Not Rain, nor sleet, nor cold……

 

Well, the rain and cold continue. But the weather has not been able to keep me completely out of the saddle – just shortened the day’s and kilometers traveled, that’s all. Today saw me covering a mere 450kms. And it was cold. Well, all except for the final 80 kms, which I did after booking into the Ramada in Creston, BC., because the sun had finally come out and I needed to ride in the sunlight to shake off the chill of the rain.

My day started at 0600. I awoke to the sound of rain on my tent, and upon zipping out of my sleeping bag, I discovered that it was also really cold. I checked the temperature on my Grundig portable radio – 5 degrees.

Welcome to Chain Lakes Provincial Park.

Located on the Cowboy Trail on the way out of Calgary and towards BC, the park is not much more than a hilly area of scrub pine, Jacobs ladder, willow shrub and tall grass. Primarily set up for RV use, I pitched my tent in an out of the way corner and snuggled in for the night at about 09:30

This was, believe it or not, my first night in my tent. It set up really quickly and was also simple to take down and pack-up. Thank goodness that it did not rain really hard last night, because I had amateurishly pitched my tent on a small slope. too tired to move it, I crawled into my sleeping bag and spent the night sliding off of my mat, waking up, repositioning and falling back to sleep. Lessons learned, right?

Taken on the Cowboy Trail. Fitting.

 

Vagabond style.

 

Oh. I guess I should back up a bit and tell you about yesterday’s events.

I was picked up at the hotel by the assistant to the Chief of Police and we chatted about my travels so far. I was given a grand tour of the CPS facilities – what a police station! As I mentioned in an earlier post the buildings used to be a Nortel complex, and the gymnasiums, basketball court, weight rooms, dance studio and theatre all remain in place as they were established by Nortel for their employees. The Calgary police officers all enjoy coming into headquarters, I can assure you.

I was introduced to the audience of about 150 people by Chief Hanson, and then proceeded to speak for about an hour. This was followed by another 45 minutes of Q & A, which was really pleasing. The quantity and variety of questions confirmed that I had managed to hold the room. I one day hope to make this sort of thing my main-stay. Like all things though, it is a process and takes time.

After being returned to the hotel i immediately brought my bike to a local service / repair shop known as GW Cycle. Recommended to me by a couple of members from the Calgary 022 CMC, I can say without a doubt that these guys set a new standard for service.

I walked in and explained my problem to an older, British-accent speaking mechanic – describing the strange ‘clanking’ sound and the vibration in my pegs – and he immediately said “sounds like your chain to me lad. Have you been ridin’ in the rain?"

He told me to go see Steve at service. Steve was busy booking appointments for the first week of July. Not June. July.

These guys were swamped. But after 2 minutes of explaining my situation and my trip, Steve had my bike in the back – cleaned and lube’d my chain – shook my hand and said ‘good luck – enjoy your trip’.

No charge.

I sure do like it out here.

I left the shop, went right to GPSCity.com and picked up my new Garmin Zumo 550, bolted on my new mount – and hit the trail. At 4:00pm in the afternoon. Which is why I only made it from Calgary to Chain Lakes Provincial Park. Well, that and the fact that I took an hour and a half detour up through Kananaskis Country from the Cowboy Trail. Unfortunately, highway 40, the Kananaskis Trail, does not open until June 15th. Maybe on the way home I will get back to it.

 

Crowsnest Pass

BTW – I have created a sub-album on my Photobucket page for yesterday and todays travels. I think it keeps things simpler.

sub-album

So, tonight I am sleeping in luxury once again. My cameras are all charged, as is my cell phone, so I can sleep wherever I find myself wanting to camp tomorrow night. I have a great run planned for the day. From Creston up to Nelson BC to do the Kootenay Lakes loop through Kaslo and New Denver, then back down to Castelgar. About 350kms, and 5.5 hours. For a side trip before getting back on my way to Vancouver.

The weather network is calling for rain all day.

Put your raingear on my fellow travelers – cause we are gonna ride!

Not exactly roughing it…..

