I watched the weather network all last week because it looked like the weekend was going to be sunny and relatively warm. I wanted to visit my folks in 100 Mile House, and give the Stolen Sportster a shake down. I left Prince George around 5:00 on Friday. It was sunny but super windy. The ride was awesome until the sun went down, and then it was a challenge. I arrived at my folks cold but safe.
Saturday I took one of best rides ever. There are a bunch of two lane roads in the "Interlakes" area south east of 100 Mile House. I wound my way from Horse Lake, Lone Butte, Watch Lake, Green Lake to 70 Mile House where I had an afternoon beer on the patio. That area is predominantly Poplar trees, ranches and resorts. Beautiful fall yellow, warm enough to be comfortable and cool enough to wear full protective gear.
I was so thrilled with the ride on Saturday that I decided to take the long way home yesterday; hwy 24 to Little Fort and then back through Valemount and McBride. It was gorgeous until Clearwater where the North Thompson valley gets narrow, and given the time of day, it was in the shadow. It was cold but tolerable. The sun was dropping when I stopped in McBride and the trip from there was bloody awful. I've gotten seriously hypothermic many times over the years, but I try to avoid it. With hindsight, I should have booked a room in the hotel and waited until this afternoon for the ride home. The two hour ride from McBride home was a grueling test of my endurance. I was seriously frozen when I arrived home around 9:30. I don't have electric gloves or vest, and those probably would have made all the difference.
The Stolen Sportster ran flawlessly. It has a sweet spot between 110 - 120 Km/h which meant I was always with the fastest flow of traffic ... until after dark.
Peace & Grease, Dennis
