|
It was the Saturday morning of the Labour Day weekend and, as we sipped our morning
coffee, we hadn't yet decided
where we wanted to ride that weekend. We had, however, already agreed on what the
main criteria
of the trip should be: put on lots of miles!
So where's somewhere far away? Well, Gladys had been talking all summer of riding
to Northern Alberta to visit with family, so I made a call to Rainbow Lake (near
her home reserve is) to see if
we could get a room. Finding one available, we took it.
Committed now, we knew we had better get on the road in short order. Rainbow Lake is
located some 950 kms
(600 miles) straight north of Edmonton (near the North West Territories border) and it is now 10:00 A.M. The days are getting
shorter, the nights colder and we didn't want to end up riding through country
heavily populated with deer, moose and bison at night if we could help it.
We don't have much to pack for a trip like this so, since Gladys' Sporty has saddlebags
and accepts a t-bag, I thought this would be a good time to give my new
'07 Street Bob some additional highway miles. I had taken it on a couple of runs
earlier in
the season and knew that, after putting forward controls on it, it is fine for long rides.
Sure, it has no windshield, but there's not that many bugs this late in the year.
Or so I thought...
Things to come?
|
After some quick preparation, we pulled out of our driveway at 11:00 A.M. We have decided
to take the route that goes through Slave Lake.
The weather is beautiful
for this time of year and the forecast indicates it should continue that way through the weekend.
Our first fuel-up stop was in Westlock. We hadn't had breakfast yet, but Gladys had made
sandwiches, so we gulped down a couple of those.
|
|
|
Fueling up in Westlock
|
A short-coming of the Street Bob compared to my usual long-distance bike (the '98 Road Glide)
is that it has no cigarette lighter, so we pulled over once in
awhile. Even though she doesn't smoke, this suits Gladys fine, since she needs to spit
(oh, did I mention she likes a pinch of chewing tobacco in her lip while riding?).
I'm partial to a chew too, so I think I'll switch to that for part of this trip and eliminate
a few smoke breaks.
Smoke break on the way to Slave Lake
|
I try to convince Gladys, "Just spit the tobacco juice while riding" (so we don't have
to pull over periodically), but she's never quite got the hang of it. It does require the ability
to give a good squirt, so it doesn't end up across your face and bike, but it can be
done.
I eventually resort to the chew myself. In the absence of a windshield, you can spew a
nice long string at 125 km/hr (75 mph for you American readers). No circular back draft
from a windshield to mess things up.
Having no windshield also prevents face-whipping from
head hairs that work loose from my braids.
Yeah, Gladys braids my hair prior to our departing on long rides. She's a hair dresser,
after all.
The level of physical exertion at high speed is increased compared to the Road Glide
though. You've gotta hang on good to those handlebars and use your arm muscles to keep from
wearing out your back, but the deeply-scooped seat combined with mini-apes
and forward controls helps a lot.
|
|
|
Gladys taking the Street Bob for awhile
|
With feet forward, arms level and the rear of a
saddle preventing you from blowing off the back, the wind arches you like a
parachute, instead of trying to bend you only at the waist. When I
first bought this bike, I rode it with the mid-controls it comes standard with
and, let me tell ya, it was a back-breaker that way. The addition of forward
controls solves that problem completely.
As you start a long day on a windshield-less bike, you might be tempted to
think, "There's no way I'll last like this for 12 hours." Your hand and arm muscles
don't seem they will be able to hold on against the wind for that long.
But, hang in there. While it may seem hard at first, after 2 hours it becomes
nearly effortless - your muscles adjust.
There's some physical conditioning going on when riding
a motorcycle for long days and more so when done without a windshield, but I
guess the point I'm trying to make is this: Don't conclude you can't do an all-day trip
based solely on how you feel after 2 hour rides. Your body will adapt through the day.
|
|
|
On the road in the Slave Lake Region
|
We gas up in Slave Lake. The foam plugs I put in my ears in Edmonton will simply
remain in for the entire trip.
I can't be bothered to take them out and put them back in, each time we stop. Anyway,
they're kind of handy for keeping out of arguments because I can pretend I'm not
hearing certain things.
I've never worn ear protection with the Road
Glide, as it's design results in little wind noise. On the Bob, however, it's definitely a
good idea to protect (what's left of) my hearing.
As we near Peace River there's a long, windy stretch of highway to descend. It's been
about 250 kms (155 miles) since we fueled up at Slave Lake.
When I get to the bottom, Gladys is no
longer behind me. Her Sportster has done 275 kms
(170 miles) before without hitting reserve, but today we've been riding at high speed
and straight into the teeth of strong winds, so I wouldn't be surprised if she had
to switch over, partway down. Besides, the reserve light on my Street Bob had already
come on, a mile or two back.
