My stay in Regina has been well interesting. My view is wonderful. I get to see a nice by the hour hotel, the cheque cashing business, as well as the stragglers from the casino wondering down the street. The streets themselves are a conversation piece because they are brutal. The sidewalks have huge breaks in them that I almost bailed on 2 times today. As well the crosswalk signals are sporadic at the best of times because there are no buttons so it simple guesses when you are ready to cross. Which at one time today was a wait of more then a minute with no cars coming the other way.
Regina is a town that seems to have not evolved with the rest of the world. Watching the nightly newscast was the first use of shoulder pads on TV I have seen since re-runs of Ann of green gables. As well some of the fashions we saw coming out of the Marvel school of beauty were very questionable. This lack of evolving does have its pros though. The buildings here are simply stunning the use of brick, wood, and stone is something to behold. When we were doing laundry today we took a quick stroll down the street and within eyesight you were able to see a cathedral, and a brick wall that was constructed with different colours to form the face of a jazz singer.
Although we did wonder a little bit I used today primarily as a rest day. I think the combination of operation repo, a full stomach, and not putting any k’s on the bike made my leg feel about a million times better. I guess maybe because I am so used to living in a big city simple things like TV programming came as a little bit of a shock to me here. On one channel we have a little league baseball game with next to zero commentary, on another we have local advertisements, and another station is dedicated to Regina politics. They call us the MTV generation, which may be true if you live everywhere except in Regina.
When I woke up this morning I rushed downstairs to get in for the free breakfast. Let me tell you they wish I had not shown up. After 4 cinnamon buns, a bowl of cereal, 3 glasses of juice, 3 english muffins, 2 bagels, a plate of scrambled eggs, and roughly 10 strips of bacon I finally cut myself off. Needless to say I felt like relaxing for a few hours after loading up like that.
After a relaxing day we all went out for dinner at a place called beer bros. When you walk inside you are greeted by very friendly people and a setting that is strangely modern. The name of the restaurant transfer over to the food surprisingly well. I had a pulled pork sandwich that was glazed with a local beer, and the gravy that was given with my fries was laden with Guinness. All the dishes had some sort of twist, which is nice to see. It shows that the owners care about the food, and care about the 15 some beers that they carry in regular stock. As well all the serves were super knowledgeable and did not seem like robots, which was a really pleasant change. I would defiantly recommend this place to anyone even passing near Saskatchewan.
As well over dinner I gave Charles and Olivier their Westwood cycle jerseys. They were super surprised by it and were super appreciative of it. They will now always have a memory of this day and we will always look super pro riding down the road. To the guys at Westwood Cycle that made this happen I have to say thank you. Tonight was a great way to end my stay in Regina, and a great way to say goodbye to my mom for the next little while. Remember if life is worth living it is worth recording.
The swap over to my other internet stick did not work so I am stuck trying to hunt for wifi. Because of this my postings may be late but trust the fact they will be posted. Thanks. Evan
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Tour Day 13 Pain July 7 2010
Let me tell you that saskcachewan is a weird place. I thought bc’s weather was off the charts here it is about 25 time worse. Last night for example I was sitting in my tent rearranging all my stuff and getting all the stuff I have not used packed up to give to my mom to take home. It was warm. Scratch that it was hot. I had all of my gear charging outside, and all of the vents on my tent open. As I sat in the tent I hear a slight pitter-patter and thing nothing of it. 10 seconds later it is the torrential rain the likes of which I have never seen or heard before. I panicked because everything was outside. So here I go running outside in sandals and shorts getting eaten alive by mosquitoes trying to save all the gear. I get all of it inside the vestibule and snuggle up inside when the sun comes out and heats up again. Ignoring it I tucked myself in and tried to fall asleep to the sound of thunder. The thunder was amazing. One bang rung on for I kid you not more then a minute.
The morning was the morning I woke up at 5am as I usually do, and got everything ready for a nice long ride. The mosquitoes let me tell you are something else. I do not understand what they think because while we were riding at around 30k an hour they managed to land on our bodies and do what they do best. So we looked a little crazy riding down the road because we were smack ourselves all over. It seems to be for not though because I have roughly 15-25 bug bites all over my body that only seem to itch when I have some down time.
