It was a weird summer for weather, so I didn't get as much riding in as I would have liked but I still got in 7700kms...so it isn't too bad!!
In late May, I joined the AlbertaMoto crew and we went for a ride through Rocky Mountain House, Saskatchewan River Crossing, down the Icefield Parkway and on to Canmore...then home...here's a few pics from that day...
Then I did a bunch of commuting and some rides with just one other rider...they were nice days of riding...some kinda windy, but nice to get out none the less...
Then the summer came to an end, so we planned a multi-day ride (which I had never done before)...our plan was to ride into BC and find some nice twisty roads to ride...along with some beautiful scenery...we picked a route and headed out...September 10th saw us leaving Sylvan Lake around 11am with a destination of Cranbrook, BC...WOOHOO~~~HERE WE GO!!
We stopped in Canmore for some icecream and lunch...
Then we headed down Hwy 93 toward Radium Hot Springs...we stopped to take some pics and hook up our POV cameras...
We rode down to Radium and stopped for fuel...as I was fueling up, I noticed that the other guys were just standing around talking and looked worried...so I finished, then asked what the problem was..."maybe we should head back...", "I don't know if we should keep on riding..."...???...what the $#@%??...Okay, what happened that I don't know about?? Then the guys proceeded to tell me about an off duty RCMP officer that had stopped in the gas station, reamed them out for riding like TOOLS and had taken photos of our motorcycle plates...he didn't bother talking to me, so I wasn't sure what they were talking about...he told them that they should watch themselves because he had called his "buddies" and told them about us, and that they would be looking out for us...
The guys were paranoid for the rest of the day (we might have gone 1kph over the speed limit...maybe)...it didn't take me long to realize that if the guy was really that ticked off, he would have called his "buddies" and had them come right then and write tickets...so the day started to get a little long...we stopped about 30mins outside of Cranbrook to take a break, stretch & take some more pics...
We finally made it to Cranbrook...tired, hungry and in need of a few beer...so we found our hotel (Lazy Bear Lodge), checked in...and went in search of food and beverages...10pm on a Saturday night...and there was no-one on the street...like the town folded up at night...it was wierd!! We found a pub, but their kitchen had closed...they suggested a pub around the corner so we tried it out and they were still serving food...so we ordered food and a few beer...but the other Pub had been so friendly that we went back there for a few beer as well...had a great night (except some biker dude bought me a shooter...a little strange to say the least)
The next day started with a broken key and a hunt for a blank on a Sunday in a small town in BC...what a morning...we finally found a key that would work (with some filing and sanding)...and we were off, at 1:45pm...our destination was Revelstoke...
We headed out to Creston, turned off at Hwy 3a and headed north toward the ferry across the Kootenay Lake...WOW, WHAT A ROAD!! Sweeper after sweeper, some tightening others just a nice turn along the lake...it was absolutely awesome!! We were starting to get used to leaning the bikes over, I was really starting to enjoy my bike...then I got to the third from last corner before the ferry loading dock...then...
That was the end of the road for my bike...we had to limp it to the ferry to get across the lake...then the tow truck took it to a storage yard for me, until I could pick it up the next weekend...the rest of the ride was on the back of a Honda VFR800 Interceptor...not bad, but not great either... at least it wasn't the back of the R1 the guy normally rides...
We ended up only making it to Kaslo that day...more search for food, lodging and beer...I wasn't really hurt (thankful for my gear!!), but my ankle didn't like me much...day 3 saw a long day in the saddle, 12hrs...but we made it...obviously...
The next weekend I headed back to Nelson, BC to pick up the bike from the storage yard...left the house at 7am...800kms later I was loading the bike into the back of the rental trailer...
Time to head home...about 10kms out of Salmo I come across a couple of bikers waving me down...I was thinking someone had gone over the edge, but luckily it was just a rear tire blow out...another truck stopped and I helped them load the bike into the back of it and wished them better luck...at least he didn't dump the bike over, since he said he was doing 120kph...could have been quite bad...
I was hoping to make it all the way home in one day...but around midnight I started to get pretty tired...so I stopped just north of Nanton, AB...I ended up "camping" in the back seat of my truck...with the back seat folded down, there was enough room...but man, is the load floor hard!! Uncomfortable all night and it got down to 1C, so it was cold too...so I was up again around 5:30am...stopped just south of Calgary for some breakfast and then made my way home...what a trip!!
So, that's how my biking season ends for 2011...CRAP!! Bent forks, broken shift lever, scratched up headlight, scratches on the oil reservoir & the heat shield is scratched and the trim ring is broken...could have been much worse, but if I had been riding more cautiously it could have been much better as well...
Now it's time to play with the camera and see what winter brings...yay...not
Later.
