Hypothetically speaking

So this may, or may not, have happened this last summer while I may, or may not, have been in the vicinity of Medicine Hat, Alberta.

I might have been visiting Empress, Alberta and on my way back to Medicine Hat along Highway 41 to get a room for the night. The sun went down and I was possibly on my motorcycle zipping back on a nice paved secondary highway. It gets very dark on the open prairie. Very dark. There is no light pollution. 

I caught up to a vehicle in front of me. Whoever the driver was, they were driving at a good pace. The irritating thing was on a straight stretch they would drive flat out but when a curve appeared they would slow right down. The same thing happened when they descended a hill. They would slow down so quick and fast that a few times there was a need to spike the brakes. I was beginning to think whoever it was might be impaired simply because their driving seemed so erratic. I attempted several times to pass, the problem was the highway was too hilly and curvy to take advantage. 

Added to this was that my gas display started flashing on the bike showing that my tank was very low. I had a full one gallon gas container with me. I really did not want to pull over in total darkness on a road with no shoulders and pour gas into the bike. Besides, I thought I should be able to push things and see if I could make it. That and I should be able to pass the nuisance in front of me. I guessed that I could not be too far away, ten, maybe twenty miles.

At this point I picked up three vehicles behind me. They only reason they caught up was due to the constant yo-yo speeds that they person in front of me was performing. Then it appeared, the magical straight stretch of highway that would allow me to pass. The pickup in front took the opportunity to floor it. I hit the throttle with the intention of getting by and ran it up to 150 km/h. Then, just about as I was calculating my move the vehicle behind me lit up the night sky with red and blue lights. 

I was thinking that this could be an interesting fine, or set of fines. I immediately took my hand off the throttle to let the bike slow down on its own. No need, the RCMP cruiser passed me, pulled over the vehicle in front of me, then I side-stepped the two of them and carried on. Of course, if this happened, I would have been more circumspect regarding the posted limit. There also would have been just enough gas in the tank to make it into Medicine Hat. Allegedly.

The moral of the story is do not speed on rural Alberta highways in the dark. You might hit a deer.