June 27: Moose Jaw to Regina (81.24km)
When I woke up this morning, the sun was shining through the window. They had been forecasting rain, but I thought to myself "Baa, when have they been right so far?" I looked at the horizon and it's true that there were clouds, but they didn't look altogether threatening and there were some breaks in the clouds. So I got ready. I had to make a quick stop at the hospital to give them a couple of samples that they were going to test and the bike ride there was really cold. I went back to the motel to finish packing and put on more clothing.
As soon as I dropped off my key (literally), the first drops of rain fell. Hmmm, a bad omen perhaps, but enough with the lethargy, I was off. It didn't take long that it started raining steadily. Nothing too bad, but it was clear that the weather guru had gotten it right. Thankfully, there was a really strong wind and it was landing squarely on my back. If the wind would have been the other direction, I would have stayed in Moose Jaw another night. As it turns out, I got to Regina before noon and even though it was cold and I was wet, I wasn't yet cold because the act of biking had kept me warm. However, I knew that if I stopped, I would freeze. So stopping for lunch and continuing on was out of the question. So I took the first reasonably priced motel room that I could find.
After a hot bath and lunch, the rain really started to come down. I was glad to not be riding or camping.
Last note: my energy was good today. I didn't feel sluggish like I had the last few days of riding and my digestons seems to have settled down quite nicely. Hopefully it will hold up.
June 28: Regina to Grenfell (123.12km)
I woke today to much optimism. I looked outside and there was a flag outside my window that was flowing vigorously toward the East. Yes, I thought, this is going to be a fun day. Well the flag was a bit deceptive because the wind hit me from the North which was sometimes to my advantage and sometimes not.
I got to Grenfell around 4PM. While asking for directions to the campground I found out that there was a street party going on that evening to celebrate Canada Day. So I decided to check it out. I am not a drinker at the best of times and especially not of beer. Everyone tells me it is an acquired taste and I've clearly never put in the necessary effort to acquire it. That being said, after riding 123km in the beating sun, that beer was some good.
For a small town that proudly advertised that it had seven churches in town, I found it ironic that they decided to name the celebration “Mardi Gras” considering that it was neither Tuesday nor lent, but I guess that it is now synonymous to party. The party as it turned out was pretty tame and I still got to bed at a reasonable hour.
Last point: The campground was nearly empty but one of my neighbour who was straight out of the movie Deliverance was quite the character. He told me with great gusto that he was there for the weekend and that he wasn't budging until he had finished a big bottle of whiskey and another of vodka. After seeing him the following morning, I think he was well on his way of attaining his goal.
June 29: Grenfell to Elkhorn (142.47km)
The conditions were really good today. A beautiful sunny sky and a slight tailwind. I made pretty good time and decided to settle in Elkhorn for the night, because the next campsite was a good 30km away which would have made for a late night as I had crossed another time zone.
Yup, I've left Saskatchewan and I'm not sad to see it go. I'm sure there are several great things about the province, but I will only remember it as a very challenging place (not altogether its fault of course). Two positive things that I should mention about the province however. 1) The sky is quite beautiful here. It is very dramatic and makes for some pretty sunsets. 2) The eastern part of the province seemed to be more life affirming than the western part. The few towns I crossed through west of Moose Jaw were downright depressing. Ever since then however, the towns are prettier, the people nicer and the general atmosphere more optimistic. Now this may have partially been due to my state of mind in both parts as well:)
As I was biking into Elkhorn today I was chased by a dog. This happens now and again when riding, but usually the dog simply makes sure that you're out of their territory and gives up. This one, however, had it in for me. He was a hefty dog and he chased me for a good 50 meters. Luckily I had enough juice in my legs to out run it. It worried me however that I would have to pass by that same place to leave town especially considering that from this side, the dog would see me coming from farther away. I had decided that if I had to go by there again, I would have my bear spray at the ready. For those who don't know, bear spray is like pepper spray times 100. I've thankfully never had to use it, but apparently it is nasty stuff and could possibly kill the dog. I didn't want to kill the dog, but I do have a well developed sense of self preservation. As it turns out, there was a second exit to the town. So I won't have to see that dog ever again.
June 30: Elkhorn to Brandon (111.08km)
Today was overshadowed by tragedy. I doubt this made news where you live, but yesterday four cross-country cyclists were hit by a car and two died. Three of the cyclists were from St-Bruno, Quebec and the fourth was from Kelowna, BC. Moreover, they were hit on a part of the highway that I rode on today.
