Ramblin' on Rover II

We hit the road last week for a trip west, Installed the trailer hitch carrier, reconfigured to hold one trike as the old MTB is not going along anymore. I am permanently 'bent.

Rover II all loaded up and strapped down c/w a new 24 inch rear wheel and 8 speed cassette. The old temp 24" w a 6 speed freewheel sprocket only had a 14T high speed where the cassette has a 11T high speed giving me quite a bit more top end (when I can muster the strength... and nerve)

Our trip west took us across Saskatchewan where I never got a chance to unload for a spin, but in Calgary, AB I was in for a real treat. For those of you not familiar with Calgary it is centered on the edge of the foothills bisected by the Bow River. It has some magnificent hills that are crisscrossed by dozens of paved trails.

I made sure my brakes were in good shape and with the Rockies looming on the western horizon I set off exploring... maps?... who needs 'em? Up hill and down I variously zoomed, cranked, and coasted. I am sure I used every sprocket tooth combination- front and back. I got hopelessly lost, then following my nose I eventually would stumble onto a street/avenue I recognized. Calgary is laid out in  quarters with Avenues running East/west and Streets north/south. Along with those grids are a maze of twisting Thoroughfares and Trails, and Subdivisions. I was centered on the junction of the Crowchild Trail and Shaganappi Trail which are in the NW quadrant of the city.

It was exhilrating and exhausting. Every time I topped a rise a new vista opened up where I often paused to consider do I want to zoom down that one with its attendant crank back up the other side. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. If on down I suppose I could call my b-i-l to bring the car and rescue me. But that might have been too humbling, so I always managed to crank my way back home. Left me seriously contemplating E-Assist for some of those climbs

Many of the slopes were long and steep and if you had just let RoverII take the bit in her teeth no telling what speed you could hit but these are MUPs and SLOW warnings 10 km are posted several spots so I just coasted along with the occasional burst on a straight clear stretch or a city street where I would let it roll up to over 30 kmh. Rover II handled well and I was tempted to let it out a bit more, but these MUPs had lots of pedestrians and many are 'off leash' as well, so tried to be a considerate rider.

The week's just about up and soon time to load Rover II back up on the carrier for a run back across the Prairies. Only saw one other trike in Calgary struggling up a steep trail as I coasted by on the adjoining street. Couldn't even get the make beyond it  had a 26' rear.  Maybe I'll get a chance to try the trails in Winnipeg, MB.

I'll miss these hills.

A 10 kmh warning at the top of this steep hill. Discretion being the better part of valor, I decided a zoom down here should be deferred to for another day

A beautiful view over the Bow Valley

Visited a large modern LBS with hundreds upon hundreds of bikes and accessories but not a trike or ,bent in site. The salesman I talked to did not know what they were or who in this city of one million even handled them. Oil and gas seems to be the predominant religion in these parts