The Good News: I finally said goodbye the the Russian 'influence' ... All those troubles are behind me... No pun intended.
The Bad News: I started out from Winnipeg this morning at 7:15 am. It was cold, dark... but no rain or tornados yet.
I made the mistake again of plugging in Vancouver on my gps.... This out-dated piece of crap had me doing circles all around the Peg looking for the Trans Cda Highway... I looked like a Shriner at a minibike convention!
Finally made to the highway and I was off.... Good Bye Winnipeg!
And then it got colder... darker... and then the rain came down in drops bigger than a yamaca! In no time I was soaked to the bone... and I'm betting the windchill was less than 0 degrees C.
I nearly got into big trouble today when I tried to pass an 18 wheeler because it was kicking up so much water I couldn't see a thing.. As I pulled out around him, two things happened.... I noticed it wasn't an 18 wheeler... it was a bazillion-wheeler!
This truck had two 53 foot trailers on it! It was huge..
The other thing was, as I started to pass, the highway suddenly bent severely to the right... I got half way up beside the truck...Couldn't see a thing but couldn't accellorate any more than 120kms or else I'd go off the road... Suffice to say, it was the longest bend in any road I've ever seen... It was sooo scary, I nearly decided to end my ride for the day and call it quits after only 2 hours.
But I didn't....The rain kept up and so did the cold... In fact, it got colder. And then there was another thing to contend with... The Prairie Cross Winds!... Since the Prairies are nothing but open space, the wind whips up to very high speeds. It nearly blew me off the road a couple of times as I had to ride for miles on a 30 degree angle... much like I did in Wyoming....only here it was wet... Scary!
Later in the day... I'm frozen solid and I went to gear down... when... right in the middle of the highway.... my gear-shifter pedal comes loose and falls off! I couldent shift gears!
I eventually got the bike stopped by the side of the road and started back ... in the rain ... with big trucks barreling past me... to look for the pedal.
I eventually found the rubber piece when I saw a big truck run over it with all its tires. I retrieved it. It was missing the chrome outer shell and the bolt... I figured by now it must have been flatened somewhere so I turned back..... I saw it in the other lane!... I retrieved it and it was fine... But I never found the bolt so I couldn't put it back on..
There was a gas station on the other side of the highway so I changed the gears with my hand and limped to the station. No mechanic or garage... Just gas and convenience.
Fortunately too, harleys have a back pedal for gearing down that I never use because you have to have feet like Side-Show Bob in order to reach both pedals.... Sadly...I do not!
In order to get the back pedal off, I needed an allen key... After some time, a guy in a pickup came in and lent me his keys...Soon I was on the road again...
50 miles east of Regina, I had to stop to warm up. I ordered a coffee and toast and suddenly this guy walks up to me and says in a loud vioice for all the patrons to hear, Where ya heading?... Regina, I replied politely.
Where ya come from?... I'm from Toronto but I left Winnipeg this morning.
Have ya got any friends in Regina? ... he asked at a desable level sufficient to be heard in Hamilton Ont.
What is this?.... The fricken Spanish Inquisition?... I said......... in my mind... but managed to have it come out like, No... why do you ask?
Oh cause you wanna go to Moose Jaw!... Only 45 minutes further down the road..
They got a casino, spa... you can eat Tai.... You wanna go there!
Thanks for the tip, I replied politely... and finished my toast... and left.
Made it to Moose Jaw... and the guy was right. It's all here... Had a litttle trouble finding it though...
I stopped a one-armed indian guy and asked if he knew 'How' [tee-hee] to get there.... He looked at me and said, Ya want me to hop on and show you?
Not a Frickin Chance in Hell Lefty!... is what I said........... in my mind... that managed to come out as, "No, that won't be necessary.
The little guy at the hotel front desk took a bit of a shine to me and gave me a nice room... I think it was because I reminded him of someone from the Village People! ^_^ Had my leathers on.
Here's my room:
So now I'm in the Harwood Hotel... Moose Jaws swankiest! On the ground floor is the Casino... And everybody knows how much I like to gamble... about as much as I like Tai food... like the restaurant I passed on Main street Mr Loud-and-Nosy told me about.
Well, for now, you are all up to date... I am showered and on my way down to check out the Casino and get something to eat.... If anything big happens tonight I'll be sure to report it. Hope you enjoyed this... Don't be afraid to leave me a comment or two.
Regards from Mooooosse Jaw!
