CCM Foot Pump

The CCM foot pump is a rather cheap model. The biggest problem it has is its cheap construction the frame of it isn't sturdy enough to withstand pumping on uneven or slanted ground so when you do pump on the terrain the pump has a habit of bending rather then pumping. This leads to some serious problems of course if you want use this  pump while camping or generally outdoors.
Also we found that the connection between the connector and the hose was so shoddy that it actually started leaking after a few uses at 30-40PSI.
This leak wasn't minor flow of air while pumping but rather it was actually draining the air from items we were trying to inflate. That incident finally concluded that the pump was completely useless and we stopped bothering with it.
We did check the new version in stores and found that the overall design was the same but they seem to have swapped the connector out so that may mean the resolved the leak problem. However the bending and lack of stability should still be there as the pump itself did not change.

The leak occurred under the metal crimp of hose to connector.

Some Albums

Here are some Picasa Albums with pictures taken on and around Vancouver Island.

These are a little dated but we are currently working on a couple new routes and some reviews and wanted to give everyone a few how nice it is here.

I hope you enjoy them.
Mackenzie Bite Dive
2010 Fleet Review
Friendly Cove (Pacific Side)
Prince Rupert
Morning Pictures

Twitter RSS Feed

We have added a Twitter RSS Feed to this blog to allow easy following of the blog.

UV Protection

While we are out and about we have to always remember to maintain sun protection. Now while driving or riding this can mainly takes the form of sun glasses.
And especially while moving quickly the value of good sun glasses is not to be underestimated. Good sunglasses have anti-glare coatings that let you see past the reflection of light on water or other surfaces.
This of course has two benefits while on the road instead of being blinded you are also able to read or see past the surface that would normally blind you.
Also higher end sun glasses are more reliable as to the UV protection rating which can easily be skewed and has often be cast in doubt by consumer protection groups.
Remember sunglasses are not protecting your eyes with shade but with a specific coating that is made to reduce the harmful UV rays that damage our eyes. In eyes the UV rays cause cataracts which can in their most severe form cause blindness. So wearing sunglasses when in high brightness settings such as skiing, sailing, or any outdoor summer activity should prompt you to wear sunglasses.
Now the cheap sunglasses will reduce UV rays as well but they wont do so as reliably as the more expensive ones. As always in those cases you do get what you pay for. So if you are unwilling to buy the better sunglasses you will get less protection but it is still better then no protection at all.
Beware of scratches though, there is very little in terms of wear and tear information on sunglasses however they are made UV shielding by a anti-UV coating so if they get scratched I would suspect that the UV protection has to eventually suffer from that.

We use Ray Bands and Maui Jims both make excellent sunglasses and there are many other good companies out there. But if there is one thing not cheap out on its health. After all you only got one body.

 

Don't forget to wear your SPF 30 or higher when the UV rating is above 6 as well as your sunglasses.

Please follow the UVI advisement which was established by the WHO.

All weather services do report your local UV rating which you should use as guide. 

Pocket Tire Plug, Tubeless Tire Repair Kit

We also carry the Pocket Tire Plug to patch Tubeless tires on the road. These tire plugs come with a few tools and will allow you to limp to the next bike shop for a new tire.

They are easily stowed with a mini-foot pump or other small tire inflation equipment under your bikes seat and wont get in your way that way.

We extremely enjoy this set overall, however it does not come with anything to cut the excess length of the plug off once inserted.
For that you will need to carry a knife or a side cutter that can trim back the plug. If you want to make it especially smooth before taking of again a little piece of sandpaper to even off the stump would come in handy. But don't do that until you have inflated the tire enough to hold the plug in place.

What we like about this is that it gives us the confidence that we can patch a tubeless tire on the road and get to the next shop for a new tire instead of having to call a tow which may take a while depending on where you are on the road.

The Plastic baggy contain the plugs.

Here you see it with the pouch for the tools and plugs.

Canon Rebel T1i

We use two cameras right now the Canon Rebel T1i which is a great DLR. We use this camera primarily for pictures where space is not an issue. So when we travel with bikes only we do not take it with us as it is on the bulky side with spare lens, charger, etc.
We have two lenses with this camera right now and none of them have dissappointed us yet one is of course the one the camera comes with and the other one is a Canon Zoom Lens 70-300mm 1:4-5.6.




However when you want a versatile camera for great pictures and you are taking a car or have no problem with space for what ever reason this camera is perfect.

It does not have the learning curve of most higher end cameras while letting you choose how much control you want to take over each picture. This camera can by doing that consistantly provide great high quality pictures that you will want to show to your friends.
As far as weight is concerned the camera can comfortably be handled with one hand and does not by any means feel heavy. It is also fairly compact which makes it convenient to use. 


