My only significant motorcycle road trip of 2026 was taken on May 9th through May 14th. The trip was planned as an opportunity to visit familly in and around Chilliwack and to familiarize myself with longer distance riding for the year.

As luck would have it, the ride did not go quite as planned. I did get a good visit with several members of my family which was great. But some things happened which, along with changes in my mental state and general health, led me to cancel other, longer journeys later in the summer.

Life doesn’t always go quite the way we want or plan.

The ride there

The ride from home in Castlegar to Chilliwack was close to perfect. I rode straight through in a single day from home with few stops except for fuel- thus I have no photographs of the ride. Temperatures were in the low to mid 20s except at the top of the passes: Paulson pass was the coldest with temperatures in the high single digits.

There was one road disruption just on the west (towards Christina Lake) side of the Paulson bridge. Traffic was stopped for emergency services and ultimately I out that the cause was a semi-trailer carrying some kind of tanker that had burned out. The destruction of the truck was near total, but the road was safe once they let us through after a half-hour or so wait from when I arrived. A news report I read later indicates that the truck was a fuel truck, so caution was obviously wise.

The visit

I spent one night at my sister Connie’s home upon arriving on May 9th. We talked until nearly midnight about anything and everything, something I really appreciated. In the morning we took her two dogs, June and Bella Bella, for a walk down by the river.

After the walk I relocated my home base to the Holiday Inn Express near the Casino. In retrospect this hotel wasn’t an ideal spot. The Hoiiday Inn is great in that it was walking distance to the Casino for the gathering planned the following day, but it also within walking distance from the freeway. I took full advantage of the white noise generator the room came equipped with, and seriously considered using the provided earplugs as well. I did get a good sleep, though, once I got used to the sounds.

On Monday I met with Dennis, Bryan, Shane and Connie at the local Casino for brunch and visiting. We chatted each others ears off and had a good time afterwards with the various slot machines nearby. I believe Dennis actually took home some money, and I came out a little bit ahead as well.

Later in the afternoon on the Monday I went to Shane’s place and we continued visiting for several more hours. We watched a movie the name of which escapes me. Truthfully, although I recall it being pretty good, it was just background for our talking.

I spent the Tuesday in Chilliwack on my own, enjoying the pleasures of Doordash to my hotel room- something we don’t get in Castlegar. I had very expensive KFC due to the delivery charges, but it was a treat so it doesn’t count, right?

The weather change and the return trip

On Tuesday morning, May 12th, my check of the weather showed some unpleasantness. The weather locally was changing from mid-20s to barely above 10 degrees. Looking at the forecast showed the lower temperatures persisting for nearly a week through the lower mainland, with sleet and snow predicted for both Manning Park (Highway 3) and Coquihalla Pass (Highway 5).

After a lot of thinking, my anxiety levels were nearly overwhelming. Changes I had experienced in my mental state at the end of 2025 seem to have left me with far shallower reserves of positive thinking I plotted out a route home that avoided the passes but I was still nearly frozen with indecision. I made a choice, though, to leave for home one day earlier than planned. This meant cancelling plans for a lunch with Connie, something which I still regret. But I believe I made the right choice.

The return trip I plotted was North via the #1 to Spences Bridge, East via the 8 to Merritt, then South on the 5A to Princeton. This connects back up with Highway 3 and Osoyoos followed by a straight trip home. I determined that making it to Osoyoos would be my only goal for the first day: it mean my ride would be over fairly early in the day.

The first day of riding, from Chilliwack to Osoyoos, was wet and cold. Temperatures much of the way did not exceed 10 degrees by a great amount. I was pretty miserable by the time I reached Osoyoos and was happy to stop for the day: I had made a good choice by splitting up the ride.

Day 2 of the return trip from Osoyoos to Castlegar was largely pleasant: the Paulson summit was cold but the road was clear of snow and ice by the time I arrived. I had intentionally set out late in the morning to allow the pavement to warm up several degrees- the BC Highway cams provide both air and road surface temperature at the summit. The rest of the ride was near 20 degrees celsius which is excellent riding weather for me.

Conclusion

The trip to Chilliwack was a success and I enjoyed visiting with my family. However, the return ride home was anxiety inducing to the point of disability. The way my mind works has changed and, coupled with physical health issues relating to my digestion that I’m still getting diagnosed, I am not where I need to be for riding.

I have ridden around the neighbourhood where I live a bit this year, but I’m thousands of kilometres behind the distances I expected to have travelled by now. Exactly what this means for me and the future of my motorcycling is something I cannot answer. For now I’m just trying to adapt to the changes as they come.