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The '05 Sportster (my wife's new bike and first Harley) proved reliable and comfortable on our 4,000 km trip to Yellowknife (Northwest Territories) the month before so, next, we set our sights on travelling into the British Columbia interior. This would use up our last week of vacation (click here to view pictures of the Yellowknife trip).
Substantially heavier and more powerful than her previous bikes, this new ride is quite a step up - even though Gladys has been riding for about 6 years - so part of the plan for this summer is to put lots of miles on it and do so in all kinds of conditions, so she acquires a comfort and confidence level conducive to future, frequent use of the bike. We can't afford to lay out big dollars for a motorcycle, just to let it sit around - like so much garage jewelry.
Our first trip was a 3 day affair, doing the loop from Edmonton to Rocky Mountain House, camping in Jasper National Park and then riding back to Edmonton via Hinton. Then there was the week-long Yellowknife trip. Both of those trips had consisted of fairly straight roads with the occasional long, sweeper thrown in.
This trip to B.C. would be more challenging; sort of the finishing touch to the experience she had gained so far. Riding the constantly winding, narrow and hilly roads of the B.C. interior, a rider has to be alert, responding quickly to the unexpected and constantly calibrating speed for curves and changing visibility conditions.
A week of riding the twisties of B.C. would go a long way towards refining Gladys' skills on this new bike - experience acquired from one week in B.C. probably equal to about 5 years on the flat, straight roads of our home province (Alberta), the way I figure it.
 On the mountain road to Merrit
| Riding a bike isn't like driving a car, where you can crank the steering wheel a little more at the last instant on a curve you read wrong, remain upright when a tire slips on a bit of sand and easily decelerate to a stop, mid-curve, if you need to.
On a bike it takes a bit longer to set up for a turn, change course and brake to a stop in a curve. You have to be thinking ahead more, riding in such a way (and at such a speed) that nothing can put you in a pinch that you can't get out of. It's very much a matter of adjusting your speed according to how far ahead you can see - something that constantly changes on windy, hilly roads.
Done the right way, riding such roads is a perfectly safe activity. Done the wrong way, you are simply throwing dice with your life and hoping the odds don't catch up with you.
We're all given a bag of luck when we start riding and, unable to look inside, we don't know how much we start off with. Every time you have a close call and survive, you use up a bit of that luck. The idea is to use up that bag's contents as conservatively as possible. If you are dipping into that bag's contents more than once or twice a year, you should consider re-evaluating your riding practices.
 |  | | Fueling up in Red Deer
|  Context
|  Route
| | Maps, Day 1
| As we top-up our tanks up prior to heading out, a fella approaches and strikes up a conversation. "I'm still kicking myself for selling my bike a few years ago", he says and points to his motorhome parked nearby. "Used to be, when I travelled on the bike, I met all kinds of people. Now I'm treated as a tourist. Locals no longer talk to me."
He's right about that. People are often intrigued, thinking about how your choice in transportation might work for them, so they need to know what it's like, how hard it is to do and so forth. That usually takes the form of, "Boy, that must be hard, riding those things all those miles." or "Man, I sure wish I could be doing that." In both cases, it's just their way of starting the conversation, to answer this question.
Another thing I like about riding is the way that the day(s) spent getting to and from your vacation destination is not lost time; it's fully a part of the vacation. Perfect when, like me, you only have 2 weeks a year to get away in the first place!
 |  |  | | Riding Hwy 1A on our first day
| Switching to 2 bikes now (instead of travelling two-up on one) has been a good change for us. There's more interdependence and more for my wife and I to share with each other at the end of each day. We're on the same wavelength because our experence of the road is much the same and we find ourselves exchanging ideas on how various sitations were handled (and, sometimes, how they could have been handled better).
 First fuel-up stop
|  Taking a short break at Lake Louise
| Plus, now that we're riding separately, I have a human subject to include in the frame, as I click photos while riding my bike. I got so carried away that I even took some video on one stretch. You will find examples of photos and video in this trip report.
 Arrived in Mara Lake. Time to rustle up some grub!
|  Day 2: Taking shelter from the sun during a rest stop
| After covering over 800 kms, we arrived at the place we were to stay, next to Mara Lake, in B.C.. Having both developed quite an appetite by then, Gladys cooked up some stir-fry concoction while I bar-b-qued steaks. That was a nice way to end a great day.
