Even though yesterday marked the practical end to the riding season you won’t find me bitching too much, yet. <g> It has been a grand season. I burned a few banked hours on Friday to take advantage of what looked like the final decent riding day, to enjoy a few hours with the still new to me Venture. http://weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/city/pages/ab-52_metric_e.html Not having the time for a long ride, I decided to do a little Christmas shopping and visit the MC dealership to see what’s on sale for a ridiculous price. First off I crossed town along 16th Ave. 16th is a main drag with lots of commercial/retail establishments. Right off I start noticing all the things I will be missing. It’s lunch time and while riding along with the slow moving traffic I can pick up all the scents from the restaurants. They must have those exhaust vents pointed to the sidewalk and road cuz I could pick out all the various menu items, chicken, bbq, steak and even the Chinese place. Damn I am hungry. I have the radio turned off so I can here that unique growl of the V-4 engine. It is not that well known rumble of the Harley but it is still sweet to my ears. Along the way I ride past one of my construction projects. As I pass I give a toot of the horn and a wave to the site super (who also rides). I thought of stopping but didn’t think it would accomplish much. After picking up a gift or two at Northhill I ride over to see the guy who sold me the RSV at Walt Healy’s. Aside from the 06 V-Max there was nothing new on the floor and all the terrific prices on jackets were for sizes too small for me. Since the weather was still good I decide to just ride, somewhere, anywhere. So I head North past the airport and out on the Deerfoot, oops sorry it is now the QE2. Where I went is no big deal but while riding I got to thinking of where that RSV and I had been this season and we have logged some miles. Almost 30K since I bought it last January. I thought of the fine people I have met and had the pleasure to share the road with. ? I even recalled getting lost in Southern Quebec and not speaking the language when I tried to get directions. Hey I finally managed to ride a few miles with that Road Glidin guy and his wonderful wife, from a few 100k north of here. Let’s do more of that next year Don. So many great days. Folks this is going to be one long winter and I lied to you earlier. I am going to get very cranky very soon. ;-) So a couple of hours on the road and then home to change the oil, give the machine a good cleaning, add the stabil and remove the battery. The bike is put away for the winter or until the next big Chinook. -- Don RCOS# 7 2000 - Yamaha Venture Millenium Edition http://www3.telus.net/public/dbinns/radium1.htm http://www3.telus.net/public/dbinns/banff.htm http://www3.telus.net/public/dbinns/kananaskis.htm http://www3.telus.net/public/dbinns/walkercalgary.htm http://www3.telus.net/public/dbinns/calgarybrowning.htm http://www3.telus.net/public/dbinns/venture.htm http://www3.telus.net/public/dbinns/gem.htm http://www3.telus.net/public/dbinns/highwood.htm http://www3.telus.net/public/dbinns/reynolds.htm http://www3.telus.net/public/dbinns/sask.htm http://www3.telus.net/public/dbinns/osoyoos.htm
