The Trip

[nickjtc]

Vernon, BC to Strathmore, AB.

Hmmm. Not an auspicious start. I haven't been this ill in forever, hacking up a lung. Left home yesterday in the pissing rain (thank goodness for excellent rain gear), which eased off by Revelstoke. Clear but gloomy through the Rockies, then it got decidedly chilly at Calgary. I couldn't be faffed to take pictures so you'll have to look here:

http://www.tigertriple.com/forum/index.php/topic,13971.msg104487.html#msg104487

and imagine that the red Steamer is an orange Roadie.

Got my first speeding ticket in a long time just east of Canmore. I'm not complaining; it was a fair cop. The galling thing is that just down the road about 4km the same four lane highway becomes 20kph faster. Can you spell 'entrapment'? Especially since the spotter was invisible and there were six or eight members down the road dishing out tickets (at $175 a pop) as fast as they could write them. Rant over.

It was quite cold by the time I got to Strathmore, a total ride of 627kms. The bike managed 61mp(Imperial)g!!

And this morning I woke up to this:



Welcome to Alberta in May! It's a 'rest day' visiting an old riding buddy and negotiating the purchase of my next project, so hopefully things will improve by tomorrow when I head south to Montana.

We're not made of sugar, after all 

[Chris Canning]

Do you have a points system on your license or is it just a pay up job.

[JayDub]

Chin up Nick, with a start like that it can only turn out to be a gem. 

[nickjtc]

Do you have a points system on your license or is it just a pay up job.

Yes there is a points system. Except the chaps in Alberta are jolly decent and as long as you buck up the fine any points you would have accrued do not get transferred back to BC  :icon_wink:

[Thierry]

So no point lost, that's the "good" news
Crazy weather in west Canada! Huge up and down. Enjoy the rest of your trip hopefully 

[Timbox2]

" Ne'er cast a clout till May be out". Don't ya just love them old sayings, It'll get better, probably.

[Sin_Tiger]

        

[nickjtc]

Strathmore, Alberta to Billings, Montana.

Another wet and (very) cold day. It was low single digits degrees c when I left Strathmore. Plus the added bonus towards the end of the ride of strong side winds. I'd forgotten how hard it is to ride in a straight line leaned over at 10-15 degrees trying to counter the wind. All fun and games.

Anyway, it was a 848km day and the bike continues to purr, well, like a Tiger. :icon_wink:

The little town of Vulcan was built when the railway went through southern Alberta, and its only claim to fame in the early days was that it had the most number of grain elevators in one place, west of Winnipeg.



That all changed in 1966 when a certain sci-fi tv series come on the air, and the rest, as they say, is history.









I didn't see anyone with pointy ears while I was there, but a certain Trek character paid them a visit a while ago:



For you railway buffs, here is the big trestle over the Oldman River in Lethbridge.




Finally over the border. The sign says Welcome to Montana.



Montana: "big (gloomy) sky country"

[nickjtc]

PS. 1400+kms on the stock seat with a pair of bicycle shorts. So far my derriere is not complaining. Maybe I'll do without that $400+ Corbin seat...???

PPS. The lowered footpegs have also made a big difference. Thanks Mustang.

[Timbox2]

well done mate, makes my 200 mile days seem very lacking. Im another fan of the bicycle shorts though. Dont get this Trekky stuff, we had a friend in Bristol who converted his flat to look like the bridge of the Enterprise, we dont see him anymore he got really weird.

[ghulst]

Hmmm, might need to buy a pair of cycling shorts to try then. I feel the standard saddle is too soft and really feel it after 1000km's in two days.

[Sin_Tiger]

  Vulcan, I love people that are prepared to put their sense of humour out their for ridicule abdominal don't take themselves too seriously.

Hope the weather gets a bit better for you.

[nickjtc]

A moderately short day of 580kms. Ticked off two of my 'places to go'. And the ride was not in wet weather gear for the first time! Billings, Montana to Belle Fourche, South Dakota.

In one month it will be 140 years since one of the most discussed events in the history of the American west. Lt.Col. George Custer, leading men from the 7th Cavalry, made a tactical blunder when he approached what he thought would be a village of fleeing natives. Instead he was confronted by several thousand heavily armed and 'motivated' (i.e. thoroughly pissed off) warriors. The rest is history, and I'll leave it to you to research the details of what happened.

Anyhoo, it was the first stop today to visit the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. First to the Reno-Benteen battle site about 4 miles away from the main battlefield.

The plaque says it all.


This is the 'memorial' at the site. (Note that at this point I still have the yellow roll of tent poles jammed between the pack and the top box. :icon_wink:)


Lots of these markers dotted all over the landscape.


Nice to see some recognition of the fact that there were native casualties too


Looking down from the top of 'last stand' hill. The markers indicate where a cavalryman's body was found


The memorial at the top of the hill, apparently where Custer's body was found. Note, no tent poles! Either they fell off or were 'alf inched by one of the many tourists milling around.


The native memorial


Another state line crossed


And here's one for you fans of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'


Another state line

[JoeDirt]

Close encounter of the Tiger kind...

Looks like the weather is better.

[ghulst]

So how did you solve the tent problem?