I do not know who started the rumours that the prairies are easy but they are not. The first 90k were constant up and down terrain that was paved with what seemed to be dead animals and shattered pavement. I felt like calling myself Grave Digger (the monster truck with the amount of dead animals I was running over. I know it is gross but when you are zoned you don’t really focus on those such things. All I can say is thank heavens for quality tires.
We stopped for lunch in a small salt farming town called Chaplin. It was very similar to bassonao is the sense that we looked very alien when we stroll in with loaded bike. When I asked where the restaurant is to a couple guys they looked at me as if I wad drunk. When we got to the restaurant we ate like kings but still felt a little out of place because everyone else knew each other and were sharing some weird stories (from what I over heard).
Anyways the road goes on and we pushed on to moose jaw where we made the choice to skip our rest point there and push onto Regina so that tomorrow can be spent relaxing and not doing any riding. As well I had a little extra motivation because my mom was waiting for me in Regina. Seeing the sign saying 62k to go was a little disheartening but I really wanted that rest day so I took my pull and pushed the tempo up. I felt a little tightness in my left knee but thought nothing of it and continued on. Then Olivier had the same thing but with his whole leg. We were forced to stop and tiger balm ourselves which seemed to do nothing. That was with 40k to go and we were starting to hurt. At that point we look back and see rain. We look forward and see lighting and even worse rain. And here we were in the middle in the one lone patch of sun within eyesight. We were racing these clouds that seemed to be moving at 100km/h. Then it hit. Luckily we were within eyesight of the only house between there and Regina. We decided to hold up in there for the 15mins while the storm passed. When we got back on the bike our muscled had cooled down which was not a good thing. My muscles or ligament that I pulled hurt worse then I can imagine (I wish my friend jj was here to tell me what I pulled). The pain was excruciating. I cannot tell you how hard it is to pedal with one leg because any pressure on the left leg caused me t cringe in pain. Olivier was even worse off.
The only bright spot of those last k’s were the beautiful rainbow that was on the horizon. When we got to Regina I went to the holiday inn and phoned mom to tell her to come down. This is when I realize I am at the wrong one and the correct one is 5k up town, which sucked. The pain was so great that I was laughing going down the main street.
Luckily I had a mom to help me out once I got to the hotel. I hope that ice, rest, and nutrition will help within the next 48hrs. It is really nice seeing family again as well. I have to say it is a little weird not having to simplify my English, and being able to catch up with not only family but with what is going on in social media. Remember if life is worth living its worth recording.
Trip Distance: 251.99km
Ride Time: 9:51hr
Avg. Speed: 25.56km/h
Total Distance: 1937km
Total Ride Time: 93:15hr
Destination: Regina, Saskatchewan
The morning was the morning I woke up at 5am as I usually do, and got everything ready for a nice long ride. The mosquitoes let me tell you are something else. I do not understand what they think because while we were riding at around 30k an hour they managed to land on our bodies and do what they do best. So we looked a little crazy riding down the road because we were smack ourselves all over. It seems to be for not though because I have roughly 15-25 bug bites all over my body that only seem to itch when I have some down time.
I do not know who started the rumours that the prairies are easy but they are not. The first 90k were constant up and down terrain that was paved with what seemed to be dead animals and shattered pavement. I felt like calling myself Grave Digger (the monster truck with the amount of dead animals I was running over. I know it is gross but when you are zoned you don’t really focus on those such things. All I can say is thank heavens for quality tires.
We stopped for lunch in a small salt farming town called Chaplin. It was very similar to bassonao is the sense that we looked very alien when we stroll in with loaded bike. When I asked where the restaurant is to a couple guys they looked at me as if I wad drunk. When we got to the restaurant we ate like kings but still felt a little out of place because everyone else knew each other and were sharing some weird stories (from what I over heard).
Anyways the road goes on and we pushed on to moose jaw where we made the choice to skip our rest point there and push onto Regina so that tomorrow can be spent relaxing and not doing any riding. As well I had a little extra motivation because my mom was waiting for me in Regina. Seeing the sign saying 62k to go was a little disheartening but I really wanted that rest day so I took my pull and pushed the tempo up. I felt a little tightness in my left knee but thought nothing of it and continued on. Then Olivier had the same thing but with his whole leg. We were forced to stop and tiger balm ourselves which seemed to do nothing. That was with 40k to go and we were starting to hurt. At that point we look back and see rain. We look forward and see lighting and even worse rain. And here we were in the middle in the one lone patch of sun within eyesight. We were racing these clouds that seemed to be moving at 100km/h. Then it hit. Luckily we were within eyesight of the only house between there and Regina. We decided to hold up in there for the 15mins while the storm passed. When we got back on the bike our muscled had cooled down which was not a good thing. My muscles or ligament that I pulled hurt worse then I can imagine (I wish my friend jj was here to tell me what I pulled). The pain was excruciating. I cannot tell you how hard it is to pedal with one leg because any pressure on the left leg caused me t cringe in pain. Olivier was even worse off.
