Day 5, Larrabee State Park, WA to Clinton, BC 550 km

2 July 2015

We got out of camp fairly early this morning (at least fairly early for us) and headed up the coast to the border.  Just below the border is Bellingham, and just below that is Fairview.  This is the most picturesque little coastal town that we have seen to date. It is also where our ferry will drop us off when we return from Alaska.

Moving north, we spent a little time in Vancouver, BC.  My cursory observation is that the people of Vancouver are mostly younger, better looking, and more fashionable than the rest of us.  Maybe the fact that they are younger covers the other observations?

Out of Vancouver we got on the Sea to Sky Highway.  For a little while this road follows some beautiful coastal scenery.

A waterfall on the Sea to Sky highway

I don't know where this guy is from, but I really liked his ride

Couldn't id license plate

As the road moved away from the coast the weather got warmer, and the scenery began to look more like what we are used to from our mountain states (Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, etc.).  Even the ski town of Whistler looks just like any other ski town in the US Rockies.

Once past Whistler, the road was one continuous serpentine highway.  Up, down, right, left, over and over again.  The temperaturs climbed.  So did we.  Once again the temperatures reached over 100 degF near Cache Creek, also known as British Columbia's 'Arizona'.  The spousal unit says that is like heaven to ride into the shade and have the temperature drop down into the high 80's.

Now some words about the Spyder:

The Good
The more I ride this thing the better I like it.  Once one gets away from the idea that it is not a 2-wheeled motorcycle and doesn't try to be one, one can appreciate its nature.

Regardless of the road, regardless of the temperature, the engine just pulls.  It never complains by knocking/detonating and is quite predictable.  Even the 3-cylinder vibration is never obnoxious, and never annoying.  It just tells you that the engine is doing its job.

Getting into the rhythm of riding the machine on a twisty road means moving one's body right/left into the curve since the machine can't do it itself.  What this means is that the rider gets a bit of a workout on a long curvy road.

The fairing and windscreen provide terrific protection for both the rider and passenger.  In the rain one can ride with very little splash from the wheels or direct pounding from the rain.  It is also nice that the windscreen can  be raised/lowered by pressing a rocker switch on the left handlebar.

The Bad
The drive belt vibrates sometimes at high-speed at certain loadings.  Sometimes on the throttle, sometimes off the throttle.  This is quite annoying at times.  An aftermarket accessory called 'SmoothSpyder' is available for this.  Maybe this is something the factory should deal with.

The Ugly
The antenna is made of fiberglass and can be easily broken (as I did).  It could definitely be more flexible.
The drain bolt on the transmission is easily stripped (as I did) during removal. Apparently this is a common problem that other owners have run into during oil changes.

Eventually we made our way to Clinton to spend the night in our tent.  Fortunately when the sun went down the temperature dropped rapidly from 96 degF down into the 60's for a comfortable night's sleep.
The guy who runs the campsite is a bit of a character and has a BBQ buffet he calls the Road Kill Cafe.

Things I thought about:
BC is like Colorado only more, much more.
The lakes are bigger and more blue, and there are more of them.
The curvy road is as curvy, but it doesn't stop.
The endless forests look like lawns, with pine trees replacing blades of grass.
Why is there a picknic table on that knoll, no tree, shed, or road nearby.