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View Full Version : Just a little trip NORTH



OldKneeDragger
Sat Sep 27th, 2008, 12:22 PM
Just a few more things to pack on the bike and I will be off on a little adventure heading north. I doubt I will get too far today but will be in Calgary, Alberta by tomorrow night. Tuesday I will go to Edmonton and Wednesday after a detour to Vegreville (?) I will head back through Saskatchewan and be back by Thursday evening.

If anybody is interested, you should be able to track me at this link http://rally.star-traxx.com/rallyview.asp?Rally=84

See you on the return...

Gregger
Sat Sep 27th, 2008, 01:32 PM
Good luck!

OldKneeDragger
Sun Sep 28th, 2008, 09:15 PM
Thanks for the sentiment but I don't believe much in luck... It's more about planning, staying out of trouble, and having a good time.

I'm in Calgary and the weather has been great. Except for getting out of Colorado, I've been able to stay off the freeway for the most part and have made pretty good time for two lane roads.

It will slow down a bunch for the next couple of days while I try to get some work done. The trip home will be via a different route.

Sully
Sun Sep 28th, 2008, 10:24 PM
That is an awesome tracker ! Have a fun and safe trip !!

CHRISTIAN COWBOY
Mon Sep 29th, 2008, 07:27 AM
Have a safe trip!
Look forward the the photo updates.

OldKneeDragger
Mon Sep 29th, 2008, 07:53 PM
Well it is Leduc tonight (suburb of Edmonton). The weather is fantastic, it was about 75 on the ride up from Calgary this afternoon. I could not have hoped for better conditions.

I've still got the tires on the bike that I used to go to Pittsburgh... this is unreal, these Metzler Z6 tires with the C load rating must have been designed for a truck. The front tire is cupped pretty bad and although the rear tire still has lots of rubber, it is out of round or very out of balance. These tires have done well with over 7K miles on them and I have never had tires last that long on any of my motorcycles before BUT if I can find a shop in Edmonton with some decent tires that they can mount, these are going in the can. I top out at about 95 when the wobbles and the shakes tell me that that is all...

Tomorrow is a day of work in Edmonton. I will likely head to Vegreville to the East tomorrow evening to save the ride at oh-my-god in the morning on Wednesday.

I still am planning on leaving Vegreville and heading sound as fast as I can through Saskatchewan on some very flat roads that I have never been on before. I think I found a border crossing that is open 24 hours so I won't get hung up there. It's going to be a LONG day.

GSXRJOHNNY
Tue Sep 30th, 2008, 07:51 AM
Nice "little" trip you got going there Ron. It's cool to use the tracker and see where your at. Looking at it this morning I'd say your in a motel all warm rested up. Hope the weather holds for you. I'll be watching.... take care my friend... see you when you get back. Looking forward to a Friday night story telling time.

OldKneeDragger
Tue Sep 30th, 2008, 08:31 PM
Just a short ride today,,, from LeDuc to Vegreville (about 85 miles all near Edmonton, Alberta, Canada). Most of the day was spent in meetings.

Now anybody want to challenge me for a ride tomorrow. I won't be able to leave until after a meeting (around noon) but I plan on getting south of the border some 550 miles from here. Its a total of 1350 miles to home...

Hmmm... I feel a serious Iron Butt type ride in the works.

http://rally.star-traxx.com/rallyview.asp?Rally=84

Click on the bike to see the route taken. Something is screwed up on the estimated miles traveled.

GSXRJOHNNY
Wed Oct 1st, 2008, 09:44 AM
I think you'd win the long ride contest for the day! It sure sounds like a lot of fun! I need a job like yours! Need an assistant?

CYCLE_MONKEY
Wed Oct 1st, 2008, 11:45 AM
Cool! Enjoy the ride man good luck with your tires, and be safe!

OldKneeDragger
Thu Oct 2nd, 2008, 09:36 AM
I tried to get tires in Edmonton but the Canadian dollar is very strong and their economy sure looks solid. A set of Mitchlin Pilot Road's was $600 and they wanted another $190 to mount and balance. I looked at my tires and "thought" they would make it home.

I had never been to Saskatoon and with a name like that, I just had to find out what was there. Hence the eastward track. Well if there is anything worth seeing at Saskatoon I didn't see it. Calgary and Edmonton are very clean, ultra modern, world class proud cities. It must be an Alberta thing with all the recent oil and gas they found. Saskatchewan (where Saskatoon is) is catching up but not quite there yet and Saskatoon didn't leave a very good first impression with me so I kept on going.

I did find a neat place called Moose Jaw. It's an older town but it is where Al Capone used to hide out. He build a whole network of tunnels under the city to conduct business in.

I crossed the border at dusk and of course all the deer decided to give me something to think about. I saw reruns of my life flashing before my eyes so many times last night that I got tired of my own life story. We need to either increase hunting season or bring the wolf back. They are out of control and a real hazard.

I had to get on Interstate 94 for a few miles to connect the dots and bigger than life, I hadn't been on it for 2 miles before I get tagged by Montana's finest. Now they do things a bit different in Montana for speeding (89 in a 75). He called it a summons and collected $40 on the spot. Gave me a receipt and told me that I could contest it in court or simply consider it a done deal. I asked him if it was reported to insurance or to Colorado and he said no. I then asked him if I could just give him another $40 and save him the trouble of pulling me over again ;)

Back to two lane roads and the deer are EVERYWHERE. It was a continual exercise in panic maneuvers and break tests. It was somewhere in Wyoming that I started pushing the front end a couple of times.

Well as they say, all is well that ends well and I made it home.

Now that it is in the garage and I had some light, I'm thinking the $790 for a set of tires would have been a good investment. Here is my FRONT tire:
http://images.sportbikes.org/canadatire.jpg

So it wasn't the hardest ride I've done, nor the longest, or even the quickest. It was just a nice ride... 1376 miles on the GPS, 19 hours..

Overall the trip was 2980 miles.

http://images.sportbikes.org/canadatrip.jpg

CYCLE_MONKEY
Thu Oct 2nd, 2008, 10:43 AM
Did Montana's finest take you up on the offer?:) Too bad we can't do that here.....:cry:

Great trip, glad you enjoyed it and made it back ok.