Woke up early this morning giving myself a chance to wake up before riding over to Gasoline Alley HD to get my bike in the shop. It didn't feel nearly as busy as it usually has when I've been to this shop, and they got my bike in at 8am sharp. After getting the bike checked in I enjoyed breakfast and some more coffee, and then tooled around the shop looking at bikes and talking with the sales guys. They were saying that they were feeling the effects of the lower oil prices, less disposable income equals fewer bikes sold.
I had the hotel room booked for another night, but my bike was out of the shop shortly after 10:30. It was an easy decision to cancel the room and start heading home. The weather was perfect and there was nothing in Red Deer to keep me there another day. By 11:15 I was on the road heading north, again spending much of the time in the hammer lane on the Deuce. With no reason to stop I kept going until I needed gas in Westlock.
The road from Westlock to Red Earth is pretty bad in some spots, really rough after getting used to the smooth roads in the USA. It was also dusty and dirty on the roads, something I'd forgotten about Alberta. I must have had a pound or two of dust in the beard by the time I got home. And the bugs, wow are they in abundance up north. They were hitting me from every direction, I swear a few times they hit me in the back! Needless to say, I hit more bugs today than the entire rest of the trip combined.
After leaving Red Earth the road is really nice, smooth and wide open, perfect for kicking back and cruising. I met Devon at the South Tall Cree access, and the two of us chatted there for around an hour, enjoying the warm evening sun. The final leg home from there went smoothly, pulling into La Crete at a little after 9pm.
The journey came to and end a little before midnight, pulling my bike into the garage where it can rest while I do the same. Everything at the house was in order, and I didn't waste too much time going to bed. This is by far the latest I've gone to bed in the last three weeks and I was tired.
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