It's A Great Day For A Ride!

Calgary to Banff

with a stop at

Wild Bills for Lunch

It started as a decent day, cloudy just about shirtsleeve weather with a healthy wind.

I left with my neighbours Rich and Kathleen shortly after eleven.  We headed out on the Trans Canada dutifully obeying the speed limits.  Boring but speeding tickets are damn expensive around here.

The wind picked up almost as soon as we hit highway speed.  Fortunately it was a headwind and I was pleasantly surprised the antique Virago was solid as a rock in the turbulence.

We stopped at Deadman Flats for a photo op.

There's Rich & Kathleen with their new (to them) Special Edition Gold Wing.  The bloody thing has more options than my car!

Even a Korean tourist wanted to get in the picture

Let's get the Antique Virago into this picture

Take note of the snazzy NART flag on the back.  Rich lost his Calgary Flames flag in the first gust of wind.

Unfortunately Harleys are not the only bikes to be shedding parts on the highway.  While taking the pictures I noticed I was missing a side cover. Ouch!

Oh well what's one more special order.

On to Banff

Believe me I was watching the sides of the roads for any sign of deer, elk, moose or sheep, but thankfully this was the only sign of wildlife during the trip.

Lots of activity there today

We didn't stop to take many pictures but as often as I have ridden to the mountains I am always amazed by the incredible scenery.  Banff is a real tourist trap and a good place for lunch but the true majestry of the mountains can only be appreciated once outside the town.  Next time I will stop for more pictures.

Since my speedo cable is busted Rich led the way for most of the day and only once did he open it up to see what his new ride had.  According to his speedometer he cranked it up to 170 kilometers and I stayed right with him.  5300 RPM but the antique Virago still had more left.

It was a great day for a ride.  Not a long one, maybe two hundred miles total and we were home by 4:30.