Naomi & Alberto do the WABDR on two F800GSs - 2012

[betitolara]

WABDR 2012

Day 1 (432km): On the Road again

We had the pleasure of hosting the Two Moto Kiwis for the last couple of days on Salt Spring, and since they were heading down to Bellingham to pick up one of their bikes we decided to depart together on the 6:15am ferry. Ouch!

Maybe if we stare at the tyre long enough the bead will break on its own.... (Andi aka TwoMotoKiwi & Alberto)


Andi working on his trusted (?) DR650


Andi and Ellen take Alberto's F8GS and Alberto takes Naomi's bike for a ride around Salt Spring Island

The morning started off quite warm, usually those early morning rides to ferries are very brisk and wake you up but I had all my vents open and was only wearing my 150 Icebreaker. Quite unusual. Our biker gang made it to the ferry without drama and we passed the time of the multi island stop ferry by sharing stories from our travels. The Two Moto Kiwis are great company. Once we got off the ferry we parted ways.

Naomi, Ellen and Andi on the ferry to Vancouver


A common sight: Naomi and her maps


It was great to spend time with TwoMotoKiwis!

Traffic was thick and the heat of the day was beating down on us. Over two hours later we finally found ourselves sailing along Hwy 1 towards Hope. It was nice to be moving at a decent speed because the air was keeping us sort of cool. We were heading towards Osoyoos so we knew this would be the coldest part of the day. Oh boy, soak it up.

When we turned off onto Hwy 3 we kept things reasonable since we knew the cops would be out. I had not anticipated how hardcore their presence would be though. We saw 13 police cars patrolling or set up with radar guns before the day was through, I am also happy to report that we were going the speed limit so we didn't find ourselves on the wrong end of a speeding ticket.

We stopped in Manning Park at a nice little rest stop for our lunch time meal/snack. Shortly after hitting the road again we saw a huge black bear just chilling at the side of the highway. It was completely unexpected. The ride was fun, I really enjoy parts of that road, but our enthusiasm was being restricted by all the police keeping people in check. Just a couple more kph would have been nice, and maybe a few less campers.

Lunch break @ Manning Park

As expected the temperature really started to heat up by the time we reached Princeton, so after filling up with gas we went to DQ to split a blizzard. It kept getting hotter, so we kept moving as much as we could. No time for pictures today. We were happy when we spotted the turnoff for the Nighthawk Border. The turn off also marked the start of our adventure since this was new territory. We were both surprised at how close the border actually was, in no time we had reached the crossing, so soon that it took me by surprise.

The border crossing consisted of the usual shenanigans: where are you going? What are your jobs? How much money do you have? There was kind of an awkward moment when one of the officers asked me what bills I had, and then specifically asked how many 1s I had. Does the average person really know these things? He was trying to figure out if we had the correct change to pay for Alberto's entry, but there was a moment there where I was kinda confused. As it turned out the border officer rode a 1200GS and gave us some tips for our ride. So it was all good. One of the more friendly, though still serious, border officials we have encountered at the US border.

By the time we left the border we were both sweating and ready to call it a day. We programmed the GPS to take us to Patrol Lake but when we got there it was crazy busy. Okay, route to next nearest campground in the GPS. It ended up being a dead end/private property. Next. It turned out to be worth the wait because we found a really nice campground that was empty. It was totally premium. Third time is a charm. The temperature was perfect and we enjoyed a nice leisurely evening chilling around the picnic table. It was even relatively bug free.

Looking for a campground can be a hard task when the bike finds a bed of pine needles to rest on


We finally found a really nice & quiet place to set camp


Chicken-Quinua soup & crackers for lunch = nutritious and great tasting!


Supper time is always a good time

[WeeInBC]

Was in Stevenson for the Rally in the Gorge - met some good folks and heard stories of the WABDR - looking forward to the rest of your account! Good luck - great riding!

[betitolara]

Originally Posted by WeeInBC

Was in Stevenson for the Rally in the Gorge - met some good folks and heard stories of the WABDR - looking forward to the rest of your account! Good luck - great riding!

Thanks WeelnBC!
The WABDR offers great riding so we have a couple of semi-good stories to tell ...

[betitolara]

Our first night in WA was perfect. It didn't get very cold overnight, there was virtually no bugs, and the temperature in the morning was not too cold, not too warm but just right. Life is definitely good. So let's keep the good times rolling.

The start of a great day of riding:


Our source of fresh water


Our new favourite water filtering system: Geigerrig

After some interesting oatmeal from Peru for breakfast - with Maca - we broke camp and programmed our new Garmin with the WABDR route. We knew we could have skipped the first two waypoints of the trip by continuing on the road we camped on but we wanted to follow the route as much as possible. You know, see the sights.

It started off with a steepish climb into the hills with a nice view of the valley. It was worth starting at the beginning, the road was lots of fun. Sadly we got lost, how is this possible? When Garmin decided to route us back past the campground we stayed at the previous night. We'd been driving for over an hour and found ourselves right where we started haha. The map came to the rescue thankfully and I quickly put Garmin back in its place. That little detour didn't really cost us much time, and it wouldn't be normal if we didn't get lost at least once

The start of the dirt = let the fun times begin


The view of the valley


Still going up!


Leaving the pavement down below


Naomi taking care of business

The riding is a nice mix of standard dirt roads with some sections being quite challenging. At one point I bailed in a rocky section. That was silly, I think I stalled it. For the most part though it was really fun, both the easier and harder bits. There was also more paved sections than we were expecting. A good mix all across the board.

We stopped at a nice little, for lack of a better word, rest stop somewhere in the middle of nowhere north of Conconully to have our lunch. Still no bugs; this is nice. We have really perfected our bike trip snacks and meals. We don't even need to stop at grocery stores anymore, which is kind of a hassle. We only stop for gas now and the rest of the time is spent off the grid.

