In Summary

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Ok…so some of you thought I hadn’t made it home due to the fact that I didn’t really post it on the blog!
I did make it home after a wonderful sunny ride through from Nakusp B.C. across the Rogers pass and up to Lake Louise. I got home around 7:30 in the evening after leaving Nakusp at 2pm…..that’s right I was riding sensibly that’s why it took me 51/2 hours to get home (plus a ferry ride and a bit of a wait too).
I stepped straight back into work on Monday the 16th to a myriad of emails. Tuesday was my daughter’s 10th birthday, Dom (the fellow I travelled with to Nakusp) and his lovely wife Tracey swung by on Wednesday evening so that I could fit a few things to his bike (check out his blog at www.thedomwayround.blogspot.com) and I started to get sick on Thursday. By Friday afternoon I was lying in bed with full blown Flu! Basically I missed the weekend entirely by being sick and finally felt good enough to get back to work today. In a nutshell………I must have been a little worn down after the trip!
Ah yes the trip.

The bike.
The BMW R1200 GS Adventure is a big bike. There is no other way to describe it. Its size is both a hindrance and a benefit . As you saw on the Dempster highway it is a brute when the road gets slippery/muddy/wet and you really have to ride with skill to keep it upright in those conditions. On the other hand it’s a darned good pack mule for carrying just about everything you need and it’ll go vast distances on its huge 33 litre fuel tank.
There are many more pros and cons (this could take a long time if you engage me on this subject) regarding the bike but basically it does the job in a cumbersome fashion.
Are there better bikes out there for the job? Absolutely but remember those bikes also have their own foibles as well. At the end of the day it’s up to the rider to buy the bike he/she feels will complete the task most competently. For example a Suzuki DR650 is a darned good all round machine that can be retro fitted with a large gas tank, is much more nimble than my 1200 and will cruise on the highway fully loaded with gear at 110 kph all day.

Me…..how did I do?
Well, I got ill after the trip so maybe I pushed myself a little too much on those rainy days. I like to think my diet was fair. I ate fresh fruit or veggies every day, drank lots of water and kept the junk food to a minimum. My sanity was questioned from time to time when I caught myself singing the wombles’ theme tune in my crash helmet (at this point, if you’re not from the UK you need to google the Wombles……seriously do it).
My blood pressure upon my return was 117/74 so I must have been doing something right.
I still have a few aches and pains from the trip but I put that down to age and fitness level.

Will there be a sequel?
Oh yes.
I’ll be doing some presentations in both Canmore and Calgary over the next few months so I’ll be touching on this subject if you’re interested. I’ll also be posting the dates up on this blog too.

How much did I raise for the Heart and Stroke Foundation?
All in; Around $4500. my little donation website only shows $2500 or so but a variety of people have also given me cheques and cash which I mailed on straight away to the H&S people. By the way……the big toe on my left foot came back to life yesterday! I now have feeling again in my toe (it’s a stroke thing so some people might not share my jubilation but I’ve had “someone else’s” big toe for the last 11 months so this is huge for me).

Would I do it again? Absolutely. Even with Adam!

Any regrets? Yes, I wish I’d had the time to do the North Canol Highway and that the Andrews had come on the trip as well.
If you’re reading this and hesitating over whether you’ll ever go out and do something like this. Please take some advice from a Metis Elder I once had the fortune to spend time with. He said……
“I’m 86 years old and all my life I never figured out where I was going, but I know where I’ve been and so far it’s been beautiful”.

I will take those words with me to the grave.


Speak to you soon as soon as I have to mention the people and sponsors to thank in the next blog.
Regards to you all

Nevil

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