We enjoy both this camera quick and easy handling as well as the accurate and good quality shots that it achieves. We use Kingston Memory cards of 16GB and 4GB seizes. The 16GB will hold 2274 Pictures on average. The Pictures do of course vary in seize depending on the amount of data to be captured.
We also use a very useful Carry Bag for it from Black's photography.

French Beach Park

This Park is also along the Port Renfrew trip however here is what makes this park stand out. The parking lot is nicely paved and there are plenty of toilets with paved paths. As well as several benches and a little child playground. As well as being a very nice beach. The parking lot is not only paved and but also very close to the beach making it a very convenient lunch spot since even if you are tired you can simply plop on a bench or drift wood and have a nice lunch with a good view.

Langford to Port Renfrew Trip

Here is the map with the location.

Größere Kartenansicht

Here are the pictures of the park.

 

China Beach Provincial Park

The China Beach Provincial Park is on the coast of Vancouver Island on the way to Port Renfrew. This park has a bit of a hike but is definitely worth it not only because of the forest in the park but also due to the beauty of the beach this park fairly popular and of course has toilets. The parking lots are however gravel which you would like to pay attention to. This park is also attended by the park watchers which have some water bottles and watch the vehicles in the lot to prevent theft. They are not always there though.
This park can also be found along the Langford to Port Renfrew Trip.
Victoria to Port Renfrew

Here is a map of the location of the park and some pictures to follow.

Größere Kartenansicht

I did not take any pictures of the beach itself however these are the pictures of the trail which also gives an overview of the beach.

Cathedral Grove

Cathedral Grove is in MacMillan Provincial Park. This Park is notable because it has some of the oldest growth forest in BC left today. The trees can be hundreds of years old here and are breath taking.
The immensity of these trees can hardly be described with words. Which is why I have some pictures in this article to show how impressive these trees are. Now these pictures were taken during early spring so it is warmer there now then it is in the pictures.
Here is a map as to where the park can be found. It can be reached within half an hour from Qualicum Beach so it can be a quick little trip if you do not wish to go all the way to Tofino but want to something that immensely impressive.

Größere Kartenansicht

The park is also outlined in the article on the for the Trip route from Qualicum Beach to Tofino. Which includes a few pictures from the Beach you could see if you went there.

Qualicum Beach to Tofino

Here are the promised pictures from this park, they give you an idea but don't do justice to these immense and impressive trees.

Icon Helmet After Note

I have been trying the Icon helmet that was reviewed earlier on this blog and found that the shield tends to fog a little if you close it fully.
The fogging clears immediately if you crack it just above the locking dip.You can also of course use some anti-fog on the visor and will solve the issue right away I have also played around with the vents and none of them will completely clear the fogging that does occur.
The fogging mainly happens in rainy weather when humidity is already high in the lower temperatures.

Original Helmet Review

Napoleon Prestige 450 Review

I personally love this BBQ, it is a Propane BBQ which produces great flavour.

The BBQ has plenty of space on the sides as well as on the burners, it also has the warmer racks.
Also present is a side infrared searing element which I never needed however it does have the option of popping up for pots.
There are flavourizer bars that are great for insuring that meat juices get evaporated and make for a great taste.

Overall the BBQ cooks extremely well and does so with amazing food quality. I would say that it is an extremely good BBQ and one you should invest in a cover for.

The only thing I would criticize about this BBQ is one thing which is that the fat tray is a little on the small side if you are BBQing a number of Ribs. 
The BBQ is made of good quality, and the thermostat is quite accurate and it does work extremely well and three cooking zones do offer a great deal of flexibility.

I also got the cover for :P

The Infrared element.

I know it needs a cleaning, and those are the flavourizer bars.

Plenty of space underneath for the bottle the small tray is the fat tray.

Home-made Pizza Pockets

What you will need:

For Six Pockets big enough to feed three to four or two very hungry ones.

Cheese, of your choosing and quantity in accordance with how much you want and I would recommend Mozzarella or Feta.
Filling, Salami or Tuna or anything you can think off that you would like to have in there you can also throw some veggies in there.
The Dough:
Flour (4+ cups)
Salt (One Pinch)
Honey or Sugar (2 TBSP)
Yeast ( 1 1/2 TBSP)
Hot water
Spices of your choice (I recommend some Oregano.)

How you start:

You start with the dough, now here you put the Flour 3-4 cups of flour or more if you wish even more. Then you add 1 1/2 TBSP of Yeast and 2 TBSP of Honey/Sugar. After this you add a pinch of Salt. Now that you added all these together you have to add the warm water. You will add warm water until the dough has the perfect consistency. And you can form it nicely without it being to sticky or dry. This is also personal preference but I would recommend a 1 cup of water to 2 cups of flour ratio.
You will need to let the dough rise for one hour or so. After which you separate the dough into separate balls then you roll the dough out into little flat squares or close to that. Then you add your filling and cheese in there as well as some spices, for example I like to add to the Salami Pockets some Oregano. Then when you have everything in there you fold the dough over the filling and press the edges together so that they seal if they are to dry I would recommend using some water or egg to bind the dough.
Now in the BBQ they will bake in 5-15 mins depending on heat so you need to make sure that they don't end up getting burned and in the oven about 20 mins at 375F.

