Oct 8

I leaned my machine into the corner, the lake on my right. It felt like I could almost touch the water as the road swept down the hill and back around the cliff face. I was at the beginning of my journey for the day. A motorcycle ride on Westside Road was the start of my road trip to Kamloops.

Westside hugs the mountainside along Okanagan Lake. It goes north of West Kelowna and ends at the north end of the lake.

It’s a piece of motorcycle heaven.

I waited for the temperature to rise and I departed West Kelowna. I was looking forward to a ride on my bike. It is October and time is running short on motorcycling season.

I brought my Honda ST1300 back to vertical and then leaned my machine back the other way. It was a zig-zag of energy and excitement. Speed limits are a recommendation on a road like Westside and I became one with my machine. I rounded another bend and saw the straightaway past the entrance to Bear Creek Provincial Park. I reigned in my desire to open the throttle and kept a civilized pace as I left the city behind.

There was another bend as I rode past Traders Cove. The small lakefront community looks out over the lake toward downtown Kelowna. Once I saw the last mammoth home in my mirror I opened up my throttle once more.

The corners came fast and furious, with a sign on the road warning of winding mountain road. I giggled at that sign; I thought for a moment to stop and take a picture. But the road had me in its grasp. I was connected to my bike, the road, and the epic scenery flashing by.

It was like a dance, and the road always leads.

Back and forth, I touched the road with my foot pegs on both sides, a subtle reminder of the limits of machine and man. I slowed down for the sharp switchback and eased my bike back up to vertical and rolled hard on the throttle. I felt the exhilaration of the acceleration, then let off on the power. Anxious for the coming turns I prepared for the rough patches of road that were in my path. My bike absorbed the dips and I saw the new asphalt at the end of the stretch of road that I bounced along. The new stretch of road was pristine and smooth. I was able to open my throttle up more and I reveled in the freedom and joy of the winding road.

Westside road is seventy Kilometres of pure riding joy. I connected with the ride and the road and I felt exhilarated by the scenic vistas that followed my drive north. I headed for Kamloops for the day. My first forty-five minutes of the hour and forty-minute drive was heaven on earth. On the right side, the Okanagan Lake cradles the twisty road as it follows the terrain north. At times the road is level with the lake and then it careens up the cliff sides and over the undulations along the water. I grinned like a kid with an ice cream cone as I lapped up the corners and the rolls in the road.

Near the north end of Okanagan Lake, I came to the Okanagan Indian Band Reservation. The OKIB has signs of poverty; abandoned vehicles sit rusting on the farms and the homesteads. Many properties sit in disrepair and there is little sign of development. The only businesses that seem to be thriving are the cannabis dispensaries that line the road. It is one of the most beautiful areas along the road. Yet the land sits in an abused state.

For many people on the reserve, life is difficult and jobs are hard to find. The band is in an ongoing lawsuit with the federal government over clean drinking water. You would think in 2020 that these 900 souls would have access to a proper and safe supply of water. Now with Covid there are signs warning away tourists and outsiders. It must add to the economic devastation faced by these once noble people.

I eased my bike through the last of the reserve and turned west on Highway 97 toward Kamloops. The rest of my drive had more traffic and less twisty corners. The ride was still thrilling and I embraced the freedom I felt when I rounded every turn and rolled out into the straightaways.

Highway 97 connects to the Trans-Canada Highway 1 It is only a quick twenty-minute ride to the city of Kamloops.

I spent the day in Kamloops connecting with a friend and getting my job done. By four o’clock I was back on the road. This time I headed south from Kamloops into the Nicola Valley. Highway 5a is transported back in time as it winds along beside a series of lakes until it connects up with the Coquihalla Highway. I felt invigorated by the ride while I was buffeted by the high winds.

I was in a race with the sun; I wanted to get home before it got dark. I opened my throttle and climbed the hill on the Coquihalla connector and sped away from the valley and the town of Merritt. I would be home in an hour, just in time to beat the sun’s final descent.

As I climbed the mountain pass the temperatures continued to drop. I felt the cold air on my face, I could feel fall air and the elevation take its toll on the warmth of the day. I hit Pennask Summit at 1717 m above sea level, the air was a chilly nine degrees Celcius. I could feel winter hovering in the trees and the incessant breeze. This was probably my last ride to this elevation for the year. I was now only half an hour from my home in West Kelowna, it was all downhill from there.

When I pulled into my driveway I felt invigorated. I felt alive. I felt a connection with the road, my machine, and the world around me. In this crazy year of the coronaverse I am grateful to have gotten a last big ride on my bike. I hope for more rides, more skiing, more living the dream.