Day 31 - Jetting Winnipeg

I slept till 10am, long after Deb and Carlin left our guests house. I did wake to find they were headed to Falcon Lake so I could follow and possibly meet up again, tho the poor cell service may make that difficult like last time.

Our hosts offered me a few breakfast options and I settled with a descent cereal. I packed all my clean clothes and bid them farewell and set off to head east down 15 but before I left Deb messaged me that the road was bad so we would all go down the TCH. I was happy to hop back on oll reliable again.

Before I left town I dropped the wallet I had found in the guys mailbox as nobody was home. I wasn't too keen on the idea of handing a guy a wallet with no money in it. Save him having to get a license reissued at least.

So I left town and took a lot of wind in every direction but the back which became frustrating as I had ran out of water 40 km from the start and didn't find a place to refill until 60 km at some cheesy camp resort place. I pushed on to 100 km and stopped again at a motel to refill. Not a lot of places to stop for comforts in this stretch.

The TCH here wasn't the greatest. Most of the time I had a tiny shoulder and sometimes had to give most of that up to the rumble strips. I rode on the left of them mostly as the road had two lanes for traffic and people were great about changing to go around me.

I got a couple waves and honks of approval as usual and at one point a tough looking biker passed me and flashed the peace sign without looking back. Pretty cool I thought (also took a double take to be sure the pointer finger was out too, otherwise much different sign). People are pretty cool about the biking on the highway.

Anyhow I arrived in Falcon Lake with the sun still due up for a couple of hours. There are tons of people on bicycles here but its mostly to commute from the two campsites. No cell service as per usual in this province and I didn't see Deb and Carlin anywhere in my small lap around town. We'll meet again I'm sure.

For the night I settled down in a quiet corner of a much too busy campsite (car alarms, rap music, drunken babbling). Tomorrow I should be entering Ontario!

Day 30 - Warmshowers in Winnipeg

I was up and out of Holland good and early. Farm lands yada yada yada. There was however a line of 600 train carts to the right of me that sported some fantastic graffiti with gems like "Your all fucking slaves". Slaves to proper grammar apparently. One train in particular had an amazing picture of a watching eye with two other separate tags of "JOBS" and "SLOW" (My nickname is my initials, JOB). Where did this mystic train car come from!?

I also saw an actual live snake on the road. Up until then they had all been flat sticks of leather or fresh bloody tubes. This guy apparently was going to take revenge on the cars by standing in the road and looking mean. Well I stopped to watch this disaster unfold while yelling at the snake for his foolishness as a car drove over him without making contact. The gust of wind must have frightened him because he did his little snake wobble back towards me and right under my pedals to go live another day.

I stopped in (somewhere, ill figure it out later) for a delicious burger at a local diner. A lot of people in this town were French. I'll have to read up about it when I have cell service again. I stopped again later in the day in Starbuck and got directions from Deb who was in Winnipeg at a warmshowers host's house.

I worked my way up 2 riding the small bumpy shoulder until signs of Winnipeg popped up and the shoulders tripled in size for more comfortable riding. The outskirts of town started showing up and soon enough there were cars and businesses everywhere. I rode on through the flat streets and into downtown where some tall buildings sprang up for the first time since Calgary. I started hitting a lot of red lights and felt both annoyed and amused about how I hadn't encountered them in so long. JOBS SLOW.

North I went and the town got a little ugly with pawn shops, sleazy motels, ghetto cash cheque shops, and run down lots with no apparent business left. A few hobos and raggedy looking types on top of this reminded me of the charm a small town holds over any city.

After crawling up main street through more traffic lights that fulfilled the prophecy of the eyeball train car I came to our hosts street which was blanketed in trees and quite nice. Shortly after I arrived everybody showed up from a walk with the dogs and we all went inside for a good time.

I met the kind family, their two dogs and squad of cats. It turns out the father Darcy runs an animal shelter. I really wished I could have gotten Coal here but on top of refusing to sit still in my handlebar bag like E.T. a part of me would never know if someone else actually did own him back in his home town. I hope he is still OK...

I was served a warm dinner of potatoes, peas, chicken, and gravy which has been the best meal of the year so far. We all chatted for a while as we took turns getting much needed showers and cleaning all our clothes. Myself, the mother and her two daughters played monopoly junior (I got destroyed) and we all called it a night afterwards.

