Mikes cocktail, complete with bacon and served in a boot Neville in action Mel, Brian and Bree ordering drinks The decision as to where to go for dinner was fairly easy - The concierge at our hotel recommended a steak and ribs joint directly across the road, which came with the added bonus of a 10% discount - another adjacent restaurant, also recommended was full, so steak and ribs won. Mike C took advantage of the eclectic cocktail list, and staying with the western theme ordered a drink that came with a slice of bacon - yuck. I was out the door before sunrise, earplugs in, wandering around the district that encompassed a number of Kelowna's large and prosperous car dealerships, in fact probably more accurately "pick up truck" dealers - they obviously place huge emphasis on this market. An hour later I returned ready for coffee, and saw Mel and Mike in conversation with a very attractive young lady who was waiting for a taxi, notable in that her attire was more suited to "revealing evening" rather than 7am "go to work". Apparently the subsequent conversation established that she had just completed her nights errand.... 8am saw us ready to embark on the final day of our epoch, the ride back to Vancouver, the first leg of which took us to the outskirts of Pendticton, famous as Doc delighted in telling us the night before, as the place where farmer Willy Pickton (from Penticton), murdered at least 6 and confessed to a total of 49 people, feeding the bodies of the unfortunate victims to his pigs, including a huge boar weighing nearly 300kgs. The subsequent investigation that required the farm to be taken apart in the search for evidence apparently cost the Canadian taxpayer upwards of 70 million dollars, and saw sick Willy jailed for 25 years, the maximum sentence allowed. The ride was again sublime, the efforts of master road builders much appreciated as we made excellent progress, revelling in the scenery and the pure joy that being on the road with good friends brings. Since the first day we each found the position in the pack that we were most comfortable, (except ever diligent and obliging Neville, who assumed the role of "Tail end Charlie", a thankless task that limits the opportunities to open up as often as others). We front 4 (Doc, Mel both riding solo, with Brian and I accompanied by co-pilots), quickly established a pattern and trust based on skill and the certainty of what each of the others would do in any situation- there is a great deal of satisfaction being able to ride in a formation that could be covered by a handkerchief, sweeping around corners at well above the recommended speed. Each days riding adds to the store of knowledge, and like a golfer improving his handicap, gradually measurable and lots of fun. We enjoyed the best part of an hour of magnificent 4 lane highway through the last of the Rockies, really stretching our legs and making the most of fairly light traffic and even fewer police cars, which was just as well. Rather than errant wildlife causing concern, it was an elderly hillbilly on a blue mobility scooter zipping around a corner (on the road), straight through a stop sign and into our path - he'd have caused more damage than a 20kg doe.... such was our welcome to the small and optimistically named "Hope", lunch stop for the day. Back on the road for the final stretch, starting with another quick 120km before brake lights ahead indicated that our progress was about to slow, and slow it did considerably as we neared Vancouver, averaging 30-40kph over the next hour in blazing heat, and neither man or machine enjoy these conditions. As with most road trips, it is the first and last couple of hours that are the most trying. We celebrated our safe arrival back at the hotel, firstly with a blowout at the bar complete with Baldric's final fine session (poor Mel contributing most), before wandering across the river for a lovely team dinner. Those bikes that were not returned yesterday are about to be delivered back to Eagle Rider, each having 5000km more on the clock than two weeks ago. Time to go. lunch in Hope
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Don MalcolmA perfect day involves being on my Harley with a long ride ahead.
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