2011 Kootenay Hootenanny 2 - PNW/Canada Meet in Nelson, BC

[Snakeman]

PICS...Where are the pics???

Please taunt us that did not or could not make it! It will make us feel better if you guys start posting some pics..then we can feel like we are there.

Snakeman

Hey Dean, you want pics, I've got your pics right here.

Sorry you could not make it this year - I hope the pics make you feel like you are here!

Veefer800Canuck (Rob) replacing a fuse on his bike:

Rob's bike wins the bling contest... there really was no contest:

Mike (superfunkydudeomaticguy) - chatting with Tyke (Paul) - showed up with a box of shirts on the bike:

The parking lot full of VFR goodness:

The 'distance travelled' award is no contest this year:

Some Laser bling:

VFR's as far as the eye can see:

Thank you Tony, Sure wish I was there.

[didit]

Nice shirts gents. Hope ya'll have a great time.

So sorry we couldn't be there. Riding through Oregon & California has been aweful.

Nothing but blue sky, clear roads, no tickets, no animals, cheap beer, friendly hotels and did I mention OUTSTANDING ROADS!!!.

I know, it's sh&*ty but someone has to do it. We're trying to take one for the team here.

CVVFR sends his best.

Not to worry, as the dates are now confirmed for the Sum Sum 2012 so everyone will have lots of time to book the time.

Enjoy Nelson & the Paddywack IPA - Choco!

[superfunkomatic]

Dinner, drinks and the loot down at Mike's pub at the Hume. Come down any time.

[Veefer800Canuck]

Tony - Lee had to leave this morning before the group ride. His 98 y.o. Gramma is in the hospital so he scooted back to her to be by her side.

Ride through Kaslo and New Denver was great, and everyone got back safe.

[didit]

Tony - Lee had to leave this morning before the group ride. His 98 y.o. Gramma is in the hospital so he scooted back to her to be by her side.

Ride through Kaslo and New Denver was great, and everyone got back safe.

Thanks for the update - will send him a message.

Just finished an amazing dinner at Shark Bites here in Coos Bay. Surf shop in back and sea food up front.

God the salmon lox was delicious! Brian the owner was a great host.

You guys enjoy everything Nelson has to offer and do enjoy a pint or 4.

Cheers,

[Veefer800Canuck]

Thanks Tony :-)

Were still at the Hume hotel bench racing and stuff. Good times!

[choco]

Kevin (Cageless) and I met in Winthrop almost a third the way to Nelson when I heard my grandma was deathly ill. She is a really cool lady and went into the hospital on her 98th birthday. I had fun seeing the VFRD folks and met quite a few new folks there as well. My ride home Saturday turned out to be one of the best rides I ever had, blue skys, not windy like the day before, very light traffic. I went through Osoyoos because there was some seal coating and traffic stops that Kevin and I had to endure on the way up on Highway 20 Tonasket to Kettle Falls. All was clear on the way home and I stopped off at the Old Red Schoolhouse in Winthrop and had the best time chatting with three others and drinking one of the best IPAs I ever had Ruud Awakening, brewed with Amirillo hops, very aromatic. I brought a growler home with me and will try to convince my local Grill owner to start getting kegs of it. The trouble is Casey Ruud the owner of the Old Red School House says they have a hell of a time keeping up with demand. We might have a Northwest version of Pliny The Elder from Russian River brewery, California on our hands here. Pliny has turned into a cult beer and people line up around the block to get it and the quantitites are limited.

I was feeling pretty good when I left Winthrop and blazed up to Washington pass dispatching ubiquitious Harley's and whatnot and then sat out on the bluff and had a relaxing time. From then on I seemed to be in a riding groove like never before. My Bike and I were one and I had almost no traffic to contend with all the way home. I was really blitzing the corners fantastic sweepers of the North Cascade Highway but seemed in total control so it was nirvana.

Going to wash the bugs off my bike this morning and then go see my Grandma in Seattle. Yuck Seattle traffic after the West Kootenays and the North Cascade Highway, but she's worth it.

Thanks for the PM Tony and hope you all are having fun. Missed you in Nelson.

