Wanting to make some good time I avoided taking the scenic route out of Vancouver and opted for the most direct route possible. I had a nice forecast ahead of me. Heated gear will prove to come in handy at times as elevations climbed and dropped and climbed again. The adjustable thermostat got some tweaks every few 100 clicks or so, which proved to be another must have feature with the heated accoutrements.
Here's what the planned ride looked like from Google Map: 532 miles and over 9 hours.
Now this seems doable right? Right! So off I go. Early 7am start to beat the rush hour traffic. Now all started out well for the first 5 minutes. Then I hit some pretty heavy traffic. Now I had the radio on the local rock station and wouldn't you know it - warning us of a major 3 car and 1 truck accident on BC-1 East bound! I only have like 99 miles to do on this road! So what to do? Do I get off or Wait it out. Arrive late in Banff at night in the middle of nowhere or find another route. Well has fate would have it...I cheated a bit. Some guy on a BWM Motorcycle seemed to think it was ok for him to be on the reserved car pool lane. He had local plates so I figured it must be ok for bikes to use the lane. BOY was that a good time saver. I followed him right up till the end. Now I saw maybe 5 other cars on this lane. So I guess the residents of Vancouver are very patient drivers. No one took this lane, besides the cars with passengers and I probably counted 3 other motorcycles on this lane. So maybe it was legal to be there? I would have pleaded TOURIST if ever I got pulled over, but that never happened and we passed the major accident and clean-up crews that were busily picking up car parts spread over the 2 lanes of the highway and towing trucks were doing their very best to clear the car carcasses off the road. The BMW bike gave me a wave has he came up to his exit and I finally got to put the bike in cruise control after about 30 minutes from leaving West Van. From the reports I heard over the radio, some folks were doomed to be stuck back there for hours has the flow of morning work commuters grew - Phew! Sorry for them, but happy for me. Guess I got off ok and made some excellent time on the rest of the ride to Banff without any hitches. Couple of gas stops and some minor adjustments to the vest both upping the heat, then lowering it, then cranking it up to a nice warm setting. It was a great ride. Sunny but Cool, in the low to mid 50F. I could have stopped so many times to take pictures, but I didn't. I still had a fair amount of riding to do and Troy warmed me that it got dark earlier in the rockies and suggested to avoid if possible night ridding. All kind of critters big and small like to come out. Warning understood and so I tried to keep the speed just under radar trap limits. I later found out how aggressive the local law is about speeding (photo to follow). One thought that goes runs through my mind as I take in all the majestic scenery that keeps rolling by me is how unbelievable this ride continues to be. As far back as Washington and Montana States into Vancouver and onward to Banff must be ridden again and then again. I can't imagine how locals could ever get bored with the choices of rides out here. What lucky riders they are. A move out here sometime in the future will be highly considered if I decide to continue living in Canada. But I know I'm still a young rider and who knows what sites I will see down the roads?
Made it in less than 10 and a half hours. Gained and hour with the time zone change. I got to say that this little (huge) centre was NOT easily found. Can anyone say welcome to heaven!
My window view from The Banff Centre - Gracious accommodations provided by Troy! No camping for this biker tonight or two :)
Decided to go out and find some dinning - This seemed like a good spot! Free parking. See that red light back there?
Oh let me get my fat head out of that view for you all.. Ah now that's much better!
I think I know where I'm going next for supper. Pasta sounds good:
Noticed that little sign above the steps leading upstairs to the Pizza place, the round sign next to Athena Pizza's? Well that's were I ended up! Great Choice - It was a little placed called Banff Ave Pub or something. Seemed like a nice crowd and I was happy with my order! What do you think TracyB?
That pretty much sums up this day's ride. It's getting late. I need to get back to that great room for some much needed rest. I have 2 more full days to discover the Banff area to come. Tomorrow will be solo and Troy will be meeting up with me here on the 14th. I'm looking forward to it.
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