Whiteshell relief

I could feel tension unwind for 2 reasons.

First, I left Winnipeg after a longer than needed stop. However business had to be done.

Second, as I write this I am in the Whiteshell Provincial Park where I spent many a summer weekend as a teen. Unlike many places from one’s past, that seem small and not how you remember them, Westhawk Lake felt like summer home I had never left. I set up camp for one night but  wished I could stay longer. The deer that greeted me as I chose my campsite sealed the deal.

It is not often you can get within a dozen feet of a whitetail while on a motorcycle that’s running. Wait til you see the video!

The last of dusk hangs in the air looking almost like northern lights starting their glow as the song of the wilds of summer start up. The mournful call, the throaty warble reply; the song of the common loon. If you have never stayed at a lake in the Precambrian shield you have no idea how this bird’s song can touch your soul. If you were here, you would agree.

Next up is Ontario, Canada's largest province. My ass hurts just typing those words.

Later folks

Put on rain gear!!

Often I hit rain...okay, every single trip this summer has included dampness from above. At times it is an all day drizzle and I have no choice but to don the rain gear. Other times they are small cloud bursts that my riding gear will shed if it is just for a few minutes so I often forego the grunting and sweating of putting on the rain liner and pants. This was not the case as I crossed the prairies this week. This pic is of the happier moments of crossing the huge vast flats.

Approaching Moosimin Saskatchewan (a town mentioned in the song Running back to Saskatoon- The Guess who) with a darkening sky my eyes deceived me. What looked like just a thunderburst that I thought I could push through become a waterfall from the skies.
Okay, it was more than a waterfall as rain came from the side and bounced up from the impact off the ground. Fierce winds almost blew me off the road as the water poured down, quickly filling my visor with droplets inside and out.

I had to pull over as visibility was next to zero. I was only able to see pieces of the road when lightening lit up the sky. Not the ideal way to see and not a comforting feeling being exposed on the side of the road with semi trucks rolling by adding to the spray. At times even the big rigs stopped...especially when the hail began.
Although I had put my rain liner in my jacket and had the foresight to put my rain gloves on, my lower half quickly succumbed to the deluge. My nylon riding pants threw in the towel on being water resistant and my Chill Out undergarments were no match for the moisture that got through. They are usually adequate for wicking away small amounts of moisture that could seep through but this was not a light dribble.
I soon felt a river flowing inside my riding pants, down my leg and into my boots. Normally great at keeping my feet dry the Goretex lined boots were not designed to be a barrier from all angles and they soon filled with water. Rain ran down my jacket and got under the gauntlets of my gloves and soon they too were soaked from the inside. Cold water inside your garments is a feeling you wish to avoid, I have done the research for you.                                      

I have extracted a few stills from the video I took. The daylight pic is one of a storm you can push thru should you choose to. The rest was at dusk then night. Do not try this stunt at home, or in a field in the middle of the prairies.

The GoPro camera does not do well in low light but nature provided some high voltage flashes to give you all a peek.
My advice is if you do not need to be anywhere park it and wait it out and put on ALL your rain gear when you see a huge storm looming.
My clothing is finally dried out and my lesson has been learned.

Moving on now that the monsoons have passed.

Be safe
Daryl

The frustration of waiting

I've was back home for over a week to take care of many needed tasks to continue on with The Planet Tour. Getting some more work done to the bike is one of them. We just had the logo airbrushed on and are now searching for a top case to mount so I have more room for gear. Plus fixing the shudder in the front end which turned out to be a very expensive warped rotor. Didn't need that expense!

I would like to get the episodes out faster but the biggest hurdle thus far is funding. After last years economic meltdown many companies are a bit gun shy when it comes to spending money, yet all of them want to get more exposure for their product or service. My goal is to have the funds so an editor and their assistant/driver would be on the road in a car so I could meet up several times a day and give them the footage right away so that editing can begin. But of course that is 2 paycheques and travel expenses that just don't fit the budget at present.
The Planet Tour is a great place for a business to showcase their stuff but, I'll admit, the show concept is new so of course there is hesitation. The fear of the unknown!
If you want the to use the fear of the unknown try giving up a normal life to live on a motorcycle. Scary? hell yeah! Educational? You bet! Fun? For sure!. Rewarding? So far it has been. I will continue on and produce the best videos with the budget I have and it will continue to grow. I could sit around and wait for that big sponsor but figured...N'ah, they can try and catch me instead.