So I wait. Then, just as I decide to turn around and go back for her, here she comes.
When we pull into the service station she confirms my guess. Having
difficulty doing it on-the-fly, she had
pulled to the shoulder to flip her petcock to reserve.
|
|
|
Peace River
|
After Peace River we head up to toward Manning. The weather is good and the winds have
subsided a lot now, making the riding easier. When we stop for gas in Manning we buy a
hot dog as we've eaten all the sandwiches from home now.
The roads are still wet from a recent cloud burst and, looking North, it doesn't
look too good. But, while chowing on my hotdog, I notice those big
clouds ahead are moving to the East. Hey, they just might be gone by the time we
get there.
|
|
|
The town of Manning, wet from a recent rain
|
At Keg River - just missing the the rain
|
Passing through Keg River, the rain clouds now on our right, we couldn't have timed it much
better. Not only had we missed rain, but some heavy hail too - as indicated by the white
remains on either side of the highway. A black bear seemed to nod his
head to us in approval as we passed him by.
This is the final, long stretch to High Level and we've been on the road for about 9 hours now.
It's about to get dark, so we crank up the speed to collect as many well-lit miles
as possible.
Things start to get interesting when we encounter a special kind of rain.
For about 100 kms it's a steady "pit, pit, pit, pit" sound - the dead bodies of little flies
accumulating so rapidly on my goggles that I have to stop every 15 minutes
and clean so I can see again.
|
|
|
It was literally a rain of bugs from Keg River to High Level
|
By the time we reached High Level, it was dark, the temperatures had dropped to near-freezing
and we both had our heat vests plugged in. In addition, I had put a balaclava on - that thing makes
so much difference.
This was now
gut-it-out time. We still had 140 kms to do before getting to Rainbow Lake, where our warm, reserved
room awaited us. No time to waste getting something to eat, we had to quickly gas-up and continue on.
We can eat once we arrive at our destination.
These are slower-speed miles, as there are so many deer, moose, bison and bear on that
stretch of road. Just as well we're not going fast, as it's also getting bitterly cold.
I begin thinking the fairing and windshield-equipped Road Glide would
be kinda nice right-about now.
After awhile we decide to combine our high beams, riding side-by-side. It's not
a great idea for 2 bikes to be close together if you have to swerve around
game animals, but we managed that; I ride the on-coming lane since it's so seldom we encounter
other vehicles.
We later agreed that the pitch black night, coupled with the remoteness and lightning flashing
from distant clouds made this leg of the ride awe-inspiring and especially memorable.
Hungry and chilled, we finally roll into Rainbow Lake and get setup in our room. It's 11:30 P.M. and
there are no eating establishments open, so we make due with beer. An oil worker's town, you can
count on the bars staying open in Rainbow!
After waking late the next morning, we immediately sent out smoke signals to see if Gladys' family
were planning to meet with us. They live at the nearby reserve of Assumption, about a 1/2 hour's
drive from Rainbow. We're gratified to learn they're already on their way and plan to picnic
with us.
By the way, if you're wondering why we didn't just ride straight into Assumption and meet them there,
you might want to click
here to find out.
The next day we loaded the bikes, checked out of our room and started the ride back to
Edmonton. Having stayed up a bit too late the night before, we didn't get the early
a start we wanted in order to avoid dealing with night conditions on that last
stretch to Edmonton. Instead of the preferred 8 o'clock, we got on the road at 10.
|
|
|
A stop at the Assumption turn-off - final goodbye
|
The ride back was fun and time just seemed to fly by. Boredom just isn't a big factor when
riding a bike, it seems.
|
|
|
Rest stop at Keg River
|
On the way to High Prairie
|
By the time we got to Westlock, it was fully
dark and the kamikazi deer were behaving like missles aimed at us - one
nearly t-boning me. If only we had left Rainbow Lake a little earlier...
But we made it to Edmonton anyway, pulling into our garage at about 11:00 P.M. Yeah, it took
awhile, but we got back in once piece, which is the main thing.
|
|
|
The last leg, getting home
|
We had covered a fair distance for a Sunday picnic but, because the riding was
half the fun, we felt we had chosen an excellent way to spend that weekend.
Prior to our
decision to go, we were mindful that this could be our last shot at good weather before
the cold of fall sets in.
As it turned out, the weather went downhill soon after we returned. The timing looked even
better then.