My Pizza Pockets and some Ribs on the BBQ.

Outdoor Backing

Now since it is raining right now I have some time to look at cooking again and am doing some BBQ baking. Which of course is a great way of baking.
Now since BBQs tend to heat well over ideal baking temps you need to bake in one of two ways:

1. You only turn on zone on and put the bake good on the other end of the BBQ. Now this works        great when baking bread or something else that large and needs time to cook to the centre without burning the exterior.

2. You do not let the heat of the BBQ exceed 400F after that most baked goods tend to burn pretty quickly. While you do that you will need to monitor your items closely to insure that nothing burns.

Qualicum Beach to Tofino

I would recommend staying out there for a while and not returning right away.

This trip is to go from Qualicum beach to Tofino, now this trip has some amazing stops and parks but beware  the road on this trip can be very treacherous. So my tip is to stay towards the centre when you can but watch for cars really carefully. The roads sides drop of at times which can get hairy so pay close attention don't be hesitant to slow down a little.


The Symbols on the map are:
Burger and shake: Food/Store
Bench: Park/Resting Spot
Blue: Gas
Yellow: Start/End
Purple: Heads-up/Info

I used the Pacific Rim Camping grounds the way-point on the Tofino end but both Tofino itself and Ucluelet offer great camping as well as accommodation options.
However I would recommend to stock up on the way on food since it going to cost a bit more out there to buy then at one of the big boxstores along the highway.
The view on the beach is great and the surfing is pretty decent for beginners as well.

Here are some summer pictures from our last Tofino trip.

 

Qualicum Beach to Tofino

*Updated 07.07.2013
We realized that while the destination is impressive and breathtaking we should include some more pictures that show how amazing the route is as well not only due to parks but simply because of the ground you do cover. As you may notice there is a picture of a black bear cub as well remember when you see a cub you can take pictures but stay away from them mama is usually near and they don't take kindly to strangers.

A black bear cup that happened near to pup up near the road...don't leave you vehicle when you see them!

Emergency Manoeuvering and why it matters

Emergency manoeuvring is often underestimated as a matter of why you should know how to do it. Why it is safer to know what to do when you need to do it.

For example I was riding along on a country road and was expecting nothing until suddenly a deer shot out of the Slegg Lumber Parking Lot. Luckily there was no one behind me and I already knew that and I was able to just break really hard and let the deer run.

In those situations it is important to remember to check quickly where you can go with your bike, either slow down hard, swerve or accelerate. Now Swerving is really the only option if you can not slow down and have plenty of space ahead on either side of the obstacle.

Slowing down rapidly is really only possible if no one happens to be tailgating you which we all know is not all that uncommon as we like it to be. However when you need to brake hard the bike behaves very differently from a regular slowing down you have to clutch of course and shift down as you slow down so that you can get the hell out of the way if someone didn't see you brake behind you. Now it is paramount that you hold your bike straight when breaking in this way its not like slowing down slightly in a turn you will most certainly fall if you try to manoeuvre with that level of breaking. If you have ABS trust your system when you feel the vibration of ABS kicking in and hold on to your brakes if you don't have ABS you have to make sure that you don't lock your wheels during braking.
Don't stare down look ahead adjust your position as needed and make sure you see whats going on and how what you are braking for is moving. This will allow you to insure that you wont be surprised and also you will know where you will end up. This will allow you to start thinking about how can move after the object is moved around.

The last one Accelerating is rarely a good choice but there are occasions when it works best and can get you out of trouble. BE VERY CAREFUL with this one don't do this unless you are certain of it being best. You sacrifice space and also often can't see what is going on ahead of you. Past turns, vehicles or even the item you are trying to evade.

If you are not comfortable with low-speed manoeuvring, emergency braking or swerving. I would recommend to find an empty parking lot for practice and insuring that you know how you and your bike will behave in the emergency without some nasty surprise needing to happen.
This will also provide you with more confidence when riding knowing that you know what to do.

Victoria To Qualicum Beach

This is a nice day trip ending at Qualicum Beach, I outlined all the basic stops for fuel and food as well as some bike shops on the way.

The Symbols mean as follows:

Yellow: Main Route Start/End
Blue: Gas
Pink: Shops/Multiple Items
Bench: Parks/Rest Spots
Burger and Drink: Food
Turquoises: Scenic Routes

The Route Starts in Langford because its a convenient spot to meet on the route for everyone from Victoria, The peninsula, Highlands or Sooke.