The highways up until now have been very good in that there are generally wide shoulders on which I can ride without any concern for traffic. This allows me to look at the scenery or get lost in my own thoughts. That changed not long after Virden where the shoulders disappear and cyclists are forced to ride on the highway. It is in that part of the highway that the collision occurred. Most drivers are quite courteous and move to the other lane to give you enough room, but some do not. Given the events of yesterday, I was quite paranoid and was looking at my rear view mirror all day. This makes for a stressful ride and after 100km I was mentally tired which was regrettable because the winds were favourable.
Along the ride, a CBC van stopped ahead of me. Once I caught up to it, a journalist came out and asked to interview me about the tragedy. I've done interviews for work before and I had to watch what I said. It was good talking just for myself and saying what I really thought. I went on at length about the dismal conditions of the roads in Manitoba (no exaggeration, they are by far the worst I've seen so far).
Tomorrow is Canada Day and I'm unsure what to do. Continuing with the Trans Canada is the most direct route to Winnipeg, but apparently the shoulders don't improve. I could go down to highway 2 which apparently has less traffic, but is only two lanes and more of a country road. I'm hesitant to go on country roads because they aren't perfect either (a car hit me on one two years ago). I'm hoping that traffic will be very light tomorrow as it is Canada Day. As such, I will continue with the Trans Canada. If I see that the traffic is heavy and that I feel unsafe, I will take the next road that goes down to the number 2. Wish me luck.
Only one picture. Pretty bad on my part. I think I only took 3 pictures in all of Saskatchewan. In hindsight, I should have taken pictures of the shoulders (they were so nice).
Friday, June 27, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
On the mend
June 24 to 26: Moose Jaw to Moose Jaw (29.84km)
This post will likely be my shortest yet as I haven't done much in the past few days. I've been in Moose Jaw for the past 4 days trying to recover from this bug. So I've been lazing about my motel room watching bad TV.
In order to diagnose my problem, I went to a walk-in clinic on Tuesday. The doctor is running a number of tests on me and she recommended that I take an over the counter medication to treat my diarrhea. That part seems to be working and I'm starting to get some energy back. As a result, tomorrow I think I will test my body a bit. Unless something changes from now until then, I will bike to Regina tomorrow. It's a fairly short ride of about 70km and it will give me an idea of how my body reacts. I will only go past Regina if I feel that my body is up to it, because there is a whole lot of nothing between Regina and Winnipeg and I'd rather be held up in Regina then be stranded in the middle of nowhere.
So if all goes well, my next post should be from Winnipeg.
This layover in Moose Jaw has thought me an important lesson ... TV is evil. Wow, there is a lot of garbage on the tube. And I have been convinced once and for all that I will not become an "Ultimate Fighter":)
Update:
The doctor contacted me just as I was posting the above text, because they had received the results from my blood test. Seems my white blood cells were low. She said that likely meant that I had something viral (I forgot to ask, but I assume as opposed to a parasite which she had first suspected). Anyways, she said I should be good to go and if any other results come in, she will leave a message on my cell phone which I will be checking on a regular basis.
Anyways, wish me luck.
This post will likely be my shortest yet as I haven't done much in the past few days. I've been in Moose Jaw for the past 4 days trying to recover from this bug. So I've been lazing about my motel room watching bad TV.
In order to diagnose my problem, I went to a walk-in clinic on Tuesday. The doctor is running a number of tests on me and she recommended that I take an over the counter medication to treat my diarrhea. That part seems to be working and I'm starting to get some energy back. As a result, tomorrow I think I will test my body a bit. Unless something changes from now until then, I will bike to Regina tomorrow. It's a fairly short ride of about 70km and it will give me an idea of how my body reacts. I will only go past Regina if I feel that my body is up to it, because there is a whole lot of nothing between Regina and Winnipeg and I'd rather be held up in Regina then be stranded in the middle of nowhere.
So if all goes well, my next post should be from Winnipeg.
This layover in Moose Jaw has thought me an important lesson ... TV is evil. Wow, there is a lot of garbage on the tube. And I have been convinced once and for all that I will not become an "Ultimate Fighter":)
Update:
The doctor contacted me just as I was posting the above text, because they had received the results from my blood test. Seems my white blood cells were low. She said that likely meant that I had something viral (I forgot to ask, but I assume as opposed to a parasite which she had first suspected). Anyways, she said I should be good to go and if any other results come in, she will leave a message on my cell phone which I will be checking on a regular basis.
