My journey through Western Canada

My wife and I left Couer d'Alene Idaho this morning at 9am. After stopping at Wally World for minor items and topping off the bike, we headed west on I90. Second fillup was about 125 miles at Moses Lake WA. Ate lunch there then continued west. Just past Ellensburg got caught in a rain storm. We didn't stop to get our raincoats out and continued. We then got caught in some very slow traffic. I mean 7 miles in 60 minutes. That area has a lot of mountains and hills and the stop and go driving did hell to my gas mileage. We finally stopped in Issaquah WA at around 6:30 PM. Total miles today was 289. Our butts were sore by the time we got to the Motel-6. We would have gotten here sooner if not for the slow traffic. If all goes right we may be in Vancouver by noon tomorrow.

Easyrider, enjoy your trip. A big smile for every mile. Look out and stop at lookouts to enjoy the view and smell the roses.

Jay.

Have a great trip, wish I was with you guys! You have found out what I learned a few years ago; time in the saddle contributes to a "sore butt" not necessarily the amount of miles traveled...

Thanks Jay and Glenn.
Had problems trying to top off the gas this morning. The pump handles had a overflow prevention coupler. The problem is that the fuel inlet on the Swing has a metal tube about three inches in and prevents the overflow coupler from making a seal. The pump would not release the fuel without making a seal. Went to Home Depot and purchased a 1.5 inch PVC coupler. It fit snug to the filler inlet neck and made the seal for the gas pump handle. Make sure you travel with one. Hopefully I can attach a picture of my PVC coupler.

Yesterday we actually traveled too many miles and would have been a day early to Vancouver and wouldn't have hotel reservations so the wife and I decided to stop in Bellingham Wa. We will have a short trip to Vancouver tomorrow.

My first long road trip on the Silver Wing took me through a chunk of California. I ran afoul of the infamous metal tube and CA funky pumps. I did the same as you and carry a pvc tube now for just such instances.

Happy trails and fair weather on your trip. Wayyyyyyyyyyyyy back we did Ca. top to bottom as part of a longer trip lucky for us the G'Wings didn't have the bar.

Scofflaw you most likely broke several laws with your modified fuel fitting. Sounds like a bunch of BS to me. Enjoy your trip.

I remember reading about the bar years ago. Just didn't think it would happen to me. I had heard members posting to carry a short PVS pipe. I didn't want to purchase six feet of pipe, cut off two inches and throw away the rest. I was lucky finding that coupler.

On to our journey. I almost had a meltdown at the Canadian border. Could not find my passport while in line a few hundred feet from the window. I was digging through my items under my seat. I kept it in a large envelope which also contained my itinerary. I was in total panic thinking that I had to turn around after traveling soooo far. Then my wife spotted a smaller envelop on the fender of the trike under my planner. Somehow when I removed the larger envelop, the smaller one with my passport had fallen out. WHAT A LIFE SAVER!! I must have aged two years looking for my passport. I kept thinking -- How am I going to explain to her that we need to turn around and head back to Idaho.
Well, now that I have food in my stomach and resting in out Vancouver hotel room, I can laugh at myself.

Canadian Border

Aloha Easy, Sleep and a new day to ride is all that matters.

Please keep sharing your journey with us as you can. I know that I'm going to enjoy reading about your experiences.

