Ride to Rocky Mountain House
August 5, 2006
It felt like a good day for a ride on the GS, so I decided to take a route from Edmonton towards Rocky Mountain House (a kind of gateway town into the Canadian Rockies) that would take me on some fun gravel roads. So I headed south on Highway 2 out of Edmonton, and then took Highway 39 east from Leduc. It was a beautiful Alberta day - mostly sunshine, with some wispy clouds - and temps in the mid 20's C (high 70's F).
The riding is through typical Alberta plains - lots of farmland. Just past Tamarack Valley on Highway 39, I took Highway 20 towards Lodgepole. A little ways past Lodgepole, the road turns from asphalt to gravel and I find myself at the Brazeau Reservoir. I pulled over at a little parking area to stretch my legs.
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| Brazeau Resevoir |
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The road now stays dirt/gravel and heads basically due south towards Highway 11 (about 60 miles away). In most areas, the road is fairly straight and firm hardpack although there are a few areas where it either turns into some looser gravel, or occasionally has some washboard areas.
At one point, I'm doing about 85mph on the dirt road, hit a series of washboard bumps, and I feel something bump against my back. I immediately thought that my topcase had opened for some reason and the lid had hit me. I take a quick look in the mirror, only to see my topcase has removed itself from the bike and is taking a series of rather large bounces on the dirt road behind me. I hit the brakes, and slow down into a sliding u-turn to go retrieve the case. Surprisingly, it's in pretty good shape with only a few scruff marks. It wasn't tweaked in any way and had no dents whatsoever. So I put it back on, though a little concerned that it had popped off. Of course, I later found out (from reading the Adventure Rider forum) that this is a common problem with GS topcases, and decide that in the future I'll remove the topcase if I'm planning to hit dirt roads. Other than a few scruff marks, the topcase looks good as new (with no cracks around the mounting point) so I haven't decided yet if I will warranty the case or not.
Here's a view from the road - this is looking back north.
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Anyways, I have a fun time basically hauling ass long the dirt/gravel road, and finally hit Highway 11 about 20 miles west of Rocky Mountain House. At this point, I'm hungry and the bike needs gas so I ride east to Rocky Mountain House. After filling the tank on the GS and filling my stomach with a burger, I decide to take Highway 11 west for a ways to check out the road. I had never been on this route into the Rockies before so might as well see what it's like.
About 60 miles west of Rocky Mountain House, I come to Abraham Lake and am stunned by the beauty of the glacial sheen of the lake. It's a huge lake formed by the Bighorn Hydroelectric Dam, and I stop at several points to take pictures.
| Abraham Lake | |
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I continue heading West on Highway 11, and soon come to the Kootenay Plains area, bordering the North Saskatchewan River (which feeds Abraham Lake).
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| Kootenay Plains Area off of Highway 11 in Alberta |
This area is very scenic in the foothills of the Rockies. Much of the area is preserved as the Kootenay Plains Ecological Reserve, and serves as a grazing range for elk, bighorn sheep, mountain goats and other animals. It's a place I'd like to investigate further when I have more time to hike many of the trails in the area.
| Kootenay Plains | |
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At this point, I turn around to head east back to Rocky Mountain House, and then northwest. By the time I arrive back in Edmonton, it's been another great ride with almost 500 miles under the saddle.