Before turning in I discovered my kobo was broken and I'm really bummed out that I can't read "Fools Fate" to finish off the trilogy. I'll have to get a  hard copy in town somewhere to keep me sane during those quiet nights in the tent. Tomorrow I should get pretty close to Ontario!

Day 29 - To Holland!... MB.

We all got up early and Coal was running around and climbing the picnic shelter and just generally being silly. I didn't get a great sleep last night mostly because he kept poking me in the face with his head I guess trying to find something to nurse from.

I let the others go on ahead of me and played with Coal for a short time before I decided I'd better leave. I lead him back to the yard I had found him in and opened a can of cat food I had bought at the store the day before, leaving it on the ground as a distraction for him while I snuck off with a heavy heart. I went back and retrieved my bike and did a quick run past the yard I left him in to see him sitting atop the fence looking at me. So sad but I couldn't do any more. I hope someone in that town cares for him.

I rode on into the afternoon against headwinds and hot dry weather. I was hoping to meet the couple in (look up town name later) but I wasn't making good time because of the wind and I was still very tired from Coal's pokes for attention all night. On top of that I got a slow leak in my back tube so I was not in the best mood at this point.

I did eventually come to the turnoff for (have to find town name) where I met another cyclist named Paul who was heading to Vancouver. He had been across Canada 9 times! We both went into the town and went for a swim while the sun was blazing and fixed my flat. It was a small metal bit again...

I found $20 on the road as we left the pool so I bought us some slushies to enjoy until a crazy wind picked up coming from the west. We picked up and left then parted ways, me into a nice tailwind and Paul with a terrible headwind.

I was blown a ways up the road and made it to Holland by nightfall. A short lap around town didn't find me the couple so I camped behind the "Friendship Center" rather then pay a $15 charge at the local camp grounds.

Day 28 - All I Got Was Coal

Crossed into Manitoba today where the shoulders and cellphone service immediately ended. Everything is flat and hot and the winds are being a pain. We crossed a timezone as well so we lose another hour.

We stopped and stayed in a small town called Pipestone. While outside their convenience store I heard a cat yelping and it sounded distressed. What I found was a small white kitten about 4 feet up in a bush looking for a way out. When I set him down he immediately glued himself to me and followed us down the road to the ballpark where we stayed the night.

Deb fed him some tuna and Carlin was reminded of an old Presidents of the United States song. I decided Charcoal was a good name but settled with Coal. When we turned in for the night I left a part of my door open but of course Coal kept trying to walk through the mesh. He is sleeping soundly in a corner now, and I shall do the same.

Day 27 - Frankly I Can't Remember

I've left this too long and forgotten the day. Once I get home I'll look at the ride data and figure out where I was.

I guess I could use this space to note that I will be adding pictures and fixing up mistakes as well as adding some afterthoughts to everything when I complete the trip. For now it's too costly and time consuming to do it on this annoying ducking phone.... See?

Day 26 - Corner Gas

I'll make this brief because its late and the day was fast. We left our campsite and finished our errands around town. The group is now myself and Deb & Carlin. We left Moose Jaw and the TCH to take 39 southeast to Weyburn.

I got a flat after 20 km and let the couple go on to meet them in Rouleau, home of the famous show "Corner Gas". I visited the station where the show was filmed, met up with the couple again, then left taking two beaks before making it to Weyburn. My patched tube didn't hold and I was left to put a new tube on only 5 km from town.

We are now camping by a walmart for the night and eastward bound in the morning.

Day 25 - Breaking Good

BREAK DAY! We all needed a rest after the big day yesterday. Everyone relaxed and did random errands around town. We all went for a swim in the indoor pool on the campgrounds and they had a giant kickass waterside! We are all grown adults so ofcourse we went down it 20 times or more and broke most of the posted rules.

Keegan departed to stay at a place he found on warmshowers. The other three saw a band consisting of a couple that bike from town to town and play music and I decided to have a relaxed night to finish off my book "Golden Fool". All in all a nice day well deserved.

