Days 30, 31, and 32 - 1,156 miles
NOTE: Opening picture is of Road Warrior prepared for battle in the morning.
So much to write, so little time. I write this in Calgary, on Tuesday night, August 24th...well, really August 25th, because it's 2:30AM. If don't write it now though, I never will.
I've very tired. Kind of physically tired tonight too. I drove 572 miles today, my most ever in a day.
I blasted across the Plains really yesterday and today. The WIND was terrible, especially yesterday and this morning and afternoon. It died off a little this evening.
I don't have time to write an essay tonight, so bullet points will have to do:
- Wasps: Lots of them. They are now attracted to my bike because it has so many dead wasps on it. Read about wasps and pheromones.
- Canada Border Control: Very unpleasant people.
- Canadians in general: Very, very nice people (apart from their border control). Nice to back here again.
- Had a "Silence of the Lambs moment: Met these drag racer guys (from Winnipeg) in a restaurant in Grand Forks, North Dakota. After dinner, they were like, "Hey! Come and check out our bikes." I went to look out in the car park. Their RV and trailer were parked in a corner. There was NOBODY around, except me and these four guys. One of them opens the door to this trailer - you can't see a thing inside. I get my camera out to take a photo...I snap it...then I'm think, "Let's get the fuck outta here....this is kinda freaking me out." One of the guys is all, "Hey! Get in...take a closer look...check it out." I don't want to be a coward, but I also don't want to end up down a well, holding someone's puppy (see the movie). I had also left Don's knofe back at the motel. Anyway, I did step inside once the 2nd (side) door was opened - figured I might have some out. As it turned out, the guys were really cool, and they were just excited to show a fellow biker these INSANE machines they had. Afterwards, I did indeed feel like a bit of a wuss. Still, you DO never really know for sure.
I passed through a weird looking place that looked like it had just been hit by a tornado. The sky was starting to look that way to, getting close to the border.
- I didn't plan it, but as I figured out the route towards the Canadian Rockies, I realized I would pass through Estevan, Saskatchewan. This is where my cousins Elizabeth and Catherine grew up. My mother had sadly visited my Auntie Betty here, when my Uncle Donald sadly died in 1988. I was in London (UK) at the time. I felt a tinge of sadness as I approached, as I knew those last few years in Estevan were tough for all of them. Still, they also had a lot of happy memories, and I felt happy that i could at least connect with the place. The wind was terrible on Monday, and the border crossing even more so, that I decided to drive no further, and spent the night at the - let's say "unusual" - Bus Depot Motel in Estevan. I just got some food and went to bed. It was a hard day in the rain and howling prairie wind.
(Those bullets are starting to look like mini-essays themselves.)
Monday was also a crap day, because my clients kept bugging me. I had to frequently stop to answer calls and emails. I spent the morning and early afternoon in the lobby of my motel, remoting into the various client sites to fix things and set things up. It sucks not being able to TRULY switch off. THAT was why I was the real reason I felt anxious a lot of the time when I was in Nova Scotia. At least now, I was within a few days of home if I really had to get back. So far, so good. It would be great to not have to worry about this stuff ALL the time though. Still, if I worked for a company as an employee, I probably wouldn't get five weeks "off" to go driving around North America.
However, I'm digressing...
Today, Tuesday, I was back in the saddle. I had to call my mother in Ireland to finalize flights for next month's visit with them - more driving, this time in Utah and Arizona! I also ha d to call a credit card company to "unblock" my card. Always seems to happen while travelling.
Because of that, I was on the road later than I wanted, 12 noon. However, I was DETERMINED to cross the Plains, and make Calgary today, come hell or high water.
The wind was hammering away at me all day. I went through towns with great names - places I had always seen on maps and liked the sound of - Moose Jaw, Medicine Hat.
I also don't get this thing about people not liking the Plains, when driving cross country. I love the Plains! I think they are beautiful, and have a wonderful "openness" about them. And they are not entirely flat. There are parts with gently undulating "bumps" and little hills. Sometimes there are trees, houses, little things on the horizon. Sometimes it is just really flat, but that has its own beauty too.
I hammered away at the road, while the wind and the passing trucks hammered away at me. The trucks are MUCH worse when it's windy and gust, and they really BELT you when you pass one by.
I got to Medicine Hat about 7:30PM. It was still another 297km to Calgary - about 200 miles. I thought about staying in Medicine Hat, but then decided against it. I hoped I wasn't making a foolish decision. If I could get to Calgary tonight, I knew the weather tomorrow in the mountains would still be good. It would not be good on Thursday, so I HAD TO get to Calgary tonight.
I did. At 10:45PM. Showered and it was 11:30PM. Food, and 12:30AM. Then back to blog. Now 3AM. "Macker Time," as Yvonne calls it!
Better get to bed. Another big day tomorrow.
Onwards!
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