Summer's Over... I Must Have Blinked

Hockey kept our family pretty busy through the winter.  If I wasn't shooting something (Hockey, ringette or even diving) we were at the rink cheering on our Mustangs!  But once the hockey season was over, it was time for spring break. and this year we were off to Las Vegas!  The kids loved it!!  Here's a picture of them having fun waiting while Mom and Dad were busy gambling away their education fund!

Then it was a quick trip to the UK to visit my Dad and his fantastic wife, Sandra.  I need to spend more time with him.  At 76, he's no spring chicken (Although he acts like a 15 year old some times :)  If he reads this he'll likely give me hell for calling him old!!

Sharing a pint with my Dad - I'm the younger guy on the left!

It was a whirlwind trip, but it needed to be done and it was great to be back in England.  I wish I had more time to get there more often.  I missed London this time around, but 'I'll Be Back!'

I returned home from England and went straight into Lacrosse.  Wow... it seems like only yesterday that I was swamped with coaching my son's lacrosse team and AC'ing my daughters team.  Well, neither team won gold this year, so I must have sucked at it!  That's ok,  I got over it.  Nobody died and nobody got (seriously) hurt.

The bike season got off to a great and very early start.  April 22nd is where we picked up from last year (last season ended on November 5th).  This was a cold ride, but it was cool to be back on the Sabre.

First ride of the season, April 22, 2011.  You think a couple of shooters could come up with a better pose than that!

Little did I know that my long lived relationship with the Sabre was coming to an end.  Well, actually I did know.  Why wouldn't I?  I was shopping for a new adventure bike.  V-Strom, Veradero, Super Tenere (if you actually get one in Canada) and R1200GS were all in the sights.  It didn't take long for the BMW to float to the top in all categories (except for price of course).  Before you knew it, I was cutting deals online and jumping on a plane to Vancouver to pick up my bike from Pacific Motosports in Richmond, BC.

Me and Trixy in the showroom at Pacific Motosports.

It was a long and fantastic ride home from Vancouver to Calgary.  I overnighted in Kelowna.  I seriously thought about bringing Trixy into the room that night.  That would have made for a great picture, but this is as close as I got.

Trixy had to stay outside for the night!

The second and final day of my journey home saw an amazing swing in temperatures from the mid-twenties in Sicamous to just over freezing at the Roger's Pass.  Luckily I had the right gear for the conditions, although I would have been more comfortable if I had wired in the heated vest that Dave lent me for the trip.

Lunch on a patio at Sicamous

I should have done more research on different routes home.  Had I known about the destination highways that I was missing out on I would have taken a much different route from Kelowna.  The Vernon to Needles highway will forever be on my preferred routes list when I'm in that area - particularly on a bike.   But, no matter how you slice it, you still only have a couple of ways over the Rockies, and for this trip I was wise to play it safe and come home the fastest route possible.

This gas station at Roger's Pass was put out of business by an avalanche that roared down the mountain on the opposite side of the valley.

 It didn't take long for the Sabre to go.  I mention to a co-worker that she was on the market and before you know it Kevin made arrangements to check her out.  A quick spin (as quick as downtown rush hour traffic would allow) and Kevin was convinced that this was the bike for him.  

Me and the Sabre the day she was delivered.  Alex asked, "Dad, why are there purses on your bike?"

It wasn't long before I was riding back from Edmonton with Conrad after he picked up his new 2011 BMW R1200GS Triple Black bike.  Before you knew it we were riding in places that I hadn't been for a long, long time.  We headed out to Wiaporous one day for some fun (or not).

Since then I've learned that my bike falls down.  Usually with lots of witnesses around, like at the Horizon's Unlimited rally in Nakusp in August, or most recently at a busy intersection in downtown Calgary.  but one of the best ones was in the parking lot of a pub in Kamloops, BC.

 

As far as riding goes, this has been the best summer ever.  It was just yesterday that I hit another milestone.  I have ridden over 10000 km this season and am hoping to squeeze out a few more before the snow flies!

I also marked a second milestone that day.  I patched my first tire and it actually worked!!  It's a good feeling to know that I'm less dependent on others than I was the day before and am capable of repairing this sort of puncture on the side of the road. 

And then the snow flew!  I didn't fly in Calgary, but it was flying in the mountains.  I spent a great afternoon on the bike, meeting up with Conrad at Bragg Creek and riding the Kananaskis loop one more time (actually the only time for the full loop this season).  The day was marked with wicked cross winds that seemed to come at your from every direction, a headwind so strong that, for the first time, had me worried about Trixy's range, rain, snow and temperatures all over the place!  

Another fantastic pose.  October 30, 2011 in the Highwood pass.  Highway 40 Kananaskis, AB, Canada

There was a low-lite where four idiots on crotch rockets passed us at a ridiculous rate of speed only to stop a few kilometers ahead of us.  Then one of them almost crash into us as they were pulling back onto the road.  We met up with them at gas station at Fortress Junction where they were looking to buy gloves. These idiots were barely dressed for summer riding in jeans, runners and summer riding jackets, but they were macho enough to blast through the mountains on overpowered bikes without any feeling in their extremities... go figure.  


Karma has a way of settling scores and today was no different.  A few kilometers after we left Kananaskis and were east bound on the Trans-Canada there were the crotch rocket pilots on the side of the road with the RCMP and a wildlife truck.  The one that was pulling away as we passed didn't look very happy at all!

So there you have it...  My riding season in a nutshell.  Now summer's over... I must have blinked. 


 . .