Registration is open for annual Routledge Ride

[DRuZer]

The annual Routlege ride (July 21, 22) is fast approaching.
For adventure type dual sport riding, this is a classic. The idea is that after a great day’s riding, those with a dirty bend (us) meet up with a group of road riders (them) at a pre-arranged location for a PAR-TAY! The long history of this event is evidence that what we all have in common is the love of motorcycling.:dr:

This year, the chosen spot will again be the Canyon Alpine Motel in Boston Bar. The dual sport ride starts at THE CAMPGROUND at Lake Erroch, near Harrison Mills. Due to the long distance that this year’s DS route, it is recommended that you camp there Friday night.:ss:

Our ride will be just over 400 km, all road (twin-track), with about 20% pavement (but it’s fun pavement!). It takes you through some great scenery on relatively easy gravel, but…
THERE ARE SOME LOOSE SECTIONS! “Experienced” GS riders will find them challenging, and smaller bike riders will have to be on their best behavior. :hr:




New riders are encouraged to ride in a group, and there are a number of asphalt options if time gets short. Since the 50$ entry fee includes delivering your camp gear from Lake Erroch to Boston Bar (as well dinner and a movie Saturday night, and Sunday’s breakfast), your bags will probably arrive in much better shape (certainly cleaner) if you take advantage of the service.:br:
Contact the Canyon Alpine if you want more



Sunday’s ride will be a “get you home” ride – find your own way and share it with the DS community. Last year, it was awesome - but that’s another story. You can probably find it in the DSBC archives somewhere ….
:shock:

You can sign up for this years at http://www.gvmc.ca/events-roadride.asp?ridetype=Dual%20Sport

Hope to see you there!

 

[tomcycle]

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Its done, the route has been announced:clap:I'm in:hf:

Its been a long time for me on Harrison West. Long route with a interesting section in the middle. For anyone that is thinking about riding Baja, this is the ride you want to try first. Nothing too terribly hard, but the ride keeps coming at you. Its gonna be hot (like Baja) its dusty (like Baja) you will be miles from anyone (like Baja) you might get lost (like Baja) you will worry about gas (like Baja) the views will be spectacular (like Baja). At the end of the day the Beer will taste better than ever (like Baja):hb:

What more can I say:ted:

More....gonna have a hosted ride on Sunday for those who have some energy left. can you say whipsaw:wi:

TT

 

[scottbc]

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So are you going to let us in on the route? A teaser maybe, for those of us on the fence.

Scott

 

[tomcycle]

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scottbc wrote:

So are you going to let us in on the route? A teaser maybe, for those of us on the fence.

Scott

So: Since I was too lazy/busy/having too much fun, I didn't spend the time up at Spences to find the primo Saturday ride:shoot:

One brave soul dared challenge the many nay-sayers and convinced me that we could do "the long way round".

What it consists of is West Harrison, then over the high line (Anderson Lake), Mission mountain (super-moto anyone?), and across to Lillooet. If that's not enough, throw in the Texas Creek road down to North Bend and cross the mighty Fraser to .....

Boston Bar!:dr:

Its a beauty, but its a long haul, and going hard isn't going to do much but possibly trim a few minutes at the expense of missing the scenery and risking life an limb. These roads have some traffic, steep drops (off the side, that is) and some real sneaky water bars and sharp corners, so :ted: blah blah blah. Just go for the epic, ride to get there with some good stories. A wolf was spotted on the pre-ride!

The beauty of this route is there are a lot of places where a sore/tired/whatever riders can bail to the asphalt. A critical one will be the Lytton ferry. If it is running, big bikes and uncertain smaller bikes can bypass some of the gnarlier bits at the end of the day.

We'll keep you posted.

 

[kchip]

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The Lytton ferry was not running the weekend of Deadzone. Water level was still too high apparently.

Kevin

 

[scottbc]

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The Lytton ferry was running Friday before the Dead Zone because we used it to get toSpences Bridge.The water level is fine. There is currently job action from the highways workers that run the ferry. This is what the native protest on Hwy. 1 yesterday was all about. We were told that there is a community of 300 people who rely on the ferry. The next access is from Lilloet on a very dusty tight gravel road.

