Riding To Canada
By Mike Green
June 30th T Minus One Day
As I wrote last month, I took great pains to make sure that I had organized what I was bringing with me. I had everything packed in saddlebags. I had even weighed the saddlebags and balanced the load. Every little detail had been taken care of, or so I thought…
Joel planned ahead and called the Canadian consulate to see what documents we needed to bring with us to Canada. He was told that a passport or a drivers license and birth certificate were required. I make a quick run to my safe deposit to get my birth certificate.
In the afternoon of this last day at work, I could not concentrate on work. I decide I am overhyped for the trip. I finally gave up and left early (4 PM) to take my dog Shelby to the kennel. When I got home, I realized that my problem at work had not been excitement for the trip. There was one small detail to deal with. I had a virus and was sicker than a dog (sorry Shelby)!
I called Joel to give him the news. He decided he would go to San Antonio for the weekend and stay with relatives and visit friends. When I was feeling better, I could call him and we would arrange to meet somewhere.
June 29th
I spend the first day of vacation hanging around the house. The worst of the virus is over. By afternoon, I decide I feel well enough to get going. I call Joel and tell him I’ll be in San Antonio in the morning.
June 30th 667 miles
I start off the day with a warm-up ride to San Antonio on I-10. The weather is perfect and I try to "predict" the exits as I ride. I’ve been down this stretch of I-10 so many times, it feels like part of my neighborhood. The extra effort I put into packing really shows. Everything has a "in its place" feel to it and while the bike is loaded, it handles pretty well. I arrive and meet up with Joel at 9 AM. We’re finally off. The weather in west Texas is cool for this time of year and we put in a full day of riding, finally stopping in Carlsbad, New Mexico.
July 1st 519 miles
The weather stays dry and cool. We ride through New Mexico and enter Colorado. The mountains are a welcome sight. I get the camera out and begin taking pictures. We stop in Durango, Colorado and set up camp.
July 2nd 256 miles
We ride into Silverton. I’ve got all my warm clothes on and I’m still shivering as we stop to have breakfast. All too soon, the mountain passes are left behind and we descend into northwest Colorado and the heat is back. At a gas stop in Rangely, Joel’s bike won’t start. The battery is dead. As we look at his bike, I turn and notice oil leaking from the left fork on my bike. The seal is leaking pretty badly. That explains why the bike hasn’t been handling very well in the turns today.
The nearest shop is forty miles away and closes in thirty minutes. We try push starting Joel’s bike, but the battery is too far gone to keep the bike running. I leave Joel at a motel and ride through town trying the auto parts stores before they close too. At the second one (there’s only two), I find a battery that will fit Joel’s bike. He’s back in business. My problem won’t be so easy to fix. I decide to ride with the bad fork seal. I will just have to forego dragging my knees in the corners for a while.
July 3rd 465 miles
After riding through the Flaming Gorge National Recreational Area and walking around at Fort Bridger, we reenter the interstate system. We will try to make up some time and get to Canada. We continue to Pocatello, Idaho and stop for the night.
July 4th 531 miles
We stay on the interstates and ride all day. We make it to a campsite at the entrance of Glacier National Park. After a steak dinner, they show a video describing the park. Like most of the national parks, we could spend the entire two weeks here and still leave wanting to see more.
After we retire to our tents, a light rain falls through the trees. Joel is awakened to the sounds of a violent argument. Some problems can’t be escaped by going on a vacation. Some are carried with us.
July 5th 218 miles
The video last night claimed that Glacier National Park was the showcase of the Rockies and that some felt that it was the most scenic ride in the US, perhaps in North America. After riding the Highway to the Sun it’s hard to disagree. I will have to make a point of returning here some day for another visit.
We finally enter Canada in Alberta. Despite what Joel had been told, they never ask for any documents. The border guards ask the standard questions. We give them the standard answers. They ask if we brought guns (and a long list of assorted offensive weapons). When we answer no, they ask why not. I’m tempted to say because we had heard how repressive the government is, but decided it wouldn’t be worth it.