 

As part of my speaking at Calgary Police Services tomorrow the city of Calgary has put me up for the night tonight. In pretty posh digs, I must say. As the pictures below attest to, this is not back-country camping. But that is coming, I assure you.

Today started with something new. Riding in the pouring rain. *sigh*

On the bright side, my new rain gear and waterproof boots passed the test with flying colors.

I rode over to CPS headquarters and took care of the introductions and finalized arrangements for tomorrow morning. I should mention that Calgary Police Services have the largest (square footage) headquarters in Canada – the city got a deal that could not be refused when Nortel went south, so to speak. The place is absolutely huge. Well done Calgary. Ottawa could take a tip or two on NOT wasting tax payer dollars, wise property investments, and about 101 other things.

But I digress.

After finishing up there I came here to the hotel to check in and then……yes, hopped on my bike and rode around Calgary. With a mission, I might add. It just so happens that one of the biggest online distributors for all things GPS, GPSCity.com, have an outlet right around the corner from the hotel. And I need a new handle bar mount. How I got talked into buying a new GPS to go with my new mount I am still not quite sure. But if the mount arrives in the store tomorrow (they had no stock on the item that I needed) I will be walking out with a new Garmin Zumo 550 waterproof motorcycle GPS and the aforementioned mount.

My poor visa.

Later in the afternoon I went and had a spaghetti supper with John and his sister – very good spaghetti. I also made a gift of my now redundant 2nd pair of boots – they fit John just fine.

After supper we went to a local A&W and met up with 3 members of the Calgary chapter of the CMC. Two of them are actually originally from Ottawa – Chris, nicknamed ‘Flem’ made sure that I would say Hi to the 011 Ottawa chapter – so Hi from Flem.

And then – the highlight. A ride north on the Glenmore Trail up to a little town known as Bragg Creek. What a spot. And what a view on the ride there. I am now able to say that I have seen the Rockies – albeit from a distance. The scene is pretty much beyond my ability to describe. I am hoping to repeat the ride tomorrow so I can snap a few pictures, as I left my camera behind this evening.

I was given some ‘voice of experience’ advice on routes that I absolutely must ride – as well as some updates on current conditions. Between mudslides, floods, washouts, torrential rains and…yes…SNOW….it appears that I may have to delay my entry into the mountains by a day or two. Which I may have had to do anyway, because……

There is one sour note to the day, however. I am now pretty much convinced that my bike is suffering from some form of bottom-end mechanical problem. I am thinking clutch – but I am not experienced with motorcycle mechanics. Zen maybe, but that is another story.

I will be bringing my baby in to a local repair shop tomorrow. And waiting patiently, trying not to show my nervousness and unease, for the motorcycle doctor to give me a prognosis.

Pray for me, my fellow travelers.

Howdy pardner….

 

I have finally made it to the land of cowboy hats, western boots and pick-up trucks.

No, not Hull.

I mean Calgary, Alberta.

I arrived late this afternoon – found a room at the Econo Lodge – unpacked, showered – and then promptly hopped back on my bike to go shopping.

I am now the very happy owner of a pair of waterproof motorcycle boots. And new Hi-viz rain gear as well. Both items that I discovered I was in need of. My current leather biker boots, even when slathered in Dubbin and with rain-booties over them, became individual swimming pools for my feet in northern Ontario. Not fun at all. And my raingear, while functional, simply wasn’t up to the task either. My visa card took a pounding – but I now have quality gear, seen below.

Bates waterproof motorcycle boots.

GKSII Hi Viz rain gear.

Thank you goes out to the staff at Stampede Boots for helping me out with my new gear.

……zzzzzzzz…….break……zzzzzzzzzz……………….

……….and good morning. I was just too tired to complete the post last night.

This morning I went to the McDonalds next door and updated my Photobucket page – the hotel WiFi – where I am paying $100 to sleep, won’t allow uploads – but McDonalds, where I paid $1.54 for a small coffee, does. Go figure.

Pics of my trip so far here.

I am going to check out some of Calgary today – and drop in at the Calgary Police Headquarters to introduce myself.

