The odd couple rides again - Departure

I didn't sit down to create a ride report last year, for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that getting to the ride was hectic as I had a bike stolen shortly before we intended to leave.

This year was different, though it was still Jerry and I, which means touring on bikes that couldn't be more different. Jerry on a full on sportbike (minus some miscellaneous parts lost in crashes) and I on the trusty dual sport, with 110 hp less than Jerry's ride.

The goal this year was to ride California, or, Montana. We decided early on which way to go (I think with about 8 or 9 hours to go before leaving ;) ).


I was pretty much packed by Thursday night


And everything went together nicely so I didn't have to take my saddle bags:


Saturday morning Michelle helped me carry everything down and took the "before" photo:


Jerry and I met for breakfast and headed out east. By the time we reached Hope we realized that while it may be mid-August, in the mornings you need to layer up if you want to head into the mountains


Along the way Jerry tested his go-pro video camera and everything seemed to work fine. Just after Osoyous Jerry tested the 954 a bit more (i.e. he took off up Anarchist summit) and that worked fine too.

I really don't have much more to say about the first day. We rode through to Castlegar and found a Super 8 to stay in. They had a water slide to go with their pool and we had way too much fun. I'm surprised we didn't get kicked out of the pool :D