British Columbia

A collection of 22 posts

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Weird and Wild Canada

I always suspected the modern metropolitan Vancouver, where I’ve lived for almost a decade, is hardly a complete representation of Canada. When I got my hands on a 2025 Honda NT1100, a touring motorcycle made for long distances, I was determined to explore the country further. The summer riding

Classic Roads

Duffey Lake Road, British Columbia

Duffey Lake Road, part of British Columbia’s Highway 99, connects Pemberton to Lillooet via the dramatic Cayoosh Pass, weaving through one of the most visually stunning and diverse stretches in Western Canada. What makes it truly unique is that in just over 62 miles, the ride transitions from temperate

British Columbia Premium Content

Canada: Beautiful British Columbia

The slogan on British Columbia license plates is “Beautiful British Columbia,” and the riding here lives up to that reputation. The best time to avoid the Canadian province’s notorious rain ranges from July to August, but my partner Aidan and I have an extra long weekend in June and

Mar/Apr '23 Premium Content

City Escape: Vancouver, British Columbia

The Sea-to-Sky Highway is one of those famous motorcycling roads that you have to ride at least twice. Once to revel in the sweeping bends and smooth surface, and then again to soak up the spectacular views over the turquoise-blue waters of Howe Sound and the majestic

Mar/Apr '21 Premium Content

British Columbia, the Yukon, and Alberta

Oh look, thar she blows! Out in the distance a whale blew, and a column of water fountained up. My eyes widened at the humpback’s gentle beauty. Calmly voyaging for two days from Juneau on the panhandle to Prince Rupert—our port gateway to a week of Canadian wilderness—

Mar/Apr '20 Premium Content

Yukon: Tuk or Bust

Over the years I have motorcycled through many of the world’s most exotic places, but in recent years I have been dithering about options for the next great ride. Can you hear a bit of desperation there? Finally, I was presented with a new road I could not refuse,

May/Jun '19 Premium Content

Penticton, British Columbia: Discovering the Undiscovered

The teacher in The Truman Show, who stated “Oh, you’re too late. There’s really nothing left to explore,” was incorrect. There is always something new to be discovered. Exploration can be as simple as visiting a place you’ve never been—perhaps venturing across the US-Canada border,

Sep/Oct '16 Premium Content

Revelstoke, BC Shamrock Tour®: The Unexpected Motorcycling Mecca

To many drivers, Revelstoke is just a stopover between Vancouver and Calgary. But for motorcyclists, the Kootenay-Columbia region around the city contains some of British Columbia’s best highways and byways, from sublime cruising to cuss-word challenging. Salmon River Raid It’s a brisk June morning when my

Jan/Feb '16 Premium Content

British Columbia and Washington: The Border Tour

The Canada-U.S. border disproves the old saying that good fences make good neighbors. It’s famously the world’s longest, undefended international border and, in much of the West, it’s simply a line drawn along the 49th parallel. There are no walls or fences, just a column

Sep/Oct '15 Premium Content

Reader Ride: Kaslo, British Columbia “Lookout” for Your Friends

Our 2010 KTM 990 Adventure easily rolls along the smooth forest service road adjacent to the Columbia Wetlands, the largest of their kind anywhere in the province of British Columbia. This portion of our tour was unplanned, but we did take the advice of our innkeeper the night before to

Mar/Apr '14

City Escape: Victoria, British Columbia

> Ride west from historic Victoria via Vancouver Island’s rugged coastline to Port Renfrew, then cross the island through remote villages and ancient forests as well as along rushing rivers back to the Trans Canada Highway by Lake Cowichan. Admire the totem poles in Duncan, and ride the spectacular

Sep/Oct '13

City Escape: Vancouver, British Columbia

> A winding tarmac ribbon soaring from sea to sky through BC’s Coast Range into semi-desert, then back through the spectacular Fraser Canyon. Take in four climate zones! Yes, it’s a long ride, but it’s comfortably doable in a day as long as you start early.

Jan/Feb '13 Premium Content

British Columbia: No Country for Old Men

Spring is the season of new growth, mating … and old men trying to stop the passage of time by planning an annual, mid-life-crisis, off-road motorcycle trip. It’s not as easy as an organized tour where all you have to do is follow the guy in front

May/Jun '12 Premium Content

Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Loop: Riding the Crown of the Continent

It is closer to bedtime than it is to dinnertime when I finally park the bike. But the kitchen is open until 10 p.m. here at Vimy’s Lounge & Grill at the Waterton Lakes Resort, so I order yak meatballs (since they are fresh out of elk chili)

Jul/Aug '09 Premium Content

Vancouver Island, British Columbia

The sign is up for "Free Beer: Tomorrow" in the pub where Steve, Jim and I sit planning our Vancouver Island tour. And it seems that the gratification of good old West Coast sunshine will be delayed another day, too. The forecast promises the weekend will be fine,

Jul/Aug '08 Premium Content

British Columbia

In the late 1800s a gold rush engulfed the interior of southwestern Canada. However, to be worth the assayers' valuations, the precious metal and other mined commodities had to reach the Pacific coast. Great mountain ranges and deep river gorges stood in the way, and at that time, building

May/Jun '08 Premium Content

British Columbia - Pacific Rim Tour

There can't be too many places people travel to in order to watch the weather. But every winter patrons cram the hotels lining Long Beach on Vancouver Island's west coast and do just that. The next stop from there is Japan, and the 5,000-mile

Mar/Apr '08 Premium Content

Edmonton to Alaska

Joining a band of motorcyclists on an annual run to Hyder, Alaska, we rode north from Edmonton to celebrate Ron Ayres's 1998 feat of smashing the Iron Butt record (riding to 48 states within 10 days) in what is now called the 48 Plus! Iron Butt Ride. Making

Sep/Oct '07 Premium Content

British Columbia's Hot Springs

When explorer David Thompson of the Northwest Company was mapping the Columbia River in 1811, he liked nothing better at the end of a hard day's travel than to relax in one of the many hot springs lining his route in what was later to become British Columbia.

May/Jun '07 Premium Content

Canada: British Columbia, Coast to Cariboo

"Ho-hum," a friend of mine remarked, tongue-in-cheek, as we stood looking across British Columbia's vast Shuswap Lake, "just more mountains, forests, rivers and lakes." Well, for once, he was right. Southern BC is mostly forests, rivers, lakes and mountains. And as

Sep/Oct '03 Premium Content

Canada: Alcan 5000

Routine city riding is not the recommended training regimen for motorcyclists planning to take on the Great White North in the Alcan 5000. Huddled with fellow rally participants in the doorway of the "World Famous" Rancheria rest stop somewhere along the Alaska Highway, we sip from our Camelbaks,

May/Jun '03 Premium Content

Canada

Even though its name suggests a forbidding trail more suited to snowmobiles than motorcycles, the Icefields Parkway had been on my "must do" list for a long time. Often conjuring illusions of Everest  -  with vast swaths of snow, vertical walls of ice, and crevasses wide enough to swallow