Ride Report: Day 6: Smithers, BC to Williams Lake, BC

On my way back south toward home, I spaced out my daily rides a little better. This time I rode a bit past Quesnel and stayed in the Ramada Inn in Williams Lake instead. It was adequate; I prefer Best Westerns and most Super 8. I did some light maintenance on my gear to clean it up, showered and took a nap, then had dinner. The ride to Williams Lake was sunny and pleasant except for a head wind that really buffeted my helmet around (HJC RPHA-Max; see my review elsewhere on this blog).

Stampede Days is an annual event in Williams Lake and the morning I left it seemed everyone I saw was wearing a cowboy hat, including the waitress during breakfast.

Ride Report: Day 7: Williams Lake, BC to Osoyoos, BC

I would be arriving in Osoyoos on a Saturday so the night before I thought it would be a good idea to check the Super 8 online and make a reservation. It’s a good idea I did so as I found out the hotel was booked solid. I noticed there was a Best Western in Osoyoos so I got on their web site and reserved a room.

When I got into town I had a hard time finding the place, so I had to search for the Best Western using my GPS. It routed me there and with a lot of heat outside, I was glad to check into my air conditioned room.

Osoyoos is kind of like the Palm Springs of British Columbia -- in fact, I think that is it’s nickname -- and because of recent thunderstorms, it was muggy as well as warm. After getting showered and settled in, I cleaned and lubed the chain on my bike and added some oil, then went to the attached restaurant for a wonderful taco salad and locally brewed pale ale. Four RCMP officers, three women and a man, were sitting at a table a few feet away. The guy in the group had a front hairline in the shape of a comma, and one of the gals looked like a 40 year old Boof from the movie, Teen Wolf (with Michael J. Fox).

Ride Report: Day 8: Osoyoos, BC to Sandy, OR

It was going to be a warm day so I had my gear converted to warm weather mode from the outset. After breakfast I crossed back into the United States without delay, then headed south on highway 97. This time I changed my GPS’ mode to ‘fastest route’ and it took me on SR17, a road I’d never travelled before.

A bit south of Tonasket I could see intense thunderstorms ahead and to my right. I had hoped to dodge it, as I was witnessing large lightning flashes every 15-30 seconds. Unfortunately I ended up riding right through the maelstrom. The rain came down so hard and thick it looked like snow. The rain drops were so fat and hit me so hard that they actually hurt when they struck the arms of my jacket (Aerostich Darien sans liner). After riding through it for five minutes, I emerged on the other side muggy but under sunshine. I dried out soon after.

I had a lot of wind, but despite a few light sprinkles, I made it to Soap Lake without getting dumped on again. I gassed up and after paying, the owner came out and looked at my bike and chatted with me for several minutes. I suited back up and headed down the road.

When I passed through Ephrata I experienced a similar deluge with lightning that hit me near Tonasket. Fortunately it was short lived as well. Then it got hot.

I made it onto Interstate 90 for a fast run into a sweltering Yakima, then I got back onto highway 97 southbound. The heat was oppressive but I motored on until I got to Goldendale where I stopped for gas, food, and a bio break.

I crossed the Columbia River back into Oregon via highway 197, travelled south to Tygh Valley, then followed a forest service road past Wamic and Rock Creek Reservoir where I joined highway 35 at White River. The air was pleasantly cooler at this point, and it was just a matter of time before I was on highway 26 over Government Camp and down into Sandy and home. By the time I reached my house I had travelled 450 miles, a new personal one-day riding record.

Ride to Hyder, Alaska

I just got back from a ride to Hyder, Alaska via central Washington and British Columbia. I'll post a detailed ride report, but I'll summarize here.

1. I've never met a Canadian I didn't like, and this trip proved them to be very friendly people.

2. I didn't see a single piece of litter or graffiti in B.C. anywhere.

3. I saw three different bears, one of which was brick red -- the rare Cinnamon Bear! -- but saw no moose.

4. My Garmin Zumo 220 GPS randomly resets itself; I'm unsure why.

5. The dual towns of Stewart, BC and Hyder, AK provide amazing scenery and are very much worth the trip.

6. I'm tired; that was a long trip.

Coming Soon: Aerostich Roadcrafter One-piece Riding Suit

I've been wearing an Aerostich Darien jacket for over 60,000 miles now, and if you've read any of my previous blog posts on the topic, you'll quickly learn I value it more than any other single piece of gear I own.

It's that good.

It's about to have company. This morning I ordered a Roadcrafter one-piece suit from Aerostich, to be worn predominately while riding my 2012 Suzuki GSX-R750. The color scheme I chose was a black suit with blue ballistic accents.

