Long way to the Dentist

 I logged 160+ km today, going to work at sunrise then a few hours later back past my house into Bragg Creek to the dentist, only to return to work and home at days end. A long day In most respects but the riding a welcome reprieve and some mental masturbation.

 

 Sunrise:

Hump day

 Normally my week starts on Tuesday comprising of an atypical 4 day work week; shaking the 5 day week foundation of earners in hard working Calgary. Unfortunately this is truly hump day for me, with my presence required this past Monday for some extra toil at my desk.

  

 I managed one picture on my bike commute today. An excellent ride for sure.

 

GSXR part 2

 There's lots you can do with motorbikes and this is a good example. Some mods like suspension, seats, and exhaust get overlooked or just a slight nod of approval. With light hearted intentions, I presume there's a startup business potential here!

Beer and handle bars

 

   I can't say I'm really familiar with Suzuki  GSXR bikes but I know what they look like. With fat sport bike back tires, tree trunk forks, and carbon fiber air dams these machines churn out serious power. Add to that clip on bars - no wait, this GSXR doesn't have clip ons; wide motocross bars casting the riders shadow further a field sit atop a reworked triple tree replacing the clip on bars to the delight of the Gixers custom minded owner for a much more 'gentle' riding position, a novel and well executed transformation.

 

 I like the look. On a beer run yesterday my neighbor and I rode to Turner Valley to have a quick glance at the carnage and reconstruction of a major blacktop artery that connects Turner Valley to Black Diamond post 'flood of 2013'. More time could have been spent looking at the jaw dropping high water mark but I was itching for a beer.

 

 Returning to Bragg Creek and stopping at the saloon I had a better look at the Renthal bars on the GSXR. Great idea no doubt in my mind. Now I think I should have hung onto that bullet proof 1984 FJ 1100 and not balked at its "humping a football" riding position I was eager to get away from.

Mosquitos

There are lots of the little suckers right now. Big Mosquitos and these miniscule ones with a potent sting!

 I admit I may have emulated their annoying flight pattern on my ride to and from work yesterday, much to the chagrin of the cagers around me! Buzzing up close to bumpers before sidestepping to the next lane and carrying on around them.

 

 I rode along side a nice sounding bright yellow 650 Yamaha sport bike for a while on my way through town, whose rider showed interest in the Buell, not surprised by its 1200 cc largess motor - maybe because I popped the wheel off the line ahead of him, a little juiced on adrenalin and too much coffee at work. Brought that front wheel almost a hurdle height off the blacktop!

 The rider slipped away to his exit and I traveled on, onto the highway and out of town towards home.

 

ATGATT

All the gear all the time. My only trepidation on my ride home in a very very heavy rain storm was the lightening I was seeing up ahead in the near distance. Barely out of town and in crawling traffic, albeit for only a few extra minutes, I was dead center in a warm deluge of rain, and apposing traffic sent curling walls of water from the adjacent lane over myself and the caged commuters slowly escaping with me. I was pleasantly surprised as the caged crowd moving in my direction kept respectful distance from me, although they may have felt my stupidity for riding in such a storm might rub off on them therein giving me plenty of room.

 

 With all the gear from thinning crown to feet my disposition remained tempered and my confidence sound as a pound; only the lightening and threatening reports of hail hastened my pulse and could have chipped away at my resolve.

 

 Unfortunately snap shots of the torrent up to my rims was not to be documented  ; my phone is not deluge proof.

 

The low slung and drenching cloud I left behind:

My pants:

The road ahead:

All the gear makes all the difference.

No snooz-fest this morning

Gravity is having less of an effect on the Buell's front tire these days. The impulse to wind up the motor and slide the clutch in first gear off a light, bringing the front tire off the ground, is overtaking my sensibilities more often; sensibilities like drive belt life , clutch life, and generally strong arming a motor I want to last a long, long time. But seriously, that front wheel doesn't want to stay down!

Living the dream

There's sarcasm in the title no doubt. Few elements encapsulating the epitome of the westernized dream are amiss in my life. Sure there's always bigger, better, and shinier (motorcycles, for example) but I have it all.

 However, some days, some mornings, it's difficult to recall my good fortune enlisting instead the mannerisms of an inhospitable, chained and indentured pit bull before a scrap. I ate traffic from the right lane and shoulder like a nefarious 2 year old eating smarties. And I loved it.

 

...and the ride home:

A hot one.

35 degrees Celsius today? That's a hot one. Or 95 F...

 Traffic was like a mild salsa - a bit spicy but tame enough to do a couple lifts of the front tire on the green lights. 

Reviving the spirit

It's been a tumultuous spring, as June brought a veritable 100 year flood to Southern Alberta. High River had a call out for boats, an area absent of lakes, for rescue purposes. High River is a catastrophe.

