Road trip maps and plans...

I thought I would share my plans for my upcoming, "Bring the new babay home" trip at the end of the month.

Here's the schedule:

April 25 - fly to Vancouver and pick up the new BLUE FZ6, head to the ferry and go to Victoria for lunch. After lunch make my way to Nanaimo to meet up with my nephew and his girlfriend. I will be staying at their place for a couple of nights.

April 26,27 - depending on the weather, I will be travelling to Tofino one day and Port Hardy the next. I will still be doing this no matter the weather but if one of the two days is supposed to be nicer than the other, Tofino will happen on the nice day. See the included richmond-island-richmond map for the actual routes I have planned.

April 28 - travel out to Chilliwack to visit friends and then into Langley for supper and a visit with people I have never met! Looking forward to that!

April 29 - First service at the dealership in Richmond and then on the road! I am going through Whistler, etc. and heading into the interior a ways. See the included map of Richmond to Quesnel.

May 1 - I will be riding the Quesnel to Prince George route taking a bit of a out-of-the-way route. 152km in 4.5 hours! Hehe. I'll see if it takes that long. See the attached map Quesnel to Prince George

May 2 - Off to Fort Nelson in northern BC

May 3 - Stop in Liard Hot Springs and meet my family who will have traveled 7-7.5 hours in the car to join me!
May 4 - Back to Whitehorse with alternating passengers (both kids) if the weather is nice. The kids don't have rain gear.

Well, that's the big trip! Should be about 6,600 km before I get home. I am really looking forward to it.

man that is one hell of a way to get home, take plenty of pics.



Sounds like a blast though!

Thats awesome man. I hope you have a blast. I know I would.

that looks like fun... ill talk to the weather gods and see if we cant make it nice for ya every day!

Ahhh, Ft. Saint John, been there, not going back. Looks like a well planned out trip! Are you anticipating snow or cold temperatures? How are you prepping for that? Just curious.

biker_dude43 said:

Ahhh, Ft. Saint John, been there, not going back. Looks like a well planned out trip! Are you anticipating snow or cold temperatures? How are you prepping for that? Just curious.

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I find that Ft. St. John is a lovely place to pass through. Been to a number of places like that.

I am taking a number of layers as you just never know about temps. As for snow, I hope not. I am planning on taking my time, relatively speaking, so I can wait until temps rise above 0 if I have to. I will be looking at heated grips later (next year maybe) just so I can extend my riding season.

I have put together this plan but it might have to be heavily modified depending on weather, road conditions, etc. It will be an adventure no matter what happens.

With that kind of schedule you may want to apply for the Iron Butt rider badge:thumbup:

Here's an update on my Island plans. It looks like I will be going straight to Nanaimo for a presentation my nephew is giving at Malaspina University College. I will not be staying in Nanaimo but on Gabriloa Island with my nephew's girlfriend's parents. Apparently, their house looks over the stright to Vancouver...sounds horrible I know. just one of the many sacrifices I will have to make for this trip.

Nobody has asked yet but why are you going all that way to get an FZ6. Why not get one locally?

Sounds like a good trip, make sure you post the pics.

Steve

steveindenmark said:

Nobody has asked yet but why are you going all that way to get an FZ6. Why not get one locally?

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The local dealer had a 2006 that they wanted more money for than I paid for my 2007. I really wanted the 2007 as I like the upgrades from '06. I was told that they could not get a 2007 unless they got it from another dealer. I would have had to pay more shipping, etc.

In Whitehorse we generally have one of each Japanese manufacturer, no European dealers at all. My flight to Vancouver cost $150. I would rather spend $1000 getting home after a week long trip than simply give it to a local dealer.

yukon_alex said:

Quesnel, Prince George...

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I think it's still cold for May 1. Not so comfortable.
But trip looks very nice. Respect!

Should be broken in by the time you get home. Nice thing about cold weather riding is no bugs on you visor. Have a great ride!