The only bright spot of those last k’s were the beautiful rainbow that was on the horizon. When we got to Regina I went to the holiday inn and phoned mom to tell her to come down. This is when I realize I am at the wrong one and the correct one is 5k up town, which sucked. The pain was so great that I was laughing going down the main street.
Luckily I had a mom to help me out once I got to the hotel. I hope that ice, rest, and nutrition will help within the next 48hrs. It is really nice seeing family again as well. I have to say it is a little weird not having to simplify my English, and being able to catch up with not only family but with what is going on in social media. Remember if life is worth living its worth recording.
Trip Distance: 251.99km
Ride Time: 9:51hr
Avg. Speed: 25.56km/h
Total Distance: 1937km
Total Ride Time: 93:15hr
Destination: Regina, Saskatchewan
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Tour Day 12 Recovery July 6 2010
Today hurt. The first few pedal strokes I could tell that my legs were dead and that my body was starving for energy. My bento box was full at that time but was near empty by the 50k mark. I was struggling on every hill to keep up and get my legs to move. I could tell Charles felt the same because he was going through his snacks as quick as I was. This prompted a quick stop at non-other then a truck stop. Here I picked up a little treat called steak nuggets. They tasted as bad as they sound, but they gave me much needed energy.
After that I struggled through the next 25k knowing that lunch was going to be very soon. In a little town called Gull Lake. Which oddly did not have a lake around it. That is beside the point though because again all I could think about was food. And again I was pleasantly surprised. I had in this little town the best-pulled pork sandwich I have ever tasted.
I think that my legs responded to this because I felt really good. My legs felt rejuvenated. As well I plugged in my ipod, which always rejuvenates because you can focus on the lyrics not the pain that you’re going through. I was just starting to get comfortable and take some pictures when it happened. I hear a rub and then a bang. Oliver rubbed my bag as I was getting blown around in the wind and went down like a ton of bricks. Luckily only a few scrapes and one jersey damaged.
After that I was pretty rattled. I was replaying it over and over in my head wondering what I did wrong. I felt super guilty and I think Oliver said it was all right just out of kindness.
Instead of pushing on we stopped in swift current where to be a resident you have to either drive a piece of farm equipment, a semi truck, or an extremely dirty pickup. At the campsite we met two more guys going across Canada who speak French as well. It is odd how many people speak the language when you ask. I swear every stop we have made the people speak French. At this point I am regretting not taking it more seriously, and I am also wishing that these millions of mosquitoes would bug off.
Trip Distance: 139.38km
Ride Time: 6:03hr
Avg. Speed: 23.01km/h
Total Distance: 1685km
Total Ride Time: 83:23hr
Destination: Swift Current, Saskatchewan
After that I struggled through the next 25k knowing that lunch was going to be very soon. In a little town called Gull Lake. Which oddly did not have a lake around it. That is beside the point though because again all I could think about was food. And again I was pleasantly surprised. I had in this little town the best-pulled pork sandwich I have ever tasted.
I think that my legs responded to this because I felt really good. My legs felt rejuvenated. As well I plugged in my ipod, which always rejuvenates because you can focus on the lyrics not the pain that you’re going through. I was just starting to get comfortable and take some pictures when it happened. I hear a rub and then a bang. Oliver rubbed my bag as I was getting blown around in the wind and went down like a ton of bricks. Luckily only a few scrapes and one jersey damaged.
After that I was pretty rattled. I was replaying it over and over in my head wondering what I did wrong. I felt super guilty and I think Oliver said it was all right just out of kindness.
Instead of pushing on we stopped in swift current where to be a resident you have to either drive a piece of farm equipment, a semi truck, or an extremely dirty pickup. At the campsite we met two more guys going across Canada who speak French as well. It is odd how many people speak the language when you ask. I swear every stop we have made the people speak French. At this point I am regretting not taking it more seriously, and I am also wishing that these millions of mosquitoes would bug off.
