So on with the adventure - Monday September 10th 2012

The day after my short but albeit much anticipated meeting with my brother I did a bit of site seeing of Vancouver.  On Monday morning my buddy Craig suggested I come and visit his office at EA games before heading out to meet up with my nephew who would give me a tour of Whistler.

The EA headquarters is located on the Corner of Sanderson Way and you guessed it..Kincaid!

All I can say about the EA building complex is WOW!  Sorry no pictures aloud inside.  Top Secret stuff happening in there at the time of my visit.  But I can say that they sit on a very nice spot and have views of the rockies that blow my mind.  Had a great visit.  Great coffee.  Lots and lots of stairs and I was glad to back on the saddle of my bike after a 30 minute private tour of the facility.  Thanks again Craig for that wonderful visit.

So the plan was for me to meet up after my visit of EA Games with my nephew at the nearby HD dealer in Vancouver around 10am and head out to Whistler.  This is where I also met with Cecil (aka: Connector - roadglide.org member).  Cecil was nice enough to give me plenty of advice and routes to travel entering and leaving the great province of BC.  Now if only I knew then what I know now...you can bet I would:  A:  Stay Longer and B: Discover more of the beauty of this place.  I Will return.  Nat needs to discover this with me.
But I did have a pressing feeling that I had to move on.  I'm almost half way through my trip at this point and I know that Life is expecting me back home.  It's a great feeling to know you have something to head back too, but for now Let's enjoy the moment and the awesome views!

Here's a pic with me and Cecil out back of HD Trev Deeley Motorcycles in Vancouver.  I'm sporting my new Heated vest in this shot.  Got to say...worth every penny and it got more use than I expected.  It made some of the worse weather riding conditions much more bearable.  A 6 hour rain ride with high winds in the mid 40F comes to mind.  Probably would have only done 2 or 3 hours at best without the warmth and comfort that the vest provided.

Also noted here is that when I do return to this neck of the woods.  Cecil is the guy to shepherd us around.  I look forward to that future time with great anticipation!  Thanks again Connector for all your guidance and generosity.  We came so close to connecting for that Ride in Washington State.  Next time I won't dare miss it.


Once the visit of the Deeley's was over and our goodbye's with Cecil were done.  My nephew and I headed out to Whistler.
If memory serves me it was about an hour and a half ride from Downtown Vancouver through some of the most amazing views this Country has to offer.  I only wish my camera could do it justice (note to self: Buy a GoPro Video Cam for bike!).  I can only imagine also from what others have said how far off you can see when their are no clouds to obstruct the full range of the views..but I still got the feeling of the SPLENDOUR of this area.

After grabbing lunch in Whistler Village with Michael at a place called Mike's:

I highly recommend getting a ticket to visit the Peak 2 Peak (P2P) alpine experience.  A 4.4 kilometer journey too really get the best views of what Whistler is all about.  Now this is a little spendy at 50$/each for a day pass.  But it's worth every penny.  If you plan on staying longer or visiting back within a year, they do sell a Year pass for 75$ or so for unlimited access.  If I lived there...I would SO get one of those!

   We met one guy in one of the 3 part gondola climbs up the mountain face that was there to promote his invention "The Wheel Pack".  Some kind of uni-wheel for trekkers.  2 wheels bikes are not  aloud on the hiking passes but this little gizmo is not considered a bike...so he spent 3 days trekking through the mountain ranges.  Must have been a blast!
Here's a YouTube video of the model I believe to be the same model he was using and a link to the web site of the company: www.packwheel.com  I hope he made a lot of sales on this trip. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiE-vu6hyT0

Here's another picture I found of a competing model called a MonoWalker.

Ok enough of promoting hiking gear.  On to the pictures...

This is the plan for the Peak 2 Peak ride:

1st leg of the gondola ride:
My nephew...all smiles all the time!  He will be making good use of that camera too!

1st floor - Exit;  Woman's Lingerie and Canadian Flags ;)  Oh...its cold on this floor...and windy!

As we get into the next Gondola...we met our Trekking uni cycler and he pointed out that He had just come down from over that peak and down this passage in this next photo:  No bears...Yet!

On the next Gondola ride up I got a bit of time to call Natoue and tell her of my days plans.  My nephew was like a monkey in the gondola snapping what must have been over 3 dozen pictures or so.  Here's some of his photography.  He happens to be a paid part-time photographer to help pay for his education.  He's quite talented if ever anyone is looking for a good photographer out West I can hook you up with him.  He's got LOT's of great ideas and impresses me continuously with his range of talents.  He will work for Food/Beer and lodging :)

 I might add that two of the Gondola's have a see through glass bottom.. Imagine the feeling of emptiness under your feet!  Must be an amazing feeling/view.

Only partly paying attention to the photographer.

1st Peak view:

I'm getting a bit impressed here has hinted by the brow action and WOO sound escaping my lips :)

Next time I pass here.  I'd recommend packing a small lunch and having some decent hiking/walking shoes.  Biker Boots were OK but not the best as the terrain became very rocky (Oh! so THAT's how it gets it's name).  You will find a small food court on the other peak but it won't be cheap.

So if it was not for the Big Yellow Marker I would never have guessed we were still on a Marked Path:

Ok, these next pictures were taken moments later...remember that earlier mention of bears...well, here's a cub and within moments...MOMMY!

Now thankfully I had my fastest knife in the world buckle belt on and I was quick to make mince pie out of mama bear.  Oh yeah, another good reason for those good hiking shoes I mentioned earlier is for RUNNING!

Now also VERY important is the DIRECTION you RUN in...I choose poorly..The other Peak.

Now safely on the other side.  You can use the amenities to clean out your shorts and have a moment to think about buying a bigger knife or maybe a bazooka!
Here's a look at the inside of the chalet on this side of the peak:

And here I am feeling safe and sound from that big bad bear on the other side:

And here is my nephew showing me his skills with PhotoShop:

But I still recommend good hiking shoes even though the terrain does not seem so Tough anymore! lol

I had a great day in Whistler.  Drove my nephew back to downtown Vancouver for his night courses and rode back to West Vancouver for the night.

At this time, I could not even imagine that any days to come could top this day.  I simply did not completely understand the beauty yet to come of this great country.  Great rides to come!