Anyways, wish me luck.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Sick in Saskatchewan
June 22: Swift Current to Chaplin (90.24 km)
Well, I've come across the trip dulldrums. I knew it would happen at some point that the trip conditions would get me down. I was surprised in fact that it didn't occur in BC when it was cold and rainy. Rather it is occurring in Saskatchewan when the sun is shining.
Don't get me wrong, the trip is going well, but the challenges of the past few days have been trying on my morale. As mentioned in my previous posting, two days ago I was basically riding while sick. Yesterday was a day off and I thought all day that I would take today off as well. After I ate supper however, I felt better and decided to try riding today. Well it didn't go so well. I feel fine except that I'm nauseas toward many foods and the food that don't make me sick don't have enough calories to sustain me during a long bike ride. So, in sum, today I was riding with very little fuel in the gas tank and it was a struggle. By the time I got to Chaplin, I knew that continuing would be unwise. So I stopped. Tony wanted to continue as the day was still young and I encouraged him to go on since I suspect I will be dragging my feet for the next few days. We said our goodbyes and he left.
Twice during this trip, Tony and I have said our goodbyes (at Castlegar and Maple Creek), but today was the first time that it felt real and final. From this day forward, I would be riding alone and it got me down a bit. In addition to this, the realization that there is a long stretch ahead of me brought me to the dulldrum state that I mentioned earlier.
I want to reemphasize that it is not a big deal and that I fully expected something like this to happen and in a way I'm glad it did, because the whole purpose of this trip was to experience such challenges and if it would have been too easy, well I would have felt somewhat robbed.
Anyways, I'm spending the rest of the day resting and trying to refill the metaphorical gas tank.
Cheers
June 22: Chaplin to Moose Jaw (24.58km)
Today, I cheated.
I woke up today feeling as I have for the past few days. Not sick as such, but nauseas and not able to eat much and having diarrhea. I ate as much as I could, but I wasn't sure if it would be enough for a long bike ride. I had a two options: 1) stay in Chaplin for another day and try to wait it out or 2) try to make it to Moose Jaw which was about 80km away. Since Chaplin is very small and the little that it had to offer would not be open because it was a Sunday, my preference was to try to make it to Moose Jaw and get healthy there. I thought if the conditions were favourable, I should be able to make it.
So at 9AM I set off. The conditions were not favourable. There was a strong wind from the south – not exactly a head wind, but the angle that it hit me was not helping. In addition, the shoulder conditions were not kind to bikers. After about 15km, I was getting hungry, but could not stomach any of my food. I realized that I could probably make it to Moose Jaw, but that it would take a lot out of me and therefore delay my recovery. I was also a bit concerned about dehydration as I had had diarrhea upon waking. I could have returned to Chaplin, but it had nothing to offer that could help me. So I decided it was wisest to hitchhike.
I know, it violates the trip principles, but I still think it was the right decision and that I needed to get healthy as quickly as possible and that over-exertion was postponing my recovery. A nice farming family picked me up in their pickup truck and I could put the bike in the back. They were going to Moose Jaw to bring the kids to the fair and dropped me off at the visitors information.
I'm now in a motel off the trans Canada and feeling not too bad, but the true test will be how my body reacts to a meal. I will likely stay in Moose Jaw until I am confident that I have my strength and stamina back and that I can eat food freely.
June 23: Moose Jaw to Moose Jaw (0km)
Woke up this morning and still had diarrhea. I'm going to stay here today and maybe go to the clinic to see if they can diagnose what I have, but I suspect that it should pass soon, because aside from food aversions and diarrhea, I feel fine.
I only took one picture in the past few days. It was supposed to convey how there were hills in Saskatchewan, but in looking at the picture, I think it conveys more how flat it is:)
Well, I've come across the trip dulldrums. I knew it would happen at some point that the trip conditions would get me down. I was surprised in fact that it didn't occur in BC when it was cold and rainy. Rather it is occurring in Saskatchewan when the sun is shining.