Canada is a great place! The speed limit is 110 and gas sells for 62.9 cents. OK, that’s 110 kilometers per hour (68.4 mph) and 62.9 Canadian cents per liter ($1.67 US dollars per gallon).
I had planned on stopping by the Calgary office of my company for lunch. Unfortunately, we had such a good time at Glacier National Park that we didn’t approach the Calgary area until after working hours. It was also the first day of the Calgary Stampede (their rodeo). Every motel and campground anywhere near Calgary was booked solid.
We managed a campsite in the overflow area of the Lions Club camping area in Okotoks. Showers were extra and went for five minutes for a loonie. A loonie is the Canadian one dollar coin with a loon on the back.
July 6th 199 miles
Cold this morning. It’s supposed to be about eight degrees Celsius (46 degrees Fahrenheit). We rode to Banff National Park. Ho-hum, one beautiful snow-capped mountain after another. Banff is a city-sized resort shopping area. Lake Louise is more like it. Joel hangs out at the lodge while I walk up a 2.5 kilometer trail. I do mean up. I get to just below the tree line and hike back to the lodge.
Later we catch the sunset at Lake Morraine before returning to Lake Louise to camp. It got cold again. We stayed up until 11:15 PM to take some night pictures. The sky refused to get dark. While we’re well short of the Arctic circle, nights aren’t very long here.
July 7th 160 miles
Slept very well again last night. The chill mountain air is agreeing with us. Today Joel climbs a glacier while I stay below and use a telephoto lens to capture some details of the ice. We stop at the overlook for Mount Edith Cavell. Joel wasn’t sure if she is related to him, but he had seen the name on the map before we left Houston. She was a nurse in WWI who saved many lives on both sides (she cared for all of the wounded) but was shot by the Germans as a spy.
July 8th 534 miles
After breakfast in Jasper, we split up. Joel is going to head south, but in a more leisurely path. I have to be back at work next week and would like to visit my parents in Minnesota. As I leave the park, I encounter lots of wildlife. Dall sheep climb down a mountain and graze on the shoulder of the road. A crowd stops to look at them. They are unafraid of the people and let them approach very closely. Later, as I approach the exit gates, a herd of sheep block the road. Now they’re not a wonder, they’re a nuisance. I ride through Edmonton and finally turn south. I spend the night in Radisson, Saskatchewan.
July 9th 573 miles
A long day of riding gets me back in the United States. The US guards are concerned with produce and liquors being brought in. I’ve exited and reentered the US without so much as telling them my name, let alone producing any ID.
Now that I’m back in the US, it’s time to put away the Canadian cash and to stop converting the milestones and speed limits from kilometers to miles.
July 10th 436 miles
I continue from Bismarck, North Dakota and arrive in Minneapolis at lunch. I ride up the driveway at my folks’ house and kill the engine. I manage to surprise my family. They didn’t know I was swinging east from Jasper.
July 13th 757 miles
Spent the whole day on I-35 going south. Finally stop under clouds as the sun sets in Roger, Oklahoma. Don’t want to ride into rain in front of me in the cold front that spans Oklahoma.
July 14th 526 miles
All morning I ride on the heels of thunderstorms as they disintegrate. The roads are wet, but I never catch the showers. In fact, the cold air accompanies me as I emerge from the clouds on the southern side of the front. At Corsicana, I finally find some heat. The temperature goes from the seventies to the nineties in the space of a mile. Time to shed that leather jacket!
I roll into my driveway at 4 PM. I’m home. I’ve ridden 5,841 miles and never put on my rainsuit. I decide I’m ready to return to work.
July 15th
My first day back at work. By mid-afternoon, I’m ready to go back on the road. Joel is still out there. Lucky guy. I’m already thinking about the next trip.
