It took me a few minutes to get a plan in gear this morning, but a short walk to a hidden gem of a smalltown coffee shop, followed by route planning over caffeine, and the day came into focus. I couldn't get excited to pound the main highway (43 to 22) all day, but knew in my heart that the Forestry Trunk Road alternate route was biting off more than I should chew today, so I got excited when a middle ground emerged, consisting of rural secondary highways and requiring some fuel range math. |
Leg 2 required enduring a full tank of hardball, pounding the 43 southeast from GP to Whitecourt amidst moderate truck traffic. Well, moderate in quantity, but consisting of all manner of logging truck (full & empty, B-train multi-trailers and super-long logs in just a single trailer), oilpatch service trucks, tanker trucks, flatdeck trucks (hauling rig mats, drill steel, grader blades), heavy-equipment-hauler trailers, large cranes with their own wheels, moving trucks (full-size semi, U-haul van, and U-haul trailer), and even a few pickups. Choppy seas, yes. I also started to see the odd other motorcycle, including a group of four at the Shell in Whitecourt who were on their way to a weekend moto event at the Reynolds Museum.
Leg 3 was the navigation-intensive portion of the day (relatively speaking), chasing secondary highways south from Whitecourt to Rocky Mountain House, through places like MacKay, Nojack, Cynthia (don't bother, Duncan), Lodgepole, Brazeau Dam, dumping out onto Hwy. 11 about 35 km west of Rocky. The first portion, between the 43 and the Yellowhead at Nojack, was a really scenic segment and good riding which I'd gladly work into future route plans. The latter portion, south of the Yellowhead, was less so -- mostly tree tunnel riding with oil & gas and logging access roads every couple of miles, and not a lot else to look at. I had visions of my gas stop at the Domo in Cynthia being a cute little foothills smalltown, running a few decades behind -- but instead, it was an uninspiring little place, with a gas station attached to a Hitchcock motel, run by an attendant who was devoting the majority of her attention to the spanish telenovella playing on her phone.
KTM Watch: I saw a solo 990 and a solo 1290 (both oncoming, during the fun rural stretch) and an 890 at my final destination (being trailered, which is incorrect).
No wildlife today.
After making Rocky, I cleaned Badger's bugs off, got to my room, had a shower and a pizza, and removed my auxiliary lights so I don't crack them off during Badger's weekend of planned tip-overs, AKA learning by doing.
Day total: 665 km, 9h10m Trip total: 1,677 km | Start: Fairview, AB. End: Rocky Mountain House, AB. Soundtrack: In Violet Light, bit of shuffle, 4 hrs of gentle foamy ear canal hugs. |