Happy New Brunswick Day!
Left Sylvan Lake, Alberta
Temps: 25C
Sunny and Warm
We had a leisurely morning drinking coffee and chatting with Matt and Brandi before leaving. We hit the road around noon as they prepared to do the same to return to their work in Firebag, north of Fort McMurray.
I thought the gusty windy ride from Red Deer to Calgary was bad but it got even worse through southern Alberta and didn’t let up even in Saskatchewan! We were buffeted and hammered all day long and at times we were getting choked by our helmet chin straps as the gusts tried to tear our helmets off. Way too many times the bike was pushed sideways clear across the median into the other lane and I had to be constantly vigilant not to get near the middle of my lane if there was any vehicle in sight in the other lane so as not to get blown over at an inopportune moment! I had to maintain a ten degree lean to track a straight line and when the gust would unexpectantly let up I would shoot across to the rumble strip!
The scenery went from quasi interesting low softly rolling hills to flat and drab in as much time as it takes to say it.
Without the gusty conditions as a constant unrelenting threat we might have passed out from boredom.
We called it quits at around seven and pulled into the Eagle Valley Campground in Maple Creek Saskatchewan. They had no sites left but made us a deal for a flat grassy spot big enough for our tent!
Kilometres - Daytrip: 574 km total: 26,620
Gas: $42.75
Lodging: Eagle Valley ParkMaple Creek Saskatchewan campground,
# posted by Richard and Susie @ 9:10 PM
