Mushroom Addition No More???

[Kootenanny]

I love that little cafe. Great diner food and friendly service. I always stopped there for gas and lunch. Has anyone actually confirmed if it's closed or not?

As for the 40+ speed limit laws, I am now the proud owner for the past two weeks of an Adaptiv TPX radar detector. I know, I know. It's no guarantee, especially against laser guns, but they are extremely rare on twisty roads and it should be fairly effective against K-band guns as long as the road isn't too deserted of all traffic.

I haven't actually been through Fauquier for several months, and that was winter anyway so I'd have expected it to be closed.  And I doubt I'll get up there anytime too soon, although you never know...

As for the radar detector...mine has more than paid for itself...  

[ajf]

Seriously???     It sounds like you have a serious public-road-speed problem if 40+ is your last straw (and yes, I know that's kph   )

blkhrt is right--the local limits are so low on some local roads,  it's VERY easy to find yourself doing 40 over, or more.  31A, for example, has an 80k speed limit...and few motorcyclists are riding that road below 120k.

I agree with blkhrt and Kootenanny (and with Kootenanny's concept of "responsible speeding").  I think it's worth adding that the best road in BC according to Destination Highways has a long section with a speed limit of 60.  Many of the corners are posted for 50, so a comfortable cruising speed would be 90 and being a bit more aggressive would have me running the slowest corners at 100.  That puts me into impound territory without accelerating at all out of the corners and basically ignoring the faster corners.  And I'm far, far from the fastest rider on those roads.  And another great road gets the dreaded 60 limit every year, it seems.

It's you who deserves the  , DantesDame.

[Canuck]

I've always been under the impression that the posted curve speeds are just suggested speeds (at least if they are in orange), and the white signs are legal limits. Am I wrong about this? It might just be a Canadian thing too.

[Kootenanny]

I've always been under the impression that the posted curve speeds are just suggested speeds (at least if they are in orange), and the white signs are legal limits. Am I wrong about this? It might just be a Canadian thing too.

You are correct.  Legal speed limits are posted on rectangular white sighs.  "Suggested" speed limits (for corners, etc.) are posted on yellow signs, and they're just that, "suggested" (and, I gotta say, they're very conservative...maybe if you're driving a loaded semi trailer or riding an FJR... )

[Mrs. DantesDame]

It's you who deserves the  , DantesDame.

eh, probably  

I've put on my share of kilometers north of the border and found that 20 over was usually good enough for me. I did develop a great trick for gauging corner speeds: use the posted suggested speed (ie, 30), add 10 and then run that speed in mph through the corner. Worked every time, except for the tightest of corners  


As for the speed limits changing (ie, lowered), I wasn't aware of that...

[bubba zanetti]

Funny, when I first visited the place riding from Vernon ... I misread the sign as "Mushroom Addiction" and thought that I must have just crossed some invisible border into the Kootenays.  

[Kootenanny]

Funny, when I first visited the place riding from Vernon ... I misread the sign as "Mushroom Addiction" and thought that I must have just crossed some invisible border into the Kootenays.  

Do not resist...you will be assimilated...

[5nines]

Funny, when I first visited the place riding from Vernon ... I misread the sign as "Mushroom Addiction" and thought that I must have just crossed some invisible border into the Kootenays.  

Thats funny   I thought it was Mushroom Addiction until I read your post --- it just made sense

[Mrs. DantesDame]

Thats funny   I thought it was Mushroom Addiction until I read your post --- it just made sense

+1

Maybe they should change their name and re-open?

[alphabet man]

I've had lunch there at least a dozen times.  Motorcyclists appeared to be about a third of their business.

I wonder whether the new law on 40+ speeding is cutting into motorcycle (and sportscar) traffic.

For 10 years I've made the Kootenays a destination for 3 - 4 days twice a year, but I won't be doing more than just passing through, once, maybe, this year.  That law is the main reason.

 Well  thats to bad you will miss a lot of good riding, I have been riding roads like 31A for several years(no need for a # here)  and have had a few encounters with our friendly RCMP some which have cost me money others just a warning or flash of the lights. I find them generally fairly reasonable people, 142 in an 80 cost me $125.00 once, reasonable entry fee I figure. I tend to ride roads like 31a aggressively early in the spring and fall and avoid them mid summer, my motto now, If I think I am going to piss someone off when I pass (within reason) I don't pass, and I slow down in congested areas. A little courtesy goes a long ways and I still get a lot of enjoyment out of riding these roads probably more than I used to. Instead of focusing on being first I now focus on being quicker and smoother. All that said I suppose if more people take your attitude it will become better for us locals;  less focus from the RCMP on motorcyclist, but I am afraid there are just too many people using some of our roads like race tracks, not that I am innocent of this but at some point all of us EVERY WHERE will have to ride within reason. I ride in  Montana a lot and if you think you can get away with a lot more there you may be in for a surprise
Just my $.02  

[Kootenanny]

Well  thats to bad you will miss a lot of good riding, I have been riding roads like 31A for several years(no need for a # here)  and have had a few encounters with our friendly RCMP some which have cost me money others just a warning or flash of the lights. I find them generally fairly reasonable people, 142 in an 80 cost me $125.00 once, reasonable entry fee I figure. I tend to ride roads like 31a aggressively early in the spring and fall and avoid them mid summer...

