Tag archives for calgary

Day 23: Calgary to Banff via Red Deer

By Chris Published August 8, 2012

This morning we enjoyed the best french toast in the world, at the Delta Calgary Airport. Berries, syrup, fluffy french toast… so damn good! Dad, who’s been eating for 62 years now, said that was the best french toast that he’s ever had… something to behold I tell ya!

Our initial route was to take us the short distance from Calgary to Banff, but we instead took the long way, way out of the way, up to Red Deer to see the central Alberta MS Society! Bre Fitzpatrick was on board with the MS Ride from the get go, and has been a great support for me as I started to plan this ride. She even sent me the red MS laces that have been getting oh so dirty in my boots as I ride across Canada.

Central Alberta MS Society and my family

We met at the Gasoline Alley A&W, and we’re greeted by media and members of the Central Alberta MS Society along with people affected by MS. We had a great time talking about the war stories from the road over a nice lunch. It was great to see my mom and nephews who made the trek down from Edmonton to see us as well!

The good news, as was already posted earlier today, is that Erin was feeling up to it, so she decided to join us from Red Deer down to Vancouver! She hopped on the back of dad’s bike, and along with Adrian who is also joining us as of today, we are now a 4 member, 3 bike team heading out to the west coast! AWESOME!

Managed to make it to Banff nice and dry

There were a lot of threatening clouds, but we managed to make it down to banff nice and dry, all while Adrian and Erin getting a little sun on their faces to match the wicked sunglasses tans that dad and I have. Adrian still claims that he doesn’t burn, but I have to dispute that one as he has some sweet lines forming already.

Beautiful Banff!

Once we got settled into our hotel in Banff we went out for Sushi and a quick beer before calling it a night. Also in Banff tonight are my dad’s best friend Jack, and Phil Filipchuk (one of our generous sponsors), so our little harem grew from 2 to 4 to 6 in a matter of a few kilometers. Unfortunately Jack and Phil won’t be following us into BC, but it was still nice to catch up with them in Banff!

Today we passed the 9000km mark!

Here are today’s points of interest:

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Day 22: Regina to Calgary

By Chris Published August 7, 2012

The longest day of the ride was finally here… in more than one way! Anyhoo, we woke up super early so that dad could try and get his bike serviced at the Harley dealer in Regina. He was there before 8, but unfortunately they couldn’t squeeze him in. The good part about getting up early was that we were going to try and be storm chasers… chasing them away so that we wouldn’t get smashed by the thunderstorms that were forecasted for our route to Calgary.

Things started off sunny!

We hit the trail after some more Tim’s (I’m really starting to get tired of those breakfast sandwiches), and stopped for gas in Moose Jaw, Swift Current, and then finally in Medicine Hat once we crossed the Alberta border. After lunch dad sweet talked the guys at Medicine Hat Harley Davidson into squeezing him in for his oil change.

As the weather was still forecasted to be nasty, I took off and left dad behind in Medicine Hat so that he could get his bike taken care of, and I could hopefully avoid the rain. Unfortunately I caught a little bit of rain near Strathmore, but it wasn’t anything like what we’ve seen so far on the trip.

Dad was lucky and stayed dry on his ride into Calgary… though… well, you’ll see!

While rolling along behind a semi, the semi blew a tire and caused an immediate dirt and rubber storm. Luckily 48 years of riding (really, that long?!) experience paid off for dad as he was able to downshift at record speed and change lanes in a split second. Luckily he made it out unscathed!

And now for the best part, tonight we’re staying at the Delta Calgary Airport. This hotel couldn’t be any more a part of the airport… but somehow dad got lost trying to find this place. He had his usual road that he thought would take him here, but it was all torn up under construction, so the detours ended up taking him in a million different directions.

I sat in the hotel bar, for what seemed like hours, getting texts asking where this hotel was, and I figured that shooting back texts like “just go to the airport, and pretend that you’re dropping someone off on the departures level… keep driving along that departures platform and the hotel is on the left.” coupled with “this hotel is right at the airport” couldn’t be any more clear.

Unfortunately for dad the construction and detours kept putting him out in the middle of nowhere. He could see the airport, but just couldn’t get at it. Oh well, after a Peter’s burger and shake all was good as I went and rescued him and brought us both back to the hotel.

No pictures with the Nikon today as we were on the road for something like 10 hours and didn’t want to use up any of the valuable sunny weather.

Tomorrow we’re making a slight detour to Red Deer… join us, or stay tuned here for updates as to what’ll be going down there… trust me, it’s good!

Here are today’s points of interest:

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