Trip Distance: 139.38km
Ride Time: 6:03hr
Avg. Speed: 23.01km/h
Total Distance: 1685km
Total Ride Time: 83:23hr
Destination: Swift Current, Saskatchewan
Monday, July 5, 2010
Tour Day 11 The Longest Day On The Bike Yet July 5 2010
So let me start from the beginning. I wake up like every other day and do not want to get out of my nice comfy sleeping bag. Unfortunately I hear that Charles and Oliver are up so I have to rush to get all my stuff together. And get on the road. Breakfast was at a local truck stop because the dinner we went to dinner at the night before did not open till 11. The greasy breakfast was actually surprisingly good. I guess anything tastes awesome when you are starving. Just like that we were off on the road with a nice tail wind behind us.
The miles were getting eaten up it was like the road was pointed downward. Brooks, which was 50k away, came up in under two hours, which is stellar. Felling awesome we left for our lunch stop at around 110k, which was a trailer just outside the Canadian forces base. I had a Monte cristo that was made with only the finest processed cheese. I don’t know why but up until this point in the day I had been singing anchorman quotes in my head. Something about Will Farrell just sings to me in the nights apparently because
This is not the first morning on the trip that this had happened.
The next road we took was a road that gave me nerd chills. If I had a time trial bike I would be in heaven. It was a road that was almost perfectly flat for about 35k that was all semi new tarmac so it was smooth as a babies bottom. I did not want to be at the back of the pack to experience it so I pushed myself to stay in front. This then prompted and all out sprint between Olivier and I going into redcliff. Racing each other side by side going as hard as we can go getting our heavy bikes up to 55k an hour. It was a rush on a new level.
Medicine hat was the next stop. It was also supposed to be our rest point for the night but because we felt good we rolled the dice and went for broke and rode to the edge of Alberta to camp there. When we arrive we find a truck stop with campsite at the side. It was a group choice but we decided to push on into this wicked crosswind that we had been fighting the 30k leading up to the edge of Alberta. Up until that point we had a 30k and hour average speed so thinking Alberta was the end I sprinted up the last hill to try to maintain that but to no avail I realized my efforts were futile and I had to give into the dreaded winds.
This wind was our welcome to Saskatchewan where we were greeted by some rolling hills. When Charles said ok lets take it easy I rolled back the effort level and very quickly got dropped. I then sprinted to catch up and got dropped again. My legs were just toasted and did not want to turn over the extra 40k worth of effort. Olivier suddenly found this burst of energy and was like a rocket keeping up with him was all I could do through these k’s.
Relief we see a campsite ad pull in. We then find out it is closed due to flooding. At this point I am gutted. My soul is crushed and my legs are sore. The guy tells us the next site is in swift current 130k away. That was not happening. Next step go to the tourist info site. There we are greeted by one of the sweetest women I have met so far. She catered to everything that we needed and let us camp on the property. Another lady sitting next to us overhears the conversation about our horrid end to the day and goes to the store and buys us a few snacks, which I was shocked by.
So there we are at the tourist info site winds blowing 40k an hour making life a living heck and what brings a smile to our face but a bird doing aerial stunts and swooping our heads as we eat our dinner that was well earned. To put the mileage in prospective that we did today if you rode the ride to conquer cancer a two day event that people train for we did that in one day.
Trip Distance: 259.68km
Ride Time: 8:55hr
Avg. Speed: 29.08km/h
Total Distance: 1546km
Total Ride Time: 77:19hr
Destination: Just west of Maple Creek, Saskatchewan
I am out of 3g service area so my internet stick does not work my posts may be a few days late but they will be updated.
The miles were getting eaten up it was like the road was pointed downward. Brooks, which was 50k away, came up in under two hours, which is stellar. Felling awesome we left for our lunch stop at around 110k, which was a trailer just outside the Canadian forces base. I had a Monte cristo that was made with only the finest processed cheese. I don’t know why but up until this point in the day I had been singing anchorman quotes in my head. Something about Will Farrell just sings to me in the nights apparently because
This is not the first morning on the trip that this had happened.
The next road we took was a road that gave me nerd chills. If I had a time trial bike I would be in heaven. It was a road that was almost perfectly flat for about 35k that was all semi new tarmac so it was smooth as a babies bottom. I did not want to be at the back of the pack to experience it so I pushed myself to stay in front. This then prompted and all out sprint between Olivier and I going into redcliff. Racing each other side by side going as hard as we can go getting our heavy bikes up to 55k an hour. It was a rush on a new level.
