Sideways
August 2
After more catching up with my Prince George friends, I hit the road for a glorious 10 km descent into town and a grocery store. I got groceries, realized I forgot my phone charger cables at the house, had a less than glorious 10 km climb back to them, and then enjoyed another 10 km descent. Thankfully I'm just happy to be on the bike again and the riding back didn't seem too bad. Eventually Highway 16 spun me out of town and the highlight of the ride was definitely the roadside flowers. They're something I often notice but rarely photograph but today they were so colourful and showy it was impossible not to stop and take their pictures. The rest of the scenery was mainly comprised of hills on the verge of being called mountains and many, many trees. I ate dinner at The Ancient Forest park (a unique area of preserved inland rain forest) before finding another cyclist and joining them in setting up camp and swimming in the river.
August 3
I hit the road early in an attempt to beat the heat and had a few kilometres of comfort before the sun's rays got going and made it 35 degrees of fun. The ride was great and even though there were hills and a headwind, I'm so used to dealing with those things that they didn't stop me from enjoying being back on the bike. The road wound along a valley through the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and slowly the hills evolved into row upon row of rock topped peaks. Not only were the mountains rocky, but my tires were too - say what? I was waived through construction by a flagger and shortly after saw a transport truck approaching me in the one lane that we were both using to travel in opposite directions! The truck won our little game of chicken (obviously!) as I opted to steer into the only possible escape into the freshly tarred and levelled shoulder. My tires promptly collected about a centimetre of tar and rocks, like a magnet picking up pins! After 100 km they are still coated with about 1/2 cm which may make them impermeable to flats, but in the heat they are rather sticky and slow. Tires aside and 170 kms of climbing later, I reached Mt. Robson (the highest point in the Canadian Rockies), found a spot in the campground with some Swiss and German cyclists, and chatted the evening away with them (they most accommodatingly spoke English). Although I was originally planning to bike the most beautiful Icefields Parkway, after realizing that it is a long weekend, I have decided to take a raincheck on riding that highway as it is likely to be absolutely infested by camper trailers this weekend. I will just keep on cycling east.
August 4
The road must have read my post from yesterday and decided to remind me to take its headwinds seriously because today it served up at least a double dose. However, I didn't have far to go and the wind didn't ruin my day in the slightest - take that road! Today's 100 kms led me through valleys, between mountains, and because BC is a lot taller than it is wide, I actually hit the eastern border - Hello Alberta!!! I checked out (read stuffed my face in) Jasper, and after a few great, random roadside chats, meandered to a campground and setup the best hammock arrangement yet. As an aside, someone wise once told me if you are carrying more books than underwear you're doing it wrong... Kidding, no one told me that - I figured it out all on my own! So, this morning I finished reading a book and passed it along for at least 200 g of weight savings!
August 5
The Rockies disappeared today much more quickly than they appeared from the west. I travelled alongside some gorgeous rocky peaks before they gave way to open, rolling hills and puffy white clouds. I (as well as everyone else on the highway) saw an elk up close and personal, creating a traffic jam which I found thoroughly entertaining. After leaving Jasper, the 160 km ride was pretty uneventful. The almost 2 m wide shoulder was luxurious and I enjoyed listening to a Harry Potter audio book as I rolled along, trying to decide if I was going uphill, downhill or neither. I passed out of Jasper National Park, through Hinton (where I had a nap to avoid the sun) and on to Edson where I ate, set up my hammock castle in the cloud, and am presently enjoying cell service while protected from the surprisingly quick and nimble mosquitoes!
August 6
I had an intentionally easy, breezy 112 km day scooting my way across fairly flat prairies for an early end to the day at my cousin's!! At times it was so flat that I forgot I was on a bicycle, sitting there on my wide shoulder listening to my audiobook with my legs spinning of their own accord. Not a bad way to spend a morning. As I approached Gainford, all of a sudden my foot was a bit wobbly. A quick check showed foot attached to pedal, pedal attached to crank arm, crank arm NOT attached to bike. Say what!? Thankfully I have a bike mechanic on speed dial (Maxxx:)) and was able to get that sorted. Eventually, I arrived at Curtis's ranch and we had an awesome time catching up, eating a delicious dinner, and having an evening full of creature care and farm chats.
August 7
After another round of calf feeding, and another round of rainy, roadside, remote controlled bike fixing (thanks again Max!), I rolled on towards Edmonton and spied the first tall buildings I have seen since I left Vancouver on July 1st! It took me a moment to figure out why something so familiar was so surprising but then I realized that I hadn't seen any tall buildings in over a month. I found what seemed to be the only bike shop that was open on this holiday Monday and got my bike properly fixed (I hope!). By the time repairs were completed, it was too late to make it much past Edmonton, so I did a little Facebook scrabbling to find an Edmonton connection. In no time flat, I found a place to stay for the night, and one down the road for tomorrow night - the world is a beautiful place! Carolyn and I enjoyed a good catch-up chat, dinner and garden raspberry nibble - how could I ask for more? Thanks Carolyn!
