7/26 Lake Louiise AB to Pincher Creek AB

This was the day when the temperature started out the coldest and ended up the hottest. When we started from the campground it was in the high 40's and by mid-day the ambient temperature thermometers on the bikes were reading 96 to 100 degrees F. So, even "in the wind" it was hot because the wind was hot. In addition, because our bikes were faired we got even less draft on us. Many times during the summer you will see riders with sleeveless shirts, shorts, etc., on their motorcycles. We don't do that. Very seldom will you see the Spada boys riding without full protective gear. It wasn't until we got into real all day heat in Montana that we broke down and rode with only long sleeve shirts, but we never neglected our helmets no matter how hot. Under these conditions it's critical to keep hydrated because you lose moisture so easily and quickly. We downed water alternating with Gatorade at each gas stop. Today's pace was leisurely although we covered over 300 miles. We searched out back roads, enjoyed the mountain and lake scenery south of Banff and stopped for cold drinks and food regularly. Only one bad stretch of road had us cursing. A biker in Whitehorse told us he had just driven Route 3 from north of Cranbrook BC to Cowley AB and said it was great road and we could access the north gate of Waterton Lakes National Park. It was great road for the most part except for a 6 kilometer stretch just east of Fernie BC. At that point we came upon a "construction ahead" sign. It turned out the construction was a re-surfacing job with stone chips and tar both of which were applied very thickly. What a mess! Tar and stone all over the bikes. The wheels kicked up stone and tar coating the underside of the fenders and sticking bits of tarry stone all over the fairings, frames and motors. I road next to Lou for a while and his wheels looked like the old fashioned "pinwheel" fireworks shooting off sparks only they shot off sprays of tar covered stone. Cars whizzzed by oblivious to us and what they were doing to us and their own vehicles sending stone showers everywhere. It sounded like a machine gun or a constant rain of pebbles on a tin roof as the stones hit the inside of our fenders . Very unnerving as the loose stone also caused wobbly riding. We were very happy to get out of the construction zone. We all agreed this was the worst stretch of road we hit on the entire trip. Undoubtedly, we will be cleaning tar and stone off these bikes for a long time. We finally pulled into Pincher Creek around 6 p.m. It had been a long hot day. Of course, Lou met up with a couple of pilots in the lobby of the motel. We met them for dinner and drinks. These guys work on contract with the Alberta government to fly tanker planes to suppress fires. They begin their season around May 21 and extend for the next four months on call 24/7 in case of forest fire. The crew consists of two pilots to fly the tanker, one pilot to fly the bird dog and two flight engineers to work on the planes. They indicated that although the fire danger was at its highest levels there had been no major fires in Alberta yet this fire season. Consequently, they trained and sat and mostly sat. Very boring. The bird dog pilot scouts the best route to the fire and sets up the run. He then circles around and lines up the tanker for the run. The bird dog follows the tanker on the run guiding them to the drop and lingering to photograph the actual drop. All drops are recorded and graded. The pilots must make accurate drops or face the possibilty of not getting their contract extended the following year. I'll let Lou and Eric provide more details on the type of planes they flew. We had a great time at and after dinner talking with them about their planes and their work. One of the pilots named Shane, turned out to be a geek and really had a lot in common wth Eric so they had a very high tech chat. I finally heard what Eric does for work; he designs and builds computer chips. Ask him about it. Anyhow, they invited us out to their airfield in the morning to tour the planes and their facilities.