On day 2 we made a trip that went through Salmon Arm and then on to White Lake. After White Lake, we travelled further up Hwy 1 and turned south to a small town called Falkland.
 On the road towards Salmon Arm
|  Having a beer in Falkland
|  Context
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For awhile there, I wasn't sure we'd both arrive in Falkland together. Earlier on, Gladys had thought I was taking the wrong route and, refusing to take the same turn I did, wound up in some little town called Monte Point. Once there and realizing she had gone the wrong way, she began wishing she had stayed on my tail. After all... I had the map.
After losing her, I merely carried on for another 20 or 30 kms (down the correct route), and found a shady tree beside the road to lay under, where I waited for her to sort things out and hook up with me again.
Eventually... here she comes, spots me laying there and pulls over. The tears flow briefly (her's, not mine!).
I kinda wince as she relates the conversation she had with another motorcyclist in Monte Point, asking for directions to 'F**kland' ("Er, it's actually supposed to be pronounced Fall - K Land, Dear..."). Ah, what the heck. She made it here and that's what matters.
 Getting on the chaps for Day 3's ride
|  On Hwy 1 to Revelstoke
|  Waiting at ferry crossing, enroute to Nakusp
|  On the ferry, spotting something interesting
| On day 3 we would be facing some of the narrowest, steepest and twistiest roads of the whole trip: we were off towards Revelstoke, to then head south to Nakusp, make a couple of ferry crossings and then return west through the Monasheen range between Needles and Vernon. |
 Context
|  Route
| | Maps, Day 3
|  Waiting at the Needles ferry crossing
|  On the road leading from Needles crossing to
Vernon, through the Monasheen range
| The route through the Monasheen range, carved along its deep valleys, demands one's undivided attention to the road, the stunning scenery competing for the same. By the time we reached Vernon, the temperatures had risen to about 40 celsius, so it was time to seek the temporary shelter of an air-conditioned pub.
Unlike the previous year, we made sure to complete this stretch well before dark. The deer population is quite high (knowing B.C., it could be the type of weeds they're eating...).
 |  | | More shots of the ride through the Monasheen range to Vernon
|  The ride from Vernon, back to Mara Lake
|  Gassing up in Enderby - pretty beat from the heat by now
| On Day 4, we took a shorter trip; this time to Mable Lake. The weather remained excellent for riding. Mable Lake hosts a popular fishing derby, but we went there to experience the interesting roads.
As I follow her, it dawns on me how much smoother and confident Gladys is getting on her bike - not just taking curves faster, but also in terms of spotting unsafe road conditions in time and correctly handling them.
I frequently remind her not to round any curve faster than her ability to stop. If you can't come to a complete stop within the distance you can see around the curve, you're going too fast. In the B.C. interior, that (and not the bike's ability to hold onto the road when leaned over) is more often the limiting factor - a fact quite lost on many sportbike riders we see.
 At Mable Lake
|  Gassing up near Kelowna
|  A picture of me (for once!) enjoying the view of Mable Lake
| On day 5 we embarked again on a path of most resistance - this time heading out to Kelowna via back roads to get on an especially twisty, narrow route that hugs the west side of Lake Okanogan. Bits of sand, here and there in the curves, we had to be on guard.
 Context
|  Route
| | Maps, Day 5
| Once at Kelowna, we headed up and over a high pass leading to Merrit. With the incredible power-to-weight ratio a motorcycle delivers, going up a long, steep grades is pure joy.
After stopping in Merrit for a coffee and slice of pie, we then turned north onto Hwy 5A, towards Nicola Lake.
The lazy, gentle curves around Nicola Lake encouraged us to appreciate the surrounding scenery. Having travelled quite a few miles already that day, we began spending a bit more time at stops.