A few weeks ago I spoke with a sales rep at Aerostich on the phone. He convinced me to try on a standard off-the-rack sized Roadcrafter first and ship it back before ordering a custom-made version. The idea is, you put on the standard model, get on your bike and see what adjustments would need to be made. It takes a bit more time, but the suit will be custom-made just for me and I plan to put tens-of-thousands of miles on it, so fit matters.

I'm glad I did. Aerostich shipped a Roadcrafter Light with upgraded pads to me. I tried it on, then sat on my Gixxer while it was up on the paddock stand. Once I got into my tucked riding position, I quickly realized the arms need to be rotated forward slightly. All other aspects of the fit were fine.

I called Aerostich and placed my order for the custom Roadcrafter, then I boxed up the Light and dropped it off at UPS on my way into work. Most Roadcrafters take 8-10 weeks to make and ship, but fortunately the wonderful folks at Aerostich back-dated my request to my first call back in May. I should hopefully see my new suit within the next 7-8 weeks. I'll report more when it arrives.

Gaining skills on my GSX-R750

As I've mentioned in previous posts, every time I ride I make an effort to improve at least one aspect of my skills. Every ride is a practice ride in one way or another. Lately I've been focusing on my cornering technique when riding my 2012 GSX-R750.

The chicken strips on my Shinko 011 Verge tires are down to 3/8" wide on the rear tire and 1/4" on the front, yet the knee pucks on my AGVSport leathers are as shiny and untouched as the day I bought them. Leaning off when cornering is a lot of fun, and as I've been practicing, it has been the comfortable way to go around a curve.

One thing I've figured out is that if a technique feels uncomfortable or unstable, or if it feels unsafe, then I'm probably doing something wrong. Conversely, if I go around a corner smoothly and easily, then whatever I was doing was probably correct.

The single most important aspect of cornering I've learned seems to be looking ahead, through the turn. Doing so makes any corner smoother and more stable. Once that aspect of my technique became rote, the next thing I worked on was my grip. I make sure my hands are relatively loose and that I don't have a death grip on the bars. This reduces fatigue and increases my endurance. It also avoids zigzagging through the curve.

The next thing I've addressed has been my body position. I grip the tank with my knees and support my weight with my legs, freeing up weight on my hands and wrists. By doing so, I'm able to finesse the front end more easily. In the curve, I use my legs to shift my weight across the seat to the inside of the bike. I press the inside of my outside thigh against the tank to help support my weight. My chest is pressed down against my tank bag, my inside elbow is kept loose, and my hands keep a slightly loose hold on the grips.

The final piece of this equation is my head position. I point my chin ahead through the curve and even keep my eyes steady. I noticed that even if I kept my head in a single position, if my eyes were wandering around my cornering was jerky. Now, I maintain a steady head and eye position as I go through the turn. This makes my cornering smooth and easy and more enjoyable.

Taking a corner at speed with good technique is almost anti-climactic. Entering the corner is smooth, using both deceleration on the throttle and an easy application of the brake. I smoothly shift my body to the inside of the bike using my legs, not my hands, I hold a steady head and eye position through the curve using gentle throttle inputs, and as I transition out of the corner I use a smooth application of throttle. As I accelerate out of the corner, the bike stands up and I again use my legs to smoothly shift my body back onto the center of the seat.

When it's all done, as I continue onward, I have a smile on my face and a realization that nothing abrupt happened, there was no jerkiness or zigzagging around the corner. It was smooth and I approach the next curve with a feeling of confidence and control.

Weaker helmet laws increase motorcycle crash injuries

According to recent findings, injuries and deaths increase in states where mandatory helmet laws are weakened or eliminated.

Advocacy groups that push for the elimination of mandatory helmet laws, such as the Motorcycle Riders Foundation and American Bikers Aimed Toward Education of Michigan, make claims that other factors account for the increase in the volume and severity of serious injuries and deaths in states where helmets are no longer required.

However, the data shows an irrefutable correlation between the repeal of mandatory helmet laws and the spike in the number of motorcycle injuries and their severity.

Nationally, motorcycle deaths have risen in 14 of the past 15 years, with more than 5,000 deaths last year, according to an analysis by the Governors Highway Safety Association of preliminary 2012 data.

Many rider advocacy groups fight to remove mandatory helmet laws, claiming that wearing a helmet while riding a motorcycle should be an individual choice and not mandated by law. They often claim, however, that riders still choose to wear helmets even when they're not required to do so.

However, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which sent observers to states last year to count how many motorcyclists wore helmets, 97 percent of motorcyclists in states with universal helmet laws were wearing helmets compared with 58 percent of motorcyclists in states without such coverage.

Despite claims to the contrary, helmet use saves lives. Furthermore, an individual choosing to ride without a helmet has implications beyond their own lives. Insurance rates and the overall cost to society goes up when they crash because the severity of their injuries imposes a larger financial burden passed on to the rest of us. Wearing a helmet is more than a matter of individual freedom.