Day 24 - Long Haul Truckers

So the crew I met are all doing various cross Canada tours. Kegan, from New Zealand, started in Vancouver and is heading to Toronto. He is doing it for a vacation as he is an avid cyclist and enjoys the exercise. He also has a brand new Surly just like mine.


The couple just married under a year are Deb and Carlin. They began in Vancouver as well and will be going to Halifax. They are two teachers doing it for the challenge and to raise money to promote fitness and well being. Visit their website. Remember the woman at the top of Allison submit that gave me a banana and was looking for two cyclists? Well these were the two! They had rode past the campsite that day. Turns out we've been riding almost the same route since Vancouver and probably haven't been too far apart all along.

The older gentleman I never did see this morning (he started after we left), but I understand he was to do a tour with his son who was then accepted into university and had to postpone so his father went on to do a smaller tour alone.

Anyhow we all set out at 6:30am, far earlier than I have yet to do, to a nice tailwind. I hadn't rode with anyone on this tour yet let alone anyone back home on a regular basis. Riding with group is a whole new set of challenges. These three were familiar with the concept of drafting where cyclists ride in a tight line and take turns switching to the front. This allows the leader to break any headwinds but put the most effort in while the followers try to stay close in a line relative to the direction of the oncoming wind. If you watch bike racers you'll see them do it. Geese follow the same concept with their flying v.

These three kept an amazing pace. I was certainly humbled and had to push myself to keep up but I welcomed the challenge. We had great tailwinds for most of the ride and I spent most of the time watching the rear wheel of the rider in front of me while trying my best to stay close and take advantage of the draft. The times I did glance about I saw lazy hills everywhere and farms. Nothing I hadn't become familiar with.

We stopped in Swift Current for a break and shopping. By this time we had covered 50 km and it was barely 9am. There were a lot of Amish folks shopping at the mall. The younger ones, while still donning the proper attire, had sunglasses and baseball hats on. I found that mildly amusing as I ate a luxurious bowel of cheerios with cold milk on the sidewalk outside a Bulkbarn. One Amish youth jokingly asked me if he could have some cheerios. I hope I get a chance to camp near some in Ontario (Amish, not cheerios), they are an interesting people.

We set out from here and the day is mostly a blur for me. We stopped into Herbert and visited the train museum. I believe it was here we decided to push to Moose Jaw which was another 120 km. These people are machines! Keegan stayed behind in town and later caught up with us. He had been eating relish sandwiches in the train museum. They must give him super powers or something for him to catch up to us as he did.

I remember hitting the 200 km mark and my knee started complaining but I cycled along at a slower pace and made it into Moose Jaw, riding an incredible 233 km. Everyone had set a new daily record. I couldn't have done it without the motivation of being in a pack and the excellent drafting done by the three. I must admit I mostly played caboose and didn't contribute much but I did get to lead for a short way before Moose Jaw.

We found a campsite and as a group only had to pay $6.75 each. The kind lady even gave us free swim passes so tomorrow we would check out the giant water slide they have at their indoor pool. We got Subway and the lovely cashiers gave us free drinks and cookies. Myself and Keegan then saw Batman while the couple watched something else (i forget). Oh did I mention it was cheap Tuesdays so the tickets were $5. Moose Jaw rocks! What a kickass day!

Day 23 - Rider on the Storm

I retrieved my newly flattened coins from the tracks, tho I couldn't find them all, I now have some wacky looking currency I'm quite happy with. I stopped into the store before leaving Walsh and in the 5 minutes I was in there it had rained and stopped. About to cross another border and the weather rears its soggy head. Go figure.

Saskatchewan, unlike Alberta, had a welcoming sign only a few minutes from town. I had crossed my second province! Time to lay claim to the flat lands ahead of me. So very wrong that thought was...

Not far past the sign is a big stinking hill. I'd actually encounter a few steep ones today. I had to use gears lower then I did in all of Alberta. What the hell, I thought this place was flat! Around me the sky looked like it was plotting something. I could see tendrils of cloud poking down towards the ground in far off spots. It was likely raining in those places.

So I trudged on at a decent pace over rolling lands with the now very familiar suspicious grazing cattle and rolls of hay dotting the land like some giant slob in the sky had spilled his shreddies everywhere. The winds weren't too bad and I'd only been hit with a few fat drops of rain so far.

