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Showing posts with label SWing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SWing. Show all posts

December 25, 2014

Alberta Postcards

Kananaskis Country

For most Europeans their western Canadian vacation trips essentially start out from Calgary, before heading west into the Rocky Mountains, visit Banff, then drive up Icefield Parkway, take a gander at Lake Louise, stop in Jasper, and then go west towards Vancouver. We have done it, too, and fell in love with the country.

Tourists will leave Alberta with most memorable impressions of high mountain roads, snow covered peaks, nature, and wildlife encounters if lucky. The travel books weren't exaggerating, it is all beautiful and true.

Above Banff, Peyto Lake and Alberta wildlife
Dogsledding in Kananaskis Country

But Alberta has so much more to offer. 


I fondly remember the prairie and the badlands, the endless roads, the fertile grounds and the huge farms, and oh, the clear blue skies. And although we lived right on the outskirts of Calgary, the air always tasted and smelled clean.

I certainly don't miss the cold Alberta winters, however, I sometimes find myself missing two-wheeling these empty roads, taking in the fresh air and admiring the wide open skies.

Silver-Winging somewhere near Olds, AB
Out and about on my Ladyhawk
Dinosaur Provincial Park
Cypress Hills Provincial Park
Road to anywhere.
Rolling Hills
Upcoming Storm

***

Postkarten aus Alberta

Die meisten West-Kanada-UrlauberInnen beginnen ihren Urlaub normalerweise in Calgary, von da aus geht es dann in die Rocky Mountains nach Banff, dann vielleicht den Icefield Parkway entlang, um Lake Louise und Jasper zu besuchen, bevor es dann gen Westen Richtung Vancouver geht. Wir haben es so gemacht und uns dabei unsterblich in das Land verliebt. Touristen werden sich an die Passstraßen, Schnee bedeckte Berge, an die Natur, Begegnungen mit wilden Tieren und das großartige Abenteuer erinnern. Es ist tatsächlich so, wie es der Reiseführer verspricht.
Doch wenn ich an die Provinz denke, in der ich fünf Jahre gelebt habe, denke ich eher an die Prärie, die Badlands und den ach so blauen Himmel. Und, obwohl wir direkt am Stadtrand von Calgary gelebt haben, schmeckte und roch die Luft immer klar und frisch.
Ich vermisse die kalten Alberta Winter ganz und gar nicht, aber ich ertappe mich dabei, dass ich das Motorradfahren auf den leeren, schier endlos erscheinenden Straßen, diese knackig frische Luft und den weiten Horizont vermisse.

November 13, 2010

A Short History of Motorcycles (mine, that is...)


Taking up Geoff's challenge to find embarrassing motorcycle pictures I dug into my piles of old photos and memorabilia of my past... and came up with... nothing. Since childhood days there are not too many pictures of me. In fact I fiercely hated having my picture taken. Hence I can only contribute a picture of little me.

For photos with motorcycle related content it is pretty much the same. There is almost no visible evidence that I or my two-wheelers ever existed. I hold a motorcycle driver's license for almost twenty years, but alas, I didn't do a good job documenting this during the pre-digital era.

Other than Geoff, I had the good fortune of being born too late, and therefore the fashion of the 70's left me unscathed. My school uniform consisted of jeans, parka and sneakers. The attire hasn't changed much since, so instead of pictures taken in different decades, just imagine several younger me's dressed in exactly these.

I apologize to Geoff that I won't be able to return a few good chuckles on my account.

However, here is a complete list of my two-wheeled companions. You might notice, that at no time I have settled on a specific brand, model or style. See for yourself:

The first bunch: 1992 - 1998
1992-1993 '92 YAMAHA Virago 250
The beginning of my riding career
1993-1993 '89 SUZUKI DR600
No pic available, only briefly owned
1993-1994 '91 YAMAHA SR500
My beloved thumper
1994-1996 '88 HONDA XBR500
Where the heck is my ATGATT?
1995-1998 '95 VESPA ET4 125
My commuter vehicle, alas no picture of it
1996-1998 '85 BMW R80
My "Rubbercow"

***

Two-wheelers revisited: 2009 to current
2009-2010 '89 HONDA NT650 Hawk GT
My Ladyhawk
2009-2010 '05 HONDA FJS 600
Silver winging
2010-2011 '04 BMW F650GS
My (Citro)Nella, photo courtesy bobskoot
2011-2012 '06 VESPA GT200
Paolo, the little one 
2011-current '08 HARLEY DAVIDSON Sportster 883
Roving on Rover 

2013-2017 '13 VESPA GTS300 Supersport
Allons-y Alonzo
2010-current '08 VESPA GTS250
Bella, Roland's beauty.