But I can hear you say "Daryl, you already have sponsors!"
Yes I do and I am grateful for their help thus far but they are in for a limited budget and product donations, but we can change that and this is where I need your help.
First, please invite others to watch and not just your riding buddies. I'm a comic and am used to appealing to a variety of people. The more people watching = more exposure for a sponsoring company. This will translate into a bigger budget.
Sponsors

Second We are still building our directory of approved services by area. If you know of any companies that wish to participate let us know. We promote the directory thru the videos, newsletter and more. Soon there will be a clickable map to help travellers locate services in the area they are.
Business Directory

Third
Show your support with a limited edition "I helped launch The Planet Tour" t-shirt. Fund from the sales go to paying my support staff.
The Planet Tour store

Lastly, if you have an interest in me showing up in your area and know of a venue to perform in please contact us thru the website.
Contact The Planet Tour

Off and running again to try and beat some rain
Cheers

What's in a name? EVERYTHING! and nothing...

I just did a quick run up thru the Columbia Icefield Parkway and had some great weather going up (it rained most of the way back so it was worth it).

It was a great way to get to my gig,which was a golf tournament, in Grande Cache AB. An awesome ride up through some of the most amazing mountain valleys with the crispness of the air as you pass the glaciers and streams. Pure bliss, the travel doesn't feel like a chore so you ignore that it is over 7 hours of butt numbing because you don't care!

James Moore, from Comedy Monday Night, was with me as he was to be my emcee for the event. Any chance to get out on the bikes and do comedy and you can usually count him in.
We stopped for gas and food in Lake Louise as there are not many places to stop on the parkway and the ones you do find, can be hard on the wallet. Besides, once on there we were only stopping for pics and nothing else as time was tight.

While in Lake Louise I snapped this pic through the restaurant window with my GoPro. A third sport tourer  had pulled in along side Suzy B and James' Kaye. (yeah, he named his too). Those that know me understand my love of sporting bikes so I had to take a pic. The fish eye lens gives it an odd perspective yet it captures the beauty of the view we had plus the 3 sporty rides.

Inside there were 2 friendly couples across the aisle that had ridden up here from Wisconsin USA, on their motorcycles so that was enough to start a conversation. They were very pleasant and excited by all the attractions they had scene on their tour so note comparing was the order of the moment as we rattled off places visited.

They were also receptive to suggestions of places to see, so I gave them all sorts of places to check out on their way back that they would've  never found on their own in the short time they had. Its a common trait I've noticed with bikers. If they've had a great time on a great road or attraction they want to share it with other riders so they can experience it too. It is a sort of 'pay it forward' that seems to find its way back to you in strange ways.

Like that time last year when that CHiPs officer pointed my group toward a fantastic road we had not even thought of going down while we were making our way through the desert heat to see Joshua Tree National Forest. I am always eager to tell people about those hidden gems so maybe that was a payback? Either way, thanks officer for making our ride that much better. But I've side tracked, now back to the recent trip and my new Wisconsin friends.

That coming Sunday, back in Calgary, I was doing a show and a DVD recording. The cheese heads, as Wisconsin residents are sometimes affectionately called,  were going to be in town so I gave them information on the show. I don't think we even introduced ourselves as there were so many stories about where they were going and where they had been. It was that bond strangers, who enjoy being out there traveling on the bike just seem to have. It is a short relationship that lasts until you part ways. Names seem like an unnecessary formality.

I never really thought I would see them again but, come Sunday, there they were, buying tickets to the show! I had hoped they would stick around after so I could say hi, but with all the distractions, people I had to talk to right after the show, they somehow slipped out before I could thank them.
Complete strangers who shared a common bond of touring so they came out to support my show and the live art form that is my life. It is the type of gesture that is golden to a performer and reminds me of why I do this crazy thing I do for a living. I hoped they enjoyed the show. I heard they were laughing.