Ok here goes!!!
Wife and I ate breakfast then headed out to Canada Place to catch the free shuttle to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. I really liked walking on the bridge when it started swinging. On the other side there are all kinds of cat walks high up in the trees. They even have a cliff walk. All for $52 per senior. 
We then continued to Grouse Mountain where for $52 per senior you get to ride the gondola to the top of the mountain. We were very disappointed when we reached to top. Everything was in the clouds. Could bearly see twenty feet in front of us.
Wife and I decided to look for a seafood restaurant. 
When we got back to the bike, I couldn't get the GPS to power up. Again I was in total panic mode. How were we going to find our way to the ferry tomorrow without my GPS (Jeannie). Were we going to miss our reservations. Wife was as calm as could be. We drove around looking for a McDonald's to use their WiFi and plan a route back to our hotel. We met some fine people that gave us directions to the street (Kingsway) fronting our hotel (Days Inn).
At the hotel we plotted a route to Best Buy. Since I don't have enough data on my phone, I just kept the last Google Map directions on my phone. Try driving a bike and looking at the tiny fonts of the phone all while watching the traffic lights and people crossing the street. Well I found the Best Buy, but there were no street parking available. Had to drive around several blocks until I saw PUBLIC PARKING!!! Walked to Best Buy, but could not find a GPS that would fit my older GPS holder. So I selected one that was closest to using my existing mount. Drove back to the hotel. Could not get my wife her clam chowder dinner. Poor woman had to settle for McDonald's muffin. Yes, she still loves me. But after all the bouncing on the rear seat, I beginning to get the feeling she wants to fly back to Idaho after our stay in Victoria. Nah she won't leave me.
If that wasn't enough troubles for us the McDonald's automatic ordering kios wouldn't print a receipt for us. Had to describe to the worker what was in our order. Wife said that God was testing us.
After dinner I decided to test my old GPS one more time before trashing it. After about 30 seconds of holding down the power button, it turned on and loaded the maps. Holy G..! Now I have to return the new GPS to Best Buy. I found out that Best Buy Canada doesn't have return agreements with Best Buy USA. The warranty if purchased in Canada will not be honored in USA. So I need to return it to Best Buy before I leave Victoria.
Hope nothing else tests us anymore.

WOW. although I do have a GPS seldom is it ever used, paper maps and pre planned routes with time for side trips was the method. BUT carry on you seem to be able to handle it, and don't get rid of the forgiving co-pilot

Sounds like an adventure, EASY. Keep the Best Buy GPS for a souvenir and for use when you next return. Can never have too many GPSes....

There is a glass bottom gondola out there somewhere that crosses a ravine that I think may be a mile or even 2 deep. Think it goes to Whistler. Maybe something to check out on the next trip.

Have a safe trip back home.

Mike

Try paper maps=cheaper and safer. Look at them when stopped

I used to use paper maps back in the day when GPSs were not yet available.  I like my Garmin NUVI because I can have it search for places on the fly, like finding a seafood restaurant near to me, or a gas station, or any ad-hoc location. It also shows the posted speed limits and my current speed. It even converts the Canadian km/hr to MPH and warns me when I am exceeding the posted speed. It will initially let me know distance to destination and expected ETA which is updated real time depending on traffic conditions. Mine has a traffic advisory feature and re-route me to avoid traffic congestion.

I really felt abandoned when my GPS (Jennie) failed to fire up.

On with my journey,
We rode the Tsawwassen ferry to Victoria. It was neat, they load the motorcycles first, and almost first when off loading. We got to Red Lion Inn with no problems. Even better, Best Buy was within walking distance from our hotel. Returned the GPS no questions asked. Did some shopping at Walmart. Wife and I ate a great steak and two lobster dinner. We walked the harbor area. There were several of street entertainers making it a very enjoyable evening. Finally a fun relaxing day.

Today, we visited the Butchart Gardens. Wife was in 7th heaven. I keep telling her that I don't see the colors as vibrant as she because I am color deficient. I can see the colors, but not as well as she does.

We then went to the Fishermans Warf. She still has not yet gotten her clam chowder but settled for seafood chowder. I am thinking that clams are not available in this northern country. She needs to wait until we get to Seattle.
Tomorrow we plan to visit Craigdarroch Castle and Chinatown. Will update tomorrow evening.

Sounds like a great day of settling into a routine and thanks for taking the time to share. I know how that goes. One can be really tired and start finding write ups as work. But, it is well worth it.

You never know when clam chowder will show up. Some foods appear in strange places.

But GPS---you are looking at it while riding----how long before you run into something?

John, I have not had any problems driving using a GPS. I have been doing it for about twenty years without any problems.  It is just a glance then back to driving. Like glancing at the speedometer, or checking for traffic in your mirrors. It is not like watching a movie.

I am talking about riding, not driving----bikes/scooters you should ride not drive, paying attention to your surroundings, the other idiots on the road. I find much of this modern junk distracting.....and maybe not safe.