Now the route proceeds along the highway but you can follow the scenic routes to get some more twisties or just to see some additional nice areas without going into a dead end.

The route will take almost two hours one way without the scenic routes or stops so plan a full day accordingly. Also either bring along food or plan on eating out at the marked spots as you will need the food and break to drink don't forget to hydrate especially doing this ride in the summer will dry you right out.

I hope you enjoy the route.

Langford to Qualicum Beach

Mini-Foot Pump

The Mini-Foot Pump is appealing simply because its smaller then a coffee mug or an oil container (946ml). And can easily be stored under the seat or in a dark corner where its out of the way.
Now to be honest when I opened the package I was concerned because the pump looked suspiciously flimsy, but it does state modern engineering (they name German specifically) made this pump possible.
Now as far as that goes I am not sure about this pump however I am certain that it works surprisingly well and it does inflate a bike tire in under one minute...if you put the gusto into the pumping to make that possible.
The upside of this system is that it uses your power and the surrounding air so you are no relying on the bike to have enough juice or on the air can to have enough pressure to fill your tire. There is only one maintenance advise the pump comes with which is to disassemble it once a year and lube it up with silicone lube. Which we have not gotten to as off yet but it shouldn't be to much of a chore.
As far as the price is concerned it usually goes for about 16 bucks but can be found on sale for less which not only makes it convinient in my eyes but also fairly cheap.

Mini Foot Pump

V-Strom 650 Oil Change

So the sun has been shinning, I finally renewed my insurance which I had been dragging out and got the bike out of the shed again. Now the last thing to do the oil change.
The Oil change on a V-Strom 650 is a very straight forward enterprise, you don't need a torque wrench but if you want to be exact in your tightening of the bolts here is a link to the post on the Stromtrooper forum (It also includes the table for the 1000). V-Strom Bolt Torque Table

Now what you will need the following, one oil filter (needed every second oil change every 6000-10000km depending on Dino oil or synthetic), a couple wrenches more if you have a Skid Plate mounted, Three Cans of 10W40 Oil (three will cover all you need even with a filter change) and finally a 68mm filter Wrench which you can fit on your driver.
Cost of these items: Filter 18.90$ CDN, Oil 9.99 per liter, Filter Wrench 15.99.
So presuming you have all the tools an oil and filter change will run you about 48.87$ CDN before taxes. Without filter more like 19.98$ CDN since you will probably have a little oil kicking around and wont need to replace the oil in the Filter.
Now on the none one time items you will need Gloves for your little hands, some rags cloth or shop towel and a funnel. The funnel makes getting the oil in easier but also putting the old oil into the cans is easier that way and shops will take it without debate that way.
The WD-40 and Chain bar oil is for the Chain which should be done too but only after you warmed up the chain with riding around a little unless your chain is dry as hell then oil it a little before and give it a good oiling after the ride.

Now the next once you have assembled all your goodies is to get the work area ready.
In my case that meant removing the Skid Plate and making sure I didn't lose anything and lining my goodies up properly. And popping the bike on the centre stand; the side stand works too but not as well and you will have to right while draining. Also it recommended to rock the bike a little to get all the oil out towards the end of draining it. Just don't create a mess.

NO SKID PLATE!

Rear Skid plate mount.

Front Skid Plate Mount.

Next you will be removing the Drain Plug first (reduces the mess). You will already have your oil pan under the plug at the time and there you go. Loosen the bolt first with a wrench and then you hand turn the rest with a gloved hand reduces the amount of oil your tool and your hand has to deal with.
Now once the draining has started let it drain to a light dribble.

Pan in Place CHECK!

Look at it go!

Now once the Oil flow slows down you will want to move the pan forward so you can catch the oil that comes out when you remove the filter (make sure your pan reaches both spots or get a second one now). This of course isn't necessary if you don't want to replace the filter.
Then you place your Filter wrench on the filter and twist it off a again a gloved hand may come in handy.The drain plug will dribble for a while so don't think it will be over quickly.

No Filter!

Now next replace the drain plug so that the new oil wont run out and put the new filter on don't over torque but make sure it wont come loose while riding. Now once the filter and plug are back in place you can start putting the new oil into the engine.
You will do this as follows fill it up at first until you start seeing oil around the middle of the oil window and then stop and start the bike to move the oil around a bit. Then stop it and wait couple minutes if its a little low add a little extra until you see it slightly under the F. (I rather under fill a little then over fill oil.)

The Oil can after the Fill Up.

Put the Skid Plate back on if you have one and then you are done.

Back on and cleaned.

Now remember to oil the chain after the first little bit of riding!
Remember to oil on the inside of the chain so that the sprockets and the chain gets properly lubricated.