 Upon downloading my window pic I see I also captured the 2 big Harleys, in the top right hand corner, that belonged to those nice folks from Wisconsin. So in a way they are part of this picture.
Since they were heading to Jasper and then back I know they also shared this view (in my next pic) as you reach the top of the pass on the parkway.

I hope you 4 made it back safe and one day perhaps I will get an email to let me know you did and that you found the Wayne Hotel near Drumheller like I told you.

If you ever see this pic I'm sure you will have a vivid memory of that view that far exceeds what a camera could capture but I hope it brings them flooding back in as it does to me. I can't wait to do this road again and I am sure you guys are on the same page.

Be safe everyone. Never go faster than your guardian angel's screaming can be heard.
Cheers
Daryl

Bears and camera settings!!

Hi folks
to date The Planet Tour has logged over 4000km and we have just started! This does not include the 15,000 test kms I did the last 2 seasons.
I have seen 3 bears so far and one was a grizzly right alongside the road. I will show that in episode 5.
Yesterday while driving back from a show in Grande Cache AB I was on the Columbia Icefield Parkway which has some spectacular views. Then it was thru Banff National Park so I decided to do the Bow Valley Parkway as chances of spotting wildlife are always good on that road at dusk.
This is when I saw bear number 3 in as many weeks. A medium sized black bear wandered across the highway. I hastily retrieved my new camcorder from my tank bag. In my excitement I did not notice it was set to still pics (it doubles as a regular camera). I was more worried about making a clean getaway incase Yogi suddenly changed course. As such, no video or pics and then....my battery died. Sigh... more gear to buy!!

Episodes will be coming a bit faster now. A few teething problems at first, as we get the logistics figured out on the best way to get video from the road to the editor.
If you wish to see more episodes more often you can help in 2 ways.
1- I need more people to subscribe to the show as sponsors only think in terms of numbers. Also please share the video links with as many people as you can because hits are good too
2- be the coolest person in your 'hood with the limited edition "I helped launch The Planet Tour" T-shirt available on the website.
The store is up and running.
Money raised from the T-shirts goes to help pay for my support team. There are people in the background that are all part of this fun project. Lynda who manages the business and office end of things and of course my editor(s).
We have them with The Planet Tour logo in blue for the dudes and pink for the chicks.
By the way if you are offended by the use of the term "chick" you're probably not the kind of broad that should be watching the show....no offense to the dames and skirts
;-)

If you order now I am throwing in a copy of my first comedy album "Herding The Sheeple" in MP3 for your iTunes or personal MP3 player as my thank you.

If you wish for The Planet Tour to stop into your town or business please contact us to arrange it.
info@theplanettour.com

Thanks for following along and please share the road safely with motorcycles and all others.
Cheers
Daryl

Chasing bears-Episode 1 "The Planet Tour"

Chasing bears!!

The first episode is now online. Subscribers will have been informed already.

 Production value will increase as we go. Just working within the budget I have.
Made it from Calgary to Birkenstock II, down to Vancouver, over to Kelowna and home all in one piece. Experienced rain, a party, rain, bears, more rain, shitty Vancouver traffic. Yes, I said it. Vancouver traffic is the worst part of that city. Besides the fact that there are many new drivers on the road there it is the road system and its lack of planning that irks me most. For a city that pretends to be so "green" I found myself idling in traffic jams from road ways that are 20 year behind the demand. The Skytrain is not an option as it is limited to where it goes. Bike paths are few in comparison to my home city of Calgary. Odd how the big evil oil city of Calgary is more eco-friendly. We have the most extensive bike path system in North America, green wind energy powering our C-train and roads that are not always plugged at 2 in the afternoon with traffic jams.
Protesting and being proactive are 2 different things folks. Vancouver....get working on it even if it means you may have to cut down a tree or 2 to do it.
You'll see what I mean when you see the video.
Here is the link for it on Youtube
More to come folks, stay safe.
Daryl