Around 40 km in I spotted a campsite that had a washer and dryer so I stopped for a bit and got myself and my clothes clean again. By the time that was done it was getting close to 5pm and I'd still have another 60 km to cover to hit my goal. The fellow at the campsite told me they were calling for thunderstorms in the area.

So fresh and so clean I left the site and got a wicked tailwind that pushed me to speeds of 30-50 kph for the next 60 km. The storm was right behind me and I was riding it's front. I stopped a few times to take pictures but the fat raindrops would start landing so I'd have to set off again and stay ahead. On occasion I saw lightning strike in the east from another storm.

Eventually the winds died down and the sun came out for a look. I was 20 km from a nice town called Gull Lake so I pressed on and found a comfy $10 campsite for the evening. I've met 4 other cyclists here that have all gradually grouped up on the way from Vancouver and after sharing some ice cream invited me to ride with them tomorrow morning.

This will be the first time I've ridden with anybody since I can remember and I'm quite excited and happy to rise up early and learn about everybody. On that note I best get to sleep at a reasonable time for a change. Happy cycling!

Day 22 - Wandering to the Border

I'm not really sure what to say about today. I felt a bit aloof and my mind wandered mostly while my legs were on autopilot as I kept the trusty white line steady at my left. After 45 km I stumbled into Medicine Hat. This place had some decently steep hills I haven't seen since BC.

A sign on the highway made promises of a park with swimming and other activities with an ominous arrow pointing south off the TCH. Well who should greet me but the oll' Crowsnest highway. I'll never forget our first day together. Hills. Two giant endless hills. Still the hardest day I've encountered.

With the idea of being submerged in cool water stuck in my head I figured what the hell and rolled down that crazy road for 5 km or so until it dawned on me that the damn place could be way too far and my map showed no obvious bodies of water down that way at all. Swim aborted. I'd have to stay filthy for another day.

Before leaving Medicine Hat I found a bike shop and picked up a sweet handlebar bag for $75. Its great for easy access to my camera and can hold fruit and snacks at a cooler temperature then the panniers. Its even got a holder for your beer! I filled it up with goodies at the grocery store and set off out of town.

From here you get to go through gentle rolling lands of nothing. A scarce farm here and there, some animals grazing on occasion, but mostly lumpy hills of dried out grass and a mild headwind that cut my speed under 20 km. The train was the only thing of interest I'd really see. I counted the cars it was pulling to keep my mind occupied. The most was 135.

Anyhow, the headwinds were tiring me out and at the 100 km mark a tiny town called Walsh popped up so I stuck my tent up behind their community center with a nice view of the hills and the train only 200m away.

I'm going to do something I've wanted to do for ages. Venture down to the tracks with some coins then relax and see what surprises I get in the morning. Saskatchewan awaits me tomorrow!

Day 21 - Wind at My Back

That storm last night was apparently a hurricane near by. Tree branches were strewn all over the church yard. I'm fortunate any of the larger ones didn't crush my poor tent. Praise Xenu. It was still very windy tho so I used that as an excuse to read my book a little more before I headed off. When I did leave and get back to the TCH the wind was at my back. I felt pretty stupid for not leaving earlier to take full advantage.

I was able to maintain a nice 30 to 40 km speed for quite a while. At one point I came close to 70 kph, breaking my previous personal best. The land was rarely anything but flat and everything once again was farms. I spotted the trains in the distance a few times. Seems we are never too far apart since Vancouver.

My 100 km goal came easily and it was only about 6 pm. I pushed on as the sun got closer to the horizon. I was getting a lot of bugs in the face and stuck on my arms. I've swallowed countless flies at this point. I remember the first one that went in my mouth, I stopped immediately and tried to puke him up. Eventually I got sick of stopping or even trying to spit them out. Now I just drink a bit of water to get them down and thank 'em for the free calorie or two.

I was getting tired by 130 km but there was nothing but farms around and big rolls of hay along the roads. I considered pushing some together for a wall of privacy against the highway but a sign popped up saying a town was not far off. Suffield was the name and it was a tiny little town. No churches to camp on that I could find, and a dingy little RV yard wanted $15 (no thanks).

