http://www.rock1053.ca

The Harley’s been cleaned, the oil changed, the cooler stocked and the bags packed. Myself, Don the Chef, Dave the Producer, The German and a bevy of ladies are riding into the mountains this weekend for Labor Day.

Using Fort Macleod as our gateway to the Rockies, we’ll be making stops on ferries, in wineries and even spending the night at Canada’s first motorcycle only campground, the Toad Rock MC campground. From there, it’s hanging with friends in Okanogan country before riding to Golden where I plan on doing some mining.

Being from ‘Toba, I’m always amazed at the sheer size of the mountains and how insignificant it makes me all feel. I even get vertigo if I stare at the peaks for too long however I’m always looking to riding out of the mountains and back into sunset country, you know?

One more thing on this long weekend, GO BOMBERS GO!

It was announced this morning that Matt Mays and El Torpedo are rolling through town and personally, this is one gig that I will not be missing.

Not only is this fellow bike enthusiast one of the most humble dudes in the biz, he lives to play live. (the man owns a few Norton Commandos and even wrote a great tune called 8-5-0- Commando)

I’m also pumped about the fact Matt and his crew are playing on a Friday night which means I’ll be able to stick around for the entire gig, something that I haven’t been able to do in a long time.

However, Matt Mays is one more guy on my 11 dollar list after throwing my bottle of Deep Woods Off to the crowd he was playing to. Fortunately, the bugs aren’t too bad down here as I’ve yet to use any insect repellent, yet. . . . . .

Unofficially, I am now a member of the Iron Butt Association after completing the Saddle Sore 1000. Officially, this won’t happen for another couple of months as I now have to collect gas receipts, map routes, sign off on witness forms, throw it all in an envelope and mail that sucker out after riding 1680 km’s in 18 hours.

Wildlife came in the form of two deer standing in the middle of the road while riding at night, the one bee/wasp/hornet that flew up my the arm of my jacket and stung me half a dozen times before meeting a grisly end wasn’t overly pleasant, the nine hours of rain I rode through not to mention one extremely sore butt and neck probably wasn’t necessary either but all in all, I’m feeling pretty good.

And aside from checking out some gorgeous scenery, the highlight for me came in about hour 4 of my 9 hour rain ride when this woman, apparently taking pity on me, found it necessary to ‘flash’ me. Takes me back to my good ole’ trucker days.

A couple of weeks back, our producer Dave told me about something called The Iron Butt Association and as a fellow biker, I was almost a little embarrassed that I had never of such a thing as ‘all of my rowdy friends’ had definitely heard of the Iron Butt.

This association is an opportunity for bikers everywhere to gain their ‘Saddle Sore’ certificate, a 1600 km bike run to be started and finished in less than 24 hours. http://www.ironbutt.com/ridecerts/ is the link if you would like more info and it’s worth checking out if you’re a two-wheeled monster long hauler.

This Sunday, amid much record keeping and documentation, I will attempt the Saddle Sore while leaving the city of Winnipeg roughly at 5 AM before making a quick stop in my hometown of Treherne before carrying on to Brandon MB, Whitewood SK, Regina, Saskatoon, Lloydminster AB and then a quick jaunt south through Oyen before returning to the Hat, hopefully before 10 PM.

I figure if I write about it, I’ll have no excuse for at least not attempting it or suffer much shame.

With the on-going heat wave and me not being a city planner or engineer, I can only guess that the power outage we had in the wee hours of last night had something to do with the heat.

Either that or battery companies everywhere, in a fear that the sale of 9-volt batteries are becoming obsolete, concocted this whole situation, in order for us, the working guy/woman, to ensure we’re stocked on back-up battery power for our alarm clock. Use the 9-volt or show up late for work is our only option.

However, not making it to work on time wasn’t my biggest concern despite the fact my alarm goes off anywhere between 3:00-3:15 every morning, not considered normal hours for waking up.

The biggest issue weighing on my brain last night during the lack of electricity came down to this; ‘how long will my milk and beer and frozen pickerel stay cold/frozen before I have to do something about it?’

Now tell me I don’t have my priorities in order.

Unless you’ve got central air or have set up the tent just inside the fridge door, the next 96 hours do not appear to favor those that don’t favor the heat, myself included.

Yesterday saw me incorporate the sciences of garden hoses and cheap, kiddie wading pools.

If you were to have walked into my back yard yesterday, you would have seen a sight probably a little on the strange side. There I was, in all my glory, smack dab in the middle of a 9 dollar inflatable froggie pool, complete with little fountain, sipping on a beer, listening to tunes.

If lounging around in your gaunch in 8 inches of grass strewn water with a cheap cold one in your hand was an Olympic event, I would have taken the Gold.

Speaking of, well done Team Canada!

While checking our some Olympic beach Volleyball yesterday, I had forgotten that my Blue Bombers were playing last night, the vague point of today’s blog and I will get to that shortly. Back to volleyball for a second. Sure, Belgium may have lost to the States as everyone expected but the fact that those exporters of great chocolate gave the States a scare has a lot to with the fact their blocker is a gal who stands 6’4” and weighs 190 pounds. That’s a lot of spiking action my friends.
And my Bombers finally won another game. Sure, it may have been against the Ti-Cats and it definitely wasn’t a pretty win but it still is a ‘W’ in my books. And if they’re ever in need of a 6’4, 190 pound ex-volleyball player, I know where they can find one

So the last couple of days haven’t been so hot around the ole’ homestead, much like the weather.

Families share everything and that unfortunately includes ‘the sickness’. The sickness came to our little bungalow over the weekend and has now infected me, along with our dog. Let me state for the record that the only thing worse than a hairy, girthy sick man is a ill feeling dude complete with an equally not feeling good dog.

I was in bed at 9 am yesterday, up at 4 PM and back in bed by 7:30 PM. Here we are, 24 hours later and it appears that the sickness will be lingering around a little while longer yet. I guess it too, enjoys Canada’s sunniest city.

I have to say that I had the chance to hang with yet some more bikers over the weekend, including our Born to Ride winner, Jason Koudelka, complete with diaper bag strapped over his shoulder. (Jason, you know I can’t let you live that one down)

Bikers are somewhat of an anomaly, if you will, and comparable to jawbreakers. From the outside, they look big, tough and almost impenetrable. Spend some time with them and you’ll realize that most bikers have a heart of gold. (I say most b/c I’m sure there is the ‘bad one’ out there too, much like a sour jawbreaker.

Amid pollution and protests, athletes from around the world have gathered together to see who ultimately is the best of the best. I’m talking about those little summer games over in Beijing.

As much as I would like to say that I’ve done my research in tracking down local athletes, I have to give my co-host, Niki, props for doing that. She put her private eye skills to use and tracked down at least 3 nearby people who are deemed the elite, the cream of the crop and are on the other side of the pond right now doing our nation proud.

Richard Hortness from right here in The Gas City, if it means getting up at 3 in the morning to watch you do what you do, we’re willing to do that. (I actually get up at 3 AM anyway)

And so to James Steacy from Lethbridge, competing in Athletics or in my day we called it ‘Track&Field’, you have our support and the utmost respect.

And to Sherraine Schalm from Brooks, competing in Fencing, if there was one event I’d want to try my hand at, it would be fencing, or sword fighting in my eyes. Either way, it’s the closest to a pirate I would ever become.