Day 8 - Calgary AB (546 km): I whined today ....

.... and you may see why from this photo. Although I know the consequences of whining, it was a chance I had to take.

We got a 0930h start today - sun was shining brightly and it was about 18 degrees. I shed the fleece liner and scarf, and donned the warm weather gloves. Jacket was open at the neck so I could do real 'shoulder checks'. Anyone who has taken a Motorcycle Safety Course knows about shoulder checks (ie, looking over the shoulder when changing lanes AND stopping). Much of the yelling from the Instructors is comprised of: "Shoulder check!!" (Jim is a MC Safety instructor. Recall the night he yelled at the soccer team lads? His defense was: "I've never yelled at a kid that didn't need yellin' at" ) . With a scarf, helmet strap and jacket fastened tightly against rain and cold, the quality of shoulder checks suffers; I actually have to lift myself a little out of the seat to adequately see my blind spot. Today was wonderfully liberating - even gawking around was easier because my head movement wasn't so restricted! The temperature during the ride through Alberta was around 22 - 23 degrees.

OK - the whining. Yesterday, we rode Hwy 12 - a little jog between Billings and Great Falls. It's about 45 miles long and I figured it's called Hwy 12 because there's a slight bend in the road about every 12 miles. That was just an appetizer for today's ride. Dear heavens...I thought I'd go out of my mind. The ride on 87 north out of Montana is.... BORing! No cows (not even the lovely black ones), no horses, no hills. Just a few gophers that dart across the road - some make it, some... not so lucky. I DID see a little herd of antelope - 6 or 7 of them, but we were travelling too fast to get a good count. The squirming started before 100km. I hung on as long as I could and finally pulled Jim over. I needed OFF the bike - to stretch my legs and clear my head. Jim confirmed our ride across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba will be all more of the same. I even took some 'riding photos'. When the highway exit ramps are the most exciting part of the ride, you have to spice things up SOMEhow. Fumbling in my tank bag, with my gloves on, and holding my camera over the windscreen while being buffeted by wind....hey, you take your fun where you can get it ;-) Milt - is it too late to get in on the bike-in-a-box action?!

As it turned out, the international border at Coutts, AB, is only a few miles from where we stopped. We had a great break there as we decided to get some duty free treats -wine for our Calgary hosts and french Absinthe for me ;-) and then there was a 1/2 hour wait at the border. My 100-day shirt got its first real test today as we waited in, what my Feej thermometer indicated, was 34-degree heat. The shirt, by the way, seems to be holding up admirably - like the Energizer Bunny. Unlike my Swiss Army watch battery which bit the bullet two days ago. I'm looking at my 3rd battery in 1.5 years.

Alberta terrain is much like that of northern Montana except - dare I say it ? - properties seem more 'cared for' or more 'tidy'. There are not so many derelict properties with abandoned-looking equipment. Alberta could be called Big Sky country as well!

Since we're more or less a day early in our need to be in Calgary, we DID have some time to sight-see. It was suggested to me that we see Head-Smashed-in Buffalo Jump and we DID do the little detour to see that. We tore into the site at about 120 kph, grabbed our photos and raced the storm clouds out. As it turned out, we managed to get to the home of Jim's good friends, Tom & Mary, before ... MORE rain struck ! We had a GREAT evening with Jim's friends: Tom, Mary & their daugher, Ellen (I shouldn't have any trouble with names here!), Chris, and Bob & Hilary. Nice job on the steaks, Tom :-)

I forgot something important yesterday: Happy Birthday to Tish and Brian ! Can't wait for the lobster dinner when I get home - thanks Brian & Diana :-)

Also, to the bike riders among you .... don't forget: Monday, June 15th, is Ride Your Bike to Work Day ! (it's the third Monday of June) And don't let the weather deter you. Just be extra careful in rain - and snow -)

I was kind of looking forward to a day off The Bike but the guys are going on a ride to Longview tomorrow. I'll get the battery replaced in my watch and, perhaps, look at cowboy boots. And then, maybe, go to Longview with the guys ;-)

Stay tuned!