"...its about the journey, not the destination..."


     Today is going to be about a 364 mile day, from Grande Prairie AB to Fort Nelson BC. The gps says this should take 6 hours and 13 minutes. It will be a full day, but that is what the trip is about. Riding the motorcycle. I can't say enough about the service department at Argyle Motorsports and Marine in Edmonton. I have put over 30,000 miles on my BMW R1150GS since I bought it and NEVER have the brakes been this good. They were fast, friendly and competent.

     One look out the window and I knew I was probably going to run into rain. It was in the high 40s when I left around 7:30am. The ride was fine, but I rode under the cloud deck, and by 8:30 I hit rain. This would continue off and on all day. The key to riding in this weather is to not push it, and to break the day into "pieces." I stopped at a Tim Horton's around 9:30 after gassing up for the first time. I spent some time there with a LARGE cup of hot chocolate.

A look out the window at Tim Horton's at Fort St. John BC

     After the break back on the road for another tank of gas. BC is really pretty, but I just couldn't bring myself to stop the bike, in the rain, and take scenic pictures. The ride was not bad. Although my "waterproof" boots gave up the ghost early I just enjoyed the ride. As I headed north, which is what I did all day, I also went up in elevation. The result of this was that it got colder. I stopped at a rest area and put on my electric vest. Ohhhh so nice to push a button and have heat spread around your body under your jacket. My vest has a heated collar. Man is that great!

The view out the window at the Buckinghorse River Wayside Park restaurant

     Stopped for lunch around 1:30pm at the Buckinghorse River Wayside Park, and gassed up since this was the last fuel for 100 miles! A very nice lady was the cook and the waitress. Outside it was dreary, but inside it was nice and dry and warm. I called the Super 8 in Fort Nelson and reserved a room. I had just 100 miles to go, and easy run. I pulled into Fort Nelson ready to get warm and dry out!

Fort Nelson BC. The bike is MUCH dirtier than it looks!