 

[scottbc]

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tomcycle wrote:

What it consists of is West Harrison, then over the high line (Anderson Lake), Mission mountain (super-moto anyone?), and across to Lillooet. If that's not enough, throw in the Texas Creek road down to North Bend and cross the mighty Fraser to .....Boston Bar

Thats quite a distance, if my memory serves me right its 200kms to first gas at Mount Currie. So full route must be at least 400kms, maybe more. Sounds interesting. Mission Mountain is cool. Last time I rode it at 6:30am in the morning light, very spectacular.

Scott

 

[Agent Orange]

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More....gonna have a hosted ride on Sunday for those who have some energy left. can you say whipsaw:wi:

So Tom , it sounds like Saturdays ride will be a thing of beauty , but how about Sunday , will it be KLR friendly ? I rode the Dead Zone 'C' ride double-up but will be riding the Routledge solo . Will this route bring us close to our gear drop/pick-up ?

Thanks for the info , Jeff

 

[tomcycle]

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Agent Orange wrote:

More....gonna have a hosted ride on Sunday for those who have some energy left. can you say whipsaw:wi:

So Tom , it sounds like Saturdays ride will be a thing of beauty , but how about Sunday , will it be KLR friendly ? I rode the Dead Zone 'C' ride double-up but will be riding the Routledge solo . Will this route bring us close to our gear drop/pick-up ?

Thanks for the info , Jeff

I would think a KLR will be a handfull on Sunday. Good question about the gear, hopefuly Guy will reply. Note sure if they are going to take it back to the GV club or back to the campsite.

 

[DRuZer]

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The dual sport rider's gear will be unloaded at Lake Erroch on Sunday for rider pickup.

Unclaimed gear will be taken back to the clubhouse.

Guy

 

[DRuZer]

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Just heard the news:

The Lytton ferry is officially running.

HOWEVER:
It is being run by managers, so it could be shut down for safety reasons or labour actions though.

I think it would be safe to plan for it to be in service, since the repercussions of a stoppage may result in another highway blockage!

Guy

 

[DRuZer]

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The numbers are in:

WE HAVE 21 D-S RIDERS!

Oh yes, and the Camp Mom is nagging at me ....

• Gas up Friday night. It is nearly 12 hours to Boston Bar (taking all the fun routes), so GET AN EARLY START Saturday morning, and I mean....

• LAST RIDER OUT at 7:30AM!! Note this is not what it says on the GVMC web page.

• carry water, snack bar (provided), and tools (flat repair stuff plus)

• The first gas stop is 200 Km !!!!!!!! Make sure you carry enough.

Have fun, and be safe!

 

[DRuZer]

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The C route has been revived....

A group of rebels have come up with their own ride ('smoothledge', I think they are calling it). Looks like about 50-50 dirt-asphalt, around 400 km, but much more suitable for big bikes and less confident riders.

If anyone is interested in joining up with these outlaws, PM me for more info.

Guy

PS - You still have to sign up!

 

[tomcycle]

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Looks like the weather will be perfect for an epic journey this weekend. A little rain will keep the dust at bay.

If you are going to bring one thing

Make it Bug Spray:ted:the mosquitoes are thirsty

 

[skidmark43]

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So how was it?

Everyone make it back?

Details / pictures?

 

[tomcycle]

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[font="Tahoma, sans-serif"]Routledge Run July 21/2007[/font]




[font="Tahoma, sans-serif"]A GVMC Epic Dual Sport Ride[/font]










[font="Tahoma, sans-serif"]As a preamble for people who have not done this event, here is a little information. Routledge was a member of the Greater Vancouver Motorcycle Club during the first half of the last century, John Krumin of the GVMC started this event some 50 years ago. The Routledge has taken many forms over the years and usually had been for GV members and guests. About six years ago it changed from a road ride to a Dual Sport and Road Ride and opened the event to everyone. Like all motorcycle events in our area, weather plays a big part on attendance, the Routledge has seen as few as One attendee to more than 70. The Routledge has always been a original event, unlike any other out there. This has what made the Routledge Run last for over 50 years, who know what next year will bring.[/font]




[font="Tahoma, sans-serif"]This years Routledge Run was a true epic ride. Almost 500 kms of gravel forest service and back roads all in one day. I received my route chart the day before the ride, I knew this was going to be a long day as the first instruction was the ride would take 12 hours with minimal stops.[/font]