Don't get me wrong, the trip is going well, but the challenges of the past few days have been trying on my morale. As mentioned in my previous posting, two days ago I was basically riding while sick. Yesterday was a day off and I thought all day that I would take today off as well. After I ate supper however, I felt better and decided to try riding today. Well it didn't go so well. I feel fine except that I'm nauseas toward many foods and the food that don't make me sick don't have enough calories to sustain me during a long bike ride. So, in sum, today I was riding with very little fuel in the gas tank and it was a struggle. By the time I got to Chaplin, I knew that continuing would be unwise. So I stopped. Tony wanted to continue as the day was still young and I encouraged him to go on since I suspect I will be dragging my feet for the next few days. We said our goodbyes and he left.
Twice during this trip, Tony and I have said our goodbyes (at Castlegar and Maple Creek), but today was the first time that it felt real and final. From this day forward, I would be riding alone and it got me down a bit. In addition to this, the realization that there is a long stretch ahead of me brought me to the dulldrum state that I mentioned earlier.
I want to reemphasize that it is not a big deal and that I fully expected something like this to happen and in a way I'm glad it did, because the whole purpose of this trip was to experience such challenges and if it would have been too easy, well I would have felt somewhat robbed.
Anyways, I'm spending the rest of the day resting and trying to refill the metaphorical gas tank.
Cheers
June 22: Chaplin to Moose Jaw (24.58km)
Today, I cheated.
I woke up today feeling as I have for the past few days. Not sick as such, but nauseas and not able to eat much and having diarrhea. I ate as much as I could, but I wasn't sure if it would be enough for a long bike ride. I had a two options: 1) stay in Chaplin for another day and try to wait it out or 2) try to make it to Moose Jaw which was about 80km away. Since Chaplin is very small and the little that it had to offer would not be open because it was a Sunday, my preference was to try to make it to Moose Jaw and get healthy there. I thought if the conditions were favourable, I should be able to make it.
So at 9AM I set off. The conditions were not favourable. There was a strong wind from the south – not exactly a head wind, but the angle that it hit me was not helping. In addition, the shoulder conditions were not kind to bikers. After about 15km, I was getting hungry, but could not stomach any of my food. I realized that I could probably make it to Moose Jaw, but that it would take a lot out of me and therefore delay my recovery. I was also a bit concerned about dehydration as I had had diarrhea upon waking. I could have returned to Chaplin, but it had nothing to offer that could help me. So I decided it was wisest to hitchhike.
I know, it violates the trip principles, but I still think it was the right decision and that I needed to get healthy as quickly as possible and that over-exertion was postponing my recovery. A nice farming family picked me up in their pickup truck and I could put the bike in the back. They were going to Moose Jaw to bring the kids to the fair and dropped me off at the visitors information.
I'm now in a motel off the trans Canada and feeling not too bad, but the true test will be how my body reacts to a meal. I will likely stay in Moose Jaw until I am confident that I have my strength and stamina back and that I can eat food freely.
June 23: Moose Jaw to Moose Jaw (0km)
Woke up this morning and still had diarrhea. I'm going to stay here today and maybe go to the clinic to see if they can diagnose what I have, but I suspect that it should pass soon, because aside from food aversions and diarrhea, I feel fine.
I only took one picture in the past few days. It was supposed to convey how there were hills in Saskatchewan, but in looking at the picture, I think it conveys more how flat it is:)
Monday, June 16, 2008
Merry Solstice
Sorry for the tardiness in my post, but the weather has turned in our favour and we have decided to bike as much as we can while the going is good. Today is my first day off since Nelson, but more on that later.
June 14: Cranbrook to Fernie (94.83km)
Today was the first time along this trip that I can say the roads were not good. So far I have really been impressed with the biking conditions in that the shoulders are wide and the drivers courteous. The ride to Fernie was twisty-turny in parts and the shoulders were really rough. In addition, it being a weekend, the traffic was quite heavy. So I basically had the choice of riding on the rough shoulder or go on the road and keep an eye on my rearview mirror. Since the roads were twisty, I figured there might be some “surprise traffic” that I didn't see in my mirror that could hit me. I therefore opted for the shoulder. After about an hour of this type of riding, my bones felt rattled, but I made it to Fernie safe and sound.
Fernie is a tourist destination especially for its skying and there was still quite a bit of snow in the mountains. In preparation for my travels, I read about Fernie I expected it to be a mini-Nelson and considered staying a day. Was I ever surprised when I went to the main street at 8PM and there wasn't a soul – and it was Saturday night no less. It felt like a ghost town and I fully expected a guy in black cowboy hat to turn the corner and challenge me to a gun fight. Suddenly at 9PM the movie ended (Kung Foo Panda) and 3 people came onto the street from the theater. Not exactly what I expected. Needless to say, I didn't think a second day in Fernie was required.