I am speaking at the request of the Chief tomorrow – on my experiences with childhood trauma, addictions, conflict with the law, homelessness – and the recovery there-from.

This evening I am going to be the ‘out-of-town-visitor at the CMC Calgary chapter 022 Bike Night at a local A&W. Looking forward to meeting more members of this great riding club.

And after that – the out-of-town visitor at an AA meeting.

For now, it is time to hop on the bike and check out some of this beautiful city.

Enjoy your day friends. Travel safely.

Aaaahhh, that’s better….

I got up at 0500 this morning. And smiled. John was just arising himself. And it didn’t matter. I was accountable to me. It was my trip again.
John hit the highway at 06:25 or so.
I started my bike at 0700. At 0715 I was stopped on the side of the road, not even out of Winnipeg yet, taking a picture of a 1970 Dodge muscle car. Just because I liked it enough to take a picture.
I smiled again as I was taking the pic.
I must have stopped at least 10 times today. And I only travelled a paltry 610 kms.
I took pictures of wind turbines. And the Saskatchewan welcome sign. And Manitoba fields. And grain elevators. And any damn thing I wanted to take a picture of. I stopped at a McDonalds. And at a Tim Horton’s. And at the Saskatchewan welcome station.
I took my time. And you know what – the prairies are not nearly as bad as everybody made it sound. At least, not while riding a motorcycle, singing a song and smiling ear to ear.
The low point of my day occurred about 18 minutes into my ride. I was adjusting my GPS unit to cut the glare. And I snapped the ball off the mount.
*sigh*
That just meant that I was traveling by eye. And lets be honest here – it is pretty hard to get lost on the Trans Canada highway between Winnipeg and Regina. There is not 1 turn. Seriously. Not 1.
So when I arrived in Regina, I checked my cell messages, heard the message from John – knew that he got us a room in a place called Belle Plaine, Saskatchewan. 50 kms west of the city or so, according to the message. “You can’t miss it”, he said.
And John was right. You cannot possibly miss it because Belle Plaine has only 1 structure or building of any kind. Standing 40 feet away from the 1 and only gas pump.
I expected to see a lame dog with 1 eye sitting in the shade of the nearby tree, but, errr…..there was no nearby tree.
The building (reminiscent of a favela in Rio) houses a bar, of sorts. And from behind that bar a young lady stood at the cash register, where presumably she managed all of the establishments transactions. From fuel sales (mine) to food sales (not on your life) to motel room rentals (sigh – yes, mine again – but actually I am innocent of choosing – guilty of staying).
I swear to god I expected to hear that sinister horror-flick music that just screams
‘GET THE HELL OF THERE RIGHT NOW BEFORE YOU FIND YOURSELF CHAINED TO A WALL IN A BASEMENT!’
…but it did not happen. Obviously. Wait a minute. How do you know this is me typing. Ahaaa….did he hear that music? Is John okay? How does it all turn out?
Yeah. I’m fine. So is John. And it is me typing. Though I am doing so 40 kms BACK IN THE DIRECTION I CAME FROM.
Why?, you ask. Well, because the free WiFi signal at the motel is free for a reason. If you can get a connection you deserve to have free service. Kind of like a back-woods motel contest. I hope the proprietor is laughing.
Wait a minute. Of course he /she / they are. They have 2 unwitting guests.
Did I mention that the door to our room appears to have been attended to with a pry bar recently.
Ok – Calgary tomorrow. Civilization, and all that.
I did make one really pleasant and highly unexpected discovery today. Rolling down the T-Can through Saskatchewan I decided that it was time to have a bite to eat just as I saw a sign advertising gas, food, lodging, etc, etc. in the town of Grenfell.
I hung a right turn off the highway where the sign said to turn and promptly discovered that other than the T-Can, there is not a single paved road in all of Saskatchewan. Freakin’ gravel roads everywhere! Like riding a motorcycle on flippin’ marbles for god’s sake.
Okay, I exaggerate. But there really are way, way too many gravel roads for the comfort of a motorcyclist on a street bike.
Anyway, I navigated the gravel for a couple of kilometers and made a second discovery.
Everything in Saskatchewan is like a contest. Sure, there are highway signs alerting you to the fact that that rest room you need – gas pump that you must find – restaurant that will quiet the kids – all of these things are ‘right here off the highway’.
If you are game for a round of hide and seek that is. Because nothing is where the signs point. Literally. Follow the signs and I guarantee that you will find……….NOTHING.
But look around a little, and you just might discover a hidden little gem. Like the sandwich shop / bakery that I discovered across from the post office in the minutes-away-from-being-a-ghost-town of Grenfell, Saskatchewan.
I parked my bike. Took off my helmet. Donned my ball cap (always wanting to make a good impression, don’t ya’ know) – walked through the door………….
…………..and straight onto the set from Corner Gas. I shit you not. It was uncanny. There were 2 older native women sitting in the corner near the window, a young acne-scarred, pony-tail and ball cap wearing, bespectacled young native man in conversation with them, animatedly waving his hands as he was exclaiming something to do with the try-outs at the local high school.
Two elderly Caucasian farmers, dressed in their John Deere best and covered in dust were at the table next to the one that I chose – both talking about the fact that someone had ”done the community a favour by killin’ that drug dealer fella, ayup”
There were two young teenage girls sitting at a lone booth around the corner, busily texting or checking facebook on their cellphones.
And the owners were……..
wait for it……….
a young oriental couple. In a tiny little town-that-time-forgot with a population of 900 souls.
I ordered, and ate the best tasting home made submarine sandwich that I have had in years. The coffee was strong – fresh – and delicious.
If you ever find yourself traveling down the TransCanada highway and hour or 2 into Saskatchewan and feel the need to stop for a bite – I urge you – and I mean I highly recommend – that you stop in Grenfell. And take a look around. You will be pleasantly surprised, I promise you.

