Oldschool
Moderator
With fall in full swing and a rare warm Thanksgiving weekend coming, I planned a long day (Dawn till Dusk) ride as a sort of Grand Finale to the season. Most of the time trying to get my ridding buddies together for a ride is akin to herding cats, but they must have sensed the impending end to the season, and actually wanted to go. Canadian Thanksgiving is mid-October and depending on the year can mean snow but this year has been unseasonably warm all month, reason for any bike aficionado to be thankful.
The route is a conglomeration of some of my favorite routes made into a long loop. It covers the southwest corner of Alberta travelling through the foothills of the Front Range of the Rockies, The Castle Valley and through the Porcupine Hills areas south of Calgary. Most of the roads are fairly wide, well-travelled gravel, but some get rough, narrow and remote. I have even thrown in a couple of my favorite found treasures in the form of green-lanes just to keep my buddies entertained, and challenged. As much as I enjoy pushing the limits of my own skills, I try not to make my outings an abuse of machine or rider when groups are involved. The fun-factor should outweigh the risk, and is always considered in my planning.
This trip will also see my quest for the 100,000 km mark on my “990 Adventure” come to fruition somewhere just north of Blairmore, Alberta. For a while I was certain that I wouldn’t make that mileage this year with a less than stellar riding season and a much abbreviated “big trip”, but sometimes I underestimate just how much I get out riding.
It was still dark when I left my garage to head over to the coffee shop meeting point but the temperature was a balmy 10 degrees Celsius, amazing for October in these parts. I was still fiddling with my GPS when Warren arrived in his truck. He was as disappointed as I was that he couldn't join us, but family obligations prevented all but the early morning coffee meet. We were sitting on the patio of the Starbucks when we heard the approaching burble of the next bike and it wasn't long before both Chris and Ian had joined us. Chuck rolled in last on his KTM 640 Adventure. We didn't hang out long as we had a full day of riding ahead, but wanted to have the sun up enough before we ventured out onto the dirt I had planned to start the day. We all said our goodbyes to Warren and rolled out of the parking lot eager to enjoy the day.
The first "green-lane" of the day.
It had been dry during the week and warm so I thought I would risk the fairly long "green-lane" north of Millarville using the little one just west of our meeting point as a test of surface conditions. I didn't take into account the fact that the Millarville one was a north to south lane and the muddy section never really sees much sun to dry it up. It was a Mud-Pit with lots of slippery Aspen leaves hiding the treacherous spots. No one crashed but I was stuck for a few minutes, mud flying as I chewed my way out of the deep mud hole. I was too busy to take pictures and I don't know if any of my buddies managed to sneak a picture during the action. The clay covered climb to the peak was slick but we all made it up and over. The south grassy side was dry and a relief after the greasy climb.
Once the sun was fully up the day was fantastic (for riding) and we didn't stop much after fueling in Turner Valley until we were a long way south on the Trunk Road.
We stopped to say hi to another friend that was camping (with a trailer) just up Dutch Creek road which had seen some construction since the big water crossing earlier this season. A bridge now spanned the clear calm shallow water in the place of the original flood damaged one.
Even the washout had a new bridge (none was there before).
As we journeyed further south the clouds started rolling across the mountain peaks and a few drips of rain with them. The wind started to blow, even in the shelter of the valley, growing stronger as we neared the Crows Nest Pass.
We stopped for lunch at the Cinnamon Bear in Coleman before doing the loop into the Castle Valley and up to the old Adanac Mine, a side trip that I threw in at the last minute.
The wind across the top of the ridge line that overlooks the old mine-site was so intense that it nearly blew over our bikes as we sat on them.
2 wide angle shots stiched together (sort of). The view south from the Adanac Mine site.
Then we ran up North Burmis road and into the Porcupine Hills where I hit the first of two milestones.
99,990 kms. ( The bike is a 990)
Ten kilometers of odometer watching I pulled over here.
For this,
Then we carried on in the late day sun toward home, gravel surfing (much to Chucks displeasure, he hates the deep marble gravel)
One more green lane in the failing light before finishing where we started.
