Trip Blog & Members Section

June 2011

Hey there!

Just checking in to say hi! Really miss you guys. Hope to come back soon and do some more exploring!

— Devon, June 8, 2011

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August 2010

Eastbound and Down

Western Canada, the Rockies - Eastbound

Friday, July-30-10

For motorcyclists, each time we turn the key it’s a passport to a new adventure. Even if it’s just a 10 minute commute we’re always ready to expect the unexpected and most of the time it turns into a good run.

Getting ready for a weeklong trip brings another set of possibilities and on the first day of our recent Western Canada tour, Tyler and I had arranged to shuttle a couple of Harley’s from Trev Deeley in Vancouver up the Sea to Sky highway. Nothing out of the ordinary there, but then Ty told me that it was a pair of British couples booked to freewheel 2,000 pounds of steel across our beautiful countryside.

Guests from Canada and the United States riding BMWs and Triumphs while our Brits tussled with the big hogs… Hmm, normally isn’t it the other way around?

Seems Harley Davidson has developed quite a following across the pond these days, so once we sorted out the formalities in Whistler we were all set for sweet ride. Each day was epic and I’ll have to check, but I think Sally set new personal speed records three different times on her FXSTC - or whatever fancy code they use We didn’t now Harley’s could move like that!

Up until Jasper the route was a familiar one but the stop we made at Maligne Canyon on the way down from the lake was new and the short hike for the amazing views has been added to my “Must see” list for next trip.

The sushi restaurant in town frequented by the guides for so many years changed ownership but on this go I think we tried every item on the menu at least once everyone gave it a huge “thumbs up”.

Day 5 is when things got really interesting because we were still going to Lake Louise but the final destination was Moraine Lake. I think the vote was unanimous - Best stop on the whole tour. I know for a fact that Karen really ‘fell’ for it!

We finally landed in Calgary just in time for the Stampede and while a bunch of guests were lucky enough to hang for a few days, Tyler, Guy and I were back on the road the next morning for 700-mile ride back to Vancouver - “I get the Tiger!”

- Other “First’s”
A guest on tour with more experience behind the bar than me - Billy, you make one helluva’ martini!

- Most memorable “new” meal
Manitoba pickerel in the Walter Wilcox Dining Room at Moraine Lake Lodge

- Unforgettable off-day adventure
Sneaking onto the driving range with Tom at the prestigious Banff Springs Golf Club

Thanks guys, it was another trip of great memories. See you next year in Yellowstone!

Trip: Western Canada in a Week (Eastbound)

— Jarvis, August 4, 2010

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May 2010

Into the Wild…

I asked my boss for a week off at the end of April. “No problem, where are you going”….”Alaska”…”For a week, in April, you must be mad”…..

Yup, time for a Rocky Mountain scouting mission. Regular visitors to our website will see that we added a one way trip from Anchorage to Vancouver to our schedule for this year, so I decided to meet Brandon in Anchorage and drive the route in advance of the tour in June.

After a brief panic about the ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano, I arrived in Anchorage safe and sound but a tad jet-lagged on Saturday afternoon. It’s fairly quiet there at this time of year. They are gearing up for the summer season when all the cruise ship passengers arrive. Souvenir shopping is big in Anchorage and after a brief search we found the ideal store for most of our requirements….

We spent Saturday evening sampling the various ales on offer from the Alaska Brewing Company. From what I can remember of them they were very good. After a snowy Sunday exploring the area South of Anchorage we headed North to Fairbanks. Once you get clear of Anchorage and Wasilla (home to one Sarah Palin, the rootin’, tootin’ ex-governor of Alaska) you begin to realise how vast and deserted this state is.

Fairbanks will be the destination for the 2nd and 3rd nights of the trip, so we decided to a bit of research for a day off ride. Better not give too much away, but let’s just say I didn’t expect to find somewhere like the Chatanika Lodge, which has the most expensive ceiling coverings I’ve ever seen!

Although Brandon had already driven some 4,000km in a few days travelling up to Alaska from Vancouver, we then thought about a little detour up the Dalton Highway, following in the footsteps of those legendary TV stars, the “Ice Road Truckers”. When you are that close, what’s an extra 800km on the day’s journey! The paved road runs out about 100km from Fairbanks and then it’s a long and tough gravel road across the Yukon river and up to the Arctic Circle. After some rough calculations, we realised that we had plenty of fuel to get us back to civilisation. Actually that bit’s not quite true. We reckoned we would have about 10k’s of fuel left by the time we hit the next gas station. So we turned around and headed South, treating the gas pedal with ultimate respect.

It’s on these long road trips that at some point we invariably end up discussing the merits of junk food. I’ll bow to Jarvis’s superior knowledge on beef jerky (although following extensive research, World Kitchens Brown Sugar should be near the top of his list). I’m more of a Doritos man myself. In the UK the flavours available are a bit limited….as for the States though. I have discovered that there are 15 or so different flavours plus the combination packs….Cornsnacktastic!

We headed South East from Fairbanks, taking a leisurely route through Paxson and then back up to Tok. I guess it’s about time I mentioned the scenery. It is, to put it mildly, and using the North American vernacular…awesome…..and that is not an understatement. On the Icefields Parkway you have about 150km of stunning scenery. Here, it just goes on for days.

and days…..

