I hit the road at 7:53am, and had what would turn out to be the closest call with a vehicle only 100 meters from home. I managed to narrowly avoid a vehicle pulling out from behind an RV parked on the side of the street. It certainly caused me to think more in traffic for the rest of the journey.
It felt great to get on the open road, and although I had set a fairly lofty goal for the day's ride, I felt more than ready to achieve it. The skies were sunny, and it was warm, but the wind kept picking up as I made my way south.
Had a very strange experience with a bee about half an hour out of Grande Prairie. I felt the bug hit me in the forehead, but thought that it had just bounced off like the bugs usually do. Thirty seconds or so after the hit, I could feel what I figured was the bee crawling in behind my riding goggles. I removed the goggles, and sure enough, there was the bee crawling on the inside of the foam. Brushing at it once didn't get rid of it, so I decided to grab it with my gloved hand and get rid of it. I got a hold of it, and immediately felt a stinging in my right eye. I began to slow down and pull over, completely blind in that eye by the time I pulled onto an approach. I spent the next 20 minutes washing my eye with water, eventually continued on even though my eye still burned a lot.
I had a quick bite to eat at Wendy's, and then got back on the bike. I was approached by a stranger, who wasn't happy about coming to GP for work (it obviously hadn't worked out for him). Even though my bike was heavily laden with luggage, he still asked for a ride, and seemed a little surprised when I told him it wouldn't work. Certainly have to wonder what he was thinking.
A week or so ago I had put a hold on a luggage rack at the Harley dealer in GP, which required me to remove my saddle bags to install. Luckily I had the tools needed to do the job, and after a half hour on the dealer parking lot, I was once again ready for the road.
The sunny skies had given way to cloud cover, and smoke from forest fires became worse as I headed south towards Hinton. The ride to GP was kind of boring, a trip I have made far too many times, but it felt great to get out of the city. As I make my way south, I start to get into the foothills, which means the mountains can only be a short distance away.
After not having a cigarette all day, I broke down and bought a pack in Grande Cache, and enjoyed a cigarette before continuing south. The plan for this trip is to try and quit smoking, after being on the Champix pills for almost two weeks now.
It was almost 8pm by the time I arrived at Highway 16, the Yellowhead Highway. I stopped to take a picture of the mountains in the distance, before heading 2km east to Hinton, where I would be spending the night. Checked into the hotel, and then went to get some food, and then getting gas for the bike. Then it was time for a shower, a little relaxing, and then sleep. I smoked 4 of the cigarettes in the pack, and just before turning in for the night, flushed the remainder of the package down the toilet.
818.1km traveled today
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