SPCA

Are Dirt Bugs considered "Animals"




I had heard a rumor that the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, was considering taking legal action. You see, it had rained cats and dogs so hard... and for so long... this "summer" (?) of 2010, somebody had to do something!

Late spring snow, followed by April (and May, and June, and July, and August) showers had beaten the crap out of the flowers. The only place it hadn't been dumping rain was British Columbia. There... fires raged in the tinderbox forests of pine.

Ronnie tells me constantly how "nice" it is for riding his bike! Sunny, warm, hardly any rain... I have one compound word for him... you're an "a_sh__e"!

I really have no idea how those SPCA types will eventually deal with this situation, but I can tell you... it's a lot warmer in Phoenix during the winter...

Trains, Planes, and Automobiles...

Brenda crashed! Several times. Of course it was flying a simulator, thank goodness. She couldn't seem to get the hang of the thing. In fairness, to me the program was slow to respond.

We had wandered over to the aviation hangar, appropriately being "buzzed" constantly by mosquitoes enroute, and not the De Havilland type!

RAM has a fine selection of vintage aircraft including a Hawker Hurricane, a SeeBee, and a pilotless drone. If you have time, you can enjoy a barnstorming 'flip' in a 30's era Waco biplane.

Among other attractions is an amazing photo gallery featuring the greats of Canadian aviation. The Barker's, the Bishop's, the McCuddens... they're all there. I'm almost as large an aircraft enthusiast as a biking one. Too bad I get airsick flying a paper airplane...

We headed out after they closed off the flying simulator, maybe there were no planes left after Brn was done, I don't know.

The weather turned from bright sunshine and mid 30 temps, to strong gusty winds, thunderclouds, and intermittant sprinkles, as we passed south of Red Deer.

Leaving Innisfail still on 2A, it was relatively cool compared to the last 48 hrs.

By the time we were on the outskirts of Cowtown (That'd be Calgary) we'd lost about 15-18 degrees C. This is after all, the West where the Rockies greatly affect the weather.

Our butts were plenty sore, the Triumph Thunderbird 900 is a pretty good all around motorcycle, able to "cruise" Saturday nights to the Globe, carve a decent corner on the Kananaski's, or carry 6 bags of groceries with the addition of the Givi trunk... but it ain't no Gold Wing when it came to carrying capacity and gobbling the miles.

Still for Brenda's first ever real motorcycle ride, we all done good.

Now... if I can find the time to get out to Golden to see Yamaha enthusiast; Danno the Manno, and Kamloops for a ride and visit with Unca Ronnie, who by the way is selling some premo interesting bikes including his CBX... my season, short as it has been, will be (nearly) complete.

R A M !

Reynold's Alberta Museum,



is located in the heart of the Province. Barely an hour from Edmonton, and about a two hour ride/drive from Calgary, on the Western outskirts of the fine little city of Wetaskiwin, RAM is a fabulous place to visit... if you're a gear/motor head.

Set aside a whole day or better yet, sleep over in town and take in both the Automotive/farm equipment museum one day and the Air museum the next.

Okay, so the farm equipment doesn't interest me a whole lot. but ya gotta admire a steam driven, steel wheeled tractor that's nearly two stories high!

RAM is packed with rare vehicles, restored vehicles and several vehicles in original condition. Back in 2005, they had a fabulous display of motorcycles and many remain as permanent exhibits.

We had a very HOT day when we pulled into the near empty lot. The "Motorcycle only" parking was devoid of all but the Triumph, and we would have welcomed some shade. The heat bouncing off the concrete was akin to being fried like an egg in the Mojave. It was 34C and relentlessly bright.

The staff is plentiful, helpful and available. They know many of the details of not only the specifications of the displays, but in some case, the history of the particular model on the floor, right down to who owned it over the years!

Interesting to compare my 2002 Triumph with the 1912 "Free engine" model that was revolutionary in it's day.

I have to admit though... I have an almost irresistible urge to jump on the bikes/slide into the seat of some of the cars/hop into the cockpit of the aircraft, and pretend I'm riding down a gravel Alberta road in 1912, or sliding an old hot rod jalopy into turn one at the local horse track, or diving my Hurricane with a Junkers in the gun sight!

Don't!

Leave that stuff to the imagination and keyboard. The aforementioned plentiful staff and multitude of security cameras will have you out the door before you could say, Edmonton's "New noise bylaw infuriates Motorcyclists."

A mob of Air Force Cadets had loudly infiltrated the facility during our visit. Young men and women from Western Canada hovered around the displays making it a wee bit hard to get at at times. Brenda and I retreated strategically to the cafeteria for lunch while the hub bub died down somewhat.

