Cyclerides.com Weekly Update
9/16/09

Greetings Riders,
 
Ever have one of those days you just can't get going? Feeling like that hamster that has run for an hour on the wheel and wonders why he is still seeing the same dead plant on the end table? Or maybe one of those days when watching that You Tube Video of the cat flushing the toilet 10 times in a row is about as intellectual as you want to get? When nothing seems to excite you and no matter how hard you try you just can't remain focused? Or have you found your motivation in defcon 5 and the thought of watching an Oprah re-run about how the menstrual cycle affects Women actually sounds like a good alternative to what you are doing right now? Ya, me too. I don't have an answer for you, just wondered if anyone else has been there. So if this newsletter is less than perfect, now you know why. Or as the Brothers Johnson used to say in the mid 70's, "Blame it on the Funk".
 
I guess to cure the funk, you just have to change your thoughts to something that will stoke you enough to get the blood flowing. For me it was that cool air that I felt last night and early this morning that really got me thinking about some evening riding. There is nothing much better than coming home and getting on the bike for a little evening ride this time of year. And as good timing would have it, we are just starting 2 new bike nights around the Valley. McDuffy's Thursday Bike Night in the NW Valley starts this Thursday night and features a 12,500 sq. ft. restaurant that includes 2 Outdoor Patios, 100 TV's, Large Bar area, Music, $6.99 Bike Night Menu and 1/2 Priced Drinks. I am also starting the Historic Downtown Chandler Bike Night in the SE Valley on Wednesday, September 23rd. We will have motorcycle parking and cruising on the Main St. where 6 bars and restaurants will participate with Bike Night specials. Some have outdoor patios and there will be music in the park. This night in Downtown Chandler will be all about the bikers. The closest we will have to the Westgate experience. This should be a good one. Of course don't forget the Chester's Bike Night at Toby Keith's in Mesa and the old favorite Billet Bar in Scottsdale on Thursday's. See you this Thursday at McDuffy's.

2009 Road Trip - Day 4 

 
Day four on our 2009 Road Trip took us from Lake Louise, Alberta Canada up the Icefields Parkway to Jasper, Alberta and back to Lake Louise. I really don't like getting into the trap of calling something the "Best Of", because we have seen a lot of beautiful landscape in the last few years, and at the time, everything seems like the "Best". But . . . If I were told I had only one more place to ride, it would probably be one last trip from Banff to Jasper on Hwy. 1 and the Icefields Parkway, also known as Hwy. 93. The scenery and the visual experience that you will enjoy on this 174 miles is about as good as it gets for mountain travel and is often mentioned as one of the best routes in all of North America. Wow, pretty big intro for a road huh? Well, it is a good one.
 
Our day began with beautiful blue skies and a quick breakfast at a local coffee shop in Lake Louise. Our first stop was Moraine Lake, a favorite place of ours about 9 miles from Lake Louise. This road is gorgeous and gives you a perfect view of Ten Peaks that surrounds the beautiful aqua waters of Moraine Lake. If you are in the area. Make sure to visit Moraine Lake.
 
From there it was back to Lake Louise for our anticipated ride to Jasper via the famous Icefields Parkway. The following words were taken from the Icefields Parkway web site. I tried, but could not say them any better. "The most spectacular journey in the world! To travel the Icefields Parkway is to experience one of Canada's national treasures and most rewarding destinations. The parkway offers easy access to one of the most spectacular mountain landscapes on Earth. This is a world-class journey through the heart of the Canadian Rockies, a vast wilderness of magnificent peaks, ancient glaciers, pristine mountain lakes and broad sweeping valleys. Visitors literally ride the backbone of the continent. A stunning panorama of peaks greets travelers around every corner, many over 11,000 feet."
 
The really cool thing about this road is that it is studded with icefields and alpine glaciers in what seems like every few miles. These are all easily viewed from the road where you will see masses of ice that are living remnants from the last Ice Age that continue to sculpt the landscape that you will be looking at as you ride the parkway. Along the way you will crest two mountain passes, the Sunwapta and Bow Pass. What you will be surprised about is that you will pass through high meadows mixed with wildflowers literally right next to alpine tundra. Quite a mix of landscape. And as always in Canada, keep a look out for wildlife as you could see everything from bighorn sheep to elk, moose and bear.
 