Medicine hat was the next stop. It was also supposed to be our rest point for the night but because we felt good we rolled the dice and went for broke and rode to the edge of Alberta to camp there. When we arrive we find a truck stop with campsite at the side. It was a group choice but we decided to push on into this wicked crosswind that we had been fighting the 30k leading up to the edge of Alberta. Up until that point we had a 30k and hour average speed so thinking Alberta was the end I sprinted up the last hill to try to maintain that but to no avail I realized my efforts were futile and I had to give into the dreaded winds.
This wind was our welcome to Saskatchewan where we were greeted by some rolling hills. When Charles said ok lets take it easy I rolled back the effort level and very quickly got dropped. I then sprinted to catch up and got dropped again. My legs were just toasted and did not want to turn over the extra 40k worth of effort. Olivier suddenly found this burst of energy and was like a rocket keeping up with him was all I could do through these k’s.
Relief we see a campsite ad pull in. We then find out it is closed due to flooding. At this point I am gutted. My soul is crushed and my legs are sore. The guy tells us the next site is in swift current 130k away. That was not happening. Next step go to the tourist info site. There we are greeted by one of the sweetest women I have met so far. She catered to everything that we needed and let us camp on the property. Another lady sitting next to us overhears the conversation about our horrid end to the day and goes to the store and buys us a few snacks, which I was shocked by.
So there we are at the tourist info site winds blowing 40k an hour making life a living heck and what brings a smile to our face but a bird doing aerial stunts and swooping our heads as we eat our dinner that was well earned. To put the mileage in prospective that we did today if you rode the ride to conquer cancer a two day event that people train for we did that in one day.
Trip Distance: 259.68km
Ride Time: 8:55hr
Avg. Speed: 29.08km/h
Total Distance: 1546km
Total Ride Time: 77:19hr
Destination: Just west of Maple Creek, Saskatchewan
I am out of 3g service area so my internet stick does not work my posts may be a few days late but they will be updated.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Tour Day 10 Visiting Small Town Canada July 4 2010
I am pretty sure I am loosing my sense of smell or I am just getting used to this whole blogging in a bathroom thing. I would like to think that moments like thee will make me more humble in the future, but in the immediate future they just make me smell like an old truck stop.
Let me start by say today my brain is kind of fried I did not eat lunch so I am missing one of my three huge meals a day so that may explain why my thoughts are a little all over the map.
The ride today was one that saw its ups and its downs both metaphorically and literally. Yes there are no passes or large steep inclines but the rolling hills are pretty brutal. You se them coming for miles and go “o no another one”. What made the first 70k even more special was the nice head wind that was beating us up pretty good from the get go.
When we stopped for out snack after 70k we saw the rain clouds appearing right above our heads so we knew it was time to book it. Before we left I made a few small changes to the bike to hopefully make my butt hate me a little less. Let me tell you it worked. My butt is 110% better my left hand has all movement back to it, all the things that were wrong have been solved. My biggest concern after we set off was where the heck did one of my ear bugs for my headphones go. I had a panic attack because I am cheap and refuse to buy anything new if I don’t have to. My mind was thinking “Evan two months without music what are you going to do”. Luckily Olivier found them for me and solved my mini panic attack.
The nice thing with the storm clouds is it caused the winds to shit in our favour (for the most part). We had a good tail wind for the last 90% on the ride which allowed us to bump up our average speed from a snails pace, as well the roads were a little more level. What about the other 10% you ask? Well it was the worst crosswind I have ridden in to date, but I am sure not the worst one I am going to experience. Because the bike and the profile of a barn you literally have to lean it into the wind so that you don’t tip over or take out your riding mate.
After 150k we were beat so we stopped at a little town called Bassano. I hope this little description tells you how small this town is. The general hospital was the size of a middle class home, the dental office is in a portable trailer, and the main street literally had no cars on it. Luckily we did not have a toothache and all we needed was food and a campground. The camp ground is a little weird as well because it is a self check in so we are hoping that we are out of town before the guy comes to check us out because that means we cant treat ourselves to breakfast.