June 15: Fernie to Lundbreck (94.71km)
We crossed into Alberta today. I had visualized in the days leading up to today that I would stop at the border, turn around and yell at BC. Don't get me wrong. What I have seen of BC has impressed me greatly. It's stunningly beautiful and the people are generally very cool, but the province did cause me a lot of grief. What I had hoped would take 2 weeks took an additional 5 days and the conditions were very trying.
In the end, I didn't yell at the province. Parked at the border was a truck with a driver inside and I didn't feel like looking like a complete moron.
Today's ride was possibly the most beautiful so far. We were riding along lakes and the surrounding mountains were spectacular. I had this funny feeling however during the whole ride that I didn't want to stop. Even though several spots were picture worthy, I just wanted to get out of BC as quickly as possible. Tony, on the other hand, was relishing this last chance to see the mountains and stopped to take many pictures. As a result, I was way ahead of him and stopped to wait at a little town called Frank. While there I spoke to a few people and met Elna – a South African lady now living in Lethbridge. She told me to call her when we were in Lethbridge and we could go for lunch or she could offer a shower if we needed one.
June 16: Lundbreck to Lethbridge (128.51km - 10 of which was going in circles in Lethbridge)
We are now out of the Rockies and I am as surprised as I was in 1991 when I first saw the mountains at how fast they flatten out. We were riding parallel to the mountains for a little while and it was beautiful to see them from a distance. The contrast to the flat ground made them that much more dramatic.
The ride today was good and comparatively easy now that we were out of the Rockies. There were a few climbs, but they were essentially speed bumps in comparison to what we had done in the previous weeks. The only hard part of the ride was arriving in Lethbridge. As much as the highways in Alberta are very generous to cyclists, the cities are completely ill suited to our needs. Several roads don't allow biking and the signage that could show alternatives are lacking. We arrived in the city at around 4PM and it took us literally 90 minutes to figure out a way to cross a river. Everyone we asked had suggestions, but they led nowhere. I even called Elna who I met the day before, but only left a message.
By the time we got to the city campground it was about 6PM. Before paying for the site we walked around and we met another touring cyclist. He's going to Winnipeg to go to the Folk Festival. I forget his name, but he must have been around 60 and from the sounds of it he bikes everywhere. I don't know how he actually rode his bike because he had 4 pannier and a trailer. I have no idea what he was carrying, but it must have been between 80 to 100 pounds of gear. Anyways, while we were talking we noticed that there were catepillars everywhere. His small tent was covered in them and in the five minutes that we were there, I had 4 climb up on me. Tony and I decided to splurge and go to a motel.
June 17: Lethbridge to Medicine Hat (167.50km)
Today was a perfect riding day. The sun was shining and the wind was in our back. I got a late start at 10AM. Tony left before me and we agreed to have lunch in Taber – about 50km away. As it turns out, I'm glad I left after rush hour. The roads had no shoulder and I was anxious to get out of town ASAP. My average speed going to Taber was 32km/hr. That is smokin' fast for me, especially when fully loaded. Seeing how good the conditions were, I told Tony over lunch that we should try for Medicine Hat. He felt a bit sluggish and didn't know if he could make it. We agreed that we would meet up in Bow Island and make a decision whether to camp or go on to Medicine Hat.
I learned a lesson during that ride. I usually have a very healthy appetite and my appetite is even greater during this trip. But the heat is an appetite suppressant. So I didn't eat as much as I usually would have during my ride to Bow Island. As a result I felt sluggish upon my arrival. Tony on the other hand was keen to proceed to Medicine Hat. I thought I still had it in me. So we pushed on. Before leaving, however, I ate a ton of food and drank lots as well. After a while on the bike, my energy returned and I made it to Medicine Hat will a full tank of gas in my legs and feeling good.
This was my longest riding day ever. I had done 148km without panniers before, but this was well beyond that threshold. I hope to do a 200km day along the trip.
June 18: Medicine Hat to Maple Creek (94.41km)
Even though Tony finished the previous days ride full of energy, he was sluggish today. It didn't help that we got a late start because we desperately needed to do laundry. In the end, we were on the road by noon (I know, shameful).