Mike and the rest of you, sorry I didn't see you Saturday morning, I was up and packed early and was drinking coffee and chatting with Quenell and ???? another very cool guy, I'm terrible with names sometimes--sorry--but it was a fun chat and then I headed out under the bluesest of skys. I can't wait to hear how the rides went on Saturday. To tell you the truth, hearing about how BC will impound your bike for going 40 k over the speed limit had me a little worried about riding the racetrack, er, I mean the New Denver to Kaslo road. I honestly don't know if I could hold it back on that most wonderful of roads. Seeing Quennell, Rob and Paul reminded me of one of the best times of my life, riding to Colorado two years ago. It was very nice seeing you guys again.

It was nice meeting and chatting with Fiona and Nicole Friday night and the other nice lady and her husband who happened to live not far from our North Central BC home. I lived in Germansen Landing and they lived in Mackenzie for a time, on the east side of Williston Lake. Sorry about spacing the names again. I hope these ladies and more join us on our rides in the future. I'm already gearing up for the Colorado trip in 2012. Hear that Tony? How's the planning for that coming. I'm thinking you should think about Durango for a destination or Gunnison, or Telluride, or Ouray or Silverton or . . . .

Lee

By the way, my Joe Rocket Hemp Jacket is awesome and the helmet was very good too. I'll be writing the review for Motorcyclist very soon although it probably won't be published until who knows.

[Guest]

Had an awesome weekend with the group! This was the first group meet and ride for my wife and I and everyone was awesome and so friendly! We have to come to another. The weather was perfect... hot and sunny! Everyone should have a great ride home today. Looking forward to the next meet and seeing some familiar faces again! Thanks to Mike & Fiona for the 'oranizational' skills & efforts!!! The prizes were great...

IMG 0298 SquamishVFR!!! You must come back to the Kootenays... go for another epic (80-90%) ride!

IMG 0296 Great awards all around!

IMG 0294 Pat... the winner of the 'long distance' award. Travellled in from Nova Scotia in five days! I think he is eligible for a few addtional awards!

IMG 0282 Main street Kaslo... after lunch.

IMG 0276 Us... overlooking Slocan Lake.

IMG 0270 South Slocan... quick stop before heading up the Slocan Valley to New Denver.

DSCN0443 Gary... such a princess!

DSCN0436 Kaslo...

IMG 0293 Where's your cigar, Suzanne!

IMG 0292 <img src='http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/laughing6-hehe.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> <img src='http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/laughing6-hehe.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> <img src='http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/cheerleader.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> Nice 'Dora' hat, John!

IMG 0291 Our proud organizer!

IMG 0287 Saturday night! We all had to get 'glitz'ed' up!

IMG 0285 Kaslo Hotel for lunch... the BEST burgers ever!

IMG 0280 Kalslo...

IMG 0277 Further ride planning!

DSCN0351 One of the great corners the group got to experience!

DSCN0432 In Kaslo for lunch and view!

[Squamishvfr]

Home safe and sound. Thanks for a great time!!

[Q-Dawg]

Made it home with no issues. Thanks again to all who made this event a reality. Cheers!

[Olive]

I'm also back home. It was good to meet everyone. My early Sunday start ran into a ninety minute delay at the ferry. Ran into Q-Dawg when I was waiting so had some fantastic riding company on the ride home.

We discovered this weekend just how many VFRD members it takes to change a lightbulb....

...the answer is "eight".

(Yup, the connector was stuck). Cogswell had the right touch.

[BCmcrider]

Arrived home in Victoria about 10 minutes ago after leaving Nelson this AM at 7:30 with Squamish and Polarbear. Ran into Digitallyhip in Hope and rode a bit with him as well.

Great rally and great time with all. Nice to see the folks I met last year and lots of new faces.

Pics to follow.

Cheers, Ian

[Polarbear]

Made it home a little while ago after one last twisty road --between Mission and Port Coquitlam.

Great rally as always, thanks to Mike, Fiona and all the participants who make this such a nice event. I was really pleased to meet some of the biggest names on this site too, such as Olive. Now, if only I could figure out how to ride more than 4,000-6,000 km a year.......

Thanks all!!!!

