Worst Cold Weather Ride

[Gummiente]

Back in 1989 I was in the military and stationed in Calgary, AB. I was slated to attend a six month training course in Borden, ON from April to September of that year. There was no way I was going to miss out on an entire summer's worth of riding, especially since Ontario was in the midst of an unusual Spring warm spell at that time with temps of +25C, so instead of driving my car, taking a bus, train or airplane for the 2,000mi+ trip, I took my '86 Sportster 1100. Normally this would be about a four day journey and although I'd never ridden that far before, I was confident enough in my abilities and in my bike to do it. So on April 1st - how appropriate is that?! - I loaded all the necessary Army stuff and luggage onto the bike and away I went. I had to wait until 1pm before leaving, because that's when the snowplow finally cleared my street; there had been a storm the night before and 15cm of snow had fallen. My then wife was understandably worried about my safety (and sanity), but I was able to reassure her that I'd be fine and promised to call her every day until I got to Borden. I had several layers of clothing on; thermal long johns and undershirt, jeans and long sleeved shirt, track pants and sweatshirt, a one-piece rainsuit, two pairs of wool Army issue socks, my Army issue Arctic weather mitts, Army scarf, combat boots and a 1/2 helmet with goggles. I could barely move but at least I was warm.

My intent was to make it to Regina, SK, that evening and stay with family for the night but the weather had other plans. As I rode past Medicine Hat, AB, it began to snow. The further east I rode the heavier the snow came down; by the time I reached the AB/SK border visibility was near zero and the highway was pretty much deserted. There's not much in the way of civilisation in that part of the country and the only destination within reach was Swift Current, Sask, so I plunged on ahead. I made it to a motel there around 8pm, having ridden the final 30km in a snowstorm so severe that the only way I could stay upright was to keep it at 15kmh in second gear while using my feet as outriggers. I couldn't see the road edge and only had the ruts from a truck somewhere ahead of me to ride in. I don't know how I managed to keep that bike upright, but I did and it was with a huge feeling of relief that I finally saw a motel sign through the curtain of snow. The manager was understandably taken aback when I appeared in the office, covered in snow and ice, but assigned me a room anyway. I was lucky - he was just closing up when I arrived; had it been 5 minutes later I would have been SOL as his was the only motel left open in the town. Everyone else had closed due to the storm.

I checked into the room and phoned the wife, who was relieved to finally hear from me. She'd been watching the weather reports all day and told me they'd closed the Trans-Canada highway earlier in the evening. Well, crap... no wonder there was a lack of traffic on it during the last few hours. As we were talking, I heard a metallic "thump" from outside and went to the window to check it out. I had put a cover over the bike to protect it from the snow, the strong winds had ballooned it out and because it was attached to the foot pegs had blown the bike over onto its side, snapping the front brake lever. I couldn't ride it that way and seeing as how it was a long weekend, wouldn't be able to get a replacement until Tuesday. So there I was, stranded in Saskatchewan for three friggin' days in a cheap motel with nothing to do but watch tv, eat pizza and wait for the storm to end and the Harley shop to open. By Tuesday morning the snow had finally stopped and the day was sunny and cold, -8C if I remember right. I got a new brake lever from the dealer ("You're riding to WHERE in this weather?!") and was finally on my way.

If you've ever ridden across the Canadian Prairies, you know how desolate and windy it can be. Try it in early April on a bike and you'll be teetering on the edge of sanity in no time. I had one hell of a time keeping the bike on the road, the winds kept pushing it over until it was near horizontal at times and I had many close calls with oncoming traffic. Fortunately, my rain suit was high vis orange and I could see many cars move over towards the shoulder as I approached. It must have been a scary sight for them but at least I didn't have to worry about not being seen. Somewhere around Winnipeg, Manitoba, the handlebar mounted windshield succumbed to the stress from the winds and snapped one of its supports. I happened to have a roll of military gun tape and repaired it by splinting a large twig to the broken support and jamming another one between the lower edge of the windshield and the rear of the speedometer housing. Looked strange, but it worked. Thankfully this was the only mishap during the entire trip; the Harley performed flawlessly the whole time despite the bad weather, changes in altitude and long hours on the road.

Whenever I stopped for food or gas I was always the topic of much discussion and amazement. Many people would come over to chat and they always wished me luck as I left. I think many of them were also impressed that I was a soldier, I'd like to think they all slept better at night knowing that there were hard*sses like me out there protecting their country. I remember pulling into a gas station in Kenora, ON and totally blowing away the pump jockey. As I shut off the bike, he came over with a knowing smile on his face and said, "Just couldn't wait, eh? Just had to get it out for a ride today, huh"? I smiled and said, "Yeah, it's just too nice of a day not to ride". He wandered around the bike, commenting on how nice it looked (odd, because it was covered in a thick layer of grungy road salt) and chattering away about how much he liked Harleys. When he got to the back and saw the Alberta plate, he stopped dead in his tracks and just stood there staring at the plate, then at me, then at the plate, at me, the plate, etc. He finally managed to blurt out "Holy ****, you're ****ing CRAZY, man!" He was so impressed that he gave me the gas for free.

As I rode through Ontario the temp gradually warmed up and by the time I reached Thunder Bay it was a balmy 13C. I peeled off the rainsuit and dug out my leather jacket and chaps. I could finally begin to enjoy the ride without shaking and shivering and stopping for coffee every 1/2 hour. I began to see other bikes on the road and waved to every one I saw; it was nice to see other bikes after four days of nothing but ugly trucks and cars. When I rode through Sudbury, the temp was now up to 23C so I stopped to peel off all the extra layers of clothing. Did so right there on the side of the road, dancing about in my underwear while trying to get the long johns off... much to the amusement of passing traffic. The last six hours of the trip were blissful and enjoyable; I felt like I'd been through a war and come out of it alive. Hell, it just felt good to BE alive after what I'd been through.

I arrived at the Base six days after setting out from Calgary; tired, strung out and dirty but happy. I was two days late, but because I had phoned ahead and alerted my superiors I wasn't in any trouble. I was curious, though, as to why one of the guys in the barracks was running around hooting and high-fiving everyone as I unpacked. Turns out my comrades-in-arms had set up a pool for my arrival; that happy bastid had won $50 by guessing the correct day and time. Nice to know people were so concerned for my welfare.

The rest of that spring and summer in Borden was one of the best riding seasons I've ever had, with lots of sunshine and good roads to explore in my off-duty time. But it was a long time before I ever attempted a winter ride again.

[griffin]

bear tooth pass in september !

[Ancient Iron]

Interesting story Gummiente. Thanks for sharing!

[SafetyMan]

I've made nearly that same trip...

In Mid February...

Except I was going the other way, from Northern Michigan, into Sault Ste. Marie. I got stuck in Kenora, ON for 3 days while my truck was in for mandatory DOT repairs. Yup, the Rush Bay Inspection station saw a way to earn a few bucks. I stayed in Regina, and eventually spent a couple weeks working in Medicine Hat, then on up to Red Deer, and out of that station did a huge job in Robb, AB.

I did it in a Kenworth, however... and the blizzard where I had to find a cheap motel was in Wawa, ON... not a single channel on the TV, no radio, no food other than a candy bar.

Man you've brought back some memories....

[Gummiente]

Originally Posted by SafetyMan

... and the blizzard where I had to find a cheap motel was in Wawa, ON... not a single channel on the TV, no radio, no food other than a candy bar.

Wawa! Been there - lovely place... 500 people, two last names.