[font="Tahoma, sans-serif"]Saturday morning the weather sucked, it was raining and low overcast. The rain should keep the dust down and we all know in this area, “if you don't ride in the rain, you're not riding.” When I got to the start at Lake Errock the clouds were lifting and the rain was light, things were looking good. Only a few riders at the start, it seems a lot of riders don't ride in the rain. For us hard core, the conditions seemed perfect, little or no rain equals no dust and lots of traction.[/font]




[font="Tahoma, sans-serif"]Wes and myself started out at 7:20am, no rain gear required. Harrison West FSR was nicely watered down, the clouds were lifting and the views were spectacular. The bad weather seemed to keep everyone else away, virtually no other traffic on this stretch of road. The only rough section of this years event was in good shape and could easily been negotiated with a full size DS such as a GS or V Strom.[/font]




[font="Tahoma, sans-serif"]First gas stop was Mount Currie about 180 kms from the start. Weather was holding out with the rain staying ahead of us. Next leg of this journey would be the High Line road to Seton Portage, short section of about 40 kms of gravel and 30 kms of twisty pavement. Lots of fun on the DS bikes. The High Line road was again in perfect shape compared to years past, offering spectacular views of Anderson Lake. We finally arrived at Seton Portage Pub at 1:00 pm. Typically I would have a Burger and a Beer for lunch but seeing we were only about a third of the way into the ride it would have to be Breakfast and Coffee. While at the Pub Wally and Mike caught up to us, because of the small number of riders the four us decided to stick together for the rest of the ride.[/font]




[font="Tahoma, sans-serif"]Next stop would be Lillooet about 70 Kms of mostly good grave roads with some more twisty pavement. Up and Over Mission Mountain got us out of the cloud cover into sunshine. Nice to see the sun again, only thing was we were starting to see a little dust, not enough to slow the pace down. This road follows the Bridge River, unfortunately with the gravel sections most street bike riders will never see this scenic and fun road. [/font]




[font="Tahoma, sans-serif"]Lillooet, the final stretch of this ride, about 120 kms to Boston Bar. We topped up with fuel, the weather was sunny and warm, roads have been wet enough to keep the dust to a minimum. This leg of the route kept us on the West side of the Fraser River. Every time I travel is section of road it makes me wonder why anyone would want to travel the East side on the highway. This stretch of road is why we buy DS bikes, to find out what I am talking about you will have to ride this road yourself.[/font]




[font="Tahoma, sans-serif"]7:30 PM Boston Bar, we made it 12 hours later, just a the route chart indicated, 478 kms later. Glad I did this epic event, time for a few beers and a good nights sleep.[/font]




[font="Tahoma, sans-serif"]Tom Timmerman[/font]

 

[Wrongway]

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Well said, Tom! It was a great weekend's ride. Gotta do more of these.

Wrongway

 

[sail_lots]

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Well tom said most of it

but here is my 3 cents worth

stayed dry and warm

went places I have never been before :hr:

Met new and wonderful people ,riders and all

Met with old friends who make mefeel younger who cantell a good joke and story
:hb:
you know you had a great day when you can know longer stay awake your eyes just want to close and sleep like a log



It was a great day :tup:

:dr::ss:I DID IT

sorry you missed it

 

[DRuZer]

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Yup, even the "sweepers" had a really good day.

We rode with John, Ray and Dave (KLR riders just can't give up the luggage!), and Brendan on the 400 SM up to lunch, then let them find their way to Lillooet and down the highway to Boston's Bar and grill. Mike, Andy and myself loosened the reigns a bit going up Mission Mtn and down Texas Creek road.

Those of us that had to leave a little later did experience a little rain (probably about an hour's worth) where it would have been good to be wearing rain gear, but its such a rare day when you can carve corners like that on a DS bike! A total hoot.

Few are the opportunities to ride this route with yer bikin' buds and not be choking on dust.

Ray and Dave carried on up to Chilko lake after the Saturday ride. And I was ready to take the short way home after Saturday! Carry on, boys! Bring back pictures.

By the way... did any one take any pics of the Routledge ride (Bigboar?? Wes??)

Forgot the camera again!:shoot:

Guy