I found their community center and poked in to inquire about camping on their premise. The place was decently furnished, had a wide screen TV,  pool table, big kitchen, dining hall, and some computers to use. I couldn't find anyone. I figured they just left it open and eventually somebody came by to lock it. I went back outside to eat a sub I bought, but decided I'd rather heat it up. I went back and the door was locked! I'm pretty sure whoever had locked up hadn't shut the door properly...

Anyhow, I set my tent up in the most bushy covered corner of the property and will rest for the night if the trains don't toot their crazy horns too much. Tomorrow is Medicine Hat where I hope to buy a handlebar bag. I should be able to enter Saskatchewan as well!

Day 20 - Bicycle Cowboy

I was up early today and packed so I could get down to a Canada post office I spotted yesterday to once again mail some things home. It took a bit of poking around to find a proper box and a small test ride without the front rack or bags to see how the bike handled. I can safely say if you aren't touring in cold conditions or other scenarios where you need a lot of clothes then you can get by with just back rack and bags, tho the weight distribution is a bit odd. I've kept one of the front bags to replace the backpack that sat on top of the rack. I plan to get a handlebar bag at some point for easier access to my camera, map and phone.

So the load has been lightened by 6.5 pounds. I've sent back 2 shirts, 2 pairs of socks, 2 pairs of underwear, sleeping pants, camera carrying case, 35mm lens, Nintendo DS and cord, travel thermos, teas, one front pannier, backpack, front rack, and a BC and Alberta license plate. The handling without the front rack and bags is a lot less sluggish but I adapted quickly. The bike is also very back heavy so I have to be mindful of how easily the front likes to rise up. Overall I'm enjoying the setup much more. This puts my gear returned now at 13 pounds! It's amusing that I lugged all that useless stuff through BC. Oh well, makes you stronger.

So back to the day. It was nearly 1pm by the time I set off with my newly lightened load. The wind was mostly in my face all day with overcast and 20° temperatures. Around me were rolling farms as far as the eye could see. The hills were long and gradual, like very tame versions of their BC cousins. This felt like the perfect transition from the mountains to the prairies.

The farms along the way were very soothing to ride by. Cows, in massive herds, would usually gawk at me as I passed (those cows are up to something). The vegetation would sway like a body of water with the winds. One pasture had a mix of cows and horses that were really beautiful. The horses all came trotting up to greet me with at the fence but ran off before I could get a photo of them looking my way. One calf had somehow gotten outside the fence and a truck driver honked at me to point him out.

Well sir I'm no cattle rustler but I got that little fellow galloping down along the fence for a ways while I followed him on the bike until he found a spot of fence where the barbed wire let him slip back to the safety of the herd. Cowboy, this guy right here.

I pushed on until I hit 90 or so km and turned off the highway and into a small town called Cluny where I setup in a corner of a quiet church yard. As I've been typing this the weather went from calm and comfortable to a raging thunderstorm in a matter of seconds. What sweet timing I had to stop here. I was setup and did a little lap around town to see the train that passes through before the storm hit. Barely 20 minutes.

The walls of my tent are being put to the test by high winds as the tarp fights off sideways rain while everything lights up every few seconds from the thunder and lightning battles overhead. It sounds like chaos "outside" but I'm sitting happy in my little environment. Bit of reading and sleep is in order, stay tuned for more bicycle cowboy antics!

Day 19 - Going Through Calgary

I woke up to the familiar stinky humidity of my tent only to open the door on the tarp to let a breeze in and snooze for a bit more. When I did get up a little while later I was shocked to find my back tire now had gone completely flat and the front seemed squishy again. I packed up and headed back to the gas station to repair the flats and get a cold drink. I discovered both tires were having small leaks now. When I took the tubes out sure enough the front had one small hole and the back had two.

I had changed the front yesterday but foolishly never checked the inside of the tire for any objects that may have punctured through. Sure enough I found a small bit of metal, identical to a staple, sticking up inside the tire. It had punctured the original and the new tube, so check your tires when you get a flat! The holes were easily patched and I was able to remove two identical metal bits from the back tire as well, all the time answering questions and talking with curious passerby's at the gas station. Maybe my native name could be "Many Flats".