It was a great end-of-season group ride. As we sat on the patio sipping hot coffee the sun finished its journey to the western horizon. I arrived home in darkness just as I had departed another season coming to a close.
“I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.” Robert Frost; The Road Not taken.
The route is a conglomeration of some of my favorite routes made into a long loop. It covers the southwest corner of Alberta travelling through the foothills of the Front Range of the Rockies, The Castle Valley and through the Porcupine Hills areas south of Calgary. Most of the roads are fairly wide, well-travelled gravel, but some get rough, narrow and remote. I have even thrown in a couple of my favorite found treasures in the form of green-lanes just to keep my buddies entertained, and challenged. As much as I enjoy pushing the limits of my own skills, I try not to make my outings an abuse of machine or rider when groups are involved. The fun-factor should outweigh the risk, and is always considered in my planning.
This trip will also see my quest for the 100,000 km mark on my “990 Adventure” come to fruition somewhere just north of Blairmore, Alberta. For a while I was certain that I wouldn’t make that mileage this year with a less than stellar riding season and a much abbreviated “big trip”, but sometimes I underestimate just how much I get out riding.
It was still dark when I left my garage to head over to the coffee shop meeting point but the temperature was a balmy 10 degrees Celsius, amazing for October in these parts. I was still fiddling with my GPS when Warren arrived in his truck. He was as disappointed as I was that he couldn't join us, but family obligations prevented all but the early morning coffee meet. We were sitting on the patio of the Starbucks when we heard the approaching burble of the next bike and it wasn't long before both Chris and Ian had joined us. Chuck rolled in last on his KTM 640 Adventure. We didn't hang out long as we had a full day of riding ahead, but wanted to have the sun up enough before we ventured out onto the dirt I had planned to start the day. We all said our goodbyes to Warren and rolled out of the parking lot eager to enjoy the day.
The first "green-lane" of the day.
It had been dry during the week and warm so I thought I would risk the fairly long "green-lane" north of Millarville using the little one just west of our meeting point as a test of surface conditions. I didn't take into account the fact that the Millarville one was a north to south lane and the muddy section never really sees much sun to dry it up. It was a Mud-Pit with lots of slippery Aspen leaves hiding the treacherous spots. No one crashed but I was stuck for a few minutes, mud flying as I chewed my way out of the deep mud hole. I was too busy to take pictures and I don't know if any of my buddies managed to sneak a picture during the action. The clay covered climb to the peak was slick but we all made it up and over. The south grassy side was dry and a relief after the greasy climb.
Once the sun was fully up the day was fantastic (for riding) and we didn't stop much after fueling in Turner Valley until we were a long way south on the Trunk Road.
We stopped to say hi to another friend that was camping (with a trailer) just up Dutch Creek road which had seen some construction since the big water crossing earlier this season. A bridge now spanned the clear calm shallow water in the place of the original flood damaged one.
Even the washout had a new bridge (none was there before).
As we journeyed further south the clouds started rolling across the mountain peaks and a few drips of rain with them. The wind started to blow, even in the shelter of the valley, growing stronger as we neared the Crows Nest Pass.
We stopped for lunch at the Cinnamon Bear in Coleman before doing the loop into the Castle Valley and up to the old Adanac Mine, a side trip that I threw in at the last minute.
The wind across the top of the ridge line that overlooks the old mine-site was so intense that it nearly blew over our bikes as we sat on them.
2 wide angle shots stiched together (sort of). The view south from the Adanac Mine site.
Then we ran up North Burmis road and into the Porcupine Hills where I hit the first of two milestones.
99,990 kms. ( The bike is a 990)
Ten kilometers of odometer watching I pulled over here.
For this,
Then we carried on in the late day sun toward home, gravel surfing (much to Chucks displeasure, he hates the deep marble gravel)
One more green lane in the failing light before finishing where we started.
It was a great end-of-season group ride. As we sat on the patio sipping hot coffee the sun finished its journey to the western horizon. I arrived home in darkness just as I had departed another season coming to a close.
“I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.” Robert Frost; The Road Not taken.
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