Western Canada / USA, 2005: Fourth Annual HU Travellers Meeting
Nelson BC, Canada, September 9-11, 2005
Want to know what people thought of last years Meeting? Is it worth coming to the Meeting? See their comments here.
The Plan
Rally Location - Where is it?
Camping
Information about the area
Local hosts, information
How you can help - put up a few posters! poster available! Please post it everywhere!
Report to come!
The Plan
The general plan is simple. Show up preferably Friday afternoon, or latest Saturday, have a drink, tell some lies, have another drink, eat at a reasonable hour, then slide shows are planned.
2005 speakers were:
- Grant Johnson - I will be there, and will give a 3 hour presentation / discussion on "How YOU can do it" on Saturday afternoon.
Bob and Cathy Egget, Canada, "Mexico on a Wing" - Dave and Deb Welton, USA, "Two weeks vacation in Thailand by mc"
- Ray Woodley, "Bella Coola loop"
- Rene Cormier, South American travels
Tech sessions, Saturday:
- Grant Johnson, Photo Composition for Travellers - the one everyone SHOULD take, but no one does...
- Henrik Morkner, USA, 'Communicating Wirelessly around the World' - Voice, data, satellite radio discussions and more!
- Rene Cormier, "preparing an F650 for Overland Travel"
- For Women Only - panel discussion
- Tire changing and flat prevention - Grant
There were slide shows Friday and Saturday night , so those that came early had a great time - despite the outrageous rain and cold!
You can help!
If you have a few minutes, please download the poster in Adobe pdf format) and print off a few and hand them round your club or your local bike shop or anywhere seems like a good place.
(You may need to right click and choose "save target as...")
Poster in pdf format (884kb) full colour.
Thanks for the help!
The Meeting Location
Nelson BC, Canada.
Getting There -
Distances from Nelson
| City
Castlegar Creston Spokane, Washington Osoyoos Penticton Kelowna Kamloops Banff, Alberta Calgary, Alberta Vancouver, BC |
Distance
41 km 114 km 237 km 261 km 321 km 338 km 454 km 496 km 624 km 657 km |
25 miles 68 miles 142 miles 157 miles 193 miles 203 miles 272 miles 298 miles 374 miles 394 miles |
The "Official" Campground / Meeting spot:
Toad Rock Motorcycle Campground,
865 Toad Rock Road on Highway 31
British Columbia, Canada
(Between Balfour and Ainsworth – 5 miles either direction)
Facilities:
- Covered picnic shelters available
- Shady, grassy tent sites
- Pavilion with Pool Table
- Wet bar and cooking facilities
- Free Coffee every morning
- Excellent riding, all paved roads
- Fire wood cut & almost stacked
- 5 minutes to Ainsworth Hot Springs
- Excellent restaurants & pubs nearby
- Swimming nearby
- Wash house with new showers and toilets
Information about the area
Attractions include national parks all around, fantastic roads, lakes and more, so plan to spend a few days!
DiscoverNelson.com has weather, facilities, accommodation, dining and shopping info.
Also on Sept 9-11 in Nelson, is the Road King Classic Car show, Show & Shine, Burnout and Flame Show contest.
On Sept 11 there's the 18th annual West Kootenay Toy Run, starting in Castlegar, for something to do after the Meeting.
Local Hosts
can answer Registration questions, and on presenters and local questions, meeting logistics etc.
Short History of the Horizons Unlimited Travellers Meetings
Susan and I started the Horizons Unlimited Motorcycle Travellers Meetings in May of 2001 while we were living in the UK, with an event held in our backyard in Slough. That first event had almost 40 people show up, and we were especially pleased that some came from as far away as Norway!
In 2002 we had moved back to Canada, so we organized a meeting in Nairn Falls, British Columbia, and also asked Chris Bright and Glynn Roberts if they would organize a second UK meeting since we couldn't be there. We had a small but enthusiastic turnout for the Canadian meeting, with folks coming from as far away as Missouri (almost 3,000 kilometres!), Alberta and California, as well as two round the world travellers, from Switzerland and the UK.
But the Brits really exceeded our wildest expectations. Almost 100 people came to the HU UK 2002 event, and had a great time. No rock bands or beer bashes, just motorcycle travellers and would-be travellers getting together to share experiences and tips - what a concept! For the HU UK 2003 event, almost 200 enthusiastic folks came together over several days and this is now well established as an annual event, with Glynn and Chris continuing to provide superb organizing, and a host of volunteers.
Ken and Carol Duval hosted Australia's first HU travellers event in 2003, and they had almost 60 people. The meetings in New Zealand, Argentina, Mexico and Portugal in 2003 were also big successes, and we look forward to many more in the years to come. It's wonderful for us to come to the meetings and visit with the many friends we've only met over the internet, and of course for everyone meeting up and sharing stories - and planning to meet in Ushuaia next year!
See you at a meeting this year!
Grant and Susan
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