With everything operational again I headed off down the TCH but today it was mostly wind in my face and hills for some time. I guess it was a good thing I stopped last night where I did. I came upon Calgary after a lot of vast farmlands that looked shockingly similar to the windows xp desktop picture. The TCH in Calgary was too hectic and offered no separated riding lane so I got onto the bike paths that follow the river through town and headed southeast until a closed section forced me back onto the streets.

From here I sort of just plinkoed my way southeast on streets and bike paths until I was out of the city. I really didn't want to be stuck looking for a camping spot in a busy city again so I took Glenmore Trail east away from town and cut up on a wicked little bike path that followed a canal just past 84th street, struggling to keep up with a hot rollerblading girl going impressively fast. This took me all the way up into Chestermere where I searched around the suburbs for a camp spot and settled with a quiet corner in the field of a grade school. Hurrah for summer break.

Day 18 - Fast Times in Western Alberta

The rain broke some time in the night and I wasn't long drying the tarp and heading off. Today was almost all downhill. The bit of climbing I did do was certainly offset by the great pace I was able to keep the whole day. I had stopped into Banff to get some food. The place was loud and crowded so I didn't stay long. It is nestled in a nice valley surrounded by impressive mountains. From here it was uneventful, which isn't always a bad thing on a trip of this proportion.

The land eventually leveled out but I had had a calm breeze at my back to aid me. I was well over my 100 km but happy to keep going until my front tire started getting a bit saggy. It was losing pressure but very slowly, so I kept pushing on and pumped it up every 10 km. Eventually I decided I better call it a day, not wanting to be both looking for a reliable camping spot and tending to a leaky tire. Gas stations had been pretty rare the last few days, but as luck would have it I came to a turnoff that lead to a little area with a grocery store, gas station, and restaurant called Chief Chiniki Village.

Seemed I had stumbled into a small native area. People were very friendly and inquisitive and I was able to change the front tube and find a spot to camp on a hill just across from the store overlooking farmlands and a track for riding horses. All was well, I had made great time, and it was time to read and sleep.

Day 17 - Escape From B.C.

I was up early and out of the camp site before anyone was around to collect the overpriced fee. Sadly, I've only seen only one site so far that offered lower rates for cyclists. Sorry naysayers, $25 for a spot of gravel to tent on is robbery in my books. I'll stick to random fields and churches from now on. Lucky for me the town had a 24 hour laundromat so I was able to kill some tine while the grocery store opened. After cleaning and shopping I was set to leave. I went down the TCH with my sights set on crossing the border to Alberta.

Right off the bat the TCH shoots uphill and carves it's way along a mountain and eventually to a long bridge that cuts left over the valley that you can see coming a you go up. At one point along the way I passed a tribe of mountain goats lazily chewing on some bushes. About half way there was a rest area and a french fry van, the vendor told me I was riding up "Ten mile hill". He also suggested I not get the poutine since I was going up and not down. In total it ended up being 556m of climbing which took 2 hours before the hill finally broke.

It was rivers and mountains, all growing more epic as I went along. I eventually entered Yoho National Park and dealt with more ups and downs (but mostly ups) until I arrived at the small town of Field. When asked, a girl at the gift store told me the Alberta border was only 20 minutes away. Motorists have a poor feel for distance in kilometers and hills, I swear..... Before I left the visitor center an english gentleman and his family approached me and said they had seen me earlier in the day on ten mile hill. The father said my climb was "brilliant". That tickled me and I set off to conquer B.C.

Sure enough you've got to climb one more hill to finish B.C. called Kicking Horse Pass. I guess I can't complain. The pass was first explored by an expedition in 1858 without the convenience of a paved highway or bicycle like I had. I've heard they even ran out of food and one member was kicked by his horse before they reached the top. Guy didn't even get the pass named after him, his asshole horse got more credit... Poor James Hector.

After approximately 0 horse kicks and many turns of the wheel I reached the top. I was happy to find that this was the highest point the TCH reaches at 1643m. Here as well you can view the spiral tunnels that were constructed in 1909 to ease the 4.5% climb (steepest in Canada) the trains were having to make near Wapta lake down to 2.2% at the cost of a slightly longer trip.

