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Yes that is a rear rim strapped to the back.

My trip started in calgary on the 28th of June. My first day i was only going as far as Kelowna, to meet up with Wallybanger. The rim is his and he was going to the Vancouver area as well. So i headed out on the Crowsnest Pass. It runs close to the Can. US border through B.C. Many twists and turns, not many cops that I saw. Covering a little over 1000 Kms the first day is pretty respectible in my books.

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Crowsnest pass above the snow level.

The next morning I met up with Wallybanger at his place. We headed for breakfast and got to know each other. We talked about the two different routes we could take. Continue on the No.3 or take the Coquihalla by-pass. Depending on time the No.3 is much better for a bike trip. The whole purpose of my trip was to go to my daughters grade 12 grad in Vancouver, 6:30 on the 29th. Nothing could make me miss it. Or would mother nature? She would try.
We did our running around after we ate, met back at Wallybangers place and he packed his bike.
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Look at what he has on the back of his, too funny!


With the time getting on into late morning we decided to go for the by-pass, just to be safe. Without a doubt the good choice. We would hit spots of rain and get soaked. The rain would stop, we'd dry out, and you bet, it would rain yet again. Just an endless cycle. We had stopped for fuel in Merrit,BC when a gentlemen had informed him that there was a mudslide on the No.1 highway.

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Two lanes wide, each direction, re-routed though a small secondary highway one lane each that passes through small towns. thousands of cars backed up to a stand still. Perfect. At least it wasn't raining. Oh of course it was, it's BC. The first small town we got to had a McChoke'n'pukes, so we stopped for a coffee. We had talked about riding down the shoulder of the road and lane splitting even though it is not legal anywhere in Canada. Once back on the road the rain continued and traffic moved very slow. I kept looking at my watch and it was getting later all the time. Fianlly I turned to Wally and he gave me a nod. down the shoulder I go, Wally right behind me. That pissed off a lot of people. Some honked at us, others yelled, some even pulled their cars out to block us. we even rode right down the center line. It was great until I spotted some lights on top of a car ahead of us. Not a cop but a peace officer. They are a little downfrom cop but can still give traffic violations. We sat behind a SUV for a while looking at him. He kept looking in his mirror at me. He knew what we we doing. Finally, still looking at me he signal for me to pull up to his car. Damn it! Once I pull up, he turns his head toward me and say, "Be careful".
Looking at him I said, " You are seriously going to let us?"
His reply was simple. "That's not what I said, I said be careful."
Turning to Wallybanger, I signal for him to follow again and off we go. Thousands of cars passed. Hours saved. Great ride. I got to my daughters with minutes to spare. No time for a shower or shave. Changed my clothes and off to the grad.
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Wallybanger, it was a pleasure to meet and ride with you. Looking forward to next time! Anyone who has a chance to meet him, do it. Stand up guy.

More to come...........

waiting for the rest! great start so far.

After spending a few great days in theVancouver area with my daughter, it is time to hit the road.
Heading south of the border I aim myself towards the Seattle area. Andrewebay1 and I had been texting back and forth. He had to work during the week but would be free on the week end. As luck would have it I got to Seattle late on Fri. afternoon and got a hotel in the Seatac area. After letting Andrew know where I was staying we agreed to meet there at about 8:30 the following morning. Our plan was to ride to Mt.St. Helens. As scheduled, Andrew arrived and we talked for a bit and looked over each others bikes. I think he was expecting to see a younger guy and was caught off-guard. Just before heading out I suggested he take the lead because then we could travel at his pace. Me being from Canada, I don't care if I get caught speeding because I won't pay the ticket anyways. Him being from Wash. Could get into a lot of trouble if we go fast. He insisted that I take lead because he likes to travel fast as well. He informed me that it would be about a 3 hour ride to St.helens. Again, I think the grey hair threw him off. Super-slab riding isn't too fun you say? Never done it with me. 3 and sometimes 4 lanes wide, moderate traffic, and average speed of 110 miles/hr. is a great time. We slowed down for about a mile at one point. I spotted a leo on the shoulder. As we went past him he started to roll out and get into traffic. Aftera couple lane changes, I couldn't see him in my mirrors and I was back to 110. Never saw him again. We made it to Castle rock in near record time. As we started filling our tanks, Andrew had said that it won't take us 3 hours. From here the road only gets better. Not as wide, way more curves, tighter corners but lower speed limit.
Just as a note, the elevation of Castle Rock is 50 above sea level. At one point we were over 4000ft.
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Andrews bike is very tastfully modded. Very nice.

