Bella Coola and Beyond: 9 days in and out BC on 2 F800GSs

[gregdee]

Great write up. Really enjoyed it. Trying to figure out how to get there from here without taking a leave of absence from work.

Comments on the BMW dealers: Last fall on the way home from a nice two-up run through the mountains I rode into the local Sandia BMW dealer on my Triumph Sprint. They were instantly super friendly and I ended up taking a spin, two-up, on a GS1200 and then a GSA. Loved both bikes, didn't care for the price of entry. No snobbery whatsoever but they did want to know if they should call up PJ (local Triumph/Ducati dealer) to get a trade in price for me. I didn't bite but the entire experience was very pleasant. Interesting to hear that not all BMW dealers are like this. I ended up buying a 2002 KLR with 20,000 miles on it. I've used it as a learning tool that I have worked on, broke lots of stuff, fixed it, rode it, and rode it some more. Over 7,000 miles on it this summer exploreing NM, CO, and UT. I love the KLR. Works fine even at 12,000 feet. Can't image all the power it's going to have I ever get it below 5,000 feet

Comments on gear: Are those standard Pelican cases? I use Pelican cases at work to transport spectrometers and the like but all our boxes are big, bulky, and open to the sides. I didn't know they came in cool designs and opened on the top. Might have to look into those again. - Never mind; read your blog - good information there. Thanks for taking the time to write up all the information. It's nice to have it in one place.

Camping food: I saw oatmeal. What else did you guys eat? We ate mostly just-add-water soups all summer. Looking for new ideas. - Again, never mind. It sounds like you are pretty much OK with getting dull uninteresting calories when moto-camping. So be it.

[betitolara]

Originally Posted by 81husky

Great ride report, and brought back memories from 1962. We stayed at Nimpo lake in a cabin and took a day trip to Bella Coola. I was only 6 so I don't remember a lot, but the road into Bella Coola was pretty hairy it seems like. Now, I want to go back.

Common sense would make you assume that a lot has changed since 1962 but... I don't think this is the case. Bella Coola is still a few blocks big (or small) and it felt like time hadn't gone by at all.

Originally Posted by gregdee

Great write up. Really enjoyed it. Trying to figure out how to get there from here without taking a leave of absence from work.

Comments on the BMW dealers: Last fall on the way home from a nice two-up run through the mountains I rode into the local Sandia BMW dealer on my Triumph Sprint. They were instantly super friendly and I ended up taking a spin, two-up, on a GS1200 and then a GSA. Loved both bikes, didn't care for the price of entry. No snobbery whatsoever but they did want to know if they should call up PJ (local Triumph/Ducati dealer) to get a trade in price for me. I didn't bite but the entire experience was very pleasant. Interesting to hear that not all BMW dealers are like this. I ended up buying a 2002 KLR with 20,000 miles on it. I've used it as a learning tool that I have worked on, broke lots of stuff, fixed it, rode it, and rode it some more. Over 7,000 miles on it this summer exploreing NM, CO, and UT. I love the KLR. Works fine even at 12,000 feet. Can't image all the power it's going to have I ever get it below 5,000 feet

Comments on gear: Are those standard Pelican cases? I use Pelican cases at work to transport spectrometers and the like but all our boxes are big, bulky, and open to the sides. I didn't know they came in cool designs and opened on the top. Might have to look into those again. - Never mind; read your blog - good information there. Thanks for taking the time to write up all the information. It's nice to have it in one place.

Camping food: I saw oatmeal. What else did you guys eat? We ate mostly just-add-water soups all summer. Looking for new ideas. - Again, never mind. It sounds like you are pretty much OK with getting dull uninteresting calories when moto-camping. So be it.

Rarely I hear people saying very good things about a motorcycle dealer... so that's good to hear. Maybe I just hang out with a bunch of whiny bikers? (including me) or most dealers really do suck big time

Sorry for the delay of my reply, by the way. Those are standard Pelican Cases indeed. There are side and top loading and they come in 5 or 6 different colors... but never mind I see you read our blog.. We used them for our camera and surveying equipment in underground mining. I saw how they could take a real beating so I knew they were going to be perfect for our riding style ....

Re food: we want food that is easy to pack, keeps well, it's nutritious and that can me eaten on the fly or it's easy to make. We carry oatmeal for breakfast, just add boiling water and it's done! for the ultimate oatmeal breakfast we ad grains, nuts, seeds and dried fruit (hemp, pumpkin, sunflower, sacha-inchi seeds. Quinua, canhiwa 'super grains' from Peru. Cashews, wallnuts, pecans, almonds, etc all the 'good' nuts. And all kinds of dried fruit: papaya, mango, berries of all kinds, pineapple, bananas, coconut, etc)

We also carry protein bars for a good snack on the fly. Our 'just add water' soup contains actual nutrients and protein (12 gr per individual packs). Not your regular 99-cent soup powder We also have 'meal replacement' meal powders that mix with water and have all kinds of good stuff in them to sustain energy and all that. We need that after picking up our bikes 20 times x day . To make our 'shakes' we carry a pair of shakers and voila! a meal in 2 minutes.

