Last of the Rockies ... maybe?

The Weekend before and Week commencing Monday, September-03

During the last stretch of miles, over Hwy-40 - the highest paved road in Canada - I hit a road-wide cattle grid while riding too fast .. probably. The result: well, my top box just bounced right off its mounting rack and tumbled-on down the tarmac behind me at around 70 mph [113 km/h]. Fortunately all of the contents - mercifully, including my computer - survived undamaged, but the box itself ...

.. took on a lot of scrapes and scratches.

I might have been able to live with the scarring, but not with the deep crack, which inevitably would have been the perfect access point for infiltrating water .. :o(

So on Sunday I ordered a new top box from the Honda parts dealer, David Silver Spares Ltd of Leiston, Suffolk, back in the UK. Tim assured me that the item would probably take no longer than two days to arrive.

I was sceptical about this prediction?! - But nevertheless went ahead and placed the order on-line.

DSS would surely not have picked-up and actioned the order until the following morning, Mon-Sep-03.

BUT THE VERY NEXT DAY - Tue-Sep-04 - UPS Express were attempting to deliver it, in Calgary AB, before midday

Now how's that for service .. huh?

Problem solved .. and all well within Tim's 48 hour predicted timescale.

I woz wrong .. thankfully! .. :o)

And just when my back was turned, Tim carries-out a much needed and overdue engine oil and filter change for me. What a bloke he is ...

.. nice one Tim .. ;o)

So, because of the prevailing bad weather, after an aborted attempt to do some more local touring on Thursday-06, and a splendid roast beef & Yorkshire pud dinner during the evening, cooked by the fair Diana; the following day (Fri-Sep-07) Tim and I set off westwards together.

I mentioned earlier to my fantastic hosts during the week that I really missed Maynards Wine Gums, and was looking forward to buying a pack on my return to the UK in three weeks' time.

My farewell gift from Diana was the BIGGEST pack - 1 Kg [2.2 lbs] - of wine gums that I've ever seen. I'll fit them in somewhere, that's for sure .. ;o) ...

.. AND a handy supply of real English tea bags that'll prolly last me the rest of the trip.

Again, nice one fellas .. ;o) ;o)

The morning's riding is cold, with the temperature rarely rising above 7º - 8ºC [44º - 46ºF]. So I revert to my trusty Rev'it jacket, fully lined, AND a thick wollen sweat jumper (and T-shirt) underneath. These are the coldest temperatures that I've experienced so far in North America. But as Tim said, 'This is Canada - and it's September, so all bets are off as far as the weather is concerned'

We stop briefly at the township of Banff and from a vantage point, take a good look at the Scottish baronial castle-styled hotel, the 'Fairmont Banff Springs' ...

.. then move on for around a further 40 miles [64 km] to Castle Mountain, where we stop for a cuppa and danish pastry

Onwards along the 1a, following the Bow River until we turn left and south up and along the mountain road to ...

.. Moraine Lake

As we ride back along the way we came I notice the weather is turning particularly foul towards the east. I'm glad I'm heading west today!

Not long afterwards we arrive a Lake Louise, which lies in a classic setting back-dropped by snow-capped mountains and ravines, even at this time of year.

It is here, afer escorting me for 146 miles [235 km], that Tim and I finally say our goodbyes. Top bloke! with a real good woman alongside him.

I do hope we all keep in touch, going forward.

On my own again .. :o(

9 miles [14½ km] I cross the provincial border into British Columbia.

Some way along as I approach the city of Golden I stop for some water and look behind, to the east, the weather really is turning to shite back there. I think of Tim .. and his probable wet ride back to Calgary.

But I must press on along the Trans-Canada Highway (Hwy-1). After 340 miles [547 km] for the day, I drop into the sleepy township of Revelstoke; book a motel room, and make for the local sports bar for a couple of beers and some fried chicken.

I am now into my fifth time zone. [(1) ‘Atlantic’, (2) ‘Eastern’, (3) ‘Central’, (4) ‘Mountain’] and now I’m adjusting my clocks to ‘Pacific’ Time.

'Tis been a good day.

Saturday, September-08
I'm really 'up for it' today. The weather is glorious and set fair for the next few days. There's not a breath of wind in the cloudless sky as I head off westwards along TC-1 towards the Pacific Ocean.

Good ol' Tim Hortons. You know you're back in Canada when you seen the sign. I can't resist a visit. Great coffee, super-fresh muffins .. and cheerful staff. Good value for money too. I just can't resist it! .. :o)

I ride through the lakeside township of Salmon Arm. It looks like an attractive place. So I pull-off the highway ...

.. and by chance soon ride straight into the path of fellow STer, John James from Edmunton, AB. John emigrated to Canada back in the 1970s from Buckinghamshire. We 'talk STs' together for around 15 minutes

Shuswap Lake. It seems to go on forever.

But 351 miles - some of them very fast ones indeed - after leaving Revelstoke, I finally arrive in North Vancouver where my GPS unit guides me straight to my good mate's (Stan's) place in the Windsor Park area.

Stan who I met, again by pure chance/luck, down in New Zealand on one sunny summer afternoon, around midday, on February 17.

Since then Stan has stopped over in my place in Cornwall; and now here I am, at his home, some 4,647 miles away, as the crow would fly (the 'Great Circle Route').

It's a small world sometimes.

And now here I am, finally on the shores of the Pacific Ocean?! I just can't believe that I have motorcycled right the way across, coast-to-coast, east to west, the entire continent of North America.

And I notice that I’ve just clocked-up 12,000 miles [19,300 km] miles for the trip so far.

'Tis been another fantastic day.