Finally – I ended my evening with a trip back into Regina, as mentioned earlier – for 2 reasons. To find a replacement handle bar mount for my GPS – somewhat successful – and to have dinner with a friend who moved here from Ottawa 3 years ago.
Keetha, it was a real treat to see you. As always, you had me in stitches.

Okay – time to leave the McDonald’s in Regina who’s WiFi I have been enjoying and head back to Belle Plaine – to the no-tell motel.
See you tomorrow – live – from Calgary.
Ride safe.

Keetha and your writer / rider.

A bit of a rant.

 

Not a great day today.

The weather was finally sunny and warm.

The roads were really nice, for the most part.

And I found myself, for the second day in a row, concerned with someone else’s feelings, thoughts, plans, agenda, etc, etc.

In short – I felt like I spent the day on someone else’s schedule.

It is not John’s fault. Not at all. I am solely responsible for the frustrations that I felt at not stopping at a particular Timmies, or pulling over to snap that picture that I wanted to get, or taking a pee break when I needed it.

This will not happen tomorrow. I let John know this evening when we arrived in Winnipeg that he will have to make a decision tomorrow, because I plan on stopping at least every 90 minutes to hydrate. Something we only did 5 times in almost  12 hours today.

Those who know me well also know what I am like when I am hungry. When my blood-sugar gets low, I get angry. I am not very friendly, and it is best not to interact with me until after I have had something to eat.

The snickers bar at the end of todays journey came about 5 minutes too late for John’s sake. I had already fired a couple of shots and he was keeping his distance by the time my levels were back to good.

Sorry John. Won’t happen tomorrow. Because you will either be on your own, or adhering to my schedule. Problem solved.

So – a little about today. Well, for one thing, I can tell you that roadkill in northern Ontario is much, MUCH bigger than it is around home. I mean, moose-big. You have not seen highway roadkill carnage until you have seen the mess that is left after the collision of tractor-trailer and moose. At least I hope it was a tractor trailer. Anything less and the driver is likely also dead.

We also saw at least two smeared deer – one that must have been hit by every truck on the highway – nothing left but a flattened pelt and a blood-stain that was a full traffic lane wide and a hundred yards long.