Unfussy trips - planned on the
spur of the moment - can turn out to be the best kind. Thanks for reading and letting us
share this one with you.
|
It was the Saturday morning of the Labour Day weekend and, as we sipped our morning
coffee, we hadn't yet decided
where we wanted to ride that weekend. We had, however, already agreed on what the
main criteria
of the trip should be: put on lots of miles!
So where's somewhere far away? Well, Gladys had been talking all summer of riding
to Northern Alberta to visit with family, so I made a call to Rainbow Lake (near
her home reserve is) to see if
we could get a room. Finding one available, we took it.
Committed now, we knew we had better get on the road in short order. Rainbow Lake is
located some 950 kms
(600 miles) straight north of Edmonton (near the North West Territories border) and it is now 10:00 A.M. The days are getting
shorter, the nights colder and we didn't want to end up riding through country
heavily populated with deer, moose and bison at night if we could help it.
We don't have much to pack for a trip like this so, since Gladys' Sporty has saddlebags
and accepts a t-bag, I thought this would be a good time to give my new
'07 Street Bob some additional highway miles. I had taken it on a couple of runs
earlier in
the season and knew that, after putting forward controls on it, it is fine for long rides.
Sure, it has no windshield, but there's not that many bugs this late in the year.
Or so I thought...
|
Things to come?
|
After some quick preparation, we pulled out of our driveway at 11:00 A.M. We have decided
to take the route that goes through Slave Lake.
The weather is beautiful
for this time of year and the forecast indicates it should continue that way through the weekend.
Our first fuel-up stop was in Westlock. We hadn't had breakfast yet, but Gladys had made
sandwiches, so we gulped down a couple of those.
|
|
|
|
Fueling up in Westlock
|
A short-coming of the Street Bob compared to my usual long-distance bike (the '98 Road Glide)
is that it has no cigarette lighter, so we pulled over once in
awhile. Even though she doesn't smoke, this suits Gladys fine, since she needs to spit
(oh, did I mention she likes a pinch of chewing tobacco in her lip while riding?).
I'm partial to a chew too, so I think I'll switch to that for part of this trip and eliminate
a few smoke breaks.
|
Smoke break on the way to Slave Lake
|
I try to convince Gladys, "Just spit the tobacco juice while riding" (so we don't have
to pull over periodically), but she's never quite got the hang of it. It does require the ability
to give a good squirt, so it doesn't end up across your face and bike, but it can be
done.
I eventually resort to the chew myself. In the absence of a windshield, you can spew a
nice long string at 125 km/hr (75 mph for you American readers). No circular back draft
from a windshield to mess things up.
Having no windshield also prevents face-whipping from
head hairs that work loose from my braids.
Yeah, Gladys braids my hair prior to our departing on long rides. She's a hair dresser,
after all.
The level of physical exertion at high speed is increased compared to the Road Glide
though. You've gotta hang on good to those handlebars and use your arm muscles to keep from
wearing out your back, but the deeply-scooped seat combined with mini-apes
and forward controls helps a lot.
|
|
|
|
Gladys taking the Street Bob for awhile
|
With feet forward, arms level and the rear of a
saddle preventing you from blowing off the back, the wind arches you like a
parachute, instead of trying to bend you only at the waist. When I
first bought this bike, I rode it with the mid-controls it comes standard with
and, let me tell ya, it was a back-breaker that way. The addition of forward
controls solves that problem completely.
As you start a long day on a windshield-less bike, you might be tempted to
think, "There's no way I'll last like this for 12 hours." Your hand and arm muscles
don't seem they will be able to hold on against the wind for that long.
But, hang in there. While it may seem hard at first, after 2 hours it becomes
nearly effortless - your muscles adjust.
There's some physical conditioning going on when riding
a motorcycle for long days and more so when done without a windshield, but I
guess the point I'm trying to make is this: Don't conclude you can't do an all-day trip
based solely on how you feel after 2 hour rides. Your body will adapt through the day.
|
|
|
|
On the road in the Slave Lake Region
|
We gas up in Slave Lake. The foam plugs I put in my ears in Edmonton will simply
remain in for the entire trip.
I can't be bothered to take them out and put them back in, each time we stop. Anyway,
they're kind of handy for keeping out of arguments because I can pretend I'm not
hearing certain things.
I've never worn ear protection with the Road
Glide, as it's design results in little wind noise. On the Bob, however, it's definitely a
good idea to protect (what's left of) my hearing.
As we near Peace River there's a long, windy stretch of highway to descend. It's been
about 250 kms (155 miles) since we fueled up at Slave Lake.
When I get to the bottom, Gladys is no
longer behind me. Her Sportster has done 275 kms
(170 miles) before without hitting reserve, but today we've been riding at high speed
and straight into the teeth of strong winds, so I wouldn't be surprised if she had
to switch over, partway down. Besides, the reserve light on my Street Bob had already
come on, a mile or two back.