And now for a little known fun fact that you can ponder as you ride this beautiful ribbon of asphalt to the North. At 200 square kilometres, the icefield straddles the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, feeding three of the continent's major river systems which flow to the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic oceans.
 
About half way up the parkway you will come across the Athabasca Glacier in the Columbia Icefield, the most famous and accessible glacier in  North America. You won't miss it on the West side of the road. It is easily within walking distance if you choose to go set foot on it. If not you can go to the visitors center across the road for some hot chocolate and view it from there. Just another few miles North you will see beautiful waterfall right next to the road, a great photo op.
 
Approximately 50 miles from the Athabasca Glacier, turn onto Highway 93A and take in Athabasca Falls. Here, the river's blue waters funnel into a chasm and break into a violent plume of white water with Mount Kerkeslin as a backdrop. This is a worthwhile stop and a postcard view. Continue on 93 for what I call the "back way" to Jasper. This will also take you past the road to Mount Edith Cavell, a 9 mile side trip to the mountain that sweeps upward nearly a vertical mile from the parking area.
 
From there, Jasper is only 4 miles away. Jasper is a turn-of-the-century railroad town and resort area that lies along the Athabasca River within sight of four mountain ranges, and a great place for a home base to spend a couple of days touring the area. Unfortunately, we only did a day trip to this area, but next time would easily spend 2 nights here to fully explore the area. Among the highlights of things to do would be the Jasper Tramway for a panoramic view of the valley below. Maligne Lake, which has got to be one of the most photographed lakes that I have ever seen. If you go, book the 90 minute cruise on the lake for the best view of the glaciated peaks that guard the southern shore. Unfortunately, we did not do this, but found out that it is something that we should definitely do the next time we are there.
 
Another half-day side trip would be to Mt. Robson Provincial Park which is 55 miles to the West. Mt. Robson is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies and a supposed stunner to see. And the drive to the Miette Hot Springs, 36 miles to the East of Jasper, is supposed to be one of the better wildlife spotting rides in the area. Once again, these are on our to do list for our next visit. In our short stay in Jasper, we ended up having lunch in downtown, visited Maligne Canyon, Pyramid Lake and the Fairmount Lodge, leaving many locations left unseen by us. This is why I suggest at least 2 nights, if not more in the Jasper area. Here are 14 of the "Must See" locations.
 
At about 4pm we headed South, back down the Icefield Parkway for our 2 hour and 45 minute ride back to Deer Lodge at Lake Louise. On our way back to the hotel, we saw a huge line of cars stopped along the road. As you will soon learn, when you see a bunch of cars stopped along the road, that means there is wildlife out having fun creating a traffic jam. In this case, there was what looked like a Grizzly Bear walking along the side of a hill next to the road. I am not exaggerating, it caused a 2 mile back up from the tourists leaving Lake Louise. Fortunately, there were only a couple of cars heading in our direction. We ended our day once again in the spa on the top of Deer Lodge over looking the glacier at Lake Louise to try and digest all that we had seen that day.
 
As most of you know, when you see this much in a day, it is hard to even remember half of it. But fortunately I take plenty of pictures to be able to go back and recall the highlights of the ride. As I said in the beginning, this is one of the more impressive rides that you might ever take, and don't sell it short by only spending a day or two in the area like we did. Next time I would easily budget at least 3 to 4 nights for the entire area. As always, I would recommend to Google keywords in the area for some research before you go. But this web site and the list of "Must See" locations is a good place to start for the Jasper area.
 
There are a lot of good photos in this group, but there are 2 that I wanted to highlight as my favorites. The Reflection and Athabasca Falls. There are many more in this collection.

These are some of the best, Click Here for 160 Gorgeous Photos.
Click Here for Map of Icefield Parkway. Includes all the attractions along the way.

For a video tour of the Canadian Rockies, choose from many different high quality videos at Vacations Cannada TV.

Highlights This Week

Saturday, September 19th

Billet Bar "End of Summer Beach Party".

Summer is just about over and it is time to celebrate with a good old-fashioned "Beach Party" at the Billet Bar.

Friday -  Sunday, September 18-20

The Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall.

