Calgary Riding

Calgary is situated in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, about an hour and a bit drive from Banff (to the west) and is about 265 kilometers north of the Canada / U.S. border. Since some of you are "metrically challenged", below is a table that gives conversion for kilometers and miles and some common temperatures. 265 kilometers times 0.62 gives about 165 miles. An hours drive west and we are in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. An hours drive east and we are in prairie.

Metric	Imperial
1 Kilometer	0.62 Miles
1.613 Kilometers	1 Mile
30 KPH (school zone)	19 MPH
50 KPH (city driving)	31 MPH
80 KPH (secondary roads)	50 MPH
100 KPH (main roads)	62 MPH
110 KPH (Freeway)	68 MPH
-40°C	-40°F
0°C	32°F
10°C	50°F
20°C	68°F
30°C	86°F
40°C	104°F

In the middle of winter (say January), Calgary has been known to get down to -40°C but generally we only get down to about -30°C for a few days with most days at that time of year being in the -20°C area.

With a latitude of 51° north, Calgary is highly affected by the seasons. By the time of the winter solstice, sunrise is around 8:00AM and Sunset is around 4:30PM, not much more than 8 hours of light! But, at the summer solstice, sunrise is before 5:00AM and sunset is after 10:00PM! This gives Calgary motorcycle riders a season of about six to seven months with two or three "shoulder" months. As soon as the first real snow comes (sometime in October or November), the roads are sanded with a combination of sand, gravel and salt. This makes the corners much more treacherous and the "salt dust" left behind as everything melts isn't the best thing for your bike parts. Also, as the days being to shorten the intensity of the sun decreases to the point that even though it is a bright sunny day, there isn't any real warmth in that sun. So although die hard riders will ride in pretty well every month except perhaps January and February, they have to ride during the day and with the short days can't ride for very long.

With our proximity to the mountains, we experience a weather phenomena called a "chinook" (Shin-nuk). A chinook (often called an Alberta Clipper) is a warm westerly wind that comes in from the mountains and makes whatever snow is around disappear real quick. A 20°C temperature change over 4 hours is not uncommon!

In the Summer, Fall and Spring, there is glorious riding weather. When the weather is cooler we tend to stay closer to the prairies and rides that head north, south and east. In nicer weather, a trip into the mountains to the west is called for!

Calgary itself is a city of approximately one million people, this link will tell you more about the city. The main east / west route goes through what used to be the north part of town but now is just about the central part. This is known as 16th Ave north and is the main thoroughfare and is the Trans-Canada Highway. This can be a congested route, depending on the time of day (rush hours). Currently there is a lot of construction on it (widening). The main north / south route would be the Deerfoot Trail.