As a side note I did have one weird moment on the bike today. My mom was right when she said it would hit you at the weirdest times. I was sitting looking up and a gradual 2km climb and suddenly I thought why am I here? Why am I not riding with Kev and the guys? Why am I not at a movie night with Kristi and the gang? Once I got to Bassano though I quickly realized this is an experience of a lifetime with two other guys that I would not trade for the world.
Trip Distance: 167.24km
Ride Time: 7:20hr
Avg. Speed: 22.78km/h
Total Distance: 1286km
Total Ride Time 68:24hr
Destination: Bassano, Alberta
P.S. Three showers in three days something must be going wrong. I aslo frogot to mention the coolest thing I saw today. On one side of the road a field of daisies km's long. On the other side A few Oil pumping rigs with nothing around them. Only in alberta.
Let me start by say today my brain is kind of fried I did not eat lunch so I am missing one of my three huge meals a day so that may explain why my thoughts are a little all over the map.
The ride today was one that saw its ups and its downs both metaphorically and literally. Yes there are no passes or large steep inclines but the rolling hills are pretty brutal. You se them coming for miles and go “o no another one”. What made the first 70k even more special was the nice head wind that was beating us up pretty good from the get go.
When we stopped for out snack after 70k we saw the rain clouds appearing right above our heads so we knew it was time to book it. Before we left I made a few small changes to the bike to hopefully make my butt hate me a little less. Let me tell you it worked. My butt is 110% better my left hand has all movement back to it, all the things that were wrong have been solved. My biggest concern after we set off was where the heck did one of my ear bugs for my headphones go. I had a panic attack because I am cheap and refuse to buy anything new if I don’t have to. My mind was thinking “Evan two months without music what are you going to do”. Luckily Olivier found them for me and solved my mini panic attack.
The nice thing with the storm clouds is it caused the winds to shit in our favour (for the most part). We had a good tail wind for the last 90% on the ride which allowed us to bump up our average speed from a snails pace, as well the roads were a little more level. What about the other 10% you ask? Well it was the worst crosswind I have ridden in to date, but I am sure not the worst one I am going to experience. Because the bike and the profile of a barn you literally have to lean it into the wind so that you don’t tip over or take out your riding mate.
After 150k we were beat so we stopped at a little town called Bassano. I hope this little description tells you how small this town is. The general hospital was the size of a middle class home, the dental office is in a portable trailer, and the main street literally had no cars on it. Luckily we did not have a toothache and all we needed was food and a campground. The camp ground is a little weird as well because it is a self check in so we are hoping that we are out of town before the guy comes to check us out because that means we cant treat ourselves to breakfast.
As a side note I did have one weird moment on the bike today. My mom was right when she said it would hit you at the weirdest times. I was sitting looking up and a gradual 2km climb and suddenly I thought why am I here? Why am I not riding with Kev and the guys? Why am I not at a movie night with Kristi and the gang? Once I got to Bassano though I quickly realized this is an experience of a lifetime with two other guys that I would not trade for the world.
Trip Distance: 167.24km
Ride Time: 7:20hr
Avg. Speed: 22.78km/h
Total Distance: 1286km
Total Ride Time 68:24hr
Destination: Bassano, Alberta
P.S. Three showers in three days something must be going wrong. I aslo frogot to mention the coolest thing I saw today. On one side of the road a field of daisies km's long. On the other side A few Oil pumping rigs with nothing around them. Only in alberta.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Tour Day 9 The First Tail Wind July 3 2010
It is official I love Alberta. The whole attitude of the people is giving me a really good first impression. Yesterday when it was raining at the top of the kicking horse pass this guy pulls a u-turn in the middle of the number 1 almost gets t-boned all to ask us how we were doing and if we needed any help. Today as well we show up to our campsite after a long day of riding and set up our stuff. Little did we know that they double booked us with another family. This family were no small fry’s either. They show up in 4 big trucks and roll down the wind “you guys have the wrong site”. If I am honest I pooped a little. I then continued to explain what happened and they were completely understanding. So much so that they complained for us to get our money back, not there own money back which is a real stand up thing to do.
The scenery as well through the Rockies is nothing short of spectacular. Bamif and Canmoore are two place that after visiting I would love to stay or live in. One because of the country you get to view, two because the tax’s are less because its Alberta, and three because u have access to the best cycling I have ever ridden. When we left lake Louise this morning we hit the 1A, which was AMAZING. For minutes there would be no traffic on these up and down twisty roads so you could shave the corners and really lean that 140lbs bike into them. The coolest thing was that the road at points splits off in two completely different directions. As well the roads divider in parts was made up of old growth trees. Olivier and I had our own little mini tour de France stage vs. a guy on an old mountain bike that was amazingly quick. So much so that I had to cut it out knowing that we had over 100k left.
