Heritage Harley Davidson Demo Days

 We went to a really great comedy show last night with Trent McLeland.  He was really funny and we had a great time but that meant I had to get up at the crack of dawn this morning so I could be in Edmonton for 9 o'clock. 

Heritage Harley Davidson is having their demo days this weekend and invited Blue Circle up for the occasion. The folks at Heritage are a great bunch and we always enjoy our time with them. 

Today was no exception in the shop was busy with lots of riders wanting to test out the new iron. It was a bit windy and cool in disguise were dark and foreboding but no rain so it turned out to be an awesome day for a ride.  Here's hoping for the same tomorrow. 

Did I mention getting up at the crack of dawn?

Blue Circle client George H. Is a big part of the H.O.G. Chapter here and also official photographer for today's event. 

Freedom!!

 

Love The Look Of This Ride!

Ballistics built this very cool custom Bagger, with a hubless front tire. Let the photos do the talking!

Can Be Better

Though I don't think I'm too bad of a rider, I know I can be better. And, one only has to be run through the same training and practice obstacle course that is used by the police for their motorcycle division to see exactly what one needs to practice in order to be a better, safer rider.
The Blue Knights Motorcycle Club, a group of riders involved in law enforcement and correctional services, held a little "Spring Tune-Up" and everyone got a taste of the police training program as led by the three certified trainers who were there to share their expertise and experience.
It was a fun morning and a little humbling, but some valuable tips and practice proceedures should help all of us in attendance become better riders. Of course, we had to end off the practice with a bit of play and we enjoyed a short ride afterward, with a pit stop for burgers and refreshments. A great day in all and many thanks to the organizer, Jim Perry, and the rest of the Blue Knights for inviting me along.


The walk through.

Listen up

Starting here...



They were generous with the cone spacing for this weave drill



Ron Parkinson, Co-Chair of the Ride For Dad, was there on his shiny new GoldWing



The Blue Knight colours





Tight to the cones it is!

Around The World, Until....

Sad to think that this young fellow from Slovenia has travelled all over the world on his motorcycle, in many dangerous and desperate countries, only to have his motorcycle stolen in Canada, of all places.
Bostjan Skrlj is a Slovenian who has spent the last 7 years riding his BMW 1200 Adventure  'Around The World'. He has been travelling in Canada for a about a year now and is currently up in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. His bike was locked and parked outside the house where he was staying and he woke up to find it missing the next morning.
Considering all the places he's been and the poor and desperate people in some of those countries, the potential for theft seemed unlikely in a developed country like Canada. I will investigate further and see how the story develops, if Bostjan recovers his motorcycle of what contingency plans he has to continue his trip.

Happier times in other countries

East Coulee Springfest

We were out to East Coulee last weekend, a sleepy little hamlet just outside of Drumheller. Though it is 19 km away, East Coulee is, in fact, part of the Town Of Drumheller and is under their municipal care, so it's a bedroom suburb so to speak.

Once a thriving community of over 3000 people, it's been called a ghost town since the coal mines shut down and the population dwindled to less than 100. Several of the towns original mining shacks still stand, abandoned and in disrepair, but many have been bought up and turned into cool little cabin style homes. We stayed with friends in their early 80's 'mobile home', which also shares land with the original post office and postmaster's cabin. Both have had extensive work done on them and serve as funky little studios.

The weekend visit was also inspired by Springfest, a music festival running Friday night and all day Saturday in the East Coulee School Museum and the Community Hall. The music portion of the visit was pretty interesting, with a huge variety of predominantly Albertan musicians. My favourite was a group of teenagers called the Static Shift, who played a blues-rock reminiscent of early 70's bands like The James Gang, Bad Company and Led Zeppelin, but 99% of what they played was original music. They were good enough to make me want to go see them again, when they play at Calgary's Blues Can on June 4th. 

After an evening of music, we walked along the river bank path and then headed back to the 'trailer' for a campfire, which soon attracted a few more wandering souls. Saturday we did the walking tour of the town, checking out the old buildings and popping into a few yard sales. It felt a bit like stepping back in time, to an easier and more relaxed era and was a great way to spend the weekend.

 

 

 

Springfest at The East Coulee School Museum

Usually it's "no minors"! haha

Along the banks of the Red Deer River

Campfire friends

I liked this bird-cabin

The slow, meandering Red Deer River

A typical street corner

Small town building facade

With Mother's Day on Sunday, I hung a ribbon in this spirit circle in honour of my Mum

International Female Ride Day

Saturday May 2nd was International Female Ride Day, with the occasion designed to celebrate, support and encourage women in motorcycling around the world. Angela Murray, a true blue rider herself as part of Ride Stop n Go, decided to get an inaugural ride going here in Calgary and put out the word in the motorcycle community. Despite single digit temperatures, high winds and the threat of rain or snow, 24 ladies from Calgary and another half dozen from Red Deer jumped on their bikes and set out on a 400 km trip through the province. Kathey acted as 'sweeper' and tailed the group in the Blue Circle, in case of break downs or flats. Ride Stop n Go's Troy Carlson and myself rode along, just to snap some photos and video, and I'll include a sampling of the day's shots in the post. Thank you Ang for putting it all together and making the first Calgary IFRD a great day for everyone involved!

What an awesome team....Cycleworks, Ride Stop n Go and Blue Circle, getting set to ride on IFRD

A hardy group of woman riders!!

Ride Stop n Go's Angela Murray welcomes the riders to the breakfast reception hosted by Cycleworks Calgary

rex was there, sporting his Blue Circle Motorcycle Club tee

Kathey brought the Blue Circle truck to act as 'sweeper' on the ride.

The group braved some high winds and chilly air as they rolled along this stretch of prairie.

Freedom!

Heading west on Hwy 54

After rain and snow, the wood stove at Bearberry was much welcome!!

Blue Circle rides!!

Not sure if this toque will fit under a helmet!!

International Female Ride Day 2015

Riders signed the wall

Bearberry pit stop at the saloon.