Mountain roads+speed=fun. It isn't the best mountain road I have been on,but quite enjoyable, indead. I was to St.helens a few years ago with my family, in our cage. Everything is so different when you are on a bike.
Speeding up the side of the mountain I had noticed a bike that was trying to keep up with us. It was one that we had passed but, I couldn't tell what kind. It would fall behind until we would get stuck behind cars. Once we passed he wwould try again. Stopping at one viewpoint part way up, he did as well. After talking to him for a while and taking some pictures, we proceded to make our way up. The destruction that happened here in 1980 is amazing. To this day it looks like an atomic bomb went off. Just vast mountain-sides and valleys of nothing. 31 years after, still next to nothing. Anyone who is in a 20hr radius go check it out. Even pictures don't show or tell the story. The facts that the rangers tell are simply amazing. I have done a lot of riding in the last few years and seen a lot of interesting things in the US. This is no.1 one my list so far.
Andrewebay1 is a top-notch guy. Good rider, great conversationalist, all round great guy. Looking forward to you riding up here to Edmonton. Would definately show you some sights and some amazing roads around here. Thanks for riding with me and thanks again for lunch, next time its on me.

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Damn, I was out of town all weekend and missed the fun! I'm just a few miles east of SeaTac. 110 mph sounds fun, but I'm not sure my insurance could take the hit from a ticket at that speed!!

Glad you made it to your daughter's graduation and had a great trip to Seattle and Mt. St. Helens!

Once Andrew and I had gotten off the mountain, we noticed my front tire was looking pretty bad. When I had left home it looked like it would make the trip no problem. I figured the rear would be done before I hit Seattle, not the front. Looking at the time I could have just enough time to make Portland before the bike shops close. If I speed. Getting into Portland at 5:30 on a Saturday night. Lets just say, Not only that but no shop is open on Sunday, Monday is the 4th of July. SHIT! After gasing up in Portland and getting something to eat I decide I may as well start heading East. After looking at my map and talking to a friend I decided to stay off of I-84 and to follow the the Columbia river on the small secondary highway 14(Washington side). Wow, what a ride. Twist and turns, beautiful scenery. This is another must if you live in the area. Make a week end of it. I followed that all the way to Umatilla,Oregon where I crashed for the night. On the road by 7:00 I had to make a decision. Hangin the US for two full days and get new rubber, ft/rear or make my way for home. I figured if I make a town in Canada I can at least get rubber on the Monday. So I started my run for the border. Mostly slab-riding until about Coeur d'Alene, but it gets you there.

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Thanks. It is too bad you couldn't join us. That would have been great. Your bike and mine are like blood brothers, since I have your old forks.

Just as I was getting close to Spokane, some guy really wants to check out my bike. It is quite eye catching. We are at the side of the interstate for a while swapping stories and having afew laughs and we exchange contact information. Correction i give him my contact info. He gives me a $175 dollar speeding ticket. 89 in a 70 zone. We did share a few stories and he did laugh. I told him that $175 is cheap. He figures thatis why he tickets so many Canadians. I told him that is was more than likely because we have no intention of paying them. I also told him that my bike has been to 28 states and never beenn pulled over. 89 for me is slow usually I am around the 100-110 mark. He told me he would impound my bike and arrest me for that speed. Nice guy none the less, just doing his job. I think I was back up to 90 before I was out of his sight. I guess I won't be going back to Wash. state anytime soon.

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These are just a few pics I took while in Spokane. Some very nice, old architecture.
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Now is the final leg of my journey. Stopping in sandpoint Idaho I fuel up my bike and realize my chain is done. Not being too far from the border I know I can limp it across. Looking at the tires, no noticible differance at all. The border crossing was flawless other than a bit of a line up. Now just about 500km to go with two bald tires and a stretched chain. No problem. The tough part is to stay at a reasonible speed now that I am back in Canada. Arriving home at 10:30 pm I didn't even unload my bike. I can do that in the morning.

