Day 7 and I don't have to tell you it's been raining

Beautiful day starting out. You couldn't ask for a better biking day. Slightly overcast with cool temperatures. Note to self: Put a thermometer on the bike. 

I was cruising along saying YEAH ! THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT ! !

Made pretty good time too. Went through some different landscape today. More trees and less population. One thing finally struck me, I hadn't seen any tires on the roadside or roadway. In the states, you're always seeing pieces of truck tires laying about. I don't think I've see one yet in Canada. I wonder how they do that? Maybe they don't let trucks use retreads up here?? Just one less thing I have to worry about in the road. 

Garmin Girl led me through Edmunton, Alberta on a route that didn't get into any high population areas. Not sure how that happened as it is a large town. Anyway, I didn't see any gas stations along the way so I decided to wait until I got to the other side of town. Well, you know what happened. No gas stations, and I was about forty miles from running out. I keep heading West and North and tell Garmin Girl to show me all the locations for fuel. Well, the screen came up and all the arrows are pointing down. That means it thinks all the stations are behind me. I page down to get fuel locations farther from me and the arrows are still pointing down. I page down again and, you guessed it, they are all still pointing down. Page down again and there is one ahead of me.

I take the exit and Garmin Girl says turn left in 100 meters and I don't see anything. I keep on straight and then she says "recalculating" then directs me to turn around so I did. Then I'm cruising along and she says "arriving at destination on right". And off to the right is an empty field. Curses! Foiled again. So now the next big town on my route is too far ahead for me to make it. Being the optimist that I am, I decide there MUST be something between here and the next big town and head on West. 

There's a sign for a town called Onoway! It should have been called Outoftheway because it was really small. But! They did have a station with 91 octane so I'm home free. Gassed up and back on the highway. Take THAT Garmin Girl! !

Up ahead I see a storm cell in my path. It looks like it's just to the North of me so I just put on my liner for the mesh jacket and keep on truckin' or rather motocyclin'. I just crossed the edge of the cell and got some really bad wind. First it would blow from the South and then from the North. South, South, South, North, North, South.........well, you get the idea. I was using every inch of my lane running the speed limit (110kph). It didn't last a real long time and then it's looking great again. The sky is clear ahead of me. Back to feeling like I know all about motorcycle riding and maybe I'll enter Dakar next year. 

Two more hours down the road and I see another storm cell and this one is bigger and blacker and just gets blacker as I ride toward it. I'm thinking that I may just get by the edge of it and I see Garmin Girl telling me that the highway ahead curves directly toward the cell. I make a quick stop and get out the big guns again. I put on the Kilimanjaro IV and the matching pants and now I'm bullet proof. Well, at least waterproof.

Now the wind REALLY starts up. You may think I'm exaggerating, but this is the worst wind I have ever ridden in. It was coming from 90 degrees to my left. Straight in to my side. I was leaning over so far and couldn't keep it in my lane. Fortunately there was a wide paved shoulder or I'd have been in the dirt. Even with that, a couple of times the wind pushed me over to the shoulder and if it had gusted just a little more, I'd have been in the dirt anyway. I slowed WAY down and up pops a rest stop. WOW, I'm saved. I pulled in there and just sat on the bike with the rain coming down and thought about life and also about how I might have to wash my underwear this evening. Or throw it away!

While sitting there at the rest stop, I zoomed out the map and saw where the highway made a 90 degree turn just a few clicks up the road. That would mean I would be heading almost directly into the wind. I liked that idea a whole lot better than trying to fight this side wind any longer. I cranked up the GS and limped on down the road very slowly and there was the turn. Things became a whole lot better almost instantly. Still a lot of wind and rain but not blowing me around any more. 

Needless to say, no camping this night. Plus I didn't make it to the Alaska Highway like I thought either. I'm SSSOOOOOOOOOO close though. I'll be on it tomorrow if the weather clears up.

As I sit here in my room, I realize my knees are hurting. I must have had one death grip on that bike with my legs.

You may be interested or you may not, but I saw in the paper here where Alberta has just passed a law setting minimum prices for all drinks which have alcohol in them. Too many people were going to the 2fers and getting drunk so something had to be done! Do away with those free drinks ! ! ! !

More stories to tell but it's late and I'm really tired after all the wind and rain.