Trip Blog & Members Section

April 2010

Spring 2010: Getting Ready to Ride

Sitting restlessly at the office on a Friday evening, sipping coffee from my favorite mug and the familiar sound of a motorcycle whizzing by on No. 5 Road catches my attention. It’s an old Honda I think, or maybe a Suzuki. Can’t really tell from here but you know the feeling you get at this time of year, the one that hits the shuffle button on your minds priority list?

Don’t even know if there’s a name for the biker version of spider-sense but someone ought to make one up. How else do you describe the tingle that is now hopefully going to have the final say on plans for the next five months or so?

In case you’ve never heard of No. 5 Road, it’s in a town called Richmond located 10 miles south of Vancouver, British Columbia. After 15 years in Whistler, where I started guiding for Rocky Mountain, and two more in Squamish, I was given an opportunity to make the transition back to city living and so far have no complaints. Some of the riders around here didn’t even put their bikes away for the mild winter but after 10 years of living the good life with Rocky Mountain, full-on winter riding has lost some of its appeal.

The triggers sure are there now, though. It started with a “meeting” between Brandon and me during a Canucks game at a local pub. We were discussing tours for the upcoming season and on more than one occasion the conversation went back to our first trip to Yellowstone in 2009.

Memories for me of the twisty, unpopulated roads we traveled in Wyoming and the surrounding states are vivid and nothing short of brilliant. Thankfully I’m reminded of them each time I brew a fresh pot of coffee because that favorite mug of mine is one of the few souvenirs I picked up at the park.

Coffee, twisty roads, and what else was it that stood out in our tour of the Pacific Northwest? Oh yes, the jerky! World Kitchens I believe.

But seriously, it’s going to be tough not having that tour in the rotation this season. Record breaking mileage almost every day, getting into Stanley late and hoping the kitchen would still be open only to realize we had uncovered the true gem of the Sawtooth Mountains. And Chief Joseph Scenic Byway, where I was able to get my first ride on our BMW K1200S.

The combination of that road and bike together was an unforgettable experience I look forward to re-creating but at the same time, good things come to those who wait. In 2010 we’re running our Ultimate Tour which I am fortunate to be a part of and for 2011 I’ve already officially thrown my name in the hat for consideration to do Yellowstone once more.

Tomorrow morning my bike comes out of storage and I’m starting to get another feeling - one that tells me this desk is about to be re-located towards the bottom of my list of priorities for the summer.

— Jarvis, April 1, 2010

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