IE11 Use compatibility mode

Feature Destination Highway: 

 DH3Mount Currie - Lillooet 
 Duffey Lake Road  (Hwy 99)

Victoria Time-Colonist Review

General Public Applauds BC’s Motorcycle Guidebook  

Before motorcycle travel guide Destination Highways British Columbia was rolled out last year, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (1974) was probably the first – and last – "motorcycle" book most people had ever read. By most accounts, the readers became mired in the philosophical morass and dark recesses of the author, Robert Pirsig’s, tortured mind before giving the novel an indefinite rest on cinder block and lumber bookshelves next to the macrame wall hangings. 

Pirsig concludes that "The motorcycle is primarily a mental phenomenon." Oh, I knew that? Anyhow, Bosworth and Sanders aren’t so inclined towards metaphysical posturing, and instead rode their own "mental phenomenons"– a Triumph and Kawasaki actually – where the rubber meets the road to gather their information for their book. They each travelled and researched some 20,000 km to create Destination Highways British Columbia: A Motorcycle Enthusiast’s Guide to the Best 185 Roads in Southern B.C. The fruit of their homework, and roadwork, is a spiral bound volume of maps and text, all expensively colour printed on heavy stock pages. 

But what are the odds for copious sales of self-published volume of some 476 pages, esoterically written and targeted to 5-10% of the public, and retailing for $44.95? Apparently not as bad as any sceptical and jaded publisher would expect – the appeal and utility of the guide is winning over other motorists, and even bicyclists. Though Sanders laughs, "We’re not about to market the book to RVers too aggressively because our concept is they’re one of our foils!" Reportedly, non-motorcyclists find the contents just as useful for finding interesting and out-of-the-way lodging, pubs, and restaurants. After a guest spot on CBC Radio One Almanac with Mark Forsythe, overwhelming listener response prompted the CBC to call Bosworth and Sanders for an encore several months later. Then Rafe Mair, recognizing articulate speakers, and a sleeper topic, invited them onto his program over CKNW’s airwaves.  

Destination Highways British Columbia is dedicated to the late John Loudon Mcadam, the inventor of modern asphalt who paved his last road in 1836. For subsequent printings, I would like the authors give special thanks to W.A.C. Bennet and his colourful minister of highways, and unrepentant speeder, "Flying" Phil Gagalardi. After all, it was Bennet’s "blacktop government" which put Mcadam’s invention to work in the building and paving of most of the Destination Highways(DH). Bennet declared his government’s accomplishments as "The greatest highway building program per capita in the entire Western world!" Gaglardi echoed these sentiments thusly, "Jumping Jehoshaphat, we made the province of British Columbia!" 

It was Bennet’s ambition to convey the wheels of industry to remote corners of the province by building highways across the vast and empty wilderness of British Columbia. As Sanders observes from his extensive riding: "Some of the things that make biking in British Columbia so special and unique, as compared to other parts of the world, is that we do not have a large population – what we have is concentrated in particular areas so you get that ‘wide-open biking in Canada’ feeling quite readily." 

I marvel at how intimately and accurately the authors describe 185 highways and their environs. How did they do that anyhow? Well, modern technology helps. For each jurisdiction they’ve gathered about 140 hours of videotape and running commentary via helmet mounted video cameras and microphones. "We could tell you how many curves are on every single DH and what kind of curve it is" says Sanders matter-of-factly.  

Ranking of a DH is arrived at by gathering impressions from the videos, and hard facts from more conventional gumshoeing. They use a system of their creation called TIRES, an acronym for Total Integrated Road Evaluation System, to formulate this data and arrive at a description and ranking for each DH. TIRES is weighted according to these components: Twistiness; Pavement; Remoteness; Scenery; and Character. According to the TIRES ranking, the best motorcycle road on Vancouver Island, and fourth overall, is DH4 Campbell River – Gold River, which scores 81.1 points out of a possible 100.  

