Ontario, the bill and the road

Dear friends.

In Calgary I was hosted by Rin Verstraten, Rinty in the BMW owners club of America. He is solicitor and barrister and a crazy guy about mortorbikes and cars. He is really proud of his Porsche 911 from 1996, the latest one with 2 valves and air cooler. “The followers Porsches with 4 valves per head and liquid cooler are not real Porsches”. We went to the Oktoberfest in Anderwerk´s workshop (www.anderwerks.com) . Dave Anderwerk is an expert in BMW motorcycles and an adventure rider who usually goes to Mexico. He knew about me (I do not how) and was really friendly. He gave me as a gift a fantastic and useful pocket tool.

Right I am in Fort Frances, Province of Ontario. I paid an expensive bill to be here. From Calgary there are two flat provinces: Saskatchewan and Manitoba. About 1600 km of motorway just in my mind and listening music. I had been told it was going to be too boring, but sometimes I like just to feel myself lost in a big open immensity. I love deserts and loneliness, but the weather was bad: rain, hard wind and cold. Two days of dirty job. But you know, someone has to do it.

My friend Paul France told me riding a motorcycle is like drinking beer. You always have to pay the price for happiness, but usually when you drink beer the bill is just after the good times and is called hangover. When riding the bill is a long boring road with bad weather or a big traffic jam, especially here, in America, where is forbidden overtaking when stopped in city or go among the cars when they go slow. They called it “splitting the lane” and is only allowed in California. But if you can not split the lane, what is the point of buying a motorcycle. Ok, I can guess the reason are places like the lakes in Ontario. Today it´s been a perfect day. The sunshine and the green forest and the soft road, not too twisty but smooth in its bends.

I was thinking on my way about reasons to travel. Why people travel? Know other people, cultures, food or sceneries? That is Ok. I am doing it but reading the best book available: the Road. I´ve seen to many roads and streets so far and I can say a road says more than anything else of a country and its population. I like Canada and its roads, streets and alleys. They are full of crazy and funny people going and coming: guys in bicycle who seems to go really far, baggers with a small bag and young hitchhikers walking around. In Vancouver and Calgary I saw the folk musician playing on the street and kids and fellows enjoying in short sleeves the little sun left before the winter.

I am doing the same. Just riding for a while before the coldnow

Hope, Salmo, Radioum, Calgary

Alex and I rode the Southern British Columbia from Vancouver to Radioum. We had our first night in a motel in Hope, then the second one, we camped in Salmo, a small town in the mountains. All the restaurants were closed at 7 pm so the only place we found open was the pub Silver Dollar. “No food at all, man, only drinks”. So we drank with the local guys. Then we went to our camp site and had more beers. Then we went to sleep. In the middle of the night started to rain cats and dogs. Everything got wet.

The day started clouded but later became sunny and warm. We had a lot of fun. We stopped in a winery to try wine because I liked the name: Forbidden Fruit. It´s amazing the Canadians make wine. I think is not good enough but they are really proud of it. We had an argument because the clerk recommended me “Apple wine” and I said if there are apples around, it is not wine.

Alex had a little failure. A fuse went out but he found out the way to solve the problem and we kept on going our way. We arrived Radioum Hot Springs at late evening, had a huge dinner and a lot of beers and then slept in a hostel. The dorm was for 6 but fortunately no one came in the night and we had the room just for us. At the following morning we split and I crossed to Alberta County and reached Calgary, where I met Rin, another motorfun and crazy rider. Rin invited me to his home, showed me the best routes and bought a very good steak for dinner.

CANADA

Dear friends.

I am in Canada. Paul France and I split near Oregon. I learnt a lot from him about Chi, Mexican Beers and Kuwait. Thanks Paul. Then I passed alone the crowed Portland and Seattle. Clouds over there but not rain. Crossing the Canadian border took me five minutes. What a difference with those other fucking countries like Uzbekistan or Russia. The worst is the place the most difficult is going in.

Anyway, I reached the beautiful Vancouver in a short trip from Bellingham, Washington, where I had night in a new friend´s home. I am travelling now with Alex, a 22 years old guy who rides an old but well kept BMW K75. He is young but he is really bitten by the bug of Adventure Motorcycling. He wants to ride the whole World next year. And I am sure he will do it. What a brave guy. I met him because Chris Dave, the Guard Angel of all World motorcycle travellers, gave him my e-mail. Thanks, Chris for taking care of me all along my American Way. I really appreciate it.

Now we are in Priceton, in the mountains of British Columbia, heading Calgary, Alberta, where we are going to split. The weather is still Ok. Is getting cold up the hills but dry. No snow is expected soon so I will be Ok.

Springfield

Paul France and me slept in a Californian Campground near Platica. We rode the Highway 36, 140 miles of bends and forest. Then we split around Fortuna, and he took the way back home and I took the 101 to the North. I was riding beside the wild coast of Northern California till Eureka. Then I headed West to take the 199 to Oregon and the forest where Big Foot lives. I haven´t seen that American Big Ape, but I am sure he can be hidden there for ever because the woods are so deep. I reached at late evening Springfield and decided have night here because it seems to be the Simpsons town.

Back to USA

Hi, friends, here we are, back to the United States, the country I rode from Miami to San Francisco on last November (2008) and December (2009) . First at all, I have to say how lucky I was. I flew from Madrid to London very early in the morning and when I arrived there, the United Airlines clerk asked me if I preferred to take the next flight at 10 am instead mine at 5 pm. “Of course I want”, I said. “Ok, you are in waiting list for the next flight”. Well, not only they have place at 10 am. The place for me was in Business Class! Oh, dammed luck! I have always believed such kind of miracles only happen to others guys, but in the right moment (11 hours flying) I was one of those fucking “others guys”. Some of you ask why I am now a believer. The answer could be me lying as long as I am (not too much, that is true) drinking wine and watching selected films in a personal screen. But not every one is happy with miracles. I confessed mine to the guy beside, an old man who were playing golf in Europe for his holydays, and he didn’t appreciate it, perhaps because he paid thousand dollars for the same seat.

Anyway, I am happy to be here. Is very estrange to be riding a place I was riding before. It does not surprise me as it did the first time, but in the other hand is much better because now I can meet good friends as my cousin Rosa and her husband Kip, who both picked me at San Francisco airport. They have kept the American Blue in their home garage for 8 months. Thanks so much for it. The bike was Ok, and even the battery worked well. Or friends like Stephen Burns and wife, who always give me a bed in their wooden home in a forest near Los Gatos. Stephen fitted a GPS on the bike and gave me as a gift one of his hand made devices: the World famous fuel pump bypass for BMW motorcycles. The funny story is that the first time I heard of such devices i was in Istambul from Pascal, a Australian guy who had had a fuel pump failure.

Other good friends here are the great Paul France and his wonderful family. They all love Spain, specially Jill, his wife who have been learning in Toledo for a while. The happy Camper Family have given me a shelter in Roseville, near Sacramento, and all the cold beer I could need. Paul and I have been riding the Gold County, the high mountains and the clear rivers where some guys found gold years ago and became so crazy. "I was born under a wandering star". I have found around here something better than gold, friendship, and I expect my craziness will last all my life. Soon I will ride North. I hope not being frozen there.

Keep safe.