Mountains and Prairies

The inaugural GlobeBusters Trans Canada expedition team has safely arrived at Waskesiu Lake, Saskatchewan – now a quarter of the way into their Canadian odyssey. Five days of riding has taken the group from Vancouver, British Columbia, northwards to Jasper and the Icefields parkway route to Banff, Alberta and then out onto the endless prairies of eastern Alberta and Saskatchewan, before heading northwards to the start of the land of lakes and forests which stretch thousands of miles northwards to the Arctic.

After several days in Vancouver, the group was champing at the bit to get started on the ride. So there was no difficulty in ‘mustering the troops‘ for the early morning departure from our base near picturesque Stanley Park, the stream of 11 bikes heading over the huge suspension bridge which took us northwards to the skiing resort Whistler and beyond.

Our team is the usual great mix of people and characters who all share the love of long distance motorcycle travel. Gary and Sam are our only non BMW GS riders, riding the route on a pair of carefully prepared Triumph Tigers. Andy, Paul and Tony are GlobeBusters veterans tackling this new adventure in the ‘GB’ portfolio. Jackie is riding her first major expedition, having ‘signed on’ after her husband completed the GlobeBusters Trans Americas expedition. John and Marion are also on their first major transcontinental ride. Dave keeps us amused with jokes and anecdotes and Leighton constantly amazes the group with the technology fitted to his bike. All are supported by Barbara and myself, with Ian bringing up the rear in the monster V8 support truck.

The first day saw us heading to Clearwater at the foot of the Rockies. Our route taking in one of Canada’s, best mountain riding roads between Pemberton and Lillooet – a route of switchbacks, high mountain passes and stunning scenery. This set the scene for the day as we continued along high plains and mountain plateaus before working our way through more vast ridges and clefts in the landscape, truly awe inspiring stuff.

The road to Jasper the following day included the obligatory stop at Mount Robson, which towers its shaggy peaks over the entire region, proclaiming its vast welcome to the Rocky Mountains. For once the clouds on the peak parted to reveal its full glory. Jasper itself sits at a mountain crossroads, where the traveller either heads east to Edmonton or South down the Icefields Parkway to Banff – which after a good barbeque and a night’s sleep is where we headed.

So many superlatives have been written about the Icefields route that it is difficult to find something new to say. The route must surely rank among the top ten of the world’s great rides and includes breath-taking mountain scenes and numerous glaciers, both small and large, which sometimes tower over the roadway. Ancient clashes of tectonic plates created the high Rockies and the vast forces involved can be clearly seen in the shape of the ranges as we rode. We had a great stroke of luck with the weather, which was sunny and dry all day, allowing the full splendour of the Rockies to be properly appreciated.

Not so, the following day. Lowering skies and heavy rain marked the start of our ride from Banff to Drumheller. Bundled in waterproofs the group made steady progress east out of the mountains and out into the plains east of Calgary.

An additional excursion to the ghost town of Wayne proved to be a popular choice that day. Wayne is an old mining town, which went into decline, leaving a few houses, a ‘western’ style hotel and shop. But the setting is magnificent – an ancient river valley, reached by a narrow winding road which took us across numerous ‘trestle’ bridges. The hotel itself has a great history of pioneering lifestyles and serves beer from quart jam jars on Wednesdays.

A few miles further on was our base for the night. Drumheller is set in the same area of deep and dramatic river valleys and is a major regional centre. But Drumheller’s main claim to fame is the sheer density of dinosaur bones which have been recovered around the town and immediate area and it now boasts a major international centre and museum of palaeontology. Dinosaur reminders are on every street corner and an obligatory group shot was taken by what the town claims to be the world’s largest dinosaur. I bet Disney has a larger one …

Yesterday, we set out into the prairies ‘proper’. A long 400 plus mile ride across the vast open and flat emptiness of eastern Alberta and Saskatchewan. This was a day of well-paced riding and maintaining a steady average in order to ‘crunch’ the miles. Endless miles of cereal crops left little to catch the eye, but the living skies above reminded us how small we humans are in the great scheme of things. The sky is truly enormous on the prairie and it was possible to watch weather systems form and dissipate as we rode.

Turning northwards again after Saskatoon, grasslands began to be replaced with trees as the landscape started to give way to the lakes and woods of the north. Black skies lay ahead, but the rain didn’t finally hit until we reached Prince Albert and the final 50 miles to our lakeside destination.

The group are finding much to give pleasure, both individually and together, with evenings filled with tales of the day’s ride, some taller than the others!

After a day of enjoying the pleasures of Waskesiu Lake, tomorrow we head into the wild North Country and the mining town of Flin Flon before turning to the south again. A region of “huntin’ shootin’ and fishin’” as folks say in these parts - before launching into yet another tall tale about an encounter with a bear. On that note, our bear count is much higher on this trip and all have seen the noble beasts on more than one occasion. The memorable sighting for us all was the Black Bear ‘mom’ and her two cubs which were foraging by the side of the road near Lake Louise in the Rockies. Majestic Elks, with their imposing antlers have also been on the itinerary, adding yet more local colour for our group.