August 8
The offer from Nathan and Colin to visit their family's cottage was so enticing it convinced me to do a 240 km day. Oh yeah, my legs aren't too tired - I've still got it! My early start ride out of Edmonton was full of yawning gulfs in the pavement which I somehow managed to successfully navigate and after a few country roads I was back on a cozy highway shoulder. The amusing thing the road threw at me today was a house. A what? A full-sized house creeping slowly down the road towards me. The pilot car warned me and all the other oncoming traffic, and we had to head far over onto the shoulder to allow it to pass. There were several other large pipes, trailers and equipment that passed me today, but the full bungalow easily took the cake, and ate it too. Off the highway, I think it's safe to say I'm on the prairies. The land is flat, very flat, and full to the brim with agriculture. I'm also noticing a remarkable number of birds - ducks in sloughs (water-filled depressions), lots of predatory raptors (including a not so friendly hawk who decided to dive-bomb me twice), swooping swallows, and many small songbirds. My cycling day ended with a wonderful surprises - personalized, welcoming road signs to the Herrington cottage, a most delicious dinner, and the joy of seeing friends in their happy place.
P.S. Photo credits to @herringtoncolin (admittedly taken the following morning) and thanks for fixing my camera!
August 9
It was a fabulous Herrington cottage morning at Clear Lake, complete with: potentially the best breakfast of the trip - eggs benny in a muffin tray (so deliciously good); tubing on the lake; learning to knee board; hot tubbing; fun time with friends; a wonderful takeaway lunch and snacks; and fabulous farewell photos. As hard as it was to leave, it is always nice to be on the bike and today was no exception. I followed Google Maps for some gravel side road adventures which would have been fun except for the surprise of a recent grading, and the going was very slow. Back on the main roads was much more pleasant for me, if hot, and I road them on into Saskatchewan!!!! It did not instantly become flat at the border and slightly rolling hills were surmounted with relative ease and even more so, the occasional very, very flat sections. The road was very straight and ran alongside agricultural fields, the occasional oil grasshopper, railways with lots of trains, wetlands, and through small towns. My late start and gravel detour meant that my planned 177 km trek had me chasing the sunset, but I made it to my intended camping spot in Wilkie and set up another fabulous hammock castle under a gorgeous starlit night.
P.S. Solid photocredz and hosting magic to @herringtoncolin, @nthnh and their parents. Cat can (and should) be found @themaxxtagram for more adventures.
Alberta Bound!
August 2 - 9: Alberta Bound!August 2
After more catching up with my Prince George friends, I hit the road for a glorious 10 km descent into town and a grocery store. I got groceries, realized I forgot my phone charger cables at the house, had a less than glorious 10 km climb back to them, and then enjoyed another 10 km descent. Thankfully I'm just happy to be on the bike again and the riding back didn't seem too bad. Eventually Highway 16 spun me out of town and the highlight of the ride was definitely the roadside flowers. They're something I often notice but rarely photograph but today they were so colourful and showy it was impossible not to stop and take their pictures. The rest of the scenery was mainly comprised of hills on the verge of being called mountains and many, many trees. I ate dinner at The Ancient Forest park (a unique area of preserved inland rain forest) before finding another cyclist and joining them in setting up camp and swimming in the river.
August 3
I hit the road early in an attempt to beat the heat and had a few kilometres of comfort before the sun's rays got going and made it 35 degrees of fun. The ride was great and even though there were hills and a headwind, I'm so used to dealing with those things that they didn't stop me from enjoying being back on the bike. The road wound along a valley through the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and slowly the hills evolved into row upon row of rock topped peaks. Not only were the mountains rocky, but my tires were too - say what? I was waived through construction by a flagger and shortly after saw a transport truck approaching me in the one lane that we were both using to travel in opposite directions! The truck won our little game of chicken (obviously!) as I opted to steer into the only possible escape into the freshly tarred and levelled shoulder. My tires promptly collected about a centimetre of tar and rocks, like a magnet picking up pins! After 100 km they are still coated with about 1/2 cm which may make them impermeable to flats, but in the heat they are rather sticky and slow. Tires aside and 170 kms of climbing later, I reached Mt. Robson (the highest point in the Canadian Rockies), found a spot in the campground with some Swiss and German cyclists, and chatted the evening away with them (they most accommodatingly spoke English). Although I was originally planning to bike the most beautiful Icefields Parkway, after realizing that it is a long weekend, I have decided to take a raincheck on riding that highway as it is likely to be absolutely infested by camper trailers this weekend. I will just keep on cycling east.
August 4
The road must have read my post from yesterday and decided to remind me to take its headwinds seriously because today it served up at least a double dose. However, I didn't have far to go and the wind didn't ruin my day in the slightest - take that road! Today's 100 kms led me through valleys, between mountains, and because BC is a lot taller than it is wide, I actually hit the eastern border - Hello Alberta!!! I checked out (read stuffed my face in) Jasper, and after a few great, random roadside chats, meandered to a campground and setup the best hammock arrangement yet. As an aside, someone wise once told me if you are carrying more books than underwear you're doing it wrong... Kidding, no one told me that - I figured it out all on my own! So, this morning I finished reading a book and passed it along for at least 200 g of weight savings!