Yes, to each their own. Back in the US of A. We are staying outside of Seattle in a place called Bellevue. We are at dinner at a place called Duke's. Will update my journey back to the states when we get back to our hotel room.

Now back to my travels...


On Saturday July 6th, started looking for a ferry back to Anacortes WA. Was more difficult than I thought. First you need to book passage to Port Angeles, then book another to Anacortes WA. Could not find the arrival times to Port Angeles which I needed to book the next passage to Anacortes WA. So we just booked passage back to Swartz Bay and rode the BC Ferry back to Tsawwassen then to the US Border Port of Entry. Being the end of the July 4th weekend, most of the ferries were fully booked and we would have to go over as stand-by. There were only two ferries available early morning and we reserved the 9am. At the terminal at Swartz Bay the toll collector mentioned that motorcycles don't have to make reservations, just show up(I may be wrong. Maybe someone else can further explain it.) 

Took us about an hour to clear customs at the border. Funny thing when crossing into Canada, they asked the purpose of our visit and how long were we planning to stay. At the US Border, they asked up to remove our helmets and eye wear.

Wife and I had some miscommunication about the location of our hotel. She wanted to stay someplace in Seattle and visit the warf including Pikes Place Market, but I thought the prices for a room in Seattle were too high and choose a Quality Inn hotel in Bellevue which is about ten miles east of Seattle. At dinner, for which she finally got her clam chowder, she informed me that she didn't want to have to drive the ten miles from the hotel back to Seattle to visit the warf. She is not use to riding on a bike for long trips and is tired. I wish that she had been more insistent about staying in Seattle. Tomorrow we head toward Coeur d'Alene Idaho. We will be making one more over nighter.

We left Bellevue under very cloudy skies this morning. Got caught in some rain west of Ellensburg, but the Swing with the GIVI adjustable windshield kept us mostly dry. Had my wife use the raincoat pants. Sitting in the back, her knees are exposed to the weather be it rain or just the cold. I am fine behind the windshield and the front fairings.

We are now in Moses Lake WA. Ate at Shari's then went to Walmart. While walking toward the front entrance I noticed a greasy slider piece off of an automobile in the middle of the lane and kicked it aside. As I took a second look at the piece, I realized that it was from my trike. Wife mentioned that lucky it fell off as we drove in and we found it as we are walking toward the store entrance. Somehow the locking nut had come loose and the adjusting bolt had unscrewed. Got some tools at Walmart and went to Lowe's to get a 5/8 bolt and nut. Had to cut off the head of the bolt with a hack saw while trying to hold the bolt with my other hand. For safety, I used some wire ties to secure the sliding piece to the frame of the trike. That slider piece is a custom piece made by the Voyager trike company and I would not be able to do the repair on the road if that piece had fallen off on the highway. It was driveable at slow speed within Moses Lake.

Tomorrow our journey to Western Canada will end when the get to Couer d'Alene Idaho where it all started.

Glad to hear you were able to rescue yourself. Any chance you can post a photo of the slider and its location. It may help some one else later on.

Tim

Tim,
I will take some pictures when I do the adjustments. We made it back to Couer d'Alene. Resting the rest of the day.

Ok we are finally back in Coeur d'Alene Idaho after traveling about 1025 miles. While we were visiting Moses Lake WA, a piece of my trike fell off and we were lucky to have found it in the Walmart parking lot. The slider allows movement of the trike's suspension system when going over bumps in the road.
To remove the trike:
1- Tie off the bike.
2- Disconnect electrical for fender lights.
3- Remove main plate bolts.
4- Slide trike backward.

To adjust slider:
1- Loosen lock nut.
2- Turn slider clockwise to shorten the slide, or 
     Turn slider counter clockwise to lengthen the slide.
      (I made length same as the other side)

Reinstall trike:
1- Slip the sliders into the receivers
2- Bolt trike frame to to main plate (80ftlb)
    Don't forget the spacer and lock washer.
3- Reconnect electrical.
4- Tighten lock nut on adjusted slider.

You are done.

Adjusted slider and receiver.


Bolt trike to main mounting plate.

 
View of the other side slider. The good one.