Friday 24 May 2013

Snow is Gone!!

The snow is gone - hurray! The temp has been hovering around 12 to 15 C (53 - 59 F) and it's been quite nice. Now we are just waiting for the city to sweep all the dirt/sand they spread everywhere for traction for drivers because of all the snow. It seems to be taking a long time this year...In the meantime, this is what I've been up to since I've not had time to post lately...

To have a break from the snow, we took a road trip west (not on the bikes as there was still snow here) and said we were not going to stop until we found land without snow! Well, we got to Banff, Alberta, with a stop at Calgary on the way back. Glorious sun and 28 C (82 F).  Picture from the window on the way west...you'll notice the slight flooding from snow...

Then we made a side trip to Lake Louise where we actually saw and "heard" some mini-avalanches up there at the top. Beautiful day!

I finally got my mesh jacket on that trip too. I picked up a REV'IT Airwave jacket.




When I asked the first sales guy (about late 20s) to help me find the right size and fit with their stock, he asked me who it was for. I told him it was for me. He looked at me and said "For You???!!!" I still chuckle over that. Obviously, he hadn't heard that women older than 25 ride now! An older guy stepped in and found what I was looking for after laughing at the younger guy too. 

So...it was nice to get away for a week and walk outside in my sandals and do some hiking around Banff. My favourite hike resulted in this view one afternoon of the Banff Springs Hotel:

These other two were taken at Lake Louise to show how much snow they still have there in the Canadian Rockies the first week of May:




This really is the best time to go there, it's off-season and the hotel rates are way cheaper than ski season or summer season, otherwise we'd never be able to afford it! 

My husband has been out on his Kawasaki for about a week now. Gas has spiked to $1.35 per litre here the other day and he just could not wait to get out any longer. He's riding to work along with five of his work buddies who will all be commuting on their motorcycles for the season. Their boss has been good to designate a "motorcycle parking" area for them all. They got busy and leveled the gravel and put down some cement blocks for the kickstands so the bikes won't go over in the soft gravel. Pretty nice eh?

One of his work buddies just bought a new Honda CRF 250L and is going to be commuting with that. I asked my husband to tell him from me, Congratulations, now go and take the motorcycle safety course to keep safe! People don't think they need to, but I nag them anyway! A friend of my son's (a young lady) didn't think that she needed to take it either, but I put my two cents in anyway.  

My husband feels vindicated with his own 250 against the others who ride 1800s & 1500s & 650s and tease him about riding a "real" bike. He's looking but this year will have to go for his "road" test to get his "M" classification rider's license after having a learner's for the 2 years now. More practice after a long winter off the bike, then an appointment will be made. Once that has been achieved...then, he will seriously look. No point in taking your "road" test on a bigger bike that you're not as familiar with...
  
After his first inaugural ride last weekend, he came back and said it was very slippery out there with the extra dirt and I've asked him to please be extra careful when he's riding. It would be too easy to slip just as you're making a regular stop if you got in it at the wrong angle.

As you can guess, I have not yet been on my Suzuki this season for a few reasons. The dirt is one big factor, the constant sneezing from seasonal allergies is another, and I'm also just finishing up an intensive course for work that is sucking up all my extra time for a few more weeks until the exams are over. Once I have completed all the course work and am ready for the final exam, then I will swing a leg over my beautiful Gladius as I'll be able to focus then. (I know what happens when I'm not focused and distracted...and it's not pretty). It is my carrot on a stick to get through it as fast as I can. 

So, that will be it for a while...Hope you all have been enjoying your "rides" and staying safe and I'll catch up at a later date!  Bring on summer!!

Suzu

6 comments:

  1. Hi Suzu, good to see the riding weather is finally there for you. Hope you get over your allergies soon, I don't reckon sneezes in helmets would be pretty at all.

    You managed to see some beautiful things while you were waiting for spring though, thanks for sharing.

    Those sales people are all over the world and I've walked out of more than one shop with nothing after being totally ignored. It's frustrating. But your new jacket looks great, well done!

    Good luck for your exams :-D

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  2. Riding season is finally here and we've been having some good rain this weekend so that should take care of the "extra dirt" problem. Everything smells so fresh!

    That little break from the usual routine was just what we needed...the Banff Springs Hotel has been there since 1900, very picturesque.

    I would have bought a smaller size jacket but had to accommodate my armoured pants which are bulky around the waist. But since I never ride without the pants, it was essential that the new jacket worked with them. So there I was in the store finding a pair that fit like my own and then trying it all on. The second sales guy was being entertained I'm sure by all the fiddling! He even asked if I had a regular jacket too as he looked a little worried that I was just putting on the mesh one. When I said that yes I did, but it's too hot some days, he was glad of my answer. The only thing that would have been better, was to find a jacket that had some blue on it to match my bike! But I was happy to find one that fit and that is going to be cooler for those 28 C and up days...I'm sure that is what you wear with your warmer weather too.

    Good to hear from you...have a great day!

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  3. Hooray for melted snow. I am glad you are starting to see some nice weather. Now if those street sweepers will just get out.

    Thank you for all the Alberta pictures. My mom lived in Calgary and Edmonton for a while and when she was in Calgary we'd go to the Banff Springs hotel for Sunday brunch when we could. I loved wandering around the place. I've never stayed there though.

    Nice looking Rev'it. Isn't it amazing how salesmen don't think the stuff is for us.

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  4. You're welcome for the pictures, Banff is so picturesque, I kept seeing tourists standing in the middle of road getting snaps of the mountain behind the townsite, and vehicles stopping for them! The Banff Springs is called the Hogwarts of Canada here with all those spires. We stayed at a place where elk were wandering around the grounds, a little startling to see this huge animal next to the doors!

    Calgary is expanding exponentially everytime we go through, it takes longer and longer and they've finally opened a ring road of sorts to move traffic faster. Your mom will tell you this too if she's been lately...

    We are getting some salesmen used to the idea, one sale at a time. I was just so surprised in that reaction from such a young guy - a generation that grew up with women doing all the same jobs as men.

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  5. Hellooooooo. I didn't see an "email me" button so I thought I'd leave a comment and hope Blogger notifies you.

    Just checking to see how you are doing and hoping you are well. You haven't posted in a few months and I want to make sure you are still out there and enjoying life.

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  6. Hey, thanks for checking up. Just saw you "reminder" yesterday as have been very busy and enjoying life. Will find some time to put a story together though. You are one very kind lady! Take care!

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