C

[Thumper 8]

Just checking in home safe and sound.

Had a great time in Nelson, and many thanks to Mike and Fiona for organizing a great weekend weather was perfect, and no tickets or incidents. And the best shirts yet and 31A / Kaslo-New Denver is still as good as ever.

Bikes setting up for the annual line-up I think 23 VFRs, one BMW and one KLR?

This also the obligatory annual dual sport at a VFR meet post. Last time in Nelson, we scooted off on the KLRs to the top of Idaho Peak.

This year, I decided to explore Highway 31 north of Kaslo to make sure the maps are correct, and make sure the road was not paved when no one was watching. The maps showed approx. 100 kms of gravel, but someone mentioned on Friday night that it showed on one map as paved… so off exploring I went..

The scenery in fabulous as the road (at this point in great shape) follows the Lardeau River:

You go up and over a mountain, and this is shot is from the descent from the top. The road is much steeper than it looks in this photo.

Although the road was in decent shape, lots of areas had deep loose gravel and the ascent was a bit of a chore I also used up a fair bit of gas spinning the rear climbing and climbing… but the highlight of the day solved any gas issues.

A small general store near Beaton has two hand-pumped old gas pumps (one functional with only premium unleaded) that are amazing. The guy comes out and asks how much gas you need (I guessed 15 litres?) and he hand pumps the gas into the glass container at the top about 3 pumps to get enough gas for me.

Then he fills your tank simple gravity feed.

Very cool and he filled the tank for $20 which seems reasonable.

Also, anyone looking for a good route from Nelson to Vancouver, the route I took today hits five of the top rated roads in BC.

Nelson to Kaslo, 31A to New Denver, over to Nakusp to Needles Ferry & Hgy 6 (Monashee Rd) to Lumby, then bypass Vernon to the top of Westside Rd, down to Kelowna, then Coquihalla to Merritt and take 5A to Princeton then the Hope/Princeton home.

31A, 6, Westside Rd, 5A and Hope/Princeton are all fabulous roads it is treat to get to ride all in one day. From the Grand Hotel in Nelson to my place in Kits, 914 kms and about 11 hours, with a lunch stop on the Vernon bypass.

Thanks again to everyone who helped make this weekend happen!

[Gerrys02800]

Arrived home at about 8:05pm. It was great to see friends from last year and meet a a lot more this year. Lee (Choco) and Quennel, I enjoyed our early mornong chat .

A big thanks again to Mike and Fiona for spearheading the event and all the work they put in and to everyone who made it such a blast and a great event.

[Polarbear]

Arrived home at about 8:05pm. It was great to see friends from last year and meet a a lot more this year. Lee (Choco) and Quennel, I enjoyed our early mornong chat .

A big thanks again to Mike and Fiona for spearheading the event and all the work they put in and to everyone who made it such a blast and a great event.

Glad you made it home in one piece Gerry! 'twas very nice to see you--and we'll try and ride together next year, k? I heard you leave this morning, and got up shortly after. I was expecting you to honk your horn to wake us up....

Cheers man, take care.

C

[auggius]

I did the reverse trip to you all today. Wife & I left Surrey this morning at 10 and got back to Kaslo around 8pm. I really need to go for a ride tomorrow!

Cool seeing the pics of the VFRs in front of the Moyie. Even spotted a couple of 4th gens. Mine was sitting under a cover in the yard. Anyway, sounds like a good time was had by all.

Cheers, until next time!

[jfviffer]

Just checking in – home safe and sound.

Had a great time in Nelson, and many thanks to Mike and Fiona for organizing a great weekend – weather was perfect, and no tickets or incidents. And the best shirts yet – and 31A / Kaslo-New Denver is still as good as ever.

Bikes setting up for the annual line-up – I think 23 VFR’s, one BMW and one KLR?

This also the obligatory annual “dual sport at a VFR meet” post. Last time in Nelson, we scooted off on the KLR’s to the top of Idaho Peak.

This year, I decided to explore Highway 31 north of Kaslo to make sure the maps are correct, and make sure the road was not paved when no one was watching. The maps showed approx. 100 kms of gravel, but someone mentioned on Friday night that it showed on one map as paved… so off exploring I went..

