can get a text to us . doG forbid anything happen, but I have a truck and a trailer that would easily fit both bikes should the need arise

Great idea... I'll be sure to do that when we head out for Jasper.

Meanwhile, bike prep continues. We made a quick trip down to Vancouver last weekend to see a concert and stopped over at the inlaws in Hope to pickup some loot I'd ordered a few weeks ago from Jeff at ProCycle and a rear rack from Pat Walsh Designs. We had everything shipped to Ship Happens in Sumas and then the inlaws drove down to pick it up and bring it back.

If you're close to the border or know ppl that can play 'courier' for you, this is a good way to avoid getting bent over at the border by customs brokers. Combined, the two orders I made totalled nearly $1300 USD, and the final import tax/duty cost was only $137. If you compare the price to buy them north of the border, the money I saved on the two gas tanks for my bike and my wife's bike was more than that, alone.

So I got home from work yesterday and it was nice and sunny out, so I decided to install the Wolfman luggage racks and the Pat Walsh Designs tailrack.

DR650 Before -




Started by removing the rear grab handles -




Then loosely fitted everything up after relocating the stock rear signals to the mounting locations on the tailrack -




Between the two kits there are plenty of spacers and washers to accommodate the removal of the grab handles, as well as nice quality stainless bolts. I placed an extra washer between the Wolfman rack and the Pat Walsh rack so they wouldn't scour the powder coat off of each other -




Here's a look from the right side once everything had been given a coating of LocTite and tightened down -




And another view from the rear -




With any luck I should be able to get the rest of the farkling done and get a week or two of test riding in before we leave. More installments to come!