After spending a bit of time learning of the spiral tunnels I noticed a storm far off and the clouds overhead indicated it was heading my way. It started getting windy and tho it didn't rain there was water from the many falls along side the road being blown about. I had to get moving. I sped along from the summit and flew down the other end. The winds subsided and I looked out for a welcome to Alberta sign. All I eventually saw was a welcome to B.C. sign on the other side of the road so I figured I had just entered Alberta. I had successfully crossed B.C.!

Like clockwork the skies opened up and rain poured down on me. The timing couldn't be more hilarious. I felt like I was in The Truman Show and the guy up in the booth was trying to get me to stay in B.C. I hadn't seen it rain in 15 days (curiously enough I was going way the wrong way the last time it rained). I zipped through construction on the roads and sought shelter for the day. In no time I spotted an unusual basketball court on the side of the highway next to apparently nothing, so I rolled up in the bushy field behind it and camped out for my first rainy night in Alberta.

Day 16 - Mighty Golden Boy

After my first day off I was eager to get back onto the road again. I was becoming accustomed to traveling every day and it felt strange not to. I had intended to be up by 4am but a few custom snooze alarms pushed that to 7am. Still early enough to avoid any trouble I'm sure.

The ride out of town was one long hill called Townley street until I finally connected with the TCH again. I rode along the highway past many snow capped mountains up and down small hills and through the south end of Revelstoke national park. It was a decent day, warm but not brutally hot. I didn't have to stop as much as I had the last week or more in the heat. Eventually I was in Glacier national park. The whole time I watched the river that followed the road and noted the water went opposite my direction. A Sure sign of hills ahead.

It had been 65km and I still had not encountered any overly difficult hills. I stopped into a camp site in Glacier and refilled my bottles as a gentleman told me the hill does indeed start very soon. Sure enough a few minutes after leaving the site I had to kick it into lowest gear and slowly roll up the hills and through a few tunnels, stopping often for pictures of the looming mountains. In no time I was 1330m up atop Rogers Pass, admiring the mountain up ahead and checking out the little information center.

Having overestimated the difficulty and seen now that the roads were decent, I somewhat regretted taking yesterday off. All I could do today was make up the time, so I started the decent down Rogers Pass. It was a speedy run around gentle bends and through tunnels with generous shoulders with massive jagged mountains moping by slowly as I went. Once the downhill was spent I was left in the north end of Glacier and to leave the park area I had to climb a hill that rose along a straight of mountains I had just pass through.

After the climb I was out of Glacier park and the sun was starting to make it's escape behind the western mountains. I had passed my goal of 100 km so I started looking for places to camp. Nothing looked too appealing and I wanted a warm meal. Golden was another 45 km so I said shag it and kept going.

I was getting a little weary as the last while out of Glacier had been gradual hills and I'd have another decent stretch to go. I ended up having one extra bottle of water than I had thought so I took a quick break and mixed up some Gatorade and drank most of it. I also figured I'd give "Justice" a listen as I made my way to Golden. They are a french electronic duo I'd been told about and I needed a good tune to push me.

I set off again with the crazy french electronic music going and the hills ended almost immediately after. I coasted down the other end for quite a while, making great time as the land eventually leveled out and I resumed a regular pace. It was another 20 km to Golden and my shadow was growing taller. It looked like Manute Bol riding a velocipede before it eventually vanished entirely. It was a flat ride mostly into town from here and the mountains stretched on from both horizons to my south. They looked like a giant row of jagged teeth and the sky was red behind them.

Eventually in town I arrived to a strip of motels, gas stations, and fast food joints. After a terrible meal at McDonald's I was able to locate a municipal camp ground shortly before 12am and quietly rolled in hoping to avoid the fees. I made camp and slept a good sleep once again.

Day 15 - Break Day

The fellow I had talked to yesterday about Newfoundland had mentioned that Rogers pass was very busy on Sundays as well as winding with poor shoulders. This paired with the fact that I hadn't taken a break yet was enough to convince me to relax for a day.

I kept my tent set up by the ball field and managed to stay despite the swim club packing up and leaving throughout the day. The fellow I talked with had given me a few coffees and a larabar before he left late in the day to avoid the traffic back to Alberta.

