Day #4 and #5 - Made it to Calgary (09/02 & 09/03)

DAY #4 - From Riverton, Wyoming to Browning, Montana

Today the heat was not a problem which was a nice change of pace from last year's Three Flags Classic. I got a late start for a second day in a row. It felt comfortable as I was leaving the hotel, although I stopped after a few miles and put on the leather jacket. The temperatures climbed around Columbus, Montana to the low 80's. I knew that I was heading into some mountains so I left the heavy gear on. By the time I got to the check point in Great Falls, MT it was still around 80 but comfortable. This is the top of the temperature range for this gear but it payed off later in the evening as I got to higher altitudes and temperatures dropped significantly.

I had two close calls on Sunday. The first was self-induced. My GPS unit has a look-ahead feature for gas stations and places to eat. I looked at the estimated fuel range on my odometer and found a station that was just under 20 miles from empty. Then I hit some very strong headwinds which severely impacted my gas mileage. I was the gap gradually reducing and with 10 miles to go my estimated range was also 10 miles. This meant that I was in danger of running out of gas. Although I have spare gas containers, I was hoping not to need them. I slowed my speed to conserve fuel and coasted most of the last mile (all downhill fortunately) to reach the service station in Belt, Montana. I have a 5.5 gallon tank capacity and I pumped 5.477 into the tank. A little too close for comfort.

I arrived at the Big Sky Harley-Davidson in Great Falls, Montana which was Checkpoint #3. I arrived around 4:15 and there was a number of bikes checking in on a steady basis. I ate a couple of oranges, a small snack and some cold water, I looked at the GPS unit to see how much further I had to go for my hotel for the night. It was about 120 miles and less than 2 hours away. I took some time to put some painters tape on the top of my visor which acts like the sun visor on a car. I didn't do that the night before and I had some serious problems driving into the sunset.

I left after taking a 30 minute break and hit nearly every stoplight heading north from Great Falls. As I was just leaving town I encountered my second close call of the day. I was passing a car on a 4-lane divided highway. The car decided to come into my lane and I had to hit the brakes to avoid contact. There was no shoulder so I could not swerve and risked being trapped between a bridge abutment and the car. My reflex reaction was correct and kept this a "just a close call".

I grabbed a quick bit to eat at a fast food place a short distance from the hotel. They were playing some horrible rap music that I thought was offensive. I drove another mile to the hotel and realized that it was a full service hotel with an attached Casino. I got to the room around 7 PM. It was a very nice hotel not far from the southern entrance to Glacier National Park.

As I was checking in, I noticed the weather advisories for the Park which indicated the road from the Southern entry that heads to the Northern entrance was closed. So that eliminated a side-trip

Day #5 - Pressing for the FINISH

Today was a planned late departure since the final checkpoint was the Deerfoot Casino & Hotel in Calgary. I wanted to arrive around the check in time.

The temperature was in the mid-60's so I wore the leather jacket again. I crossed into Canada at 11:30 AM. It took around 5 minutes to clear the Canadian border check. I drove to the next city and stopped to get gas and have lunch.

While I was having lunch, a cold front came thru and the temperature dropped by 10 degrees. I broke out my winter gloves and balaclava head gear since it felt like it was now in the 50's. I stopped again around 45 minutes later because the weather was looking threatening. I put on the pants for my rain suit and a hooded sweatshirt under my leather jacket. While I was getting suited up, several pickup trucks also pulled over and moved their gear into the cab for safekeeping. The wind was so strong it almost blew the bike over.

A few miles down the road it started to rain so my timing was perfect. It was very windy but the rain was reasonable. The biggest problem was fogging up my glasses and the inside of the helmet visor. At the next city, I stopped and switched from sunglasses to my clear lenses which improved things dramatically. The rain lasted for about an hour and eventually cleared up the closer I got to Calgary. The side benefit was that it washed off the bugs so I can see through the windshield now.

I arrived at the Final Checkpoint at 3:00 PM. The welcome team was very efficient and directed us to an area where we could park our bike. Members of the local Gold Wing Rider's Group had luggage carts that we could load our gear onto. We were able to check in and warm up a bit before checking into the hotel. I got another luggage cart and transferred my bags from the holding area to my room. I then got out of my heavy gear and went down and moved my bike from the arrival area to a designated parking area for the bikes.

I took a short nap and had dinner around 7:00 PM in the hotel's restaurant. It was nice to have a good steak after four days on the road. I went to bed early and had a good nights sleep.

Tuesday is a quiet day which I will use to get ready for the next part of the trip which may be challenging since the weather could be a major factor since snow is possible as I cross the mountains heading to Vancouver, British Columbia. I expect this trip to have some cold temperatures. One of the highways that I will be travelling is featured on the Weather Channel's "Highway to Hell". This reality show depicts the perils of driving in the winter as a towing company removes wrecks from the Coquihalla Highway. On Wednesday, I will start heading through Banff and spending the night in Kamloops, BC.

I covered 2,175 miles (3,500 kilometers) in four days. It was a real challenge and many new lessons were learned. It was a great tune-up for my Four Corners trip. Fortunately, I have a day here and one in Vancouver (while the bike is being serviced) to make any corrections.

I think I am going back to bed and enjoy a day of rest. The banquet is this evening so that is enough excitement for today.