MB11
The Bad News: I started out from Winnipeg this morning at 7:15 am. It was cold, dark... but no rain or tornados yet.
I made the mistake again of plugging in Vancouver on my gps.... This out-dated piece of crap had me doing circles all around the Peg looking for the Trans Cda Highway... I looked like a Shriner at a minibike convention!
Finally made to the highway and I was off.... Good Bye Winnipeg!
And then it got colder... darker... and then the rain came down in drops bigger than a yamaca! In no time I was soaked to the bone... and I'm betting the windchill was less than 0 degrees C.
I nearly got into big trouble today when I tried to pass an 18 wheeler because it was kicking up so much water I couldn't see a thing.. As I pulled out around him, two things happened.... I noticed it wasn't an 18 wheeler... it was a bazillion-wheeler!
This truck had two 53 foot trailers on it! It was huge..
The other thing was, as I started to pass, the highway suddenly bent severely to the right... I got half way up beside the truck...Couldn't see a thing but couldn't accellorate any more than 120kms or else I'd go off the road... Suffice to say, it was the longest bend in any road I've ever seen... It was sooo scary, I nearly decided to end my ride for the day and call it quits after only 2 hours.
But I didn't....The rain kept up and so did the cold... In fact, it got colder. And then there was another thing to contend with... The Prairie Cross Winds!... Since the Prairies are nothing but open space, the wind whips up to very high speeds. It nearly blew me off the road a couple of times as I had to ride for miles on a 30 degree angle... much like I did in Wyoming....only here it was wet... Scary!
Later in the day... I'm frozen solid and I went to gear down... when... right in the middle of the highway.... my gear-shifter pedal comes loose and falls off! I couldent shift gears!
I eventually got the bike stopped by the side of the road and started back ... in the rain ... with big trucks barreling past me... to look for the pedal.
I eventually found the rubber piece when I saw a big truck run over it with all its tires. I retrieved it. It was missing the chrome outer shell and the bolt... I figured by now it must have been flatened somewhere so I turned back..... I saw it in the other lane!... I retrieved it and it was fine... But I never found the bolt so I couldn't put it back on..
There was a gas station on the other side of the highway so I changed the gears with my hand and limped to the station. No mechanic or garage... Just gas and convenience.
Fortunately too, harleys have a back pedal for gearing down that I never use because you have to have feet like Side-Show Bob in order to reach both pedals.... Sadly...I do not!
In order to get the back pedal off, I needed an allen key... After some time, a guy in a pickup came in and lent me his keys...Soon I was on the road again...
50 miles east of Regina, I had to stop to warm up. I ordered a coffee and toast and suddenly this guy walks up to me and says in a loud vioice for all the patrons to hear, Where ya heading?... Regina, I replied politely.
Where ya come from?... I'm from Toronto but I left Winnipeg this morning.
Have ya got any friends in Regina? ... he asked at a desable level sufficient to be heard in Hamilton Ont.
What is this?.... The fricken Spanish Inquisition?... I said......... in my mind... but managed to have it come out like, No... why do you ask?
Oh cause you wanna go to Moose Jaw!... Only 45 minutes further down the road..
They got a casino, spa... you can eat Tai.... You wanna go there!
Thanks for the tip, I replied politely... and finished my toast... and left.
Made it to Moose Jaw... and the guy was right. It's all here... Had a litttle trouble finding it though...
I stopped a one-armed indian guy and asked if he knew 'How' [tee-hee] to get there.... He looked at me and said, Ya want me to hop on and show you?
Not a Frickin Chance in Hell Lefty!... is what I said........... in my mind... that managed to come out as, "No, that won't be necessary.
The little guy at the hotel front desk took a bit of a shine to me and gave me a nice room... I think it was because I reminded him of someone from the Village People! ^_^ Had my leathers on.
Here's my room:
So now I'm in the Harwood Hotel... Moose Jaws swankiest! On the ground floor is the Casino... And everybody knows how much I like to gamble... about as much as I like Tai food... like the restaurant I passed on Main street Mr Loud-and-Nosy told me about.
Well, for now, you are all up to date... I am showered and on my way down to check out the Casino and get something to eat.... If anything big happens tonight I'll be sure to report it. Hope you enjoyed this... Don't be afraid to leave me a comment or two.
Regards from Mooooosse Jaw!
MB11
Fart! I'm worn out just reading today's blog entry. I remember Moose Jaw but there was no Casino when I went through in the early seventies. Have fun tonight. DD
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