After a simple lunch and the obligatory Cokes (buy stock!) ! we continued our journey. I was astonished by Brenda's curiosity reading the well written and informative plaques that were located throughout the building. Usually, whenever I do these things with a female companion, it's me they are waiting for at the abundant, well positioned seating areas. Several times I had to remind her that we had a whole bunch to see and a long way to ride yet that day.

Several hours quickly passed and as we were leaving, I had a chat with the media gal about potentially doing a follow up story to the one earlier. (Canadian Biker fall '05).

I moved the Bird under a nearby shade tree in the parking lot as we dressed for the return ride. Liners out, we were at least reasonably comfortable on the ride south thru Ponoka, Lacombe and Olds. Following highway 2A brought back many memories for me. Growing up in Edmonton and visiting family friends in Calgary as a youngster, I had many recollections of that road.

There was the time that Dad fell asleep at around 60 mph and clipped a highway post before grabbing the wheel and getting us back onto the pavement. Then there was a trip down in BinL's* John's car during the dead of a typical prairie winter at a hundred below zero when the heater wasn't working and I felt like a Popsicle!

My first published short story was about a feeling I had riding the highway and dealing with (can you believe it?) "four thousand pound hunks of Detroit iron" that had little regard for us motorcyclists. Cycle and Cycle Guide printed that account back around the late 70's I think.

YUP... this ride had lots of memories for me...

And this trip, added some more :)

*BinL

Not Osama Bin Laden... but Brother in Law

On The Road Again...

LORD TUNDERIN, TUNDERBIRD!

IT was a wonderfully sunny day... my partner exclaimed loudly with gusto... "I LOVE IT"

We were on the T-Bird, headed North through Central Alberta. Ranch country. Staying off that Zoo known locally as Highway 2, we kept to the small towns of the provincial foothills. This was Brenda's first ride on a bike and it was going to cover nearly a thousand kms!



ONCE out of North Calgary heading West on 1A, Cochrane passed by without so much as a second glance. Once a sleepy little town well out of the city, it has become yet another bedroom community of a sprawling urban jungle. Cochrane is built up to the point now, that you have to go a lot further afield to really get a feel for small town Alberta. True, the old downtown still retains a bit of old charm, but it's been years now since I've seen cowhands tie up the reins at the Cochrane Hotel.

We pulled over in Sundre, had ourselves a little breaky and a couple of garden variety coffees, Brn's with milk and sugar, while I took mine Cafe Negro, as I usually do.

By the time we were leaving town, the clouds were clearing away and our ride North on 22 brought us decent heat, enough to cause me to begin the process of shedding layers.



A short stint on the David Thompson took us West to Rocky Mountain House
.

Stopping for fuel in RMH it was getting downright warm. I checked with Brenda, she had not removed her helmet during the process, and she told me she was doing fine.

We veered North again at the Nordegg intersection, heading towards Drayton Valley. The next 34km presented some long pauses in the hot sun, while waiting for the pace car through several long construction zones... after all, this is Alberta.

Just as we approached the turn off leading us away from Drayton and towards Leduc on HW 39, I feel three rapid taps on my left shoulder, indicating a need to stop ASAP! I pull off onto the right turn lane, pull to the side of the highway, and Brenda nearly tumbles off the back seat. She is feeling very ill, thinks she is going to pass out!

I sit her down away from traffic and she immediately lays on the pavement in what little shade the bike provided, helmet and all. Recognizing what amounts to heat prostration, we unzip her jacket, remove her helmet and get some H2O into her. Within a minute ot two, we are able to get over to the grass shoulder and shading her as best I could, she lays onto the grass while I am sure the sky did 360's above her.

She's not prone to motion sickness, in fact it amazes me that we can drive through mountain passes as she reads a map/book/candy wrapper. I can't do that!

I get sick on kiddie rides!

It's the heat (0ver 30C) the sun, the warmth and insulation of her jacket, the confines of the helmet, aided and abetted by the long lines, the acid smell of tar and oil, and the lack of food and water. Several of my partners over the years have succumbed to just this thing.

As we are preparing to remount after the short breather, a young woman driving a pick up, pulls in behind us, and offers to help. She was heading in the opposite direction when she spotted us, Brn laying down beside the bike, and had about faced to give us a hand. How great is that! Nice to know there are still a few left...

Pulling off the road in Warburg, at a very non descript fuel/restarant stop for food and a cool drink, we are surprised by the quality of our lunch and the speed with which is served. Rob (I'm certain not his actual name) is from Lebanon and even though he was somewhat cool taking our order, he proves to be rather friendly and talkative on the way out. He tells me he has just returned from Beirut and it is the most beautiful city in all the World. "Paris of the Middle East" he proclaims, except better, "it has the ocean..."

Who can argue with that...