Start a blog they said….
So I have decided to start a blog. 8 words I never thought I would say or write, yet here we are. I was asked just yesterday how I had been chronicling my journey with Ridin’ Alberta and had to admit that although I had thought about it I hadn’t been keeping track of things very well. So I hope to kill the proverbial two birds with one stone and use this blog not only for future reference (I am not getting any younger nor is my memory getting better) but hopefully give you folks something you will find interesting and entertaining by providing an often candid “behind the visor” look into the crazy life I am living as I continue to grow as a rider and as the founder of Ridin’ Alberta. Do I think my life is that interesting? No, not really but when they come to do a documentary on me in 20 years I better have some of this shit straight (JK). Now where to begin, oh yes my timely return to the world of two wheels…
The oldest picture I have of my ‘07 Versys I call Betty, the ultimate ‘non’ adventure bike.
Flashback to winter 2018-19. I won’t go into the gory details but by early spring after being hospitalized over 25 times for a mysterious stomach issue I had come to the conclusion that if you have dreams or aspirations that you had better go after them now since nothing in life is a guarantee, especially your health. Once I was turning around health wise I had a huge urge to buy a motorcycle. Why this overwhelming urge? Maybe it was my version of a midlife crisis, maybe it was because the last 2 books I had read were Long Way Round and Long Way Down, maybe it was my destiny or maybe I just needed a new challenge in my life, maybe I just wanted to be like all the other cool kids that were doing it. Although I had rode motorcycles in my 20s at that time riding a bike was purely utilitarian, it was a cheap way to get from point A to point B, and to be completely honest I really didn’t enjoy my time in the saddle at all. Riding hadn’t been fun or adventurous and lacked any of the romance portrayed by Charlie and Ewan as they sped across the globe on their iron horses. So I set out to find something fairly cheap, something that I could tour on and could handle some gravel and something uniquely mine. I found Betty at a used dealer in High River and after having a friend that knows much more about bikes look at her I was loading her into my pick up and bringing her home. Once she was home I needed to quickly gear her up with luggage and a couple add ons since I had already planned out a trip for that summer in the Rockies of AB and BC.
Betty all geared up on the FTR.
I managed to survive my 4k km trip that first summer even though I hadn’t rode for over 15 years and had no business being on some of the backroads I had chose to ride. This trip was full of lessons. I dropped my bike in the ditch after leaving Hinton and accidently hitting the kill switch, almost went down in some deep sand on a wild Forestry road, had to make an unplanned stop get a new chain put on in Kelowna because of my lack of maintenance skills, had survived torrential rain on Highway 5 and the deadly tar snakes on Highway 3 east of Osoyoos. And through all these challenges I had a huge smile on my face and a renewed love for the sport of motorcycling. I had returned to the land of two wheels and I was loving every minute of it. And best of all I had become comfortable being uncomfortable and having only myself to rely upon. Something I had been missing for quite some time. And of course none of this could have happened without the right bike. Whether it was dumb luck or divine intervention by the motorcycle Gods that brought Betty to me it was very apparent I couldn’t have found a better bike for me to relearn everything I thought I knew about riding a motorcycle.
And so that’s how this ride all started and how a few coincidences, questionable choices, some good luck and a black ‘07 Versys ignited my newly found love affair with the mistress we all know as motorcycling. See you next time and stay safe out Ridin’ Alberta.