 The pull-off area near Nicola Lake
|  Chasing the sunlight
| From the pull-off areas located next to the lake, you can see the road winding far into the distance, so we decided this would be a good time to give the video camera a try - each filming the other's bike approach. Go ahead and play the two videos below to view those sequences, if you like. |
| After we finished that filming, Gladys pointed to a nearby tree and said it looked like an eagle was perched there. Video camera still in hand, I approached and the sequence below is what I managed to capture: |
| Once back to our campsite, Gladys goes straight to work, returning her bug-splattered bike to a showroom finish. Hey, nothing wrong with taking a little pride in your ride. This video also gives you a look at the place we regularly stay; "Club Mara". |
By the way, did you know there's a catch, when it comes to riding with a video camera
in one's left hand? How to shift?
That's when speed-shifting (shifting without use of the clutch) becomes necessary.
Harleys aren't the easiest bikes to shift that way, however. I guess I tapped the
shifter a bit hard at times. That was unfortunate because it caused an old problem
on my bike to reappear - the lever to the transmission shaft coming loose again.
To remedy the problem, I got a piece of metal bent with a hole in one end and fitted
that around the shifter linkage, as can be seen below. By tightening the linkage's
locknut against the metal lip, it keeps the shifter lever pressed tight against
the transmission. That did the trick.
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Temporary fix to shifter linkage
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On Day 4 we intended to ride to a place called Eagle's Point, near Blind Bay on
the Okanogan, but missed the turnoff. So, for Day 6, we decided to try for it again
(after studying the map a little closer). To get there we took an interesting backroad
to get to Salmon Arm first.
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Maps, Day 6
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After 6 days, I'm now starting to become quite impressed by Gladys' riding skills,
as she smoothly enters and rounds tight turns and does so at higher speeds than
she used to. Just as good as riding with my buddies now (plus there's unbeatable
advantages associated with women when not riding). Life just doesn't get much better
than this.
The ride to Eagle's Point was a treat, as we coursed through the windy roads past
little cottages on the right, the clear, blue waters of the Okanogan lake on our
left. The weather was hot, so we stopped for an ice cream cone in Blind Bay. We
then continued on down the road until road construction told us to turn back.
On Day 7 we decided to begin our return trip to Edmonton. We would go via Revelstoke,
Radium and Saskatchewan Crossing - stopping in Radium overnight, to divide the trip
into 2 days.
Not much traffic on it, the road from Revelstoke to Radium was a nice, relaxing
type of ride.
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Maps, Day 7
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To our pleasant surprise, there was plenty of vacancy in Radium and the motel prices
were fairly reasonable. We went out that night (to the only pub in town), where
we quickly made friends with some bikers we had seen pulling into the motel across
the street earlier. After closing time, the socializing went on in the patio area
outside our motel, until the wee hours of the morning.
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Motel room with balcony in Radium
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The following day, we all rode off together, heading to the Banff National Park,
where we would split onto different routes from there.
I should have taken a picture of those fine folks, but forgot. Well, almost. You
can see them behind us in that picture taken of my rear-view mirror, below.
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Route
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Maps, Day 8
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After a stop at Lake Louis, we fueled up at Saskatchewan Crossing and started heading
east, towards Rocky Mountain House, which would take us by the Bighorn Dam Reservoir
- always a spectacular view from the road.
Back on the long, straight roads of Alberta we eventually arrived back home with
a whole new set memories shared together, having travelled some 3,200 kms since
leaving, 8 days before.
Thanks for reading along and sharing the ride with us.
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Epilogue
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At the beginning of this trip write-up, I mentioned how Gladys' new bike was going
to take some getting used to. This touches on a problem that, from what I've read
and heard, is not uncommon. Couples, both set on Harleys and where the woman starts
riding later (Gladys began at 49) can run the risk of getting a bike that seems
(at least initially) a bit too much.
And what happens as a result? The bike ends up sitting in the garage, seldom ridden,
because the wife is not confident enough in her ability to safely handle such a
big (and expensive) machine, while the husband fumes over having spent so much money
for nothing.
It's not necessarily the case that the woman is completely incapable. It's just
that the whole thing has become too stressful. That not fun and it leads to very
little riding being done - preventing the very thing (riding) that provides a way
out of the problem.
It is 3 weeks after our trip to B.C. as I write this and, since then, things have
changed significantly. Gladys now rides her bike frequently and has few reservations
about where. It used to be that gravel roads were a huge barrier. We couldn't go
anywhere that involved a bit of riding on gravel.
