Trans Americas 2009 - The Blog

First things first, Andrew turned up around 11pm, having had a few problems during the day, including losing his camelbak rucksack containing a number of personal items and riding an extra 100 miles trying to find it (unsuccessfully). But at least he's here, back with the group again.

Apart from that sunny news, the day dawned dark and raining again, but my mood was a bit lighter for a good night's sleep. Breakfast was arranged at the local golf course, so we all rode to it in convoy, then enjoyed the buffet whilst dripping on the carpet. Nick and I decided to ride together again, and we were ready quickly so I led out of the car park and back onto the highway for once ahead of the main group. With Chris and Danielle also joining us we rode briskly through the rain towards the sunshine we could see in the distance. The rain cleared just as we found the first coffee stop, and as it was also warming up things were definitely on the up. We grabbed some water to fill our camelbaks and resumed the ride. With the rain now over all we had to contend with was the wind, which was getting stronger the further into Alberta we travelled. It didn't stop us from making good progress, though, the roads lending themselves to a steady 75 mph. The traffic was also light, with only the occasional vehicle requiring an overtake, the job made so much easier by the long straights connecting the curves.

As we got further from Jasper the landscape changed again, the mountains dropping away and leaving wide expanses of fields covering the entire horizon. That just meant that the wind could pick up pace, and it did, necessitating us riding with the bikes on a constant lean. After 160 miles we stopped at a small town called Sparwood, the site of the World's Biggest Truck (actually, Sparwood is in British Columbia, so we must have crossed the territory border several times during the day). This huge beast was designed in London in 1968 and built in 1974 when it was put to work in the Eagle Mountain Mine in southern California, before being used at Sparwood to move earth from the open cast coal mine. It is simply huge. Powered by a 16 cylinder 169 litre 2-stroke engine, which in turn powers and electric drive system, it weighs 236 tonnes unladen and 553 tonnes when loaded, and stands 22'7” tall with the load-bed in the down position... It makes Nick's 1200 adventure look positively tiny...





Riding on again with the constant wind, we rode over Crow's Nest Pass and past Frank's Slide, a massive jumble of rocks either side of the road marking the spot where on April 29th 1903 a massive landslide buried the mining town of Frank under 74 million tonnes of rock from the nearby Turtle Mountain. From there we battled the wind to Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump, an old Indian buffalo hunting ground that now features a very informative “interactive center”. Here we watched a short film explaining the history of the area, which is where the Blackfoot Indians used to herd the buffalo down special “lanes” marked with cairns and twigs, and then cause them to stampede off the cliff edge, where they could subsequently be butchered. The name “Head Smashed In” was given to the area when a young Indian, keen to get a good view of the hunt, hid in a ledge underneath the cliff edge, so he could watch the buffalo falling as if from behind a waterfall. Only the hunt that year was very successful, so much so that the animals piled up below and buried him. When he was found he was dead, his head smashed in...








Before leaving Head Smashed In, I put my reserve fuel from the 2l bottle I carry in my tank, as the fuel warning light had come on. Now we had to try and get to the nearest gas station before I ran out completely. With the wind so strong, my fuel consumption had risen dramatically, and as luck would have it, I ran out before we got to the gas station. Nick took the bottle and rode away, returning just a few minutes later having filled it up at the gas station 500 yards down the road...





When I got to the gas station, I asked the attendant if it was always this windy - “Only 8 days a week” was his reply... With fuel onboard, we continued to battle the wind on the final run to Waterton National Park, dealing with very strong gusts blowing us across the road and making cornering “interesting”. The views, though, were simply stunning, rolling green fields leading to distant mountains under a bright blue sky...





By the time we arrived at the hotel, we were ready for a beer, having battled with the wind for most of the day. But first we had to attend the team meeting, to hear about the process for crossing the US border tomorrow, and plans for tomorrow evening. I grabbed the chance to update the blog before the meeting, and then as soon as it was over we hit the bar, moving to a 2nd bar to eat (Bison Burger and very good) before ending up in a 3rd bar to play pool (and get humiliated by the locals) and bar football (and get humiliated by the locals – where's Ian when you need him?).

Today had been a much better day, my mood lifted by the ride as it so often is. The truck made me laugh, thinking about how much our Mike would have loved it (I've plenty more pictures, Mike, will put them on a Gallery at some stage!). The buffalo jump was interesting, the wind made the ride entertaining, and the evening's fun and games topping the day off nicely. With a late departure in the morning, I should even be able to get a good night's sleep again...