Once we crossed the border back into Canada, things sped up a bit. We took a quick stop in Whitehorse and Watson Lake before turning South onto the Cassiar Highway. This road is about 725km long and I reckon we saw about 10 vehicles the whole time we were on it.

At the southern end of the Cassiar we turned right and a couple of hundred km later arrived in Prince Rupert for a well earned rest during a 20 hour ferry ride down to the northern tip of Vancouver Island. The ferry route runs through the Inside Passage and is sheltered from the open waters of the Pacific. There are some great views of pristine coastal wilderness during this cruise and we even spotted a couple of killer whales…albeit from a distance.

Once we hit Vancouver Island we were back on more familiar territory. A brief coffee stop at a great little spot called Telegraph Cove, followed by a drive down the East side of the island and a quick ferry ride back to Horseshoe Bay saw us back in North Vancouver. Just enough time to try out a new fish restaurant on the North Shore and then back to the UK.

During our epic trip the RMMH truck covered 10,000km in around 2 weeks. This, combined with the condition of the gravel roads took it’s toll………….

Don’t worry though, we hope to have it fixed up by the time the Alaska adventure starts for real in June….can’t wait.

VIEW MORE PHOTOS OF ALASKA

Trip: Alaskan Adventure 2012

— GuyC, May 26, 2010

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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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March 2010

Canada Strikes Gold!

Monday, March 8th - 2010

Sadly the 2010 Winter Olympics have come and gone and life for us is back to normal. Although the games are over, they did not conclude without leaving behind a lasting legacy in Vancouver and Whistler for generations of Canadians and future visitors to enjoy. The greatest spectacle this city has ever witnessed was capped off by a record setting run of gold medals over the closing days of the games and RMMH was there to capture some of the action!

VIEW MORE AMAZING OLYMPIC PHOTOS

The Olympic torch was carried through our neighborhood 2 days prior to opening ceremony. It’s 45,000-kilometer, 106-day trek across Canada began back on October 30th and wrapped up in Vancouver on February 12th for the opening ceremony and traditional lighting of the torch.

The views from our side of the water were spectacular. The night’s sky was lit up for 17 days with an art piece commissioned by the cultural Olympiad called Vectorial Elevation. Robotic searchlights created a quiet canopy of light in the night sky above and on the surface of English Bay with designs created by people around the world and delivered over the Internet.

Hockey is the number one sport for most red-blooded, beer guzzling Canadians. And the games certainly didn’t disappoint by bringing together the finest hockey talent in the world to play in a tournament for the ages! Brandon and I went to the opening men’s hockey game U.S.A. vs. Switzerland thanks to some tickets that our sister gave us from Christmas. Thanks sis!

A few days after that I took in a Slovakia vs. Latvia men’s hockey game with some of the boys. Then later that night we went out partying downtown to celebrate another Team Canada victory.

Brandon and Katharine scored tickets from their neighbors to go see Canada play against Switzerland in the preliminary round. After the game they went to check out the German House in Vancouver’s Gastown. Apparently the German’s ran out of beer after day 10 of the Olympics. They obviously underestimated how much us Canadians like our beer. Later there was an article published in Time Magazine that gave us a gold medal for drinking. We apparently drank more than Turin and Salt Lake City combined!

Most of the countries that are considered winter sports powers we’re well represented by their respective “houses”. Designed by each country as a place for supporters and athletes alike to gather and soak up one another’s unique culture, the Olympic houses quickly became notorious for huge line-ups, raucous crowds, and what else but drinking. The most notable houses were Russia or “Sochi” house where they refused to serve any kind of mix with your vodka, Holland house a.k.a. Heineken house which featured everything from world class house DJ’s to clog dancing, Irish house which set an Olympic record for noise complaints from its neighbors, and finally our very own Molson Canadian Hockey house which was the hub for all things related to partying and the maple leaf.

The Swiss and the Austrians decided to build their “houses” up in Whistler which added to the Olympic flavour of the town. On most evenings Whistler was going off just as hard as Vancouver was. Especially any night where a Canadian athlete won a medal in an event hosted in Whistler (bobsled, luge, downhill skiing etc.) the Village would just go crazy! All the major networks were broadcasting from the bottom of the hill and spontaneous parties were known to break-out at a moments notice. Many of our guests will recognize the Whistler Brewhouse in behind the Summit Lodge as you begin the village stroll. The rings were a popular spot for a photo-op even on a day where the weather wasn’t so nice.

 

It’s almost as if the hockey gods were shinning on us one more time as they saved the very best for last. Both our men’s and women’s Ice Hockey teams claimed gold on the final weekend of competition against our latest and most feared rival, the U.S. Of course this set off the craziest party Vancouver has ever seen! On a day that most Canadians won’t soon forget, 80% of our country tuned in to watch us beat the Americans on home soil. The Olympic rings on Vancouver’s waterfront burned gold for 3 straight days as Canadian athletes continued to wrack up 1st prize medals en route to a record setting 14 before it was all said and done.

For a nation that is often accused of being too polite and modest to be fiercly patriotic, these Olympic Games gave us that rare excuse to gloat about being Canadian, even if it was just for one day. A truly proud moment in our nation’s history and I’m so grateful my city of Vancouver was chosen to host it all.

VIEW MORE AMAZING OLYMPIC PHOTOS

— Tyler Douglas, March 8, 2010

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