Category: Alberta

A Different Pace

6/7/2015

I recently had the opportunity to do some off road riding in what for me was a large group. This was a different experience as most of my riding is just me with my lovely wife hanging on the back. It was a great experience, one that I hope to repeat in the near future. My riding style as a solo rider is much different as I can push myself more while still riding within my limits. Being up on the pegs for loose gravel lowers your center of gravity and makes it much easier to control your motorcycle at speed as the gravel demands that it takes its part in controlling your ride. The group dynamic is also much different than riding as a solo pair (is solo pair an oxymoron?). When you get a group of riders together most are there for one reason; they are there to ride. They love being off the beaten path, seeing the world wiz by as they try to merge man (or woman) and machine as one. One can hardly blame them; it is an absolute blast.

This however is not my usual mode of travel. Ever since I started riding again, my wife Sheila has been riding behind me about 95% of the time. This forces some changes in riding style, but gently nudges changes to a more relaxed style as well. Just having two people on the bike means that the handling will be different. Getting up on the pegs still works but is a bit more awkward, so I end up sitting a lot more which means the gravel demands that it takes a little more control of the ride. The gravel always wants it their way. Most significant for me is that now I have to think about the safety of two people not just me. Like most things in life, there is a certain amount of risk that needs to be accepted. You control what you can and, accept the rest.

All that said I love riding two up with Sheila, and she loves being my co-pilot. We operate at a different pace than the rest of the world when we do this. We find our own off the beaten path roads and enjoy every moment of it. With this in mind Sheila and I set off one Saturday morning with a simple plan. I wanted to show her a little bit of the roads I had taken with the group ride a few weeks earlier. The whole loop would have been too much as our pace is much slower. One thing about riding in a big group is that you can’t stop and take a picture (or twenty) every time you see something neat. With just the two of us, this is not a problem.

We headed out west and then south of Calgary. At Black Diamond we were forced to do a little detour as the police had blocked off the road for the annual parade. No big deal. A short detour through Turner Valley had us back on track past Longview and finally on to the first destination for this ride which was the Williams Coulee road. With the group just a few weeks back, I never got the chance to drink in all the beauty of this road. I could now stop when I wanted, sometimes only driving half a mile between photo ops. Sometimes we got off the bike and wandered around, other times I would just pull the camera from my tank bag for a few quick shots. Had I tried this with the group I would have either been left alone in the dust or lynched and left at the side of the road.

We continued on to the end of Williams Coulee Road and then turned back towards Calgary but on random roads that had their own little adventures to discover. This included one that required us to navigate a small herd of cattle that didn’t seem to want to give it up. We actually had to do this twice as the road ended in a farm but this is all a part of the road less traveled. There was also a stop for lunch, a short visit with my in-laws and a diversion to Carseland to avoid having to get onto a highway too soon. Finally we set our sights on home. A good day riding for our team of two.

Our style of riding is not for everyone, but it works for us. I look forward to my next opportunity to ride solo with a group again, but I know my best rides will always be with my wife on the back seat beside me (another oxymoron, but you get the picture). We often set out without any plans except to enjoy the day and this we do. Sometimes we have a destination, sometimes only a direction, sometimes not even that. We operate at a different pace, but it works for us.

Check out the map!
For some reason my interactive map will not work with the Blog post, but if you want to see some details of our travel on this day, click here

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Wander With Me

5/4/2015

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I invite you to wander with me. No one can truly experience life from any perspective but their own, but I will attempt to give you a little insight in how I like to explore the world around me. For me every wander is a little different; I like to find new places and new roads. Sometimes I get lucky and the day I’m about to describe is a good example.

My wandering route for the day. Calgary is just off to the bottom right of the map

This wander started the night before, exploring Google maps in the general area I planned to go. I found a road that looked to have some promise. How did I determine this you might ask? Well, it had a few things going for it, it was off the beaten path, it was winding road and it was surrounded my ponds and lakes. This had to be a winner.

I got up early, before rush hour hit its peak and made my way from the South-East to the North-West of the city and beyond. I had my GPS, my map book and a plan in my head and all three needed to work together. Before looking for my magical winding road, I thought I’d make a stop at Big Hill Springs Park. The falls here are always pretty but it seemed almost devoid of wildlife this morning except for a couple ducks that didn’t want any part of me taking their picture. The sound of the running water was as beautiful as the waterfalls themselves. This is a sound that has a way of calming the mind for me like no other. I remember thinking you can’t bottle that sound, you have to be there. One other person was in the park enjoying the calm; he had found a quite spot across the water and it appeared he was doing his morning devotional. Can’t think of a better spot to try and connect to a greater being.

Now it was time to back track and find my road. The Mustang was none too happy about the gravel but got over it. I was rewarded a few minutes later. I had slowed down and opened my window to take in the sights and sounds of the morning, when I spotted a dark area at the bottom of a hill in a marshy pond. What I had found was moose and he also had found me. We stared at each other for a while. I managed a few pictures and try to get a better angle but as I walked down the road something spooked him and he splashed away. I walk down the road a ways and found him once more before he ran off for good. Moose are cool!

I explored my road further and found many ducks as one would expect but also found a lot of swans. All these were too shy for me to get too close, but I enjoyed it all the same. The road followed one of the narrow lakes and I managed to follow a few of the ducks and swans as they made their way along it. One other truck passed; rush hour on my road came and went in a moment.

At the end of my road I thought I’d check out another place I that I have returned to many times and that is the little village of Dogpound. The GPS wanted me to loop around but instead I decided to do a U-turn so I could experience my road one more time. I was wondering if I would see the moose again but it was not to be. There really is not much in Dogpound but it is in a pretty valley and it was a direction to go in. Along the way the landscape changed from the marshy ponds and lakes to more farmland. On many of the fences you will find birdhouses that other bird lovers have put in place. It was here were I found one of the most beautiful birds that have seen, the mountain blue bird. That deep iridescent blue like the sound of the water falls earlier in the day cannot be contained in a picture or any other artificial means.

Mountain Bluebirds, Female on the left, male on the right

From Dogpound, I started to make my way in the general direction of home, with no need to rush along. A general direction of south east found me some more back roads to explore. Some ended up as dead ends but at least one had a final gift to offer. I had found a road that divided another two long lakes and I spotted more ducks, geese and swans. I once more got out of the car to see and capture what I could on the camera. I then spotted a great blue heron; one last reward for the road less travelled.

Great Blue Heron, racing by some swans

After this my wandering for the day was done. My reward was a few good pictures among the 200 plus that I had snapped, the knowledge of a few new spots to return too, and a relief from the stresses of life. Not all my wanders find and many wonders as I found this morning, but they all have their reward. Thanks for coming along; keep wandering and the wonder will show itself.

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A Different Pace

Wander With Me

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