Today we crossed into Saskatchewan. Now I had been promised flat ground and tail winds in Saskatchewan. Neither was the case today. After crossing the border, we had a hill to climb. What's up with that? I wasn't supposed to see another hill until Ontario. It should be said that the hill was very minor, but still when you expect to coast through a province, you are surprised. The wind was an even bigger challenge. it wasn't a super strong wind, but it consistently blew on us and that gets to you after a while.
Since the shoulders were so wide and I didn't have to worry about traffic and there wasn't too much scenery to look at, I brought out my ipod for the first time since my trip started. It was fantastic! I was belting out songs along the highway and at times pumping my arms in the air to the beat of the music – by the way, I must say that I have impeccable musical taste. I must have looked so foolish to the drivers that passed me, but so be it.
We finally reached the campground and met up with another cross-country cyclist. Mark is crazy (but in a good way). He's a 33 year old Vancouverite that wants to cross Canada in 6 weeks and he's riding a fully loaded racing bike. His wheels at the start of his trip only had 8 spokes each (mine have 38). He's making very good time and we won't see him again unless he has problems along the road, but he has had to do so many repairs on his bike so far that it would have been cheaper to buy a new touring bike.
Small anecdote: When driving to the Saskatchewan border we saw a sign for Maple Creek of 41km. We ride another 5km and cross the border and a new sign indicates that Maple Creek is 46km. Darcy, are distances measured differently in your province:)
June 19: Maple Creek to Swift Current (138.18km)
Today could only be politely described as a character building day.
I woke up at 2AM and had an upset stomach. It took me a while to fall asleep, but I finally did. I woke up late and still I felt quizzy. I had a small breakfast of oatmeal, because I couldn't stomach anything else. During this bike trip, my breakfasts are usually quite substantial so that I have enough energy for the day – oatmeal wasn't going to cut it. Ideally, I would have taken the day off, but I was in the middle of nowhere and there were no grocery stores or anything around. I figured I would bike as far as I could and settle there for the evening. Tony's plans were to go to Swift Current. I seriously doubted that I could make it that far. So we said our goodbyes.
The towns in Saskatchewan are far apart. As such, the first town of any consequence was over 50km away from where I started. That was a horrible 50km. I felt awful and I had very little energy. I was grunting the last 10km into Tomkins. I took an Advil, stopped in town for lunch and thought I would decide afterwards whether or not I would stay in town or push on.
Tomkins is an incredibly depressing town. For the movie buffs among you, imagine the Last Picture Show, but remove all the giddy optimism of the movie. The restaurant had not been remodeled since the 1940s and the music hadn't changed either. I did not want to stay in this town and after I ate lunch I felt better. So I decided to soldier on.
Another challenge about today was that I had noticed while packing up that I had lost a screw on my pannier rack. My rack is held up by 4 screws and I was down to three and since my rack has a lot of weight on it, I was constantly wondering if the whole thing would collapse on me 20km outside of nowhere. That was another motivating factor to get to Swift Current, because it being a fairly large city, I could get all the supplies I needed.
My shoulder was in a lot of pain all day, but I finally made it at around 6:30PM and gave Tony's cell a call. He was surprised that I had made it. He had already rented a motel room and I went over to join him.
My theory as too why I felt so bad today was the water. We stopped for lunch in Walsh Alberta yesterday and I drank a lot of water as I had been running low earlier. The water was heavily chlorinated and I think my body didn't react well to all the chemicals. I can't back this up of course, but it's my best guess and from now on, I'll be drinking bottled water throughout the Prairies and likely into Northern Ontario. I don't like the idea of using all those plastic bottles, but unfortunately, it's better than the alternative.
June 20: Swift Current to Swift Current
Today I'm doing as little as I can and letting my body heal. I will clean my bike, get a few supplies and visit the town. I may even go see a movie tonight!
Cheers. Sorry for the long post, but it's been too long since I posted my last entry. Oh yeah, here are my photos.
June 14: Cranbrook to Fernie (94.83km)
Today was the first time along this trip that I can say the roads were not good. So far I have really been impressed with the biking conditions in that the shoulders are wide and the drivers courteous. The ride to Fernie was twisty-turny in parts and the shoulders were really rough. In addition, it being a weekend, the traffic was quite heavy. So I basically had the choice of riding on the rough shoulder or go on the road and keep an eye on my rearview mirror. Since the roads were twisty, I figured there might be some “surprise traffic” that I didn't see in my mirror that could hit me. I therefore opted for the shoulder. After about an hour of this type of riding, my bones felt rattled, but I made it to Fernie safe and sound.
