Mini trip to Kananaskis on the KLR

After Dylan was nice enough (he's always nice enough) to install some new parts on the KLR - namely new handlebars (I went with Protaper ATV Mid) I was off on my first mini adventure.

All this adventure really was is a short, trip from Calgary to Kananaskis Country (Pronounced Can an Ass Kiss). The reason for the trip was to attend leadership training with my company and I would be staying for a couple of nights.

The ride out to Kananaskis was spectacular along highway 1A. It was a crisp morning that seemed full of optimism and potential and I was looking forward to my first real twisty road. I wasn't disappointed as the road was almost completely empty for the entire journey. When I arrived at the hotel for training, I had a grin a mile wide. My colleagues who didn't know me very well seemed shocked that I would roll in on a motorcycle. To be honest, at this point, so was I.

One night after dinner I took the bike out for a quick spin down highway 40, also known as the Kananaskis Trail. This short ride would end up being a great learning experience for me.

Once I got up to speed on the highway, I noticed a deer in the ditch. Thankfully it stayed put.

Then, just a kilometre or so away, there was a herd of elk. At first I saw a pair of elk, then five or six. I looked off to the side and there were at least 15-20 elk by the side of the road. Thankfully they all stayed put.

Not five kilometres further down the road and I came face to face with yet another deer. This one was on the road. It looked up as I slowed down. For some reason I felt that it had the confidence to stay put. I passed him doing about 60 km/h. Thankfully, it didn't take a step.

Feeling rather inspired by my nature ride, I turned onto a gravel road and decided I might as well learn what loose stones under my tires felt like. I rode up a reasonably steep hill that was mostly potholes and switchbacks. Averaging about 40km/h, it felt good.

I got to the top of the road and realized I had ridden to the base of Fortress Mountain. There, I spent a few minutes checking out how different everything looked without snow on it and I headed back down the hill to the highway and off to the hotel.

More to come...