I've been riding 31A for a few years myself, and I had never seen a police presence there, period--until last fall, when suddenly I saw a whole bunch of riders pulled over, and I understand several of them has their bikes confiscated.  That's what 142 in an 80, even out in the backwoods of 31A, will get you these days...

BTW, a forum member who lives in Kaslo and knows several of the local RCMP there, says that their detachment is usually pretty cool about 31A--it was members from Nelson who were patrolling that day, and who may continue to do so, in an effort to "crack down" on all us habitual criminal types here in the Kootenays

[ajf]

 Well  thats to bad you will miss a lot of good riding

I ride in  Montana a lot and if you think you can get away with a lot more there you may be in for a surprise
Just my $.02  

Losing your bike for a week is just dollars if you're local.  (The GF and I are thinking very seriously of moving to Vancouver Island, so I'm prepared to cope with the law as a resident.)  If you're from the prairies and your bike is impounded on 31a and you're dropped off in New Denver or Kaslo, what do you do?  Spend two days getting home by bus after hitchhiking to the nearest bus depot?  Or try to catch a flight out of Castlegar, probably at full fare, on standby?  Or beg some friend to take off two days to pick you up (and take you back later to get your bike)?

The possibility that you could beat the ticket in court makes it even more galling, because there's no compensation for the extra costs and inconvenience of losing the bike for a week.

I agree that the best roads within a day of Edmonton are in the Kootenays.  But Lolo Pass - NE Oregon is pretty good too, as is the Beartooth area  (even the Custer area could be reached in a day, but I've yet to ride there).  The speed limits are generally not as unreasonable down there, and being caught at 25 mph over the limit will just cost you money.

I'm about to tow the CBR to N Cal (as soon as the forecast down there improves).  In late summer I'll take the FJR on a tour of the Lolo and Beartooth Pass areas.  I won't spend any money in the Kootenays at all this year, and it's mainly because of this law.  It won't hurt me all that much, but I do feel sorry for the tourist industry there - some of the friendliest people I've run into anywhere.

edit to add:  My last speeding ticket was in 1983, so I choose my areas for speeding very carefully and always use a radar detector.  My risk is not all that high, but the consequences of losing the bike for a week in a remote area for what I consider to be a perfectly reasonable corner speed are just not acceptable.

[alphabet man]

Losing your bike for a week is just dollars if you're local.  (The GF and I are thinking very seriously of moving to Vancouver Island, so I'm prepared to cope with the law as a resident.)  If you're from the prairies and your bike is impounded on 31a and you're dropped off in New Denver or Kaslo, what do you do?  Spend two days getting home by bus after hitchhiking to the nearest bus depot?  Or try to catch a flight out of Castlegar, probably at full fare, on standby?  Or beg some friend to take off two days to pick you up (and take you back later to get your bike)?

The possibility that you could beat the ticket in court makes it even more galling, because there's no compensation for the extra costs and inconvenience of losing the bike for a week.

I agree that the best roads within a day of Edmonton are in the Kootenays.  But Lolo Pass - NE Oregon is pretty good too, as is the Beartooth area  (even the Custer area could be reached in a day, but I've yet to ride there).  The speed limits are generally not as unreasonable down there, and being caught at 25 mph over the limit will just cost you money.

I'm about to tow the CBR to N Cal (as soon as the forecast down there improves).  In late summer I'll take the FJR on a tour of the Lolo and Beartooth Pass areas.  I won't spend any money in the Kootenays at all this year, and it's mainly because of this law.  It won't hurt me all that much, but I do feel sorry for the tourist industry there - some of the friendliest people I've run into anywhere.

edit to add:  My last speeding ticket was in 1983, so I choose my areas for speeding very carefully and always use a radar detector.  My risk is not all that high, but the consequences of losing the bike for a week in a remote area for what I consider to be a perfectly reasonable corner speed are just not acceptable.

 Bear tooth is no substitute unless you really enjoy things like the Hwy to the sun, great scenery but not a thrilling ride, it's usually packed with tourists, I  ride Lolo 3 or 4 times a year the presence of law enforcement has become much more noticeable after a rash of accident in the last few years, still a great ride, and the old Lewiston hwy     and DO NOT miss out on the huckleberry pancakes at Lochsa lodge