Once we got to bamif we stopped for lunch where I had a very embarrassing moment. I will give you the back-story first. Before I left my mom bought me some condoms just to be on the safe side (even though smelly bikers that do nothing but ride, eat, and sleep have zero chance). I resisted like no other to bring them because its wasting precious space, but I eventually caved. I tell you that to tell you this. We were at the café and I pull out my wallet, which was closely fallowed by a stream of condoms on the sidewalk. The people passing must have though I was some sort of sort of bike touring pervert. One lady even stopped and watched me clean it up which made it even worse.
The last part of the day was spent in the flatter part of Alberta. We had a tail wind that was pushing us up hills and saving our legs while we were doing 40km/h. We did not want to stop for fear it would die down so we kept riding. Once we got to the campsite we quickly found our necks and backs of legs burn to a nice crisp. Remember if life is worth living it is worth recording.
Trip Distance: 170.82km
Ride Time: 7:10hr
Avg. Speed: 23.78km/h
Total Distance: 1119km
Total Ride Time: 61:03hr
Destination: Just west of Calgary, Alberta
As a side not yesterday I hit terminal velocity on the bike at 84.77km/h, which was thrilling.
The scenery as well through the Rockies is nothing short of spectacular. Bamif and Canmoore are two place that after visiting I would love to stay or live in. One because of the country you get to view, two because the tax’s are less because its Alberta, and three because u have access to the best cycling I have ever ridden. When we left lake Louise this morning we hit the 1A, which was AMAZING. For minutes there would be no traffic on these up and down twisty roads so you could shave the corners and really lean that 140lbs bike into them. The coolest thing was that the road at points splits off in two completely different directions. As well the roads divider in parts was made up of old growth trees. Olivier and I had our own little mini tour de France stage vs. a guy on an old mountain bike that was amazingly quick. So much so that I had to cut it out knowing that we had over 100k left.
Once we got to bamif we stopped for lunch where I had a very embarrassing moment. I will give you the back-story first. Before I left my mom bought me some condoms just to be on the safe side (even though smelly bikers that do nothing but ride, eat, and sleep have zero chance). I resisted like no other to bring them because its wasting precious space, but I eventually caved. I tell you that to tell you this. We were at the café and I pull out my wallet, which was closely fallowed by a stream of condoms on the sidewalk. The people passing must have though I was some sort of sort of bike touring pervert. One lady even stopped and watched me clean it up which made it even worse.
The last part of the day was spent in the flatter part of Alberta. We had a tail wind that was pushing us up hills and saving our legs while we were doing 40km/h. We did not want to stop for fear it would die down so we kept riding. Once we got to the campsite we quickly found our necks and backs of legs burn to a nice crisp. Remember if life is worth living it is worth recording.
Trip Distance: 170.82km
Ride Time: 7:10hr
Avg. Speed: 23.78km/h
Total Distance: 1119km
Total Ride Time: 61:03hr
Destination: Just west of Calgary, Alberta
As a side not yesterday I hit terminal velocity on the bike at 84.77km/h, which was thrilling.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Tour Day 8 Alberta Bound July 2 2010
Know I am a man of logic so I understand that the world needs time zones, but I must admit they suck. We woke up this morning thinking we had some time it kill when really we were in fact running late. To catch up we decided to pack everything up and skip making breakfast and go to a local dinner. Now let me tell you those greasy sausages felt good going down but not as good 50k into the ride.
The ride today was slow to say the least. Not only was the terrain not conducive to fast speed but also my butt was not as well. To put it in prospective it felt like someone had kicked me with a boot then I had to sit on said boot for close to 7 hours. The only way that I found relief was by arching my back like a cat spitting up fur and putting my whole bodies weight on my spine. I hear that’s the best biking posture. I don’t regret going all out for the cause yesterday but I will admit I should have cut back the effort a little.