The morning after, camped at the Rock Ranch concert, coffee on the boil
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That's situation is quite different now, as the next, short story illustrates.
The long weekend after the B.C. trip, we get invited to a Rock concert near Evansburg
- a small town about an hour's ride from the city. It's sort of a Woodstock thing
and admission price is only $5.00. Sounds like our kind of of concert!
So, tent, sleeping bags and other gear strapped on our bikes, off we go to find
Rock Ranch. Following the road-side signs to the concert, the paved road ends and
we're now on gravel and this is not a hard-packed, easy-to-ride gravel road. It's
deep, loose and freshly-graded - the worst kind. We have no idea at all how far
we'll have to travel on it. Talk about Gladys' worst fears!
But she perservered and we kept going. This is something she never would have attempted
prior to our B.C. trip. Not only was it gravel, this road also went steeply up and
down through many deep valleys.
Going downhill and uphill, the road had a wash-board surface, requiring us to maintain
a slow speed. Our back brakes were barely able to hold without skidding while going
down each valley and our rear tires were frequently loosing traction while trying
to climb up the ascending portions.
After each valley I looked in my rear-view mirror, expecting she would no longer
be behind - either stopped to turn back or having laid her bike down. And each time,
there she'd appear again over the horizon, still put-putting along. "Incredible",
I thought to myself.
This was the result of new-found confidence with the bike, I think - confidence
largely boosted by our trip through B.C. She was a much better rider now, with a
belief she handle difficult conditions on her bike.
We eventually found the Rock Ranch concert site, set up camp and went on to having
a great night. The bands played until 2:30 in the morning. Ours were the only motorcycles
that had made it to the gathering. We had rode 15 kms of that up-and-down, loose
gravel road to get there.
In Evansburg, after washing 30 kms of dust from the gravel road
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Well, that just about covers it for the summer's riding. With her new bike, Gladys
has now been through pretty much everything. On our trip to Yellowknife, we rode
through herds of bison, rode 2 days straight through a torrential down-pour which
included hail-induced slush. British Columbia had given us the best in terms of
weaving through curves for hours on end, powering up hills and dodging all kinds
of obstacles. And now, some excellent, prolonged gravel-riding to round things off.
It's been great.
The move up to a Harley has worked out well for Gladys, but it could have turned
out differently. The key has been riding it lots, but the choice of bike has also
been important.
Not everyone says a Sportster is the best choice for a woman and, while it's true
the center-of-gravity is a bit higher than the Dynas and Softails, the light weight
(about 550 lbs) makes a lot of difference in terms of promoting an overall can-do
attitude in terms of managing the bike. Many of the trickiest parts of handling
come up in situations where the rider has to paddle-foot the bike to get it turned
around or resort to stabbing a foot down, should the bike loose its footing on a
slippery or soft road surface. With their skinny front and wide rear tires, Sportsters
are also naturally good on gravel.
Less weight definitely helps. If overly-afraid of the bike falling on them, the
rider becomes less inclined to try the more difficult maneouvers (like tight U-turns)
and skills develop at a slower pace (or not at all).
The ride back, passing through road construction
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The recent redesign of the Sportster also removes most of its former impediments.
With its reduced vibration and a larger gas tank, it makes sense to equip it with
saddle bags, windshield and a good saddle and use it for long-distance riding. At
least that's what we did and it's worked well.
The expense and newness of a bike can affect the rate of learning just like intimidating
weight does. It's for this reason that we put engine guards on the Sportster before
it even left the dealership. Since getting the bike this spring, Gladys has dropped
her bike twice (which isn't bad, I think). Neither time resulted in any damage,
thanks to the engine guards, so the fear of ruining a nice bike is far less of an
issue than it would have been otherwise.
But still, regardless of the bike, the main key is to put lots of time in the saddle.
The thing to watch out for is not getting something that discourages that initially.
For the men reading this, once on the road with your wife and her new bike, I suggest
making sure she knows the accepted procedures and signals involved in group riding
and then letting her ride lead practically all the time. In my opinion, that's safer
overall. The lead rider's mind stays more engaged and there's no danger that they
ride faster than they should, in order to keep up with you (assuming you are the
better of the two riders).
And, for the women reading... well, rock on. Through gravel, if need be!
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