I would rather spend $1000 getting home after a week long trip than simply give it to a local dealer.

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A good philosophy enjoy the trip.:thumbup:

yukon_alex said:

Here's an update on my Island plans. It looks like I will be going straight to Nanaimo for a presentation my nephew is giving at Malaspina University College. I will not be staying in Nanaimo but on Gabriloa Island with my nephew's girlfriend's parents. Apparently, their house looks over the stright to Vancouver...sounds horrible I know. just one of the many sacrifices I will have to make for this trip.

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Hey Alex...You may have already mentioned this (yeah...I'm old so I'll probably ask you again tomorrow ), but what are you using for "luggage" on your bike for the trip?
I'd be happy to meet you at PacYam when you take delivery of your new Blue One and "lead" you to the Tsawassen Ferry Terminal on my Red One. :thumbup:
Maybe we could get a couple of others to show up as well and make a parade out of it. :Sport:

Cold? What's that? It is supposed to hit -15C overnight tomorrow and +6C on Saturday. As long as the temps are above 0C during the day, it will be a good break-in ride!

I picked up Relson-Rigg tank and tail bags from NewEnough.com for my trip home. I resisted the soft saddlebags as I plan on a set of Givi's next year. I really like the quality and look of the Silverstreak version I picked up. I haven't posted pics because they are a little far from the bike. I will post some pics as soon as I can.

OneTrack: I arrive in Vancouver at around 9:30 so I should be able to get out to PacificYamaha around 10:30. It would be great if you could meet me and lead me to the ferry. Anyone else want to come along?

yukon_alex said:

Cold? What's that? It is supposed to hit -15C overnight tomorrow and +6C on Saturday. As long as the temps are above 0C during the day, it will be a good break-in ride!

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Well, my heated vest should really crack you up when I meet you at PacYam...

yukon_alex said:

I picked up Relson-Rigg tank and tail bags from NewEnough.com for my trip home. I resisted the soft saddlebags as I plan on a set of Givi's next year. I really like the quality and look of the Silverstreak version I picked up. I haven't posted pics because they are a little far from the bike. I will post some pics as soon as I can.

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Thanks...I'll look forward to seeing your tank and tail bag set.

yukon_alex said:

OneTrack: I arrive in Vancouver at around 9:30 so I should be able to get out to PacificYamaha around 10:30. It would be great if you could meet me and lead me to the ferry. Anyone else want to come along?

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I'll be there. :thumbup:
I'm a wobbly old grandpa, so your Blue One should be able to keep up with me.

yukon_alex said:

Cold? What's that? It is supposed to hit -15C overnight tomorrow and +6C on Saturday. As long as the temps are above 0C during the day, it will be a good break-in ride!

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Whistler-Pemberton-Lillooet road can with snow.

You will have to watch for deer anywhere from Merrit to Osoyoos, and especially from Osoyoos up to Midway and on to Kelowna. I almost ran into about 30 of them running across the road about 20km's north of Osoyoos on the way to Midway one morning last August. Skeered the kee-rapp out of me.
If you've never ridden the "back" highway from Osoyoos up to Midway and Kelowna, you're in for a treat. The RCMP seem to love that highway too...

Well, temps dropped overnight to -12 when I left for work this morning with a wind-chill of -19! Oh, we also got 4cm of snow from about 5:00-10:30 last night. I like to think it was a mini-blizzard, all blowing snow, limited visibility, etc. According to the weather guys it is going to +14 Monday. Strangest spring I've seen here in almost 20 years.

One week until I get on the plane. I KNOW it will be nice for the trip home (I'm an optimist by nature). I hope to get heated grips and a electric vest at some point to extend my riding season. I rode my father's BMW R1150RT last fall at -2C (it has a huge fairing and windscreen and electric grips). Once the first snow falls though, it's all over for the winter.

All right! I am off to the big city in the morning to get the new FZ! I will post photos and a trip report when I can.