 Here at home in Redwood Meadows our berm held back what is claimed to be an unprecedented swell of the Elbow River, only barely contained from inundating some 350 homes by the efforts of thousands of sand bags and well over one hundred truck loads of any material available.

 The volunteer base for sand bags and clean up was formidable!

 Many basements lost causes including my own. Sumps are still spilling crystal clear ground water onto my lawn providing the kids with a creek to play in much to my chagrin.

 

 This Canada Day weekend has been a back breaker for me; tearing up carpet, sub-floor and removing some drywall at the floor to get at wet insulation...good times.

  Disheartened by a house built on a river I got some friends and neighbors together for a ride. A few days of texting and a group had formed! One from Calgary on a meticulous Triumph triple, another from Bragg creek on a Buell fire Bolt, and an older GSXR 1000, KLR 650, Ninja 600, and FJR 1300 from Redwood Meadows. All we were missing was a cruiser!

Yup, it's June in Alberta

Rain is hitting us hard in southern Alberta! Highway 1A, which I road to Canmore just 2 days ago, is washed out at Exshaw - a section of blacktop washed away. Rivers are washing over banks in Canmore and have closed Hwy 1.

 This is the Elbow River near my place is in the same state:

My ride on 1A before all of this flood nonsense:

And now I have to drive home to address the panic at the house to make sure our sumps are operational.

Father's Day

The opportunity for a ride came up this Father's Day Sunday, when duty called to transport my oldest son to his mothers house in Calgary. He was quick to accept a ride on the bike instead of the caged confines of my (smelly) jeep. Even at 9:30 am the weather was proving to be more than mild. I had it in mind to go the distance after saying goodbye and ride to Nanton Alberta, an hour and a half south of Calgary. There are a couple roads I have been wanting to check out around Nanton and who knows, maybe a break at the Lancaster Bomber they have on display, among other once-airborne relics. Highway 533 going West from Nanton was suggested as a destination for a nice paved road motorbike tour and not far north from where it meets hwy 22 is hwy 532 going west again into the Rockies past Hailstone Butte and Indian Graves, on a potentially dusty gravel road.

 I never made it to Nanton, however, only getting as far as Turner Valley, as I was running out of time with things to attend to at home. But I did manage a ride west from Turner Valley on Hwy 546 into the Sheep River and Bluerock parks. I was looking for the entrance to Gorge Creek Trail but never went far enough down 546 to see it. Gorge Creek Trail is gated and for horses, hikers and cyclists only, unfortunately. But I have been toying with the idea of popping around the gate and riding the trail north to McLean Creek Trail not far from my place.

 So for another day, I have Nanton and Gorge Creek to explore.

  The weather was great and the bike was great. And the cow pies were plentiful!

There are so many things we do for our kids, spouses, and bank accounts. At times it seems never-ending, especially the times you wish you were out riding instead of gathering the innumerable toys crowding your motorbike in the garage. This time I had the opportunity to push the plastic riding truck aside with my boot as I coasted down my driveway, threading the needle, as they say, through the car, truck and kids toys on my way out for a ride.

 My neighbour and I hoisted the domestic anchor and cast off to Bragg Creek, then down 762 to Plummers Rd.

Looking ahead. And no, I'm not mowing the lawn. Probably should be. I'm feeling the exposed flesh on my neck sting from the cold - it lasts for a few moments then subsides, as I get closer to the city simultaneously moving away from the foothills where I live. Another exhilarating morning ride to work. Seriously, it was. A few more picks of the ride home. And an over-the-shoulder pic of my oldest lad.

 

 

 Don't need a fisheye lens to see the expanse of mountains on the horizon, especially from Spring Bank Road, at the crest of a major hill. It's a view I could look at a million times.

 

I give you the First ride of 2013! A blast out past Bragg Creek to Saddle and Sirloin Acres. Cattle country, if that wasn't evident in the name, in the foothills of the Rockies. The snow has melted aside from the petering runoff across the roads.

 

 

 

Ok, there's some snow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Lets blow the dust off this blog for a moment. The winter is passing, taking a piss as it were, and the days are markedly longer! No, it's not time to transition back to the bike for commuting, but who's to tell me I can't get my bike fix in the meantime? I was able to run up and down the street a couple weeks ago while a chinook took us into it's warm embrace, melting enough road surface to open up the KZ even for a brief couple of minutes. I just had to know what my winter labours had concieved, after mating a new electronic ignition in place of the old points, condencers etc.

 With my brother's help - true comrades of the garage kind - we brought the Kawasaki to life. It responded surprisingly well!

 And off I went:

 

Next up on Snooz channel: Rebuilding  the front brake master cylinder!