Smaller vs. a larger displacement bike, 1 bike vs. 2 bikes, BMW vs. KTM, Suzuki vs. Kawasaki and the list goes on. Choosing a bike wasn’t an easy task.
The new BMW F800GS was released almost at the same time we started having this dilemma and knew that it was more than capable for what we wanted. However this meant spending more $, or $ that we didn't have.
We also decided that Angela would learn how to ride, so the riding would be shared. Angela's first bike was a Yamaha XT225. I even loved this bike. It was super light and the best choice for her to learn and gain confidence in riding. Sadly, she quickly outgrew the bike and it was clear she needed something with my power if we were to ride together.
It was decision time, purchase another bike for Angela or purchase a bike that she would ride on our trip. After much research and many hours on the HUBB and ADV Rider, we settled on a new ’08 DR650 for Angela in the Spring of 2008. With a few minor tweaks (lowered front suspension, lowered link, shorter side stand & a lowered gel seat) Angela could comfortably touch the ground. The more I worked on her bike, the more confident I became that the DR650's could be our trusty steads for our trip. I picked up a used ’08 DR later that year and so happened to be the same color as Angela's (his & her's). I loved these bikes; it was much lighter and was way easier to maneuver in the dirt.
We had just come off a week of record breaking temperatures with highs off 34 °C (record breaking for Canadian standards) near the water and warmer temperatures inland, so knew we were in for a warm one. The original plan was to camp around the Keremeos area for both nights; so that we could leave our luggage behind when doing the road up to the mine. However as plans do change, we did a little side trip to Misseszoula Lake to visit Colleens parents as they have a “cabin” in other words a 4 bedroom, gorgeous home close to the lake. It was still light out, though getting late, when we were offered to spend the night, I was comfortable with camping on the lush green grass; however when we were offered to use the bedrooms, the group were sold on the idea of a night of comfort, with warm showers, BBQ’d hotdogs and “bollo golf” (a home made game where you throw a pair of golf balls with a piece of string tied between them onto 3 pieces of pipe attached at varying heights with connecting pipes. Three points if you land your balls on the highest pipe, two points on the middle pipe and one point for the lowest pipe and you can cancel your opponents throw by landing on the same pipe they did. The idea is to reach 21 points. So you can imagine where the conversation goes after a few beers and throwing golf balls around the yard. 
