| Lillooet Overnight Ride 7-3-2009 |
Lillooet Overnight Ride Synopsis |
| Our overnight ride to Lillooet-Whistler was a terrific time for all who participated. We had 15 bikes attending this ride so we broke into two groups for the riding portions. Group #1 included Lenny (RC), Danny, Ted & Danielle, Roy & Gloria, Don & Andrea, Kem, Tom, and Jimdawg (TG). Group #2 included Jon (RC) & Nate, Karen, Bobby, Joel & Shannon, Mark, John G, and Zippo (TG) & Jax.
We assembled at Bob's for the first of many rider's meetings and were soon on our way with group 2 leaving a few minutes after group 1. We had a nice leisurely ride down Cook Road to Highway 20 and then Highway 9 on through Acme. At the junction of Highway 9 and 542 we turned right onto the Mt Baker Highway. Our first stop was in Kendall where a few topped their tanks and most recycled their morning beverages. Next we took the very scenic 547 through Kendall and on to Sumas. The border crossing at Sumas was relatively smooth. Our group of 15 bikes and 21 people got through in about 20 minutes. The Canadian border guards were practicing their questioning skills in preparation for the 2010 Olympics. One rider was asked if he was ever arrested or been brought before a judge. His answer was "NO". The guard claimed he paused so the rider explained that he have seen a judge in traffic court for a moving violation ticket. The border guards seemed to play that game with most everyone. Group #1 again departed with Group #2 was about 2 minutes behind them. Both groups took the quick route out of Abbotsford to Trans Canada #1 freeway and headed east to Hope. Along the way we saw a truck towing a boat that contained a motorcycle, mountain bike and a variety of stuff. Then, group 2 had a red pickup pull alongside with a lady in the passenger seat half way out the window with arms waving and yelling loudly, "Hey, John G!" The driver was Gordo (TG for BC #5103) and the passenger was his wife Kelly. We had met them at on the ride to Harrison Hot Springs and they also came to our Chapter 154 Jim Schermerhorn Poker Run. They are both very nice and friendly. We arrived in Hope and found terrific parking by the Subway that was selected for lunch. John G reminded everyone that while it was beginning to get warm, it was going to get very HOT on the next two legs and that everyone should bring at least one bottle of water when we leave the Subway restaurant. We gassed up and were soon off on our way North along the Fraser River canyon. The road meandered along beside the cliffs while crossing the Fraser River a few times. We made our next stop at the world famous (LOL), Hell's Gate. This is the spot on the Fraser River where the canyon sides are the most narrow. There was an air tram ride to the bottom for $17 each. Jon, Nate, Ted and Danielle made the trip. The rest of us took photos and rested in the shade. By now it was dang HOT so we saddled up and headed up the river canyon in search of our next turn at Lytton, BC. We found our left turn onto Route 12 and headed through downtown Lytton (don't blink) and into the wilderness beyond. We came upon a segment of roadway where the surface was reduced to 1 lane for both directions for crossing a wooden bridge. The road surface on the bridge was a series of 2x12s. John G later pointed out that this was great practice for bike games at STAR Days and STAR-BQ in the ride the plank game. We should each select a single plank and ride it for the length of the bridge. As it turns out, we had a chance to practice this maneuver about 6 or 8 times. Then we came to a very narrow part of the paved roadway that is reduced to a single lane while doing a series of "S" turns downhill. Near the bottom of the hill everyone in group 2 is doing the animal on the roadway sign and pointing to the right. All in the group (except for John G, Zippo & Jax) see the grizzly bear standing just off the shoulder. We didn't think to look so close to the edge of the road. A bit farther on group 1 came upon a horse, the exact shade of the road surface, just standing in the road. We entered Lillooet in late afternoon (with the temperature pushing 100) just about the time estimated on our plan. We checked in, dumped our stuff, freshened up and began to discuss our options for beverages and food. Somehow, the whole group found its way to Dina's Greek Restaurant. Following our tasty meal we strolled down main street in search of ice cream. We found it at the Garden Café. It's a wonderful little bakery and ice cream place with the only espresso machine for 100 KM. Shawn, owner spoke with us at length about his travels and his love for the Lillooet area. He's also very dedicated to producing the finest coffees and soups, using his own water, in the whole area. A great guy and, if you get a chance to stop in Lillooet, we recommend that you stop in for a visit. The ice cream is also terrific! On our walk back to the hotel we were amazed by the large chunks of jade on display and the heat held within them. On the morning of day #2, we gassed up and met for breakfast at the Cookhouse Restaurant where our server was Tabitha. She took great care of us and the food was tasty too. After breakfast our Road Captains led us out of Lillooet and onto Highway 99 headed to Pemberton. It was pretty warm in Lillooet before breakfast and even warmer after. The route followed along Cayoos Creek that sometimes had some white water rushing over large rocks. Quite a bit of our route was shaded by trees or the canyon walls. There were a few moments where it even got a bit chilly; a nice change from the recent oven like temperatures. Both groups stopped off at Duffy Lake for a postcard shot of the lake and mountains in the distance. As none of us know the names of these mountains we decided it would be appropriate to name the tallest one, "Mt Star"! We had group shots and then individual shots with bikes. Pretty soon the RCs gave us the 5 minute call. We could have stayed there for another hour to do individually posed shots. Everyone was smiling now. We motored down the road (if you can call it that) to Pemberton. Along the way we had to dodge numerous pot holes that could destroy our rims and cause flats. Then we hit a section where the road was reduced to deep gravel in preparation