Bike work needed:

new front rubber
new back rubber
new chain
new front brake pads
new rear brake pads
bleed rear brake

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Now I just have to "scrub" in the new rubber. Hmmmm, anyone in California willing to ship me some sand?

It's going to be a whole new bike. If it didn't have so many miles on it. BTW, for those keeping track, no significant milestones along the way. It will be this summer sometime. Right now it is sitting at 158,143 kms/98839miles on the clock. Once I hit the 100k miles I would like to do a compression test on mine and Mcromo44s for a comparison. Stay tuned for that.

Trip numbers:

3556.7 Kms
2222.9 miles
174.8 liters of gas
46.2 gallons
average 48 miles/gal.

Hey Wallybanger and Andrewebay1, feel free to post your pics and video as well. Comments are more than welcome too.

awesome! great write up, glad you made it back safe considering your tires and chain... sorry i couldnt work it out to meet up with you in portland but seems to have worked out. i was planning on taking you down hwy 14 and am glad you found it on your own, it's a great ride for sure. keep us posted regarding the compression test, i'm very interested in that!

Great trip report. Too bad about the weather, washed out road and the worn parts. Still way better then a few weeks in the office right! Nice pics.

I look forward to the compression test!

Wow, you squeezed every last possible mile out of those tires!!!! Now that you have new rubber it's time for another trip!

Under your circumstances, you made the right choice. Next time I'm out that way I'll take you up on that beer offer. I just need to figure out how to get there by going around Wash. Hmmmmm.........I am glad I found that hwy 14 as well, amazing.


I didn't mind the weather,mudslide or even the worn parts too much. I take it all as an experience. Good/bad. The weather is just part of dealing with things and part of motorcycling.

As Mcromo44 has said. I am thrifty or frugal, not cheap. I always want to get my dollars worth. I can strech a penny so far it turns to copper wire. I am sure there a lot of guys who would beinterested in this compression test. I am most curious only because mine seems to get better miliage than any other 9er I have riden with. Same roads, same speeds, same weather, yet I always seem to burn about 1/2 gallon less gas.

You get much better mileage than I ever have. My first 919 had about 14,000 miles on it when it was totalled, and my current 919 has 12,000 miles on it. The fuel light on both bikes always comes on around 140 miles. My average is about 40 mpg.

Even when Andrew an I left Seatac, both had full tanks. I had my bike loaded up, he didn't. Both running about 100-110, same slab, same distance (about 110 miles IIRC). We both fill up....he used about .4 gallon more than I did. My engine just broken in now? Last year I noticed a significant increase in milage. The only mod I did around that time was the pairs block off plates.

Excellent write up you put down there, looks like one great tour! I'm glad you stuck around Seattle for Friday night so I can tag along the next day, it is quite the sight to see. The destruction is just unreal. Here are a couple of shots of the mountain:




Here's a shot from the side of the volcano:


And this series is from Johnston Ridge Observatory:




On this shot, you can see the center of the crater bulge up. This wasn't how it was 5 years ago. Not sure if anyone saw on the news several years ago when St Helens had steam rising from the crater and created buzz in the Science/Geological world. I don't have the exact numbers, but I believe the center came up in a matter of meters (that portion against the center back).


I will write up more in a little bit; this coffee shop I'm in is closing down.

Damn you got some zoom there. Nice shots. That lava dome in the center huge. I believe I was told it would be enough to make a road from Chicago to NYC 6 lanes wide. Looking forward to seeing more of yours. It was my pleasure to wait around for you. I haven't met a WT yet that I didn't like.

At the end of Spirit Lake Highway is the Johnston Ridge Observatory, this is the closest point you can get to the volcano without having a permit. There are trails that have been put in recently that allows you to go a little closer, particularly one that goes around Spirit Lake, but as far as hopping off a vehicle and getting a peak this is it.

Johnston Ridge Observatory:


Another shot of the observatory and the surrounding lands, you can see where the earth was moved and flowed down to the valley which eventually led out to the Puget Sound. A lot of the dead trees lying around and boulders were blown in. Where this picture was taken, debris (some boulders the size of small cars) flew in at 500MPH. Further down the land, they were coming in at a slow 300MPH.