Speaking of yesterday it was Canada day. And with Canada say come fires works. Little did we know the golden fire works were being set off 50meters away from our tents. I don’t know how they slept through it but I woke up in an awesome mood because of it. Sleep has been odd for me so far. I am sleeping great it is just the dreams that I am having that are really odd. Here are two examples. One I hear a knock at the door and I say, “I will be there in a minute” I open a door to the main hallway and I see Jehovah witnesses standing in my house. I say, “Get out of my house I did not invite you in”. I then call the cops and nothing happens just like in real life. The next I was a gasman on a dirt track racecars team. The whole dream I did not use the gas can I just held it and watched the cars go around. I am finding it weird that my dreams are being scene to completion and not being cut off like they usually are. Maybe it is the fresh air.
Back to today’s ride. When we stopped for lunch at field I ate the grossest sandwich that you can imagine. You take this thing out of a fridge then open the package then heat it up. So many red flags but I was hungry and simply did not care. After a nice lunch we hit the last climb (so we thought) of the day. Hitting 1600m of elevation in short and a small jacket it started to pour. So I pull out all my rain gear and almost on cue again it stops raining. As a note to self uptown girl by billy joel is the worst song in the world to listen to when climbing up a steep never-ending hill.
When we eventually got to lake Louise we wanted to se the lake itself so we went for it. The road to the lake in nothing less then brutal. It is about a 15% grade, windy, and busy with traffic. I was in my lowest gear grinding it out when I thought it might be cheeky to wave at a passing tour bus… wrong move. I nearly ran into the bus and looked like a complete fool. This is when it started to pour again so out comes all the rain gear again. The lake was pretty but I am sure would look better in good lighting.
Anyways we are tired and sore so we are camping at the lakes campsite where for the second night in a row even when it says full they have made space for us simple bike tourists. Remember if life is worth living it is worth recording.
Trip Distance: 96.67km
Ride Time: 6:33hr
Avg. Speed: 14.76km/hr
Total Distance: 948km
Total Ride Time: 53:52hr
Destination: Lake Louise, Alberta
The ride today was slow to say the least. Not only was the terrain not conducive to fast speed but also my butt was not as well. To put it in prospective it felt like someone had kicked me with a boot then I had to sit on said boot for close to 7 hours. The only way that I found relief was by arching my back like a cat spitting up fur and putting my whole bodies weight on my spine. I hear that’s the best biking posture. I don’t regret going all out for the cause yesterday but I will admit I should have cut back the effort a little.
Speaking of yesterday it was Canada day. And with Canada say come fires works. Little did we know the golden fire works were being set off 50meters away from our tents. I don’t know how they slept through it but I woke up in an awesome mood because of it. Sleep has been odd for me so far. I am sleeping great it is just the dreams that I am having that are really odd. Here are two examples. One I hear a knock at the door and I say, “I will be there in a minute” I open a door to the main hallway and I see Jehovah witnesses standing in my house. I say, “Get out of my house I did not invite you in”. I then call the cops and nothing happens just like in real life. The next I was a gasman on a dirt track racecars team. The whole dream I did not use the gas can I just held it and watched the cars go around. I am finding it weird that my dreams are being scene to completion and not being cut off like they usually are. Maybe it is the fresh air.
Back to today’s ride. When we stopped for lunch at field I ate the grossest sandwich that you can imagine. You take this thing out of a fridge then open the package then heat it up. So many red flags but I was hungry and simply did not care. After a nice lunch we hit the last climb (so we thought) of the day. Hitting 1600m of elevation in short and a small jacket it started to pour. So I pull out all my rain gear and almost on cue again it stops raining. As a note to self uptown girl by billy joel is the worst song in the world to listen to when climbing up a steep never-ending hill.
When we eventually got to lake Louise we wanted to se the lake itself so we went for it. The road to the lake in nothing less then brutal. It is about a 15% grade, windy, and busy with traffic. I was in my lowest gear grinding it out when I thought it might be cheeky to wave at a passing tour bus… wrong move. I nearly ran into the bus and looked like a complete fool. This is when it started to pour again so out comes all the rain gear again. The lake was pretty but I am sure would look better in good lighting.
Anyways we are tired and sore so we are camping at the lakes campsite where for the second night in a row even when it says full they have made space for us simple bike tourists. Remember if life is worth living it is worth recording.
Trip Distance: 96.67km
Ride Time: 6:33hr
Avg. Speed: 14.76km/hr
Total Distance: 948km
Total Ride Time: 53:52hr
Destination: Lake Louise, Alberta
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