for its new surfacing. The BC web pages for road construction all indicated that no work was taking place on Saturday. Well, they were working on the new road surface on Saturday. We all sharpened our dirt riding skills and reaction times to miss the huge craters. Once in Pemberton both groups stopped at the visitor's center for a restroom and shade break. John G checked the head counts for lunch at the Mongolian Grill and Earl's at Whistler and phoned both restaurants to let them know about our arrival time and final head count for each location. The ride from Pemberton to Whistler was mostly smooth pavement. Once we arrived in Whistler we went straight for the parking areas. The parking lot police herded us into the dry, dusty dirt and gravel of lot #4 while we all wanted the paved space of lot #2. We hiked up the hill to the village and began our search for the restaurants. We went too far up the hill so we had to back track. We found our meal stops and split off for food and cool drinks. It was so nice to guzzle down bottomless glasses of icy cold water and iced tea. The food was great too. We reformed at the bikes as planned for a 3 PM departure and all were actually on time! Our next stop was in Squamish for fuel and restrooms. Group #2 left Whistler first and stopped first in Squamish for fuel and restrooms and John G checked his voicemail to discover that Group #1 had gotten separated from JimDawg the TG and that Uncle Bob of BC #5103 had revised our rendezvous location. Jon led group #2 to the new rendezvous point with Uncle Bob. On the way, he and the rest of group 2 spotted JimDawg at a gas station. They quickly gathered him into the fold and headed off for the meet with Uncle Bob. "Jimdawg's Story As you know, most Aviators stories begin with, "There I was at thirty thousand feet, on my back, and no parachute..." In order to quell any spurious rumors that may tend to stray from the truth, let me just say; " Well there I was in the Whistler parking lot, watching as group number one trailed group number two out of the Whistler parking lot, en-route to Squamish. I applied throttle and released the clutch smoothly when, as Sugar began to move, I heard a loud clank, the engine died, and Sugar lurched to an immediate stop. (Remember the part about no parachute?) With the cat like reactions of a jet pilot I realized in an instant, what the problem was..... I told myself...."Self, you left the GD disc brake lock on !!!!". Following proscribed emergency procedures for this type of failure, I first got the bike under control (put the kick stand down), retracted the key from the ignition (the disc lock key was on there), got off of the bike and removed the offending lock. I inspected the bike for damage (none) and saddled up for a restart. Time lapsed, two minutes. Leaving the parking lot to catch up with the group I was caught behind two rubber-necking SUVs causing an additional delay leaving the lot. First important decision, where did everyone go? When in doubt always turn left...so I did. My group was nowhere in sight. I thought to myself that they would go towards the highway going south. Fine, but where the heck is that??? Consulting my GPS I followed the arrow. Piece of cake, until I figured out that the GPS "destination" was still set as "Whistler" and I'm going around in circles… Oh Great... I thought I recognized that last intersection as having been there just a minute ago. Realizing my error, I pulled over, reset the GPS and proceeded out to the Highway. At this point my laser like brain was mulling over the age old question, Mull, Mull, Mull....Are they in front of me...or behind me??? Even if they are behind me, looking for me, and do not find me laying on the asphalt by my bike, Lenny will deduce that I have gone on to Squamish for gas as planned. Just down the road a piece I pulled over to call Lenny. Left a message containing the current time, where I was, and that I would wait a few minutes and then proceed to Squamish. Time passed and I pushed on. Arriving in Squamish, I realized this would not be easy as Squamish is spread out over a couple of miles with several exits. I got off at an ESSO/7-11 and gassed up and got a bottle of water. I pulled into the shade to check my phone. Ah hah! There was a message from Lenny, which my phone would not play for some reason (failure of the primary actuator, I think). So I sent another message telling him that I was sorry for screwing up , but I was just going to go on home because I couldn't remember the name of the place where we were to meet the BC club. Just then Jon A and Group one came by and after many smirks, finger pointing, and smart ass comments, I was invited to join the group if I thought I could stay with them and not wander off. We continued on, were reunited with Group 1, met up with the Canadians, and reformed groups for the trip to the border. After the border, we had reconstituted the groups again based on where everyone was going as a destination and prepared to leave the border area. I was again TG for Lenny's group going to Whidbey and Anacortes. As we left the parking lot I thought we were all one group and waited for the Canadians and John G, who were chatting at the time, to go ahead. He did, we came up onto the highway and I counted noses (bikes) and there were only four!!!!! Oh PASHAW! I have done it again ....Lost my group. Oh Well, perhaps by the time I see Lenny et al again they will have forgotten about the TG's little adventure. After I accompanied John G's group to Bellingham and they peeled off, I poured the coal to Sugar and sped off looking to catch up with my group. I pulled into the tail gunners slot just before we turned off at Cook road, the planned Gas stop. So, all's well that ends well. -- Jimdawg" John G connected with group #1 to lead them to the new rendezvous spot. After some visiting with the great people of STAR Chapter #5103, Uncle Bob led group #1 and some riders from #5103 to a fuel stop near the truck stop border crossing. Robyn led group #2 to the same fuel stop. We sorted out new groups for the border cross and final legs to get everyone home. We all had a safe and fun weekend ride and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and we hope you enjoy the photos below! |
