I woke up this morning fairly early and decided that rather than go back to bed on the off chance I might fall back to sleep, I may as well get a ride in while everyone else was asleep. So I was out the door at 7 am on my way to Kananaskis Country, west of Calgary. I got out of the subdivision and realized that the mesh jacket I was wearing based upon the forecast for later temperatures wasn't going to cut it and circled back for a heavier jacket. Also, I hadn't wiped bug guts off the shield the last time I was out so there was that as well. But it sure was a beautiful sunrise:
Onwards and upwards. I took this next shot just before the exit to K-Country from Highway 1 looking west:
Barrier Lake, just inside the park entrance:
Then I just stopped and took pics as they struck me on my ride through. In the past, I have typically driven this route (Highway 40) later in the day on sunny blue skies. But today, I still caught early morning light peeking over the mountains and it was overcast which gave the whole ride a bit of an ethereal quality. It's always a bit of a tossup riding through the mountains; do you ride a bit faster to enjoy the twisties or ride a bit slower to enjoy the scenery. Today, it was slower, in fact I pulled over a couple times to let vehicles pass by me. I had to be careful not to get scenery drunk though and keep at least one eye on the road and what I was doing but it sure was hard today. Enjoy:
The last shot above is a picture of Nakiska where the downhill was held in the 1988 Winter Olympics that were in Calgary.
I didn't see any wildlife today, generally you can count on at least seeing some Mountain Goats but all I saw today was cattle. I did notice a couple of the hikes appeared to be closed due to animal warnings, i.e. Grizzly sightings, so maybe that was keeping everyone out of sight.
I got home around 11 so it was a 4 hour ride. Likely would have been quicker if I hadn't stopped to take pics every 200 metres. Had a bit of close call coming out of the last corner from Bragg Creek just before the roundabout that splits off to Calgary or Cochrane. It was a long curve to the left from my point of view, but wide open, i.e. flat farm land on either side with no obstructions. There was a chain of vehicles including a motorhome coming the other way and just as the chain was about to pass me, the last car in line decided to pull out to pass. I managed to make the shoulder but definitely needed a shower and new underwear when I got home. The only small amount of solace is I think he was more scared than I was but yet another lesson of how people don't see motorcycles and will take stupid chances to pass in order to gain an extra 15 seconds travel time to their destination. Maroons.
Onwards and upwards. I took this next shot just before the exit to K-Country from Highway 1 looking west:
Barrier Lake, just inside the park entrance:
Then I just stopped and took pics as they struck me on my ride through. In the past, I have typically driven this route (Highway 40) later in the day on sunny blue skies. But today, I still caught early morning light peeking over the mountains and it was overcast which gave the whole ride a bit of an ethereal quality. It's always a bit of a tossup riding through the mountains; do you ride a bit faster to enjoy the twisties or ride a bit slower to enjoy the scenery. Today, it was slower, in fact I pulled over a couple times to let vehicles pass by me. I had to be careful not to get scenery drunk though and keep at least one eye on the road and what I was doing but it sure was hard today. Enjoy:
The last shot above is a picture of Nakiska where the downhill was held in the 1988 Winter Olympics that were in Calgary.
I didn't see any wildlife today, generally you can count on at least seeing some Mountain Goats but all I saw today was cattle. I did notice a couple of the hikes appeared to be closed due to animal warnings, i.e. Grizzly sightings, so maybe that was keeping everyone out of sight.
I got home around 11 so it was a 4 hour ride. Likely would have been quicker if I hadn't stopped to take pics every 200 metres. Had a bit of close call coming out of the last corner from Bragg Creek just before the roundabout that splits off to Calgary or Cochrane. It was a long curve to the left from my point of view, but wide open, i.e. flat farm land on either side with no obstructions. There was a chain of vehicles including a motorhome coming the other way and just as the chain was about to pass me, the last car in line decided to pull out to pass. I managed to make the shoulder but definitely needed a shower and new underwear when I got home. The only small amount of solace is I think he was more scared than I was but yet another lesson of how people don't see motorcycles and will take stupid chances to pass in order to gain an extra 15 seconds travel time to their destination. Maroons.