So I wait. Then, just as I decide to turn around and go back for her, here she comes.
When we pull into the service station she confirms my guess. Having
difficulty doing it on-the-fly, she had
pulled to the shoulder to flip her petcock to reserve.
|
|
|
|
Peace River
|
After Peace River we head up to toward Manning. The weather is good and the winds have
subsided a lot now, making the riding easier. When we stop for gas in Manning we buy a
hot dog as we've eaten all the sandwiches from home now.
The roads are still wet from a recent cloud burst and, looking North, it doesn't
look too good. But, while chowing on my hotdog, I notice those big
clouds ahead are moving to the East. Hey, they just might be gone by the time we
get there.
|
|
|
|
The town of Manning, wet from a recent rain
|
At Keg River - just missing the the rain
|
Passing through Keg River, the rain clouds now on our right, we couldn't have timed it much
better. Not only had we missed rain, but some heavy hail too - as indicated by the white
remains on either side of the highway. A black bear seemed to nod his
head to us in approval as we passed him by.
This is the final, long stretch to High Level and we've been on the road for about 9 hours now.
It's about to get dark, so we crank up the speed to collect as many well-lit miles
as possible.
Things start to get interesting when we encounter a special kind of rain.
For about 100 kms it's a steady "pit, pit, pit, pit" sound - the dead bodies of little flies
accumulating so rapidly on my goggles that I have to stop every 15 minutes
and clean so I can see again.
|
|
|
|
It was literally a rain of bugs from Keg River to High Level
|
By the time we reached High Level, it was dark, the temperatures had dropped to near-freezing
and we both had our heat vests plugged in. In addition, I had put a balaclava on - that thing makes
so much difference.
This was now
gut-it-out time. We still had 140 kms to do before getting to Rainbow Lake, where our warm, reserved
room awaited us. No time to waste getting something to eat, we had to quickly gas-up and continue on.
We can eat once we arrive at our destination.
These are slower-speed miles, as there are so many deer, moose, bison and bear on that
stretch of road. Just as well we're not going fast, as it's also getting bitterly cold.
I begin thinking the fairing and windshield-equipped Road Glide would
be kinda nice right-about now.
After awhile we decide to combine our high beams, riding side-by-side. It's not
a great idea for 2 bikes to be close together if you have to swerve around
game animals, but we managed that; I ride the on-coming lane since it's so seldom we encounter
other vehicles.
We later agreed that the pitch black night, coupled with the remoteness and lightning flashing
from distant clouds made this leg of the ride awe-inspiring and especially memorable.
Hungry and chilled, we finally roll into Rainbow Lake and get setup in our room. It's 11:30 P.M. and
there are no eating establishments open, so we make due with beer. An oil worker's town, you can
count on the bars staying open in Rainbow!
After waking late the next morning, we immediately sent out smoke signals to see if Gladys' family
were planning to meet with us. They live at the nearby reserve of Assumption, about a 1/2 hour's
drive from Rainbow. We're gratified to learn they're already on their way and plan to picnic
with us.
By the way, if you're wondering why we didn't just ride straight into Assumption and meet them there,
you might want to click
here to find out.
The next day we loaded the bikes, checked out of our room and started the ride back to
Edmonton. Having stayed up a bit too late the night before, we didn't get the early
a start we wanted in order to avoid dealing with night conditions on that last
stretch to Edmonton. Instead of the preferred 8 o'clock, we got on the road at 10.
|
|
|
|
A stop at the Assumption turn-off - final goodbye
|
The ride back was fun and time just seemed to fly by. Boredom just isn't a big factor when
riding a bike, it seems.
|
|
|
|
Rest stop at Keg River
|
On the way to High Prairie
|
By the time we got to Westlock, it was fully
dark and the kamikazi deer were behaving like missles aimed at us - one
nearly t-boning me. If only we had left Rainbow Lake a little earlier...
But we made it to Edmonton anyway, pulling into our garage at about 11:00 P.M. Yeah, it took
awhile, but we got back in once piece, which is the main thing.
|
|
|
|
The last leg, getting home
|
We had covered a fair distance for a Sunday picnic but, because the riding was
half the fun, we felt we had chosen an excellent way to spend that weekend.
Prior to our
decision to go, we were mindful that this could be our last shot at good weather before
the cold of fall sets in.
As it turned out, the weather went downhill soon after we returned. The timing looked even
better then.
Unfussy trips - planned on the
spur of the moment - can turn out to be the best kind. Thanks for reading and letting us
share this one with you.
|
|
|