September 06, 2010

SWing Gleaning

Bye, bye SWing!

It is curious how things sometimes work out for the best. Originally we had planned that I travel to Calgary on the Labour Day weekend in order to transport the SWing down to Vancouver for sale, since we didn't expect that there would be a huge market for this scooter in Alberta, where the majority rides dirt bikes, cruisers or crotch rockets. But we were proven wrong, and the bike got sold within a week.

It was a bit unfortunate that my fellow traveler didn't have the chance to get accustomed to the bike due to his shoulder injury. And so, I had to split my attention between my Ladyhawk and the SWing, which didn't work out to well for the scooter, and my moving to Vancouver didn't help much either. After 13 months in our possession it had only 1,200km more on the clock.

What a waste of a wonderful two-wheeler, because there is a serious touring bike hidden behind the scooter face. The fairings and a proper windshield offer good weather protection, and it has lots of inbuilt storage room. 600cc gives it enough umph to keep up with the big guys. I have never tested top speed but acceleration is awesome, and it does make up to 140km easily before the bike begins to feel a little wobbly. The automatic shifting is smooth, and the ABS breaks guarantee a safe stop. Fuel consumption could be better, but a full tank (16.3l) would get me between 350 and 380km distance.
With 250kg the bike is fairly heavy (like all Honda's) but the weight will help keeping it straight in cross-winds, and it moves surprisingly easy into corners. Other nice features worth mentioning is the center stand, the shaft drive, and the stylish design that makes it look like a 'real' bike.

If we kept the SWing the upgrades would have included heated grips, a throttle lock, and a top case to make it the perfect touring machine. All in all I have gotten to know this scooter as a comfortable and reliable (solid Honda technology) two-wheeler good for commuting, shopping or cruising, and it is one of the few scooters that would actually fit my husband's size of 6'7". If we were to have another scooter, we would seriously consider buying another Silverwing.

September 05, 2010

SWingin' no mo'

Once more I am back in Calgary. We got surprisingly high interest when we put up the Silverwing for sale, and my fellow traveler decided to give it into good hands of a farmer couple from Rimbey who came at 6.30am last Thursday to check out the bike. We liked very much that they plan to strap the two-wheeler on to their RV, and show it the world, or North America for that matter, and so the deal was done.

My mission - should I decide to accept it - is to ride up the bike 260 km North to their place in central Alberta. Of course I accept this opportunity for a final ride of pride.
So I giddy up for the Cowboy Trail, also known for western-style vacations. It has a maximum of 14C (57F) with a stiff northerly breeze, and lots of clouds building up. Good, I brought along some long johns, and woolen socks. I sincerely miss the heated grips on my Beemer though.
The crosswinds are nasty, but the roads were empty and endlessly straight.
The clouds look more threatening with every minute and unfortunately become incontinent as well. The first drops are falling and (thinking of the oh so sunny prairies) I didn't bother to bring my rain gear. I carry a second jacket though, which I put over my Scorpion jacket, and the fairings keep my pants and boots pretty dry.
The sun is out again for a last glimpse, and I warm up at Sylvan Lake, a beautiful large freshwater lake in central Alberta.
Look at the swell, meanwhile the wind has become a gale. I am pretty sure that only Alberta born and bred people can survive in these waters.
Three hours later we reach the Silverwing's new home safe and sound, and are being welcomed by it's new big brother (a Goldwing) and a lovely cup of hot steaming tea.

Good bye, my dear SWing. I wish you well on your new endeavors. And thank you for 700km of wonderful travels in Alberta this year.

