Tom Myers, our Touratech importer in the USA, once told us about a guy called Jerry Counts who once had a brilliant idea. Together with his friend Hutchings he spent ten years locating an off-road route from Canada to Mexico and showing it in detail cartographically. We remembered this story when we were planning a suitable route for our product test. Some 4000 kilometres of track from Canada to Mexico with alternating extremes and diverse landscapes was just what we were looking for to test accessories for light travel enduro bikes in tough off-road conditions.

Our first day of filming is in Victoria on Vancouver Island. We have some time to get used to our motorcycles and to each other. Our seven-man team is going to be together for four weeks - virtually round the clock. It is certainly going to be something of a challenge to our interpersonal skills. We are amazed at the cosmopolitan flair of the capital of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Some of the downtown buildings with their colourful facades date back to the 19th century and are actually of considerable historical interest. As we ride along the stormy Pacific, there is no sign of the island having one of the mildest climates in the whole of Canada. Now, at the end of October, an icy wind is blowing. A few tentative rays of sunlight pierce the black and grey rain clouds, casting a ghostly light on the roaring ocean. Sea gulls scream. In the distance a white and red lighthouse can be seen. A ferry takes us from Canada towards the USA in the direction of the setting sun, and during the night the Seattle skyline appears above the water with its striking Space Needle.

Before our off-road adventure can really get underway, we have to pay a brief visit to Tom. He is throwing an opening party for his new Touratech building. There are slide shows by Helge Pedersen, Wolfgang Simmert and Ramona Eichhorn which attract many motorcycling visitors. The exotic-looking, partially mud-encrusted motorcycles exhibited in the entrance area are the object of great interest.

The motto of our tour is: no asphalt, no hotels, no fast food. To ease our departure from civilisation, the Americans take us to an authentic biker bar. Here we meet Phil - a real character. He loves old English motorcycles and runs a small bike shop here in Seattle. And he insists on giving us a guided tour: in his white overalls, cigarette in hand, he shows takes us past dusty shelves with antiquated machine tools (historical and valuable) and dog-eared posters showing ladies whose toothpaste smile has remained in place for thirty years. A really great place.

 

 

Stage 2: The onset of winter in the mountains

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