Day One: We left our home at 7:30 a.m. The weather was clear and warming up quickly. Since my husband's bike's gas mileage sucks, we ended up either stopping at gas stations or using the jerry can to fill up his bike every 100 kms. We took the fastest, most direct route from Vancouver to Kelowna, BC (Coquihalla and then the 97C), and then headed south on Hwy 33. This took us until mid-afternoon! It was getting hot out and we drank lots of water at every gas stop. We ended up stopping in at Christina Lake for the night. Nothing eventful to report except for me dropping my bike at our second gas stop. Grabbed too much front brake on a slight uphill slope, unbalanced the heavy load I had on the back (jerry can and saddlebags) and the bike fell over on the right, almost onto my husband. Oops. A passing motorist was very helpful and helped right the bike. That was the first and last bike mishap of the trip, I'm glad to report. Since I'm only able to stop with the ball of one foot on the ground, or just the very tips of my boots touching on both sides, one mishap for the whole trip isn't bad, riding lots of roads and stopping at many gas stations, motels and restaurants! (odometer: 20 893)

Day Two: Left Christina Lake at 8:00 am and got to Earl's parents' home in Trail, BC an hour and a bit later. We parked the bikes for a few days while we visited and celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. (21020)

Day Four: Left for Glacier National Park at 8:30 a.m. and crossed into Idaho around 11a.m. We weren't in Idaho for very long, as we turned east on Hwy. 2 just before Bonner's Ferry and headed into Montana, the land of "safe and prudent" speed. Hey, wait a minute! What's that speed limit sign posted? 70 mph, 60 mph at night? Hmph. We stopped in Libby for lunch at a restaurant with the most awesome grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. The weather today was again clear and getting hot. Maybe wearing my leather pants and nylon Joe Rocket jacket wasn't such a great idea. It was kind of freaky seeing most riders in Montana without helmets on! Mostly Harley guys in do-rags and shades, but also a few squids in shorts and wrap-around shades. We stopped in Kalispell for gas, and as I was inside paying, a woman and her son, who was grinning ear to ear while pointing and looking at MY bike, were talking to my husband. "Do y'all ride that kamikaze bike into Libby once a week?" she asked him. He said that no, it was his wife's bike and we weren't from around here. When I came out of the store my husband asked me, "dear, do you go into Libby once a week on that kamikaze bike?".

We got into Hungry Horse (just outside of Glacier NP) around 5 p.m. and settled in at our motel. It was the nicest one in town, which isn't saying much, but I'm glad I read the AAA Tour book and reserved there rather than at the motel down the road. Reservations are a must this time of year around Glacier NP, as all of the motels and campgrounds had no vacancy signs up that night! (21445)

Day Five: Rode into Glacier National Park around 8:30 a.m. to beat the Winnebagos and mini vans to the park, and rode to Lake McDonald. We ate breakfast at a restaurant there, where the food was good but the service was incredibly slow! Instead of negotiating Going to the Sun road on the motorbikes we took the Jammer bus tour which took us around the park so we could gawk at the scenery and wildlife and take lots of pictures. Again the weather was perfect, and by the end of the day we were both sunburned. We saw all of the must-sees like the Weeping wall, Logan Pass, St. Mary Lake, Sun Point, Trail of the Cedars, Birdwoman Falls, etc. The only wildlife we saw was a few mountain goats at Logan Pass.

We noticed that we'd seen lots of bikes, mostly Harleys, since we crossed into Montana. Apparently Sturgis was happening this week, so that would explain it. Actually I was quite surprised that almost all of the riders (Harley and non-Harley) waved as we rode by. It was pretty cool. Living in Vancouver I'm accustomed to only getting waved at by other sport bike riders. We had dinner at the lounge in Lake McDonald lodge and headed back to the motel. (21500)

Day Six: Headed west back to BC, leaving at 8 a.m. under gray skies with sprinkles of rain. We hit a few patches of rain on the way back, but nothing too bad. On the way back we took Hwy. 93 which crossed into BC at Roosville. We headed west on Hwy. 3 and stopped in Cranbrook for lunch. Since it was only 11:30 we decided to head back to Earl's parents'. 20 kms. outside of Creston we hit road construction. It was awful - pilot car controlled, gravelly and extremely dusty. For some of the 15 kms. we couldn't see the brake lights of the car in front of us! We tried not to breathe in any of the fine gray dust. When we finally emerged from the dust cloud and got into Creston, we were both cursing and swearing at the highways ministry. A layer of dust had settled on our clothes, saddlebags, tank bags and helmets. We rinsed off and vacuumed when we got to Earl's parents', but it still hasn't all come off! We stayed and visited for a few days, and I celebrated my 30th birthday. (21964)

Day Nine: Had to head back home as I had to get to work on Monday. It was gray and cloudy out, and as we rode to Kelowna it rained pretty heavily in some areas. I was pretty soaked by the time we stopped at Denny's for lunch. My husband, in his traditional biker jacket and rain pants over his jeans, was almost dry except for his hands and feet. We decided to find a motel for the night in Kelowna, but that was easier said than done. The Thunderboat races were happening this weekend, and by the third phone call to a motel, I was thinking that we may have to get back into the rain and ride home. But we found a motel with a vacancy so we took it! (22 322)

Day Ten: Left Kelowna at 8 a.m., under sunny skies. By the time we got to the summit on the 97C, I was freezing! When we got to Merritt for gas, a guy at the gas station said that his thermometer said it was 17C on top. I didn't believe him. The skies darkened and my husband hurried me to finish my coffee and get going. As we got to the toll plaza on the Coquihalla it started raining, and didn't stop the rest of the way home. As we got onto Hwy. 1 and rode towards Vancouver the skies were completely overcast and the rain was coming down pretty hard, and I could hear cars' tires hydroplaning that were driving beside us. By the time we got home I was cold and miserable, and vowed not to get back on my bike for a month. (22 715)

Well, I rode to work once this week (it was sunny out) and have almost completely forgotten about that miserable ride in the rain. For many seasoned long distance riders this trip sounds like a weekend jaunt, but for me the 2465 km. trip for me was a milestone! The bike was surprisingly comfortable and most of the time it was zippy enough to get around traffic. The longest trip I'd done before was the Sportbike West trip last August that was 900 kms. Time to plan our next trip - I've always wanted to see the Grand Canyon!

Me, grayish after the construction zone