From the saddle


Awesome riding


Following Naomi





The WABDR


Green hills


A shy Gringa


Must have been a nasty forest fire that killed these trees


Burnt forest


Hi everyone!


Unique scenery




Moving on


Rocky section


Naomi not impressed with me taking photos of her narcoleptic F8GS


Yeah... it was a bit rocky

Conconully is the end of the first section but it was still early in the day and all the campgrounds in the area were pretty busy so we decided to push on. We prefer things a bit less crowded. We did fill up our tanks with gas though before leaving. It was pretty hot too so we wanted to keep pressing on to gain some elevation again.

Again the riding was superb. There was this one section in particular that had a lot of dust, it was really weird. It looked like sand but didn't really kick the front tire around. It made it difficult for me, who follows Alberto and the Garmin, to see. I had to drop waaaaay back. We popped out of the woods on a narrow random paved road. The road seemed like it was from nowhere and going nowhere, the bushes were encroaching on the road and it seemed pretty neglected. At this point in the day Garmin decided to seek out some adventure again and led us on some rarely used dead end roads. And here I thought having a dedicated map and GPS route would make us immune to getting lost. I was wrong. I guess it was fun, and there was a nice view up at the deadend.

Snow capped mountains starting show in the distance


A close up


Naomi waiting for me to finish taking photos


Deep blue skies!


The road ahead


Green panoramas


WABDR = good stuff


Naomi on the saddle


Quick lunch break


The Garminio (Garmin) detour: a few dead-end roads


On dirt, Naomi follows me (to dead ends and sketchy roads )


A bit LOST


Hard to tell on the pic but I almost went down hard there (front tyre clipped a large rock)

We decided to finish the day at Foggy Dew National Forest Campground. It was getting pretty hot, topping out at 34.5 degrees C, and we were both getting a bit tired. It also didn't really seem like we had a lot of options. We could see a nice looking river at the side of the road, and it was making us fantasize about taking a dip so we found a campground.

We scored a pretty sweet campsite and then hit the creek for a dip. It was FREEZING and gave my feet brain freeze. I didn't last long in the water but it was exactly what I needed to bring my core temperature back to something normal.

Near the end of day 2


There goes Naomi


Yeah.. this is what I do for fun


Our camping spot for the night




FREEZING water


Naomi's turn... hahaha


Did some laundry (with biodegradable detergent )


Naomi writes up the events of the day for this RR


The perfect tunes at the end of a great day of riding and beautiful scenery


Dealing with Garminio


One last look @ La Gringa before calling it a night

[Garry_88]

Again great photos and text, hope you enjoy(ed) the wash out after Cashmere and water crossing, we did.

Thanks for the info on the dry bags, it will help for sure.

Subscribed (again)

thanks

Garry

[bemiiten]

Great pics! Looking forward to more.

[soph9]

Alberto and Naomi I think every riding pair has a navigator and photographer. I am the one who likes to stop and take pics while Cheryl always gives me that look if I take too long. Cheryl is the navigator and I give her looks when we get lost or not to the place we were supposed to be.....love your RR and all your pics. I am still trying to get Cheryl to come out for BC ride. If she doesn't I might just go solo. I will enjoy this RR as we hope to get out and do the WABDR one day.

[svensmanager]

Originally Posted by soph9

Alberto and Naomi I think every riding pair has a navigator and photographer. I am the one who likes to stop and take pics while Cheryl always gives me that look if I take too long. Cheryl is the navigator and I give her looks when we get lost or not to the place we were supposed to be.....love your RR and all your pics. I am still trying to get Cheryl to come out for BC ride. If she doesn't I might just go solo. I will enjoy this RR as we hope to get out and do the WABDR one day.

I enjoyed reading that. So true, the roles. I enjoy the picture breaks because it gives me time to look at my precious maps. heehee

[soph9]

Originally Posted by svensmanager

I enjoyed reading that. So true, the roles. I enjoy the picture breaks because it gives me time to look at my precious maps. heehee

+1

[funrider]

I'm really enjoying this RR and the Pictures are inspiring. Looking forward to this.

[Speeder54]

So good to see you back on the road again. I really enjoy your reports. Be safe and have fun!

[betitolara]

Originally Posted by funrider

I'm really enjoying this RR and the Pictures are inspiring. Looking forward to this.

I'll post day3 mañana was going to do it today but went for a -short & sweet- ride to Port Renfrew

Originally Posted by bemiiten

Great pics! Looking forward to more.

thanks!

Originally Posted by Garry_88

Again great photos and text, hope you enjoy(ed) the wash out after Cashmere and water crossing, we did.

Thanks for the info on the dry bags, it will help for sure.

Subscribed (again)

thanks

Garry

De nada Garry!
I don't recall the washout after Cashmere... maybe Garmin-io smartened-up and took us on a different route? ... Do you remember this Naomi?

Originally Posted by Speeder54

So good to see you back on the road again. I really enjoy your reports. Be safe and have fun!

I enjoy reading our RRs too ... it's cool to see how Naomi's writing and my photos come together.
Cheers Speeder54!

[svensmanager]

Originally Posted by Garry_88

Again great photos and text, hope you enjoy(ed) the wash out after Cashmere and water crossing, we did.

That was where the road had a gate across and we got lost trying to pick up the waypoints again.

[betitolara]

Originally Posted by svensmanager

That was where the road had a gate across and we got lost trying to pick up the waypoints again.

I remember now... I enjoyed the water crossing 3 times (2 out 3 were 'successfully' executed )

[Bob]

Awesome trip report.