Motorcycling in BC - My kind of Father's Day!

You can't beat British Columbia for long hot summer days, and on two wheels is my perfect way of spending at least some of them. And so it was that myself and two other non fathers found ourselves heading out at 6:30 am this Sunday for a day of long distance sport bike riding. We had decided to load the bikes onto a truck to get the first 150 kms of straight, (i.e. dull) roads over the mountain range and into the next valley out of the way nice and early so we'd be in a good place at a good time to ride. It also makes sense not to be riding in the countryside at 'wildlife o'clock'! 9 am and two hours from home, three good friends on three modern sport bikes are gearing up under wall to wall blue skies and warming temperatures - it doesn't get much better than this!

BC is renowned for its stunning scenery and lack of traffic, so the next four hours were a constantly changing abundance of snow capped mountains above us and raging rivers in valley floors far below us as we passed by myriad Provincial Parks; glistening lakes seemingly at every turn and endless miles of twisting turning roads. Around every corner there's a classic photo opportunity; but this day wasn't about the photos (stopping upsets the flow of smooth 'swift' riding ;-). Through Spence's Bridge, Litton and Lillooet we made good time - very little traffic and zero police presences tends to help with this...;-)

Lunch was in an exceedingly healthy cafe in the town of Pemberton in the valley, (of the same name) floor that surrounds the famous Whistler/Blackcomb year round 'ski' resort and was our brief interaction with other humans for the day. It was also our turn around point in order to keep our riding to the 'middle of nowhere'. The nearer to the coast you get in BC the less predictable the summer weather and so it was under dark and gloomy skies we headed back up toward the mountain pass, (part of the Coast Mountain Circle Tour) for our return trip. Unsurprisingly the rain started as we got higher and the temperatures dropped to considerably lower than they were down in the valleys. But it's only an hour up and over and by the time we headed down into the small town of Lillooet, we were already 'blown dry' and warm again.

Gassing up here we stopped to chat to a solo Ducati rider who was making the most of his Father's Day by leaving the family at home and heading out for his own ride. So we invited him to join us for an hour or so before he turned round and headed back to what Father's Day is really about - being a father!

Logan Lake, and the rain!

We followed the Marble Canyon road that leads from Lillooet to Cache Creek through fast flowing and carving turns hugging the Fraser River. From here it was south through Ashcroft and Logan Lake before our last 'up and over' and back to Merritt. High above Logan Lake is a copper mine and the lake surrounding it looks like something found on a South Pacific island - because of the copper? This was where the rain really came in! It was hard enough to sting and heavy enough to soak us through in seconds. You know that feeling when the first drip of rain gets down your neck and trickles down your back - how suddenly cold it can feel... this was then followed by what seemed like the floodgates opening as the torrent found its way down my back and into my shorts. Too much information? Tough, just be glad you didn't have to put up with it! By now we were starting to tire and were looking forward to getting finished, so we were all glad when the rain stopped and the last half hour served perfectly to dry our leathers and warm us back up again. A quick snack stop, load the bikes and it was time to settle back into the comfort of luxury seating for the two hour drive home.

Three happy 'boys'; exercised, giddy and revitalised for the week ahead...:-)

For those interested; this is our route on Google Maps