Death is rarely pretty.

What was pretty though – and I mean take-my-breath-and-make-me –pause-beautiful – was the young cow moose that we saw standing about 25 yards off of the highway, staring at us as we cruised by, watching us as intently as we were watching her.

If I was riding alone, I would have stopped and snapped a pic. That was early this morning – and my supressed resentment about not getting that picture set the tone for the day.

I did get some GoPro time-lapse shots. Nothing spectacular, but you can get an idea of what the highway is like up here.

The weather forecast for tomorrow is hot and sunny. The plan is to ride to Regina Saskatchewan. We will likely separate, and hook up again in Regina. Which is not a bad thing. We both, John and I, agree that this is just the evolution of our ride together. A ride that was never meant to last beyond Calgary. A ride I am glad to have been part of, with a man I am glad to have met.

Lets see what tomorrow brings, shall we.

Sorry for the bitch-fest.

See you on the highway  - join me if you will.

An angry lake; a cold rain; one day at a time

 

The morning was once again gray and dreary. A cold drizzle was falling when my traveling partner and I arose to greet the day – and the breakfast bar.

John was ready before I was. I was still packing gear on the bike while he was riding around the parking lot trying to avoid over-heating in his foul-weather riding gear.

We pulled away from the hotel in Sault Ste. Marie at precisely 0700. Within 20 minutes I became aware that I had made an error. I neglected to put on my waterproof boot-covers. It was not yet raining hard – but I knew I was going to be sorry. John was on point, and I hesitated to wave him to a stop, preferring not to be ‘that guy’ – the one who delays the journey / slows everyone down / etc, etc.

10 or 15 minutes later I had completely forgotten my plight. Something far more powerful had garnered my attention.

I don’t know about you, but all I have ever heard about Lake Superior is that it is cold and dangerous. We all know the story of the doomed SS Edmund Fitzgerald. On November 10, 1975 the harsh mistress that is lake Superior swallowed her and all 29 hands on board. No one survived.

Riding along her shores this morning, I could not help but imagine the terror that these men succumbed to.

She was an angry, angry lady this morning. Cold and steel-gray, a needling 30 km/h wind whipped white-caps across her surface and I could swear I felt her spray – though in truth it was merely the cold rain falling once again from leaden skies.

We rode along the coast, following highway 17 as it wound it’s way along Superiors shores and up into the hills of granite, basalt, quartzite and sandstone. Keeping a brisk pace, and trying to intuit the gusts before they pushed me to close to the shoulder for my comfort, I did not really take the time to absorb all that I was seeing. I could feel it though. The history. The legends. The spectre. Unseen forces clamouring with each-other  - as though one wanted 2 more victims, and another watched over us as we made our way along a route that has claimed far too many in the past.

I will take my time going through this area, and this place in time, when I make my return trip. There is much to see, and feel, and share in these Anishinabe lands.

Spirits live here.

 

It was approximately 228 kilometers outside of Sault Ste. Marie that I realized just how cold I was. Because of just how soaking wet my feet were. We had stopped at the Tim Horton’s in Wawa for coffee, and I decided to pull my boots off.

I was slightly disturbed when I realized that I could not feel my feet.

Should have taken the time to put those boot-covers on when I first realized that I had forgotten them.

I changed my socks. Peeled off my soaked long-underwear and put on dry boxers. Changed into dry pants. And then did something that I said I would never do, and put on my running shoes to continue the ride. I covered these with the aforementioned boot-covers, and though somewhat discouraged I put on a brave face, hopped back in the saddle – and off we went, back on the road and into the rain.

Another 196 kms down the road, in Marathon, we stopped for a bowl of steaming tomato soup and a coffee. I needed the full 45 minutes that we were stopped in Marathon just to warm up enough to carry on. And carry on we did.

The ride did not improve for me at all until we were halfway between Nipigon and Thunder Bay. The rain stopped and the skies cleared – or at least lightened a little. The temperature rose quite dramatically, and before long I was in a completely new and enjoyable headspace – I was once again enjoying the ride.

