The EFMF advernture so far

So far we, or maybe I should say I, have had a pretty good trip. Hal's had some issues. First off, as we got on to I5, Hal goes roaring off at 80+mph. I had meant to tell him not to speed on I5 because if the traffic isn't clogged to a stop, the State Patrol is out raising revenue for the government coffers. We passed a couple of people who were pulled over, and Hal slowed down to 70+. I followed Hal at a discreet distance so as not to be associated with him. Near Everett we came over a rise to see a motorcyle cop with radar. He immediately hopped on his bike, gave chase (passing me by without any sign that I was
wanted) and signalled to Hal and the SUV to pull
over. He signalled them to pull over on the left, but Hal pulled over on the right so the cop frantically signalled the SUV guy to pull over on the right. I sailed through the mess at the speed limit, and didn't stop to wait for Hal until I thought I'd be well out of the cop's area. Well, Hal had added another $110 episode to his recent trail of wallet-draining woes.

We carried on more or less uneventfully to Clearwater, BC where we spent the night. The next day, we donned our raingear and continued our trek east. There wasn't much rain, but there was enough that we were glad we had the gear on. We went through Jasper and stopped at Hinton for my favorite L&W pizza before heading on to our least-favorite town, Edson (It's always raining and cold whenever we go through there). The weather wasn't too bad this time, but Edson wasn't done with us yet. We left town at a fairly high rate of speed with me in the lead, but it wasn't long before I lost Hal in the rearview mirror. I kept watching, slowing down a bit, but he wasn't there. I finally stopped to wait for him, but no Hal. I checked my phone, and sure enough there was a text from Hal about 30 miles back. I turned around and found the scene in the first photo. He'd thrown his chain and somehow lost all his engine oil. (The big black blotch on the pavement is his oil) Not good. But there's always some silver lining in every cloud, right? The good news was that Hal had opted for roadside protection, and his insurance company paid for a tow all the way to Edmonton. About a $500-600 value!

So now Hal is waiting somewhat patiently for the news from the local Triumph dealer. The news will determine his mode of travel back to Seattle.

Later this afternoon, we're off to the first sessions of the EFMF. It looks like a good lineup this year. Who knows, There may be a song in Hal's adventures. He could be a star!