Words by Issa Breibish // Photography by Nita Breibish

The morning in Jasper was crisp and clear. And while the frost covered everything, it didn’t feel overly cold. After having our coffee and breakfast in the cabin while looking out over the lake, we finished watching our movie then packed up the bikes for the day. We started west along HWY 16 into Mt. Robson Provincial Park – a beautiful road lined that meandered through yellow and orange trees. I noticed a sign indication that the 16, or Yellowhead, takes you all the way to the coast via a scenic route – and the quality of the road definitely makes me want to return to it in the next year or so.

At Tete Jaune Cache we turned south onto HWY 5 and danced back and forth across the North Thompson River, before stopping for lunch. We met a group from Oregon that were riding to Whistler – a group we’d seen on the road the day prior. We talked over warm soup about the various bikes, and of adventures past as well as dreams of ones to come. Nita took one of the ladies outside to try her bike for size and before I knew it the group was lined for photos. Nita has a way of making people feel instantly at home. I sipped a spoonful of soup and smiled.

As we continued south toward Kamloops the weather began to shift and the cold began to settle in. We passed through Barriere which was ravaged by wildfires in 2003. The place had and incredibly eerie feel to it – with the hills covered in black lifeless trees. The clouds hugged the mountainsides and the rain started to fall again. We stopped for a while and just took it in – it’s a magnificent place to see the power of nature at work – nearly a decade later.

With the final decent into Kamloops the rain began full-on and visibility was low. We slowly wound our way through the town and finally ended our day at the hotel. Dinner on the cliffs overlooking the city and then an early night. We were knackered.

View the Gallery