August 02, 2010

Scootin' da Foothills

Since my fellow traveler still can't ride due to health reasons I took his long neglected bike for a spin today. It started on the first push of the button.
I picked a nice and easy ride through the rolling foothills of Calgary's hinterland, just about right for a touring scooter like the Silverwing. The weather was ok, cloudy and not too hot.
I stopped in Bragg Creek for the usual tourist picture. Traffic was light, and I was surprised that there were almost no bikes on the road. Actually there were so few that every two-wheeler got their greeting returned. And even bad-ass rugged leather-clad Harley Davidson riders were not too cool to wave back at a lady on a scooter.
Close to Millarville I drove into a black wall of clouds. Occasional lightning made me a tad bit nervous, but a firm pull on the throttle emerged me out of the danger zone. The acceleration was fantastic. Nine months of decommissioning couldn't harm the bike at all.
Another photo stop at Okotoks, before I headed back to Calgary.
You gotta love the prairies in summer!

February 26, 2010

Undecided

Since Bobskoot posed the question... here's photographic evidence that the SilverWing is still around. After three months of Winter break it is in serious need of some TLC. Also, I might have to take it to the shop to have them figure out why the ABS light stays on even after a few kilometers of riding.
Unfortunately so far my fellow traveler has neither shown a lot of enthusiasm in riding the scooter, nor taken much interest in the maintenance, so here I confess: the SWing's days are counted. I consider selling the bike instead of relocating it to Vancouver. Selling would mean mo' money for the Beemer piggy bank, not selling would mean additional moving cost, but I got a two wheeled ride when I get to the coast... However, I would really like to get that Beemer one day, and well, maybe a small 50 to 150cc scooter only to zip around in town. Not sure yet what to do with that touring-scooter...

October 14, 2009

Bagging it


After a quick road check I decided to pack away my Hubby's scooter for this season. There is no chance that I would make it safely to the main road anyway. The Hawk will be next to be wrapped up for the season.

Darn this white S**t! Why did even I move to Alberta in the first place? Ah, yes, there have been tons of job opportunities, with emphasis on 'have been'. Now I am unemployed, I don't ski, I am no good at horse riding, I despise hunting, and fishing bores me to death. As a matter of fact I do not even drive a pick-up truck (Although I wouldn't mind to have one handy every now an then.). Instead, I do love the ocean, all kinds of water sports, and I ride two-wheelers. From the looks of it, I should belong to the West Coast. Well then, if anyone out there needs a purchaser, let me know.

September 26, 2009

Fall and Fallen

Forever Autumn? In Alberta, not. If you are lucky, Fall will last a week or two.


Meanwhile I am still improving my riding skills with the Hawk on a 'closed course', while I use the scooter quite a bit for short trips to run errands or to do groceries. This storage room under the seat is just priceless for exactly these purposes.

Since my sister and her son came over for a visit, I didn't have much time to go out for a fun-ride. We drove around, and I enjoyed showing her the beauty of the country. We traveled to Banff, toured the Kananaskis and visited the Badlands, while the bikes were patiently waiting for another adventure. But today was a good day to to capture the fall colors before they would fade away, hence I took the SWing for a spin in the neighborhood.


I mastered the cross-winds, avoided some nasty potholes, and felt very confident with my driving skills. Too early, because after entering the parkade (where my bikes live), I failed to negotiate a right turn. I must have slipped on some dust covered oil or grease on the concrete, because suddenly the scooter went horizontal, and I found myself surfing the pavement. Since I was - again - fully geared up, I only got a few bruises where the protectors hit my knee and elbow, and my shoulder felt a little sore after trying to move the scooter into an upright position by myself.

Although I remembered the exercise from the training video, I couldn't manage to lift up the 250kg dead weight all by myself. The Swing was plain flat on the ground and I definitely needed a second pair of hands. Those came in the form of an elderly cager who came to my rescue. It turned out he was an old biker himself, and he only found encouraging words for me. Finally I duck-walked the bike to my parking lot and checked the damage. I got lucky. Just a few scratches on the fairing and the mirror, actually nothing was seriously damaged, except for my pride.