It rained most of the day and I had found some outlets in a bathroom near the field so I got everything charged, cooked the rest of my burgers until my fuel ran out, and took some time lapse photos of the foggy lake near by. I also got to spend some quality reading time as all this went on before I slept again.

Day 14 - To Revelstoke

I was up early and for the first time since the 2nd I was not greeted with sun and humidity but overcast and cool 15°ish temperatures. Perfect for riding in, but for what ever reason I spent a few hours reading my book "Golden Fool". Eventually I left and passed through Sicamous which only a few weeks prior had been hit hard with flooding. A few roads were under repairs and traffic was slowed, no worries for me tho at my pace. Here I was finally able to get back on the reliable TCH which should carry me the rest of the way through B.C.

The highway snaked on fairly uneventful other then an SUV gently pushing into the shoulder a few feet in front of me and tooting its horn casually. Why this happened I have no idea but it was the first somewhat close call I've had so far and I was a little uneasy for a time after.

I rode along side the trains a few times along the way and followed their lead into Revelstoke. I let my hungry stomach decide that buying a dozen box of burgers at the grocery store was a good idea and wandered town for a place to camp.

I came to a hill and at the bottom were tents and campers by a baseball field. Turns out a bunch of surrounding communities were having a swim club meeting and staying here. I chatted with one who happened to be familiar with George street (a famous street full of bars back home) and had a brother in law marry a woman from Torbay (where most my family is from). Small world.

I put up my tent, admired the great view of snowy mountains, and ate as many burgers as I could handle (5, Jughead would approve). I rested only to hear on occasion the massive rattling of the trains as they crossed the bridge into town about 5 km away. The trains have been a constant presence on my trip the last week or so... I'm not sure I've always mentioned that. Either way it was a comforting and familiar roaring that didn't hinder my sleep that night.

Day 13 - Siesta

Today was mostly uneventful. A day of gradual hills both up and down. It was tipping over 40° around noon and I had to hide from the brutal sun for a time west of Vernon in a shaded little corner store.

Leaving Westside road onto Otter Lake road I was shaded by the sun from cloud cover as I rolled through sparse quiet farmlands. I would eventually meet up with 97a just after Armstrong where a gas station clerk refused to charge me for a slushy. This took me through Enderby and up to Grindrod where I was told a quiet school and church were tucked away and good for camping. There I stayed for the night undisturbed.

Day 12 - Leaving Ron's

Ron's ingredients

I slept good and late in Ron's dark cool basement. I wasn't going to get any kind of an early start today despite having all my things charged, clean, and packed. Yesterday and today Ron had spent time showing me his plan for retirement, which was to travel around on a recumbent bike pulling a canoe so he could traverse both land and water solely on manpower. Ron is almost 63 by the way and can probably kick your ass.

Ron is in the process of selling his home to fund his adventure and begin his retirement. He also showed me in great detail his venture into the food business where he made extremely healthy grain type travel food snack things. I've got a picture of all the ingredients I'll post when I get home. The things were quite tasty, and in a more crass world their slogan could certainly be "Makes you shit like a bear!" Ron claimed to have eaten probably 1500 pounds of the stuff and for the shape he was in I trust they are good for you.

I also got to weigh myself and all my gear on Ron's scales. I was down to 145 lbs from my usual 150 lbs. My bike with the racks was about 35 lbs and the 4 panniers and backpack were 55 lbs. We also found that my 4 water bottles when filled were 6 lbs. That's almost 100 lbs of weight I'm pedaling along! Anyhow, after breaking the "latest to leave" record of Ron's many warmshowers guests we both set off heading north for 10 km on a quiet side road then up a steep dirt path back to the 97 where we parted ways after I got my picture by the town sign.

I followed the 97 until the heat forced me to cool off on a beach in Peachland. From here I rode through the town of West Kelowna where I purchased some bear mace at Ron's advice. I got off the 97 and onto the more quiet and hilly Westside road. I checked out Bear Creek provincial park but camping was an unreasonable $30. It was up and down hills along the Okanagan lake until I decided to call it a day and camp in the woods between Bear Creek and Fintry park, within earshot of some resort where people drunkenly sang karaoke.

Okanagan lake