Vancouver To Nakusp BC.

View Larger Map

When I was in Neah Bay WA I met another motorcycle traveller from FL(!!) who was doing all 5 points(KW,San Diego,Cape Flattery,Prudhoe Bay and Maine) so we travelled together for a few days north to Vancouver BC and parted ways up by 150 Mile House.
Vancouver BC is a beautifull city, but unfortunatly I didn't spend any amount of time there to really get a good sense of the place.
And as we left Vancouver heading north on the Sea to Sky Hwy I realised that the best views of Vancouver are heading SOUTH, not north......DOHH !!!.

It was difficult to get pictures going north, as the viewing spots were on the other side of the Hwy, and it`s a busy and fast Hwy, so I figured i`ll just have to make a point of coming back to go south, get the pics and do a little exploring in Vancouver.

We rode north up to Whistler and decided to make camp by a river  before it got too dark and late. Passing through Whistler on the side of the road halfway up a tree was a Black Bear, so I made a mental note to Bear Proof our food later !!.

The following day we kept heading north into ever more beautifull country.

So when we got to 150 Mile House we got divorced. He tried to push on to Hyder and Prudhoe, but road closures due to over 400 Forest Fires in BC made Prudhoe impractical.

Instead I headed over to Kamloops and to where I am now, Nakusp.

As I was taking this picture,(it was early in the am)around the corner comes a guy on the unmistakable sound of a Ducati. He was buried into it, in full lean, and just watching him made the hair on my neck prickly !!. Watching him come through the turn at high speed was just poetry in motion......and that sound.

So about 20 or 30 miles farther on up the road who should I spot.....

So I pulled over,we chatted a bit,and then he says those immortal words to me,

"Wanna take it for a spin?" !!!!.

After he picked me up off the ground I mounted the 996. Man, what a sweet bike. I fired her up and the rumble went through my whole body. If you`ve never ridden a Ducati it`s hard to explain what it feels like.

So first second and third gear I took it easy to get a feel for it, but third on up I opened her up. Jeebus what a rush !!.

Pure crisp clean Italian stump pulling thumping power......I buried it into the corners and it stuck like glue,and on the other side coming out you can feel it`s got gobs of chain twisting torque.

When I came back and got off the Duck I was still shaking.

Thanks again Erik.

A "Highlight Moment" of the trip for shure.

Erik.

And he`s not a poser either.When he bought the Duck it had 3k miles on it,

now it`s got nearly 40k.

So to get to Nakusp I had to take the Needles ferry.

....and then my arrival in my temporary home in Nakusp where I`ve been since,

Summit Lake.

Murph