The scenery in fabulous as the road (at this point in great shape) follows the Lardeau River:

You go up and over a mountain, and this is shot is from the descent from the top. The road is much steeper than it looks in this photo.

Although the road was in decent shape, lots of areas had deep loose gravel and the ascent was a bit of a chore – I also used up a fair bit of gas spinning the rear climbing and climbing… but the highlight of the day solved any gas issues.

A small general store near Beaton has two hand-pumped old gas pumps (one functional – with only premium unleaded) that are amazing. The guy comes out and asks how much gas you need (I guessed 15 litres?) and he hand pumps the gas into the glass container at the top – about 3 pumps to get enough gas for me.

Then he fills your tank – simple gravity feed.

Very cool – and he filled the tank for $20 – which seems reasonable.

Also, anyone looking for a good route from Nelson to Vancouver, the route I took today hits five of the top rated roads in BC.

Nelson to Kaslo, 31A to New Denver, over to Nakusp to Needles Ferry & Hgy 6 (Monashee Rd) to Lumby, then bypass Vernon to the top of Westside Rd, down to Kelowna, then Coquihalla to Merritt and take 5A to Princeton – then the Hope/Princeton home.

31A, 6, Westside Rd, 5A and Hope/Princeton are all fabulous roads – it is treat to get to ride all in one day. From the Grand Hotel in Nelson to my place in Kits, 914 km’s and about 11 hours, with a lunch stop on the Vernon bypass.

Thanks again to everyone who helped make this weekend happen!

Thats really cool Tony,

I think i need to get myself one of those awful thumpers.

Good to hear everyone had a great meet, wont be missing the next one.

[superfunkomatic]

Fiona and I had the pleasure or riding to Winthrop today with our bud Gary (V-Fore). Great weather for lunch in Osoyoos, some exploring of backroads to Loomis, Some unfortunate luck with dead-end roads (stupid GPS and owner of said device) and a meal at Three Fingered Jack's (poor bastard cut off his own fingers). On our way home tomorrow through Sandpoint and Waterton.

Great to see old friends and new faces. We had a fantastic time. It's great to se all the pics, especially the ones where everyone is showing off their 'flair'! ;)

[BCmcrider]

Well, I put a few pics up on the site. Not too many from inside as most were a little on the dark side.

Click here to see the full album complete with captions.

[choco]

Fiona and I had the pleasure or riding to Winthrop today with our bud Gary (V-Fore). Great weather for lunch in Osoyoos, some exploring of backroads to Loomis, Some unfortunate luck with dead-end roads (stupid GPS and owner of said device) and a meal at Three Fingered Jack's (poor bastard cut off his own fingers). On our way home tomorrow through Sandpoint and Waterton.

Great to see old friends and new faces. We had a fantastic time. It's great to se all the pics, especially the ones where everyone is showing off their 'flair'! ;)

Thanks for organizing this event Mike and Fiona. I had a good time even though I had to leave earlier than planned. Glad no one got tickets or their bikes impounded. That was worrying me some. I can't wait to wear my shirt to the Grill.

I'm looking forward to more pictures and more stories about the routes taken and pace etc.

Lee

[Squamishvfr]

You go up and over a mountain, and this is shot is from the descent from the top. The road is much steeper than it looks in this photo.

Been there done that!

Getting the VFR ready to go for the trip down the coast in two weeks! We are still looking for a rider #6 if anyone is interested! Moderate rubbernecking pace this time.

[Polarbear]

Moderate pace? Oh good! I'll be able to keep up...

[Belfry]

Back yesterday afternoon around 4:30 p.m. after a perfect weather blast down the Crowsnest and Hwy. 7. (I thought I might tag along with BCmcrider and Polarbear, but I must have missed you guys. I had the bike loaded by 7:30 a.m., but as I recall Polarbear was itching to hit the road earlier if possible ...)

