Every year I eagerly await the fall season for some of my most enjoyable sport touring. To my taste, the best riding time has always been late September to end November (depending on the weather). Summer in my home area (Quebec) is often hot and humid with many tourists. As soon as you go to some of the more outlying areas, hordes of black flies and other ravenous type of that ilk assault you.

But fall is great. The sky is a crystal clear blue; the air is crisp, cool, and invigorating. Certainly the weather can be unpredictable and sometimes downright nasty, but that only adds to the sense of adventure. (Famous last words…)

I’d been contemplating the upcoming ride for some time now. I had decided that it would be a big ride (my biggest ride yet) and that it would be a camping trip. The first leg of this trip would cover riding from Montreal (Quebec) to Prince Rupert (British Columbia).

On route, I would stop in Jasper where I would re-acquaint myself with the majestic Icefields Parkway down to Banff. From Prince George, I would head west to Prince Rupert, where my dad worked as a young man (way before I was even a glimmer in his eye). He had left Montreal for opportunity (go west young man!) and had returned a couple of winters later in a pickup truck.

I just have the desire to retrace his steps. Thinking about it I can’t help but feel what an adventure it must have been to cross the country in a dubiously reliable, late 1940’s pick up truck in the dead of winter back in the fifties!

In preparation, I had been tracking the weather forecasts and several days before departure the weather for the different areas still all looked fine. In Western Canada, I could expect temperatures ranging from lows of –10C (14F) at night (Jasper/Banff) and daytime temps of approx. +5C (41F) to +7C (44F), maybe more. This would be cool to cold, no doubt, but I would be prepared for it.

Certainly, my camping gear was up to the task. In addition, I had purchased a miniature portable heater which I would not only use to stave off excess cold at night but, more importantly, allow me to get into reasonably warm and dry clothes in the morning. There is no way I could get into freezing damp clothes and then expose myself to 60mph+ cold winds and survive successive days. Other than this, I thought my riding gear could handle just about anything. The few practice runs I had done in pouring rain had worked out any kinks.

Of course, my weapon of choice would be that quintessential long distance sport-touring bike known as the Honda CBR 929RR. :) :)

Though my tires were in great condition, they had logged a couple of track days and I wanted more of a safety margin. I finally decided on keeping the front tire since the tread was still like new. However, I opted for a new BT020 rear. With some judicious use of the throttle, I was confident that it would last the expected trip mileage. As far as bike prep was concerned, I added some fresh oil, new spark plugs, some coolant anti-freeze (to my water/water wetter track mix), and the bike was ready to go.

Strangely, as the set departure day approached, I found myself mulling around. For some reason, I didn’t feel the expected sense of anticipation or excitement in preparing my trip luggage. I found this a little odd and wondered if this wasn’t a premonitory-type feeling. After all, this was supposed to be an exciting trip! Hmmm…

On the afternoon of departure, one hour before lift-off, I was still not satisfied with the amount of luggage I was packing. I kept paring down and still found my bags too full to my taste. Finally, after a few more pare-downs I was ready.

Bruno
Montreal, Canada