A Time to Remember, to Reflect, to Heal. Free and open to the public 24 hours ad day.

This Wednesday, September 23rd
Historic Downtown Chandler Bike Night.

Presented by Cyclerides.com and the Downtown Chandler Community Partnership. 

Don't miss the first night of the Historic Downtown Chandler Bike Night. Motorcycle Parking on the Main St.
Bike Night Specials at 6 restaurants and bars on the block. Music, Vendors. 6-10pm. Downtown Chandler.

Saturday, September 19th -
NO FRILLS RIDE to Benefit Julie Jenkins. Julie Jenkins is the girl who while on her way to Too Broke For Sturgis was behind a car that struck an elk.  The elk went over the car and hit her and her boyfriend.  Her boyfriend Bohdi passed away from injuries in the accident.  She is undergoing extensive surgeries and is still in the hospital. NO RIDE PIN - NO T-SHIRT - NO FREE LUNCH!  100% of all donations will go to Julie Jenkins.  This ride starts in 2 locations in the valley then heads to Payson for a 5 stop poker run ending at Happy Jack Lodge.  Those starting in the valley will get an extra poker card for going the distance (draw 6 cards, play 5) First Start locations - Toso's Bar and Grill - 2401 W Union Hills, registration from 7 am KSU at 8 am - Breakfast Burritos Available for donation. Second Start Location - Ft McDowell Gas Stations - Hwy 87 & Ft McDowell Rd. registration 8 am KSU when the west side group arrive. Breakfast Burritos available for donation. Poker Run Start Location - Buffalo Bar & Grill - 311 S Beeline Hwy, Payson. registration 9am. Five stops in Payson, Pine, Strawberry ending with an end ride party at Happy Jack Lodge with live music, raffle prizes, BBQ ($3. donation).  Camping and cabins available at Happy Jack Lodge.  FMI Wes Keyes 602-820-8267 or Beth Smith 928-978-7321. 

Next Week

 
Saturday, September 26th
Buddy Stubbs Harley-Davidson Open House. Stop by and see the new upgraded 2010 Harley-Davidson's that are out and ready for you to take your first look at or even go for a TEST RIDE! Be sure to see the all new HD Wide Glide and Fat Boy Lo. Stop by Buddy Stubbs Harley-Davidson to see why the New Harley's are the talk of the industry. This end of the month party is also time to Get a GREAT DEAL on a new 2010 Harley-Davidson motorcycle. There will be FREE FOOD, LIVE Music, Museum Tours with Buddy Stubbs and Test Rides from  11am - 3pm. Make us an offer on select Parts, Accessories and General Merchandise. Bring in your old leather jacket and get $75 towards a new leather jacket of $350 or more. Buddy Stubbs Harley-Davidson is located at 13850 N. Cave Creek Rd. in Phoenix, AZ. 602-971-3400.
 
Saturday, September 26th
Arrowhead Harley-Davidson 2010 Model Premier. If you haven't got to see the new 2010 Model Harley-Davidson's, now is your chance. Arrowhead HD is inviting everyone in to get a good look at the new 2010 HD's and Save Big Money on Parts, Accessories and Motorclothes at the same time. Take advantage of the famous Tier Sales. Save up to 20% when you spend $500 or more. There will be FREE Food, Hooters Girls, Music, and a Photographer taking pictures of you on your bike. Event time 9am - 4pm. Also, need to get some gear for the upcoming riding season, New FALL merchandise is arriving daily. Arrowhead Harley is located at 16130 N. Arrowhead Ftn. Ctr., in Peoria. Just South of 83rd Ave. and Bell Rd. 623-247-5542.

Saturday, September 26th
Cruise for Critters to benefit Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary in Prescott. A non-profit, wildlife sanctuary. Registration from 9:00am to 11am at Star Island Motorsports in Prescott. The cost is $20/rider and $10/passenger, the BBQ dinner is an additional $5.00/person. 7 stops on this run include Skull Valley, Kirkland Junction, Chino Valley and Prescott Valley,  Additional cards available for purchase, last hand drawn at 3:00pm.  Ride ends at Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary where there will be a BBQ dinner, along with prizes, raffles and 50/50. Questions, you may call 928-899-7949. All proceeds will benefit the residents of Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary.