Alive with Motorcycles

2014 has been a great year and I’m sure will continue

Posted on March 22, 2014 by amansell

This entry is part 1 of 9 in the series 2014 Ride to Georgia

On My Way Again

I am counting down the days till I saddle up to go on another great M/C ride. May the first will find me heading south along the Washington, Oregon, and California coast to San Francisco to meet a couple riding buddies. I will then be heading east to my destination of Atlanta Georgia to meet up with these friends from San Francisco, as they will arrive via the air and then rent a couple bikes for our 2 week tour of the Appalachian mountains and various civil war sites. I will by then already have toured the Ozark plateau in Arkansas and Missouri, plus a side trip down to Vicksburg on the Mississippi River. With stops at Tupelo Mississippi (birth place of Elvis Presley) and then through Alabama to Georgia. Hopefully I will get a find time to ride on some portion of the famed Natchez Trace Parkway.

While with Steve and Mik we will definitely be riding the Tail of the Dragon at least a couple times as 318 corners in 11 miles is motorcyclist dream. There will be many great places to visit and sites to see which I will be posting along the way.

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My New Ride

Posted on April 19, 2012 by amansell

I’ve looked and drooled over this bike since it was first mentioned in the motorcycle press as a concept back in 2010. It hit BMW dealers floors in 2011 and was an immediate hit and dealers in both the US and Canada could not get enough of them.

: Red K1600 GT and Silver K1600 GTL

The GT on the left is set up more for sport touring with a seating position a little more aggressive then the GTL on right. The foot pegs on the GTL, are positioned a little farther back and the handlebars are also further back, allowing the rider to sit a little more straight up. The two motorcycles other then mentioned above can be outfitted exactly alike with the GTL arriving with most options as standard equipment. If a person was to option out both motorcycles exactly alike then the GT would tax your budget a little more then the GTL.

The BMW K1600 has been recognized by virtually all the motorcycle press, both in North America and Europe, as the best and the most technically advanced motorcycle of 2011

This motorcycle is by far the smoothest, most powerful, and the most enjoyable bike I have ever ridden in my 47 years of riding. I have only about 1400 km on my new bike so far but am looking forward to this summer riding season with great expectations of long distance travel both in the US and Canada.

Here is a picture of myself taking delivery of my new bike from Island BMW in Victoria on April 11.

Although I and Nancy would have preferred another colour, this dark blue looks very good in the sunlight. The GTL only comes in a silver or blue where the GT comes in Red and a silver, and I have had a few non colour (read silver) bikes before. The rain today could not dampen my spirits as I was about to ride away from Island BMW with my new bike. The staff at Island BMW with both very helpful and courteous and Pascal the sales manager made trading in my 2008 GSA very straight forward and as easy on by pocket book as possible.

For two days I rode around the south island to put on a 1000 km needed for the first check up. It was quite hard not to ride the bike hard and keep the rpm down under 5000, for this bike just screams GO FAST. With the check up and oil changes done I left for home and travelled up the Fraser Canyon on mostly a beautiful day. This bike has so far exceeded my expectations of how it would handle and the performance it will deliver.

: 2008 BMW R1200 GSA

Here is my trusted GSA that I traded in on my new bike. It was a great bike and I had put on many miles travelling the back-roads on my travels.

As I am getting longer in the tooth and genetically blessed with a short inseam (29 in.) the bike with all its weight ( over 500 Lps) was getting to be a handful in the rough goings. Although I will miss the back road travelling it was time to move on. I will although be speaking nicely to Nancy, as in the future I may look for a smaller duel sport to quest my thirst for exploring back roads

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Ottawa

Posted on August 3, 2011 by amansell

Nancy and I made it Ottawa on Aug 1 after 5077 kms and 17 days. A lot of places we stayed did not have Internet at the camp site so I have not listed all we have done and seen. We had a good 6 days in the Niagara peninsula with the obligatory viewing of the Falls. We also took a jet boat up the Niagara River, what a rush. Three 600 HP cat engines on a flat bottom boat that allowed the pilot to skim over the rapids on the lower river, down stream from the falls. They warned us about getting wet and we surely did, for the water came right over the boat in a solid wave and you actually thought you were going to drown. They made a video of you has we went, which is great.

We also visited our relatives in Hamilton and help celebrate my Uncle’s 88th birthday. Met my three cousins and their families, whom I have never met but thoroughly enjoyed their company.

We then left and pointed our Motor-home in the direction of Peterborough where people we had met on the cruise to Alaska lived. They really treated us royally with a tour of their town and the canal locks. The next day we left in two vehicles and drove to Trenton’s air force museum where along with a lot of Canadian Air Force exhibits is the new home for the Camp Mirage (Afghanistan) Memorial for our fallen soldiers. We placed some poppies on Myles’s part of the memorial.

Finally got to Ottawa! Nancy & I took a tour of the Parliament Buildings and walked around the Ottawa locks of the Rideau Canal. The town so far reminds us of Victoria only larger. So far it has been very interesting even if our tour guide says she has never heard of a senator sleeping in his seat.

Today we drove out to Carlton Plc about an hour out of Ottawa to visit some friends from Victoria that moved here in 2000. It was very nice to reconect and talk about times gone by.

We will be staying in Ottawa for another two or three days and then start our meandering way home

Sorry there is no pictures but this computer seems to require about 30 minutes time to load one picture, I will need to try later, as it is now Miller time.

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Thunder Bay

Posted on July 19, 2011 by amansell

Meeting House

: Some of the buildings in Fort William

Well, Nancy and I just finished visiting Fort William. It is an accurate recreation of the fort in 1815. All furs and trading by the Northwest Company went through here before going either to Montreal or the west. Most times there was at least 600 people in the fort and so was a very busy place. Even after the Hudson Bay and the North West Company joined, it remained a vital link to the economy of what was to become in less then 50 years, Canada.

Furs inside store

It was very well done with all people dressed and acting in character. It was very warm but there was a slight breeze so the temperature was quite easily handled. It also had a good gift shop and we bought a few things, but what I wanted most they did not have, a poster aerial shot of the fort, oh well I did get a real neat map drawn in 1812 showing the great expanse of land that the North West Company operated in.

Up until here we dry camped and parked the M/H where ever, mostly Wal-Marts. This site is quite nice nestled in amongst Birch trees, and the sites are very large with at least 25 feet between rigs.

Went for a ride yesterday evening to down town Thunder Bay and wasn’t overly impressed, I will ride this evening to Kakebeka Falls and hope to get a couple photos.

Tomorrow we will leave and head down toward Sudbury (Espinosa) where we will visit a couple that Nancy met in Afganistan, and from there down to Hamilton and my relatives

The M/H has performed flawlessly and except for one close call in Dryden (cause motor vehicle accident) we have not had to back up, as, with the Jeep on the back we can’t!