My name is Nick. My daughter, Kassidy and I love to explore the world. Our favorite mode of transportation is my motorcycle. We decided to start a blog so we could share our experiences with everyone. Most of our trips are short, but we always try to see or learn something new. We're not rich, world travellers by any stretch of the imagination... we're just a dad and his daughter, checking out the world through the front of a helmet.
A little history is always a good thing.
When I was little, I loved to go exploring. I`d ride my bicycle down an unknown road just to see where it went. Inevitably, I would find another new place and the cycle would continue. I was Chistopher Columbus on a two wheel bike!!
Fast forward a few years (OK.. maybe more than a few)
I wake up in the morning, grab my coffee and head out the door for my 100km commute to work. I fight the good fight driving home in the evening. During my commute I see mountains, secondary roads, the odd logging road and miles upon miles of asphalt. It makes me smile everyday.. why? I never lost that sense of adventure, I still wonder where THAT road goes. I want to go there.. even if "there" is a 10 min drive from my home, it's somewhere I haven't been and THAT makes it interesting.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines "WANDERLUST" as 'a strong desire to travel' . That sums things up nicely. I don`t even need a destination, sometimes it`s just a matter of going. Sometimes taking a random offramp on the drive home is all it takes. Usually it was me saying to my better half ... "Hey Jane... You want to take a drive to White Rock?" She'd just roll her eyes because she knows all about Wanderlust... her dad took the family on many roadtrips and to this day (he's a young 75) he still travels whenever he can! I usually picked White Rock, BC because Jane has a love of the ocean... and REALLY good vegetarian donairs.
Back in 2011 I decided to finally get my motorcycle licence and Jane found me the perfect bike, a 1999 Yamaha V-star 650 Classic. I bought a helmet and a pair of gloves and we drove into town to pick it up. After pushing the bike out of the showroom I was about to grab my gear, when along came my daughter, Kassidy wearing my helmet and gloves. I sat on my bike and she climbed right onto the back seat for a quick photo op. Little did I know that this was a sign of things to come.
I made a few minor modifications to the bike. I added a backrest, bags and a windscreen. I installed a Scala Rider Teamset Pro intercom into our helmets so we could chat or listen to tunes. The little scoots around town turned into rides in the country and then one day I heard those magic words come over the intercom.. "Hey Dad.... I wonder where THAT road goes" I had to pull over... I almost cried! I asked her if she wanted to find out and she couldn't say yes fast enough. Off we went, two modern day explorers on our first epic journey, off to face whatever hardships should come... for all of 2 KM until we fould a gate blocking the road! No matter.. we spent a few hours finding new places and making note of areas we should come back to and explore. All of these adventures took place not far from home... we "discovered" the Kilby area. We "discovered" the LONG way to Horseshoe Bay. We "discovered" really good ice cream at the Coldstone Creamery in Abbotsford.
The greatest discovery was our common love of exploring, travelling, and being on a motorcycle. Unfortunately, living in this part of the world means that the riding season is not year round. We do our best but much of the off season is used to get ready for the next season.