Devauld.ca

The Civic Holiday added an additional day without work to the last weekend, and we made the most of it by backpacking up to Ribbon Lake. We wanted to get in a backpacking tour to try out our new camping equipment out before we needed to rely upon it on the other side of the Atlantic. The weekend was very demanding on the body, but the escape from the city and the scenic vistas doubled rewards back on our efforts.

We left Saturday morning with full knowledge that photographic habits would turn the ten and change kilometer hike into a half day affair. Sure enough stops were made to take pictures of various water features, critters and landscapes. The hike to the falls is quite easy, with over eight kilometers knocked off on a very level path with little in the way of serious inclines. Soon after the falls, you start switchbacking up the <delete>hill</delete> mountain, until after over 300 meters of vertical in a single kilometer, you come to the chains. The final leg of the journey does sap the strength, but it wasn't long after the crux of the hike an we were at the campsite. We soon set up our site and were ready to dig into some dehydrated food. A meal of beef jerky and mushroom alfredo filled up the gas tank, and we were sleeping before the sun set.

Sunday morning we knew immediately why we put ourselves through the effort of climbing up here just to sleep on the ground. We had a nice breakfast before we scampered about the lake taking pictures and exploring weird rock covered in colourful fungus. We returned to camp for some lunch, and were pleasantly surprised by the arrival of Colin and Jessica. Colin was even man enough to add a couple of cans worth of weight to his pack just so I could enjoy a cold beer. After that kind of effort I think I owe him some fingers or something. We all went back to the previously explored falls for some lounging and goofing around. On our way back to camp we mentioned to Wayne that if he managed to catch anything with his duct-tape repaired fishing rod that we love some trout for dinner, and he delivered two good sized cut throat for us to fry up. Soon after, Colin and Jess were pretty tuckered from their trek so they retired early while we played a few rounds of crib to make use of the remaining daylight.

On holiday Monday the campsite was abuzz with people trying to hawk off the last of their food, and pack up every little bit waste that was generated over the last few days. Nobody was leaving anything behind, but no one wanted to carry down any more than was absolutely necessary. We seemed to be the only people that were not in a hurry to leave, as it wasn't even eleven and we had the campsite to ourselves. With the new found calm in the campsite we had a couple of visitors while we waited for our gear to dry in the sun. But, all good things eventually come to an end, so we slung up our packs and climbed back down to start the trek back home. We were back in the parking lot by four and in Calgary by half past five, which left us with the perfect amount of time to enjoy running water, refrigeration and plush Lay-Z-Boys before retiring to a very comfortable sleep.

Immediately after I purchased my motorcycle I rode it as much as I could. I would take the long way home from work, and go meandering around town. Over the span of a few days I racked up quite a few kilometers. Very shortly after I indulged, the safer part of my brain convinced me that no longer could I ride on the tires that were currently on my bike

I could tell when I first saw my Buell that it's previous life of 7300 kilometers were very strenuous, and that the bike was probably wearing all of the parts it walked out of the shop with. Not that it mattered, the second that I heard the V-Twin engine roar to life, I knew that that bike was as good as mine.

Looking at the maintenance, I quickly knew that I would be doing it myself, as the Harley stealership charges a whopping $100/hr, and required 2 hours to change out tires. Add that to the fact that good old Calgary Harley wanted $150 more for the rubber, and I figured I'd be doing all the maintenance on my bike. This lead to a dry spell in my riding, as was missing some tools required to get the job completed (like a 7/8" hex driver).

After a couple nights of cussing, and swinging about a breaker bar, I have managed to change out all the fluids, put in some better filters, and get some nice sticky rubber on my bike. It's really fun to drive, and I notice marginal increases in performance with each little bit of maintenance I complete. This evening was the largest improvement I have experienced, knocking the replacement of the air-filter from the top of the list.

When considering the bike as a purchase, I did all my research, and found that one of the largest complaints with the bike was the gearbox. People complained of it being clunky and heavy, and the first time I rode the bike, I did find the shifting a bit stiff, and most often I would need to take a couple stabs at getting into neutral. I didn't really think there was going to be much of a difference, but I had reached chapter 1.9 in the maintenance manual which meant time to swap out the transmission oil.

It's a super quick job, three screws and the transmission's contents were all over the floor of my shop. The oil within was the blackest I have ever seen, save raw crude. It was just disgusting. I replaced the abused fluid with some golden synthetic, and as soon as I had the plate back on, I thought I would take it for a slow speed test drive to ensure I didn't just screw over my bike.

I backed out of the garage and, I'll admit, held my breath as I pulled in the clutch and pressed down on the shifter. It was butter. I pulled out onto the road and pulled hard on the throttle. It never takes very long to close the gap between first and second gear, and I pulled up on the shifter in an attempt to skip neutral right into second gear. At that moment, I'm sure glad I had my visor down, as I'm sure my smile would have blinded any oncoming traffic. I was no longer riding the same bike. My heavy footed, tempermental and noisy gearbox has been replaced with a swift, effortless and noisy gearbox. The shifts still clunk into place, but no longer do I have difficulties changing gears. With changes like these, It's no wonder I'm looking forward to getting the rest of the way through the maintenance manual.