Fernie is a tourist destination especially for its skying and there was still quite a bit of snow in the mountains. In preparation for my travels, I read about Fernie I expected it to be a mini-Nelson and considered staying a day. Was I ever surprised when I went to the main street at 8PM and there wasn't a soul – and it was Saturday night no less. It felt like a ghost town and I fully expected a guy in black cowboy hat to turn the corner and challenge me to a gun fight. Suddenly at 9PM the movie ended (Kung Foo Panda) and 3 people came onto the street from the theater. Not exactly what I expected. Needless to say, I didn't think a second day in Fernie was required.
June 15: Fernie to Lundbreck (94.71km)
We crossed into Alberta today. I had visualized in the days leading up to today that I would stop at the border, turn around and yell at BC. Don't get me wrong. What I have seen of BC has impressed me greatly. It's stunningly beautiful and the people are generally very cool, but the province did cause me a lot of grief. What I had hoped would take 2 weeks took an additional 5 days and the conditions were very trying.
In the end, I didn't yell at the province. Parked at the border was a truck with a driver inside and I didn't feel like looking like a complete moron.
Today's ride was possibly the most beautiful so far. We were riding along lakes and the surrounding mountains were spectacular. I had this funny feeling however during the whole ride that I didn't want to stop. Even though several spots were picture worthy, I just wanted to get out of BC as quickly as possible. Tony, on the other hand, was relishing this last chance to see the mountains and stopped to take many pictures. As a result, I was way ahead of him and stopped to wait at a little town called Frank. While there I spoke to a few people and met Elna – a South African lady now living in Lethbridge. She told me to call her when we were in Lethbridge and we could go for lunch or she could offer a shower if we needed one.
June 16: Lundbreck to Lethbridge (128.51km - 10 of which was going in circles in Lethbridge)
We are now out of the Rockies and I am as surprised as I was in 1991 when I first saw the mountains at how fast they flatten out. We were riding parallel to the mountains for a little while and it was beautiful to see them from a distance. The contrast to the flat ground made them that much more dramatic.
The ride today was good and comparatively easy now that we were out of the Rockies. There were a few climbs, but they were essentially speed bumps in comparison to what we had done in the previous weeks. The only hard part of the ride was arriving in Lethbridge. As much as the highways in Alberta are very generous to cyclists, the cities are completely ill suited to our needs. Several roads don't allow biking and the signage that could show alternatives are lacking. We arrived in the city at around 4PM and it took us literally 90 minutes to figure out a way to cross a river. Everyone we asked had suggestions, but they led nowhere. I even called Elna who I met the day before, but only left a message.
By the time we got to the city campground it was about 6PM. Before paying for the site we walked around and we met another touring cyclist. He's going to Winnipeg to go to the Folk Festival. I forget his name, but he must have been around 60 and from the sounds of it he bikes everywhere. I don't know how he actually rode his bike because he had 4 pannier and a trailer. I have no idea what he was carrying, but it must have been between 80 to 100 pounds of gear. Anyways, while we were talking we noticed that there were catepillars everywhere. His small tent was covered in them and in the five minutes that we were there, I had 4 climb up on me. Tony and I decided to splurge and go to a motel.
June 17: Lethbridge to Medicine Hat (167.50km)
Today was a perfect riding day. The sun was shining and the wind was in our back. I got a late start at 10AM. Tony left before me and we agreed to have lunch in Taber – about 50km away. As it turns out, I'm glad I left after rush hour. The roads had no shoulder and I was anxious to get out of town ASAP. My average speed going to Taber was 32km/hr. That is smokin' fast for me, especially when fully loaded. Seeing how good the conditions were, I told Tony over lunch that we should try for Medicine Hat. He felt a bit sluggish and didn't know if he could make it. We agreed that we would meet up in Bow Island and make a decision whether to camp or go on to Medicine Hat.
I learned a lesson during that ride. I usually have a very healthy appetite and my appetite is even greater during this trip. But the heat is an appetite suppressant. So I didn't eat as much as I usually would have during my ride to Bow Island. As a result I felt sluggish upon my arrival. Tony on the other hand was keen to proceed to Medicine Hat. I thought I still had it in me. So we pushed on. Before leaving, however, I ate a ton of food and drank lots as well. After a while on the bike, my energy returned and I made it to Medicine Hat will a full tank of gas in my legs