A few days off & 2 moto divas.....

Two Moto Divas, a few days off and it's moto mama adventure time and a little ruckus thrown in to make it interesting.

Tuesday was the day I picked to start my 3 day moto adventure to explore Vancouver Island.  My dear friend Sheryl invited me up for a visit and to go riding with her.  We don't often get to visit together, so we pack a lot into the occasions we do.  We decided to meet in the middle in Nanaimo and the have lunch in Coombs, BC.

Coombs is an eclectic country market with a world flare and brick-a-brack from just about every country in the world it seems.  There are cute little boho chic shops with clothing that appeals to the urban hippie in just about everyone.  The main market building has a sod roof and little goats live up there happily munching the sod.  We had a delicious lunch and we smiled at people chatting us up about how cool it was that we were riding and wondering if we were hot in our gear and the repeated question "Aren't you hot in all that?" Our reply "Yup, but we're safe."  One fellow told us he liked biker chicks. It was in the mid 30 Celsius range Tuesday.  

We wandered around the boutiques and statuary and of course I had to snap a pic of the Divine Ms. S. in front of an imperial statue doing her best moto queen wave. Then it was time to twist the throttle and buzz down the highway to Courtenay, BC, where Sheryl lives.  Wednesday was the start of our moto adventure.

The adventure map.  Gold River was the destination, we started out in Courtenay.  (MAP Credit to Davenport Maps LTD)

Wednesday dawned a little cloudy, but was promising to be brilliant and very warm.  We hatched our plan, and decided to ride to Gold River, BC.  It is a breathtakingly beautiful ride and has a high rating in motorcycle touring rankings for best rides.  The countryside is beautiful with lots of twisty curves, drop-off cliffs, and lakes nestled in amongst mountains.  It is an active logging area as well, so you do have to watch out for heavily loaded logging trucks.  

After 90 minutes of exhilarating twisties and beautiful scenery driving through Strathcona Provincial Park, you arrive in the little hamlet of Gold River.  I believe it was a mill town at one point.  

There was an awesome boot carving, so of course I had to park in front and "get the boot".  

Then it was off to lunch at the golf club down the road a ways.  It was beautiful, the course is nestled in the valley and the mountains were stunning. Eagles were flying over head. 

We rode with another lovely couple, who it turns out I knew from my youth. It's funny how connections are made 20+ years later.

We departed from Gold River, Sheryl and I took our time stopping to take pics, because honestly what is a vacation without pics, it's just a memory.  So off we went back tracking through Strathcona Park.  There are a lot of 'Beware of Elk' signs along the road and I have to say I am pretty glad we didn't meet up with any until....

This is the exact and only way you ever want to encounter one of these behemoths, particularly when riding a motorcycle.  The scenery is spectacular and I was in awe of the majesty of our location.  We met a lot of tourists from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.  They came over and chatted with us and were pretty surprised to see two moto mamas out in the middle of nowhere.  

It was pretty hot and I'd estimate at one point about 35 Celcius, we stopped to get a drink and take some pics, and recharge a little.

It was so isolated there was no cellular service, think it's time to start thinking of a spot tracker.

A lovely mother and daughter from Switzerland obliged by snapping our pic. Thank you lovely Swiss ladies I hope you enjoy BC!

I can not convey how beautiful it is here. We didn't stop to take too many pictures, because we were so absorbed in the ride. The road was so twisty and steep there weren't a lot of places to randomly park the bike safely to take pictures. Trust me it is worth the ride! 

Strathcona park look-out/rest stop.  There are marvelous places to hike, boat, fish, and swim through Strathcona and it is worth checking out if you're looking for adventure full of twisties, scenery, and beautiful riding.

 Our trusty steeds waiting take us home.

We hydrated and prepared to make our way home and we were off!   We found some beautiful carvings made by professional, novice, and amateur chainsaw carvers on the last leg of our day, but that will have to wait for tomorrow.  

Now that my friends is the look of moto contentment!  Yup, I'm a happy girl!

What a fracktabulous day!  Twisties, majestic scenery, good friends, food, and summer weather and two moto divas ripping up the asphalt ribbon - it doesn't getting any better than that.