The maps for each DH give a thorough layout of the land, conveniently on one page, along with service icons depicting gas stations, campgrounds, motels, motorcycle shops, police stations– practically anything worth knowing while travelling through unfamiliar territory. The text describes each DH from three angles: At a Glance, a short impression; Access, how to get there; and On the Road, which is sort of a turn-by-turn description of the road and scenery. The writing in At a Glance is of the "I calls them as I sees them"variety. Eschewing the gushing style of typical travelogue puff, Bosworth and Sanders might as well be writing standup material for Don Rickles. For instance, this is D62 Colwood-Sooke, as seen through their motorcycle visors: "The pylons (vehicles with more than two wheels: see glossary) – mostly retired couples wearing rakish Tilley hats in their white LeBaron convertibles – crawl even slower than the ridiculously low speed limit of 60 kph allows. Presumably retirees don’t like the centrifugal forces generated by the twisties." DH30 Fulford Harbour – Ganges, from the handlebars: "Salt Spring Island is seen as a bucolic last retreat for aging hippies who grow organic garlic and weave 100% vegetable-dyed hemp clothing. In reality, its proximity to Vancouver means the population is increasingly made up of high fliers who can better afford the hallucinogenic real estate prices. Still, if the laid-back traffic is any indication, other varieties of hemp are widely available." 

One doesn’t have to read between the lines too carefully to infer that the authors prefer riding rather lickety-split along sinuous highways. In the DH glossary R.C.M.P. stands for Revenue Collecting Motorized Patrol, and police officers are otherwise called Speed Tax Collectors. In any event, motorcycling is a sporting endeavour for Bosworth and Sanders – not a "lifestyle"or "attitude". When not heeling their machines over into a switchback turn one would find them to be clean-cut and well-mannered fellows.  

And apparently Bosworth and Sanders can hold day jobs while producing and marketing Destination Highways. Bosworth is a purveyor of Canadian and foreign films and documentaries in VHS and DVD formats, and Sanders practices criminal law in Vancouver. Where do the time and energy come from? "We’re both in our 40s" offers Bosworth. "It has to come from what else we might be doing with our lives."  Sanders adds, "Believe it or not, I’m a single parent – I’m on the road while my daughter goes to summer camp." 

Having motorcycled over at least 90% of these DHs I can appreciate the honest and unembellished "straight-from-the-shoulder"style of reporting and road descriptions. From the armchair, DHBC appears to be a trustworthy and laudable guidebook. And for all that, I’m looking forward to it lightening my saddlebag reference library of ferry schedules, BCAA guides, Tourism British Columbia publications, torn-out Yellow Pages, and road maps that require an origamist to refold. This Fall (many motorcyclists favourite season) I look forward to road testing my copy of Destination Highways British Columbia from the handlebars of a motorcycle, or even from behind the wheel of the family Oldsmobile on a Sunday afternoon. 

The vision for future Destination Highways series knows no bounds, or borders, as Destination Highways Washington is slated to come off the presses by December 2001. So today British Columbia and Washington: Tomorrow, the world? "That’s our goal," says Bosworth. "We want to become the Fodor’s or the Lonely Planet equivalent for motorcyclists." 

Destination Highways is available from Twisted Edge Publishing Inc. or better motorcycle shops and bookstores.

-Darrell Ohs, Victoria Times-Colonist, Nov 2001

North Shore News Review

A Guide to Routes Less Traveled

The subtitle of this book is “A Motorcycle Enthusiast’s Guide to the Best 185 Roads in Southern B.C.” and it is with those riders in mind that this comprehensive guide book has been written but it has much to offer drivers with four wheels as well. 

If the yellow sign on the highway warning of twisting road ahead brings a smile to your face, if your first choice is always the secondary highway, if driving to you means exhilaration, then this book is a must have.  

The authors have done an amazing job at exploring this province and rating its roads.  In an easy to understand rating system they will point you to the route less traveled.  In addition to the highways they rate, there are also many side roads which are covered, their note-worthiness due to scenery, driving pleasure or access to unique locations.  All through the listings are additional information on such things as campgrounds, bed and breakfasts, bike shops and more. 

The casual writing style reads like a set of directions that good friend might have supplied to you, with its warnings of radar locations, and where the nearest liquor store might be found. 

This is a book that will encourage you to get out of the house and experience our beautiful province.  With its detailed descriptions, it is easy to plan a route that will link a series of roads that will provide a great driving experience and breathtaking scenery.

-North Shore News, March 2001