By the time we pulled into Thunder Bay I was all but completely dry. We had a tasty fish and chips dinner at the local Joeys Only, and then I went off to find an AA meeting. And I found exactly what I needed. A good little meeting in tucked away corner of a Thunder Bay suburb, where I once again felt like I was home. A couple of members, after hearing that I was form out of town and on an adventure, even offered me a place to stay. I thanked them for their hospitality, shared some of my road-stories so far, and was given the heads-up about a group of motorcycle riding AA members in Burnaby B.C. known as the ‘sober riders’.

You can be certain that I will be dropping in on their meeting when I get to Burnaby. As sure as I am that this was the reason I ended up at this meeting in Thunder Bay, tonight. Because that is exactly where I was meant to be.

 

Well, it was a long, 730+ kilometer day today – and the cold and rain have sapped my reserves. Goodnight travelers.

….a little rain must fall.

Wet. And cold.
That pretty much describes today’s journey from North Bay to Sault Ste. Marie.
Staying in a hotel last night was a really good choice. I got up, enjoyed a long, hot shower and then filled up on coffee and muffins at the continental breakfast bar in the lobby. Satisfied in mind and body, I began loading my gear onto the bike at about 0730 this morning. A man in his early 50’s parked his brand-new, white with orange stripes Camaro SS and watched as I lugged my gear out from my 2nd floor room to the parking lot and stacked it beside my bike. It took me 4 trips to get it all outside and begin fitting it into place.
At this point, Mr. Wisdom sagely asked ‘you sure all that gear is gonna’ fit on y’er bike?’
Uhhmmmm…..you caught the part where I mentioned that this took place in the parking lot of a motel, right?
Did this genius really think that he was going to stop me in my tracks, scratch my head while pondering my dilemma and then ask him for advice? Did he think that I took a cab to the mall last night and went on a crazed camping-gear shopping spree with no conscious thought of what to do with it in the morning?
If I had been a little quicker of tongue I might have said something along the lines of ‘did you notice anyone pushing a side car on your way in?’ – or at least pointed out that I had managed to get all of this same gear to the hotel without the use of fairy dust or magic spells, so……
Must be something in the water in North Bay. Between Rebecca’s struggles with technology, as mentioned yesterday, and this guy’s total lack of critical thinking, I am not disappointed to have spent only slightly more than 12 hours in North Bay. Pretty town though, lol.
I was really hoping to be able to avoid the rain today. I actually thought that I might be able to, due to a misplaced trust in the Weather Network. I know….learning curves.
The highlights of the day were 4:
1) Welded metal sculptures at the Mohawk motel in Massey, On.

more pics here.
2) Stopping at the Camillus Centre, in Elliot Lake, On. This is a treatment centre that I attended about 11 months into my new-found sober life – it was a pivotal experience that continues to have impact in my life even today. I think it was a combination of a sense of honour, and a feeling of belonging, that saw me detour from my trip-plan to stop in and say thank you.
3) ‘Checking-in’ on Facebook from a Tim Horton’s in Blind River led to a woman named Gail coming across the street to sit down and touch base with me.
Gail and I met at……you guessed it – the Camillus Center. 5 years ago. We have not seen, nor spoken to each-other, except on Facebook, since that time.
Just another one of those moments in time.
And now, I am at the Sleep Inn Sault Ste. Marie. A man named John, whom I had never met before arriving here, booked us a room after a couple of email conversations last week.
Highlight #4.
John is a member of the same motorcycle club that I ride with – the Canadian Motorcycle Cruisers – or CMC. John is a member of the Sarnia chapter and, like me, is traveling to Vancouver. We plan on riding together as far as Calgary. More fodder for later posts, to be sure.
Ok – it was a long, cold, wet day of riding in the rain. I don’t think the temperature ever reached 13 degrees. The hot shower here in the hotel was, in a word – glorious. Now it is time for me to lay my head upon the pillow and …………..
……..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…………zzzzzzzzzzzzzz…………..

Goodnight fellow travellers. Do your best to stay dry. And avoid late model white Camaro’s with orange stripes.