So where the heck have my updates been? First there was the Roger’s outage which of course took down Fido as well. Then the next night, I still had no Fido service and the hotel wifi was extremely limited. The after that, the hotel had a bandwidth limiter on their system. Andhere we are, so I will just do something akin to an epilogue.
When we tried to fuel up in Blairmore, the three of us were not able to use our debit cards. Even our credit cards took several attempts before they worked. What beautiful riding day, mostly clear skies, temperature climbed quickly into the mid 20s. Highway 3 is a favourite of motorcyclists offering everything from tight curves to sweepers, to straight stretches (for passing purposes 😉).
Arriving in Cranbrook, we were again confronted with debit card issues. While riding we are in constant communication with each other utilizing Sena 50S MESH com-systems but we had not heard any news so were still unaware of the Roger’s failure.
As the temperature was rapidly climbing into the low 30s, this was a great opportunity to remove some of the extra layers and to up our own fluid levels. Dehydration is a serious issue amongst motorcylists so we ensure that we keep our bodily fluid levels up at every stop.
Beautiful scenery, great pavement, lots of curves, clear skies and music in our headsets and a bit of friendly banter all combine to eat up the kilometres. Before any of us realized it we were at the DQ in Creston, where in addition to fluids, a banana split was in order.
Leaving Creston, we headed up 3A which runs along the east shore of Kootenay Lake. The highway was repaved about 3 years ago which makes for near perfect riding. The oils have dissipated from the pavement, and the surface has not yet started to deteriorate, leading to a near perfect riding surface. Couple that with all the curves and ideal conditions. it just does not get much better for riding. At least that’s what we thought.
We were in for one of the biggest surprises we have ever had on that road. The first thing we noticed is that the road was exceptionally clean, which locals credited to constant rain over the previous days that washed off any surface dust. After we passed a few tourists and several RVs, we discovered that we literally had nothing but open roads ahead of us. There was virtually no traffic on 3A. As they say, ”we owned the road”. During all the years we have been participating in in this run, we have never, and I mean never seen this highway that empty. I’ll let you fill in the blanks, but the riding was brisk, exhilarating, and envigorating.
A short trip across the lake on a ferry and we landed near Kaslo where we encounter rain and drizzle until just oustide of Nakusp.
Saturday was a ride-optional day. Some did a 400km ride to go to a car show. There are three hot-springs in the area so some did the hot-springs thing. One actually brought an eBike with him so he spent the day peddling around Nakusp. In addition to the Jack Run, the BeeCee Beemers were also in town as well as a third group. There was not an empty hotel/motel room anywhere in Nakusp, so I took advantage of the day to just relax, wonder around, chat with riders I haven’t seen in a while and meet new riders. And it was a great chance to refresh sone of my camera skills that had not been used much since covid hit.
Historically we would be up at about 0330-0345hrs so that we could catch the first ferry at 0530hrs, ride to Revelstoke, top up fuel have breakfast and keep rolling until we were back home in Edmonoton. This year the plan was to book rooms in Nordegg so we could sleep in, leave later and not have to make the run all the way home in one day. Well, that WAS the plan. Then we heard about all the construction near Golden. So here is is 0345, and I’m up and loading the Starship Enterprise.
Just as we getting set to leave, we had a bit of a mishap. As he was rolling his bike back out of the parking space, his foot caught some gravel and his foot went out from under him and his bike went over. Fortunately there was no damage. A hefty push by several of us, and he was ready to go.
Rolling onto the ferry I must have subconsciously decided that I couldn’t be out done by Larry, so I somehow did kick the side-stand out far enough. By the time I realized it the Starship Entreprise had gone past the tip point and over she went. Fortunately I was not injured and all we had to do on the Starship was to loosen a couple of screws and reset the left highway peg. Last time I dropped my ride was in the year 2000 when I put my foot down on a painted line.
Arriving in Revelstoke we discovered that the Denny’s restaurant would not be open for another half hour, so across the street to McDonalds and A&W which were also both closed. On to Golden. The air was till cool and the sky somewhat cloudy and the traffic was almost non-existent.
Topped up fuel in Golden and then decided that it would be novel to have breakfast at DQ. Banana split for breakfast? Why not. There were 5 of us riding together this morning, all using Sena communications. Flemming was leading the way to DQ when he spotted a 1950s diner. All of us instantly agreed it would be worth trying. It was definitely a good spot to stop. Food was excellent and of course the 50s look appealed to all of us, eve young John who was the T.Y.P. (token young person) being in his 30s.
Leaving Golden, it turned out that the construction was a non-issue and we breezed through at 80kph, with no stops. So the thoughts, that arriving there early in the morning to avoid the traffic congestion, were a really great idea. The closer we got to Nordegg the better the weather became as we had been riding through cool temps and hazy visibility.
Greeting us in Nordegg were Darryl and Hippie Al. The 7 of us visited for a while and then Flemming and John departed for the Pine Lake area.
Prior to breakfast Darryl, Hippie Al and Larry left to take the scenic route through Lodgepole. Ties and I stayed behind to have breakfast there and complete different type of mission.
If you have never been to Nordegg, the area has a lot to offer. One of the attractions is the Miner’s Cafe. The food is exceedingly creative and tasty. The pies are something to write home about. In addition to eating fresh baked pies like the Ginger Pear and Bourbon at the cafe, they also have frozen pies that you can take home and bake. So, yup, you guessed it, Before breakfast Monday morning, I spent time rearranging everything on the Starship so that I could bring home 4 frozen pies.
I unpacked all of my t-shirts and took the quilted lining from my jacket and wrapped then around the pies and packed all 4 in the top case. Ties did something similar with 2 pies. We had almost perfect riding conditions when we left Nordegg and headed towards Rocky Mountain House. At Rocky, Ties took the lead and guided us down as series of secondary roads to his place at RV Haven on the shores of Gull Lake. There we took the pies out of my top box and put them in the freezer. Now with Ties’s wife Terry on the back of his bike we road a short distance to a Dutch restaurant where they treated me to an authentic Dutch meal that was scrumptious.
Back to the their RV, where I load and insulate the pies back in my top box and head out solo on the last leg for home. It’s quite an experience riding on the QE2 at 120kph totally surrounded by semis, pickups, and SUVs who’s drivers are bust texting.
Suddenly just south of Leduc traffic ground to a complete standstill. Fortunately I spotted in in time and was able to exit onto highway 2A. A little weaving though Leduc, back onto the QE, exit on 41st avenue and in no time I was home. The pies were still frozen solid. Mission accomplished.
What a great adventure. I am so fortunate to have the fantastic riding buddies and friends that I do. I am already looking forward to next year’s run.
Final note, yes I was exhausted when I got home and fell asleep on the couch right after I unpacked and got the pies in the freezer. But it was that good kind of tired like after a hard workout.
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