August 5
The Rockies disappeared today much more quickly than they appeared from the west. I travelled alongside some gorgeous rocky peaks before they gave way to open, rolling hills and puffy white clouds. I (as well as everyone else on the highway) saw an elk up close and personal, creating a traffic jam which I found thoroughly entertaining. After leaving Jasper, the 160 km ride was pretty uneventful. The almost 2 m wide shoulder was luxurious and I enjoyed listening to a Harry Potter audio book as I rolled along, trying to decide if I was going uphill, downhill or neither. I passed out of Jasper National Park, through Hinton (where I had a nap to avoid the sun) and on to Edson where I ate, set up my hammock castle in the cloud, and am presently enjoying cell service while protected from the surprisingly quick and nimble mosquitoes!
August 6
I had an intentionally easy, breezy 112 km day scooting my way across fairly flat prairies for an early end to the day at my cousin's!! At times it was so flat that I forgot I was on a bicycle, sitting there on my wide shoulder listening to my audiobook with my legs spinning of their own accord. Not a bad way to spend a morning. As I approached Gainford, all of a sudden my foot was a bit wobbly. A quick check showed foot attached to pedal, pedal attached to crank arm, crank arm NOT attached to bike. Say what!? Thankfully I have a bike mechanic on speed dial (Maxxx:)) and was able to get that sorted. Eventually, I arrived at Curtis's ranch and we had an awesome time catching up, eating a delicious dinner, and having an evening full of creature care and farm chats.
August 7
After another round of calf feeding, and another round of rainy, roadside, remote controlled bike fixing (thanks again Max!), I rolled on towards Edmonton and spied the first tall buildings I have seen since I left Vancouver on July 1st! It took me a moment to figure out why something so familiar was so surprising but then I realized that I hadn't seen any tall buildings in over a month. I found what seemed to be the only bike shop that was open on this holiday Monday and got my bike properly fixed (I hope!). By the time repairs were completed, it was too late to make it much past Edmonton, so I did a little Facebook scrabbling to find an Edmonton connection. In no time flat, I found a place to stay for the night, and one down the road for tomorrow night - the world is a beautiful place! Carolyn and I enjoyed a good catch-up chat, dinner and garden raspberry nibble - how could I ask for more? Thanks Carolyn!
August 8
The offer from Nathan and Colin to visit their family's cottage was so enticing it convinced me to do a 240 km day. Oh yeah, my legs aren't too tired - I've still got it! My early start ride out of Edmonton was full of yawning gulfs in the pavement which I somehow managed to successfully navigate and after a few country roads I was back on a cozy highway shoulder. The amusing thing the road threw at me today was a house. A what? A full-sized house creeping slowly down the road towards me. The pilot car warned me and all the other oncoming traffic, and we had to head far over onto the shoulder to allow it to pass. There were several other large pipes, trailers and equipment that passed me today, but the full bungalow easily took the cake, and ate it too. Off the highway, I think it's safe to say I'm on the prairies. The land is flat, very flat, and full to the brim with agriculture. I'm also noticing a remarkable number of birds - ducks in sloughs (water-filled depressions), lots of predatory raptors (including a not so friendly hawk who decided to dive-bomb me twice), swooping swallows, and many small songbirds. My cycling day ended with a wonderful surprises - personalized, welcoming road signs to the Herrington cottage, a most delicious dinner, and the joy of seeing friends in their happy place.
P.S. Photo credits to @herringtoncolin (admittedly taken the following morning) and thanks for fixing my camera!
August 9
It was a fabulous Herrington cottage morning at Clear Lake, complete with: potentially the best breakfast of the trip - eggs benny in a muffin tray (so deliciously good); tubing on the lake; learning to knee board; hot tubbing; fun time with friends; a wonderful takeaway lunch and snacks; and fabulous farewell photos. As hard as it was to leave, it is always nice to be on the bike and today was no exception. I followed Google Maps for some gravel side road adventures which would have been fun except for the surprise of a recent grading, and the going was very slow. Back on the main roads was much more pleasant for me, if hot, and I road them on into Saskatchewan!!!! It did not instantly become flat at the border and slightly rolling hills were surmounted with relative ease and even more so, the occasional very, very flat sections. The road was very straight and ran alongside agricultural fields, the occasional oil grasshopper, railways with lots of trains, wetlands, and through small towns. My late start and gravel detour meant that my planned 177 km trek had me chasing the sunset, but I made it to my intended camping spot in Wilkie and set up another fabulous hammock castle under a gorgeous starlit night.
P.S. Solid photocredz and hosting magic to @herringtoncolin, @nthnh and their parents. Cat can (and should) be found @themaxxtagram for more adventures.
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