I played tag with a few other (non-VFR) riders on the way down, but I think I passed just one VFR parked in front of a cafe. I was moving too fast to ID the bike though (and I had just stopped to stretch my legs and eat my New Grand breakfast bunwich or I would have stopped to investigate). Speaking of which...I was hanging with traffic through Princeton when I noticed a Harley rider jump the speed signs by a few hundred metres. He started wicking it up (the 100 km-h sign was just around the next bend), while still in the 60 km-h zone. The reptilian part of my brain had just formed the thought: "Me go fast too!" when a Mountie leapt out from the bushes and waved him to the side of the road. Thanks for taking one for the team, Harley guy! I hope everyone else made it home safely and without collecting any autographs from the local constabulary.

It's pouring rain here today, so the timing couldn't have been better. It was great meeting you folks and putting faces to names.

There were a couple of firsts for me: First make-specific motorcycle meet (good fun ... I have a buddy in Denver, so the Colorado meet is under serious consideration); first time attending anything with Hootenanny in the title.

It was also great meeting the legendary Olive, Superfunky and Mrs. Funky (thanks for organizing), Gerrys02800 (thanks for leading the ride Saturday), BCmcrider (and brother Norman), Cogswell (I hope your NEP cruise control behaved itself on the way home), V-Fore (who helped me out lubing the chain on Day 1 by spinning the wheel: "It's the least I can do--and I can always be counted on to do the least I can do!" ), Veefer800Canuck, Cageless, SquamishVFR, CanadianVFR, Pat from Nova Scotia, Q-Dawg, ChasingNolan, DigitiallyHip, YYCViffer, and the others with whom I had brief chats while admiring their bikes. Great group.

I didn't take many photos, but for the record:

VFR lineup during a break at the Moyie

Kootenay Lake

[BCmcrider]

Back yesterday afternoon around 4:30 p.m. after a perfect weather blast down the Crowsnest and Hwy. 7. (I thought I might tag along with BCmcrider and Polarbear, but I must have missed you guys. I had the bike loaded by 7:30 a.m., but as I recall Polarbear was itching to hit the road earlier if possible ...)

I played tag with a few other (non-VFR) riders on the way down, but I think I passed just one VFR parked in front of a cafe. I was moving too fast to ID the bike though (and I had just stopped to stretch my legs and eat my New Grand breakfast bunwich or I would have stopped to investigate). Speaking of which...I was hanging with traffic through Princeton when I noticed a Harley rider jump the speed signs by a few hundred metres. He started wicking it up (the 100 km-h sign was just around the next bend), while still in the 60 km-h zone. The reptilian part of my brain had just formed the thought: "Me go fast too!" when a Mountie leapt out from the bushes and waved him to the side of the road. Thanks for taking one for the team, Harley guy! I hope everyone else made it home safely and without collecting any autographs from the local constabulary.

It's pouring rain here today, so the timing couldn't have been better. It was great meeting you folks and putting faces to names.

There were a couple of firsts for me: First make-specific motorcycle meet (good fun ... I have a buddy in Denver, so the Colorado meet is under serious consideration); first time attending anything with Hootenanny in the title.

It was also great meeting the legendary Olive, Superfunky and Mrs. Funky (thanks for organizing), Gerrys02800 (thanks for leading the ride Saturday), BCmcrider (and brother Norman), Cogswell (I hope your NEP cruise control behaved itself on the way home), V-Fore (who helped me out lubing the chain on Day 1 by spinning the wheel: "It's the least I can do--and I can always be counted on to do the least I can do!" ), Veefer800Canuck, Cageless, SquamishVFR, CanadianVFR, Pat from Nova Scotia, Q-Dawg, ChasingNolan, DigitiallyHip, YYCViffer, and the others with whom I had brief chats while admiring their bikes. Great group.

I didn't take many photos, but for the record:

VFR lineup during a break at the Moyie

Sorry we missed you in the AM. We pulled out almost exactly at 7:30 or so I thought. Maybe we jumped the gun. Next time we'll all have to synchronize watches.

On the same note as the rest of the weekend, we saw basically no LEO's on the way down. A bit curious considering the buzz about it and the great weather, you'd think they would be out in force. Maybe that's it, it's all about the media and online buzz and they don't have to pay staff to do any onsite enforcement.

It was great to get to know you some. Looking forward to the next time.

Cheers, Ian