I was just watching Sasa’s packing process. Even though it’s unique and creative, I have a feeling it’s not going to work. Plus, he  may draw lots of unnecessary attention.

Let’s get serious. Zoran enjoys making fun of me. This is the real Day 1.

Actually, it started in Day 0, around midnight when I arrived in Zoran’s garage and  I saw my beloved motorcycle. The guys that were moving my motorcycle to Calgary were not so gentle to it. They have broken my front wheel cover. Right at the place where it gets connected to a front fork. I cannot described how upset I was. I cannot ride my motorcycle through ragged Idaho offroad with broken front wheel cover. This is a part that dealerships don’t have at stock. It has to be ordered and it takes day to get it. It looks that I have to fin way to fix it myself. Zoran has a soldering gun and I will use it to weld plastic. I have done something like that before. Unfortunately, I was so tired to do it right away and it was too late. I needed to rest so I decide to go to sleep and deal with it in the morning. That was not so smart. I was fixing the bike in my dreams all night. Not very much sleeping.

In the morning, I fixed the problem. I was able to weld the wheel cover. I added some armature using paper clip wire which I snaked into the plastic and I added more plastic by melting nylon zip tie all around it . It doesn’t look well but it is strong. Hope it will survive Idaho. I have also ordered a new one from Boise BMW dealer. By the time we reach Boise the part will be there. 

Julian arrived on time, just about the time when I finish my work. Zoran and I placed all the  stuff on the bike and off we go.

The Day 1 Have just started. The goal for the day is to reach the US border. Julian has made a reservation for a house just a rock throw away from the US border, just south of Creston, British Colombia.  The weather was nice in Calgary. We didn’t have many problems with traffic and we left Calgary behind quickly. We decided to take the shortest route to Creston going south through Fernie. The traffic was cooperating and we have reached Coleman quite fast. Just in time for lunch. 

At this time we had already reached the mountains and the road become twisty and enjoyable to ride. Julian was leading the pack the whole time and we were having a good pace. Before we left Calgary, we have checked the weather forecast for Creston. The forecast was rain in the area.  No problem for experienced rain weather riders. Whenever I have motorcycle trip I somehow attract rain. People in agricultural areas should pay me to ride through their area. I could guarantee lots of rain. So, rain is not a problem for Zoran, Julian and myself.

After Fernie, the next big town on our route is Cranbrook. The weather was great until that point but we started seeing dark clouds South, in direction we were going. We left Cranbrook behind us and when we were about 20 km south of it the clouds became black and the rain was about to start. We stopped to close all vents on our jackets to be ready for the rain and while we were preparing ourselves a truck stopped and the blond, bold and long bearded truck driver told us to turn around. Few miles South is major storm and the hail is golf ball size. Rain is OK but hail while riding a motorcycle is not fun. We made a quick turnaround and went back to Cranbrook to find shelter while storm is over.  The shelter was a Safeway supermarket. The idea was to buy food for the time when we arrive to Creston.  We parked our bikes and as soon as we reached the supermarket the haven opened. The amount of rain was unbelievable. It hailed for some time too.   

The radar was showing that bad weather will last for next two or three hours. A major storm is expected along our route to Creston. If we wait for then storm to be over, we will arrive very late to Creston.  The only smart option was to cancel reservation for house we have rented for the night in Creston and find some accommodation in Cranbrook. Julian quickly found a hotel for us. Best Western in Cranbrook. The rain was mild and we left the safe haven of the Safeway supermarket. The hotel was less than a mile down the road. As soon as we arrived Zoran parked his motorcycle and decided to get off the bike without opening any of stands. He just got off the bike, and bike fell on the floor. God job Zoran.  After we helped him to put bike base to upright position we unloaded motorcycles, cover them for overnight stay and went to reception where we learned that our reservation didn’t go through. The hotel is fully booked and our reservation through Expedia is useless.  The guys from the hotel helped us to find rooms in different hotel.

Long day. Tomorrow is the day. Idaho here we come. 

S.