Some more shots of the area:

By following the direction of the dead trees laying around the land, you can tell which way the cloud and debris came out of the mountain and hit the area. (Mt St Helens erupted sideways)




Coldwater Lake


Looking down at the one road that leads up to the observatory

Definitely a memorable run in my book. In a life where one cranks out the 9-5 six days a week. The thought of taking off on a motorcycle with a sleeping bag, tent, and dealing with planning, roads, conditions, etc; would be only something in the imagination. (One item on the bucket list would be to do 101/1 to CA from the WA coast) With a bit of inspiration from Rickard919 and his 'let it be' ways, this dream just got easier to make into reality. Thanks again for letting me tag along and may you reach your 49 states with what I believe is the highest mileage 919 on the continent. 98K miles and crankin out better gas mileage than mine which is under 20k is just astounding.

And I may take you up on that offer to ride the back-roads in your parts. I'm overdue to visit my family in Edmonton and what better way than to do it on the motorcycle.

Cheers!

* Oh and I'll have that video up soon. I gotta trim it down to 4-5 mins from 15.

Looks like an epic ride. Thanks for sharing the story and picture. Just beautiful!

Glad I could help inspire you. Can't wait to see the video. The pleasure of riding with you was all mine.

I remember when the moutain started to smoke again. I think it rose 50 or more meters. I can't wait to see the video. Mt. St. Helens is on my bucket list to see in the lower 48.

Quite the trip.
I really enjoyed the bit about the exchange of contact info.
Pretty good timing re your daughter's grad too, 10 minutes before curtain time is beyond impressive, that is into the stressful zone !

I have been up to Mt.StHelens a few times years apart,it continues to amaze me each time.Never did it on a bike though,being from Minnesota,I fly out to see my brother in Kelso and ride with him back to Mn for a vacation. Always a good trip.Would be a sweet ride on my 9er though.You guys sure got lucky with the weather being so clear up there. Thanks for the pic's and writeup AWESOME STUFF.

Waiting.

I haven't forgotten! I've been swamped at work and I gotta use the computers there to process the video (in HD). My laptop would just be painstakingly slow to try it. I'll have it by the weekend!

I would have met up with you in Idaho, but I'm way down south, about 11 hours south of Coer da lene. REALLY pretty up there, though, been there a couple of times.

Nice trip! and thanks for the write-up!

I would have gone down that way. I had no where to go in a hurry. Next time......

Video yet or did I miss it?

This was a quick edit, and just threw some music on there. I will be making a longer version as well, hopefully Youtube doesn't take it off for the tunes. Enjoy!

*PS make sure to click up to 480p

Dang! Couldn't you fit any more luggage on there?

Nice thread, thanks for sharing!

Great video Andrew

That was a fun ride. I like any ride at double the speed limit. The guy on the BMW trying to keep up, too funny. Thanks for posting that Andrew.

Great video. Nice use of RHCP they need a new Album out and soon. What elevation is treeline at in WA, i.e. the place you stopped at the end of the video?

Maybe it was just me but when you shifted I never noticed your tach needle move......

That was about 3700ft IIRC. The start was at about 300ft.

3400ft gained is nice. Any noticeable power loss or does the ECU do a great job adjusting to the change?

I live at 3500ft. I notice a huge gain of power when i drop down to sea level. The ECU may adjust some but not nearly enough.

Okay not to go too off topic but Ottawa919 had notice some low end torque loss when using his new Delkevics in the higher elevation twisties. I have yet to experience this as I live at 6700ft. I can go up to 10K ft or more depending on the ride.

Either of you have PC? Custom maps? For the trip I had a factory map in my PCIII. Once I got back Mcromo44 and I put in a map for 3500ft. I noticed a gain of power once uploaded. Ottawa elevation is 230ft. Going from that to that to a high elevation you would notice a drop in power. Take yours from 6700ft down to 2000ft and you'll feel the difference. Even andrewebay1 had commented about the drop in power when we went to 4000ft. 4000ft change in a half hour is a large change in a short time.