With the spring and summer season hitting high gear in Sea to Sky country, motorcycles are again taking to the highway, and at least one avid rider is excited.
“The best things about riding the Sea to Sky Highway are the views and that the experience is always different,” said Suzanne Jolly, a long-time rider in the corridor and president of the Squamish Motorcycle Festival.
“If you ride it at by moonlight, it’s drastically different than if you ride it at sunset or the early morning. From day to day, the ride changes with different cars and trucks in your way, different smells, different surprise rain or fog around a corner, different wildlife to see, different boats to spot in Howe Sound, and so on.”
But it isn’t all just sightseeing, she said.
“Riding the Sea to Sky takes skill,” Jolly said. “Unfortunately, some riders don’t realize that and get themselves in over their head. Also unfortunately, many drivers can pressure beginner riders, or even riders who want to simply do the speed limit. Some of the corners, particularly for newer riders, really do need to be taken slower.
“Once you know your bike and learn the road, though, the variety – from the straight stretches to the amazing, tight curves – are perfect for an incredible riding experience.”
She said it’s an experience every rider in the area needs to try.
“Riding the S2S is really a bit of a rite of passage for new riders,” said Jolly. “When I bought my first bike, I had to ride it home from Vancouver. I had only had my licence a few weeks, and I was terrified. I don’t recommend that. There are lots of groups that do the ride up and welcome beginners to help guard them a bit from having the pressure of someone in a car on their tail. It’s part of the reason we do a ride from Vancouver to Squamish as part of the motorcycle festival – a way to give first-time Sea to Sky riders a chance to feel protected in a group.”
It isn’t always easy sharing the road with aggressive drivers out there, she said.
“Whenever I’m riding, I feel a certain kinship to cyclists,” she said. “We can easily share the road and still give each other a lot of space, and we both have to acknowledge the dangers that cars and trucks pose and face the horrible consequences when drivers don’t respect our space or understand how to work with us in traffic. From rocks flying to passing me in the same lane or sudden rainshowers or car lights from opposing cars being blinding, cyclists and motorbikers actually have a lot in common.
She said her years of cycling in Vancouver made her a better car driver and motorcyclist, and her years of riding motorbikes have made her a better car driver to motorcyclists, cyclists and other car drivers.
Few things can compare to riding the Sea to Sky on motorbike and the many amazing moments she’s had on her rides.
“I had a magical ride in one spring morning when I came around a corner and an eagle flew low over my head,” she said. “It was magical. It was in my first season of riding and all I could think was that I would have never even seen it if I had been a ‘cager’ [a term motorcyclists use in reference to car drivers]. In my car, with a roof over my head, I wouldn’t have ever known about the eagle at all.”
In the end, Jolly said she just wants everyone to share the road and respect each other while they enjoy the highway.
“I wish more car drivers would learn about motorcycles and how they move,” she said. “They move differently, have different demands on the rider. They need more space on the road to move around oil patches or tiny rocks that car drivers never even notice.
“I wish car drivers would realize that a motorcyclist is someone’s sister, father, daughter, friend, partner, husband or wife, and coming close to my bike could mean my life, not just a dent in a bumper. Motorcyclists need to be treated differently because they’re more exposed to the elements. Riding the Sea to Sky can be a challenge. We deal with the elements and it can be physically exhausting – like holding the same yoga pose for an hour.”
For more on the festival, to be held this year on July 2 and 3, go to squamishmotorcyclefestival.com.