Finally we carry hydrating powders (think Gatorade but without all the sugar) and energy tablets (think Monster Energy or RedBull but without all the nasty stuff they contain). Finally we have flavoured drink powders (instead of drinking sodas/pop) that are a blessing on hot days and also contain a good amount of protein and nutrients.

As you can see, we carry lots of 'powdery' products that use water to mix. This is why the filtering system from Geigerrig is one of our favorite gear that we have recently incorporated to our travels. I wish we had it during our ride to Argentina. It would have saved us good money because we bought a LOT of bottled water @ gas stations. Plus during those 8 months that we rode south we consumed more pop and sugary juice drinks than we have ever drank in our entire lives...

If you need more details, PM
Cheers,
Alberto.

[TriplePete]

Fabulous RR. Glad you got to enjoy that streak... this streak! of dry weather in our own Beautiful BC! I been wanting to do Bella Coola and Cariboo since I got my Tiger... Next year for sure!

Thanks for sharing

[Arek Kontrol]

I like this one

Thanks for taking us along on your great trip.

[simmersonwheels]

Great ride report, and you went right past my front door..... I've always wanted to do the Bella Coola Ferry, you've added to the temptation.

[muskeg]

I thoroughly enjoy your write ups and gave you some props here, not that you need any advice! Keep it up and maybe we'll meet on the road some day...

[svensmanager]

Originally Posted by muskeg

I thoroughly enjoy your write ups and gave you some props here, not that you need any advice! Keep it up and maybe we'll meet on the road some day...

Thanks so much for the appreciative feedback. We are always happy to hear that people enjoy our RRs.

[MasterMarine]

Thank you for posting such a great ride report. I enjoyed following along on your adventure.

BC looks fantastic! I am going to have to get up there sometime!

Tell me more about your GoPro charging setup. What kind of charger are you using? Are you using one of those big battery packs to charge things up? With the GoPro, the Wifi backpack, the remote, and my Lumix TS-4, I have a ton of batteries to try to keep charged while out on adventures and am interested in proven solutions.

Thanks!

[betitolara]

Originally Posted by TriplePete

Fabulous RR. Glad you got to enjoy that streak... this streak! of dry weather in our own Beautiful BC! I been wanting to do Bella Coola and Cariboo since I got my Tiger... Next year for sure!
Thanks for sharing

The weather in the summer was really fantastic! It's now cold but there is no snow here... just rain. The bikes are insured till mid-November so we still have a few day-rides to squeeze in

Originally Posted by Arek Kontrol

I like this one

Thanks for taking us along on your great trip.

I sometimes want to be in the photos too! It's a tough life being the 'photographer' b/c you don't get to be in many of the photos... unless you use a tripod and a remote control to snap some shots. Or stretch your arm as far as you can like in this photo...

Originally Posted by simmersonwheels

Great ride report, and you went right past my front door..... I've always wanted to do the Bella Coola Ferry, you've added to the temptation.

Bella Coola has been one of the most scenic rides we've done. Add it to your bucket list.. you won't be disappointed
Cheers

Originally Posted by MasterMarine

Tell me more about your GoPro charging setup. What kind of charger are you using? Are you using one of those big battery packs to charge things up? With the GoPro, the Wifi backpack, the remote, and my Lumix TS-4, I have a ton of batteries to try to keep charged while out on adventures and am interested in proven solutions.
Thanks!

We use a solar charger called ORANGE JOOS and it is very very good compared to most 'compact & waterproof' rugged solar chargers. While riding we strap it to the back of the bike (on top of our Pelican duffle bag) so it is fully charged at the end of each day. From our experience, it can fully charge 02 GoPro batteries. Or you can fully charge a Scala Cardo G9 unit and there is still power left to charge 50% of a second G9 unit. There is a new solar panel unit that I was looking at the other day and it sounds like it's more powerful and still small enough to pack on a bike: SUNVOLT check it out.

On top of that, I have a mini USB cigarette lighter (you can buy them cheap off eBay) that I use with a USB cable and can charge any of my USB gadgets while I'm riding. If I need to, I can charge my netbook's/laptop's battery using a small inverter .. while riding

Hope this helps!

A.

[GrizzLee]

Originally Posted by betitolara

Bella Coola has been one of the most scenic rides we've done. Add it to your bucket list.. you won't be disappointed
Cheers

I agree. The Chilcotin plateau is a dual sport paradise. I rode the some of that area over Labor Day from Seattle. (RR: Bella Coola Canada)

FYI... If you go by ferry, check the schedules and the cost $$$$

[Cal]

Thanks for that Sunvolt link! I have been playing around with 5 watt panels for my sailboat and the sunvolt has a lot of great ideas.

[betitolara]

Naomi and I have winning photos in the 2013 Horizons Unlimited Motorcycle Calendar (photos for the months of November and April)

You can get a copy of this 2013 Calendar here: http://www.cafepress.com/horizonsmc.715766163 they make for a great Xmas present!

See all the winning photos here: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/con...2-photocontest

Our winning photos:

November: Torres del Paine National Park



April: Peruvian Sierra




Anther photo submitted from ' Bella Coola and Beyond' but did not win:

Cheers,
Alberto.

[TOTim]

Well done and truly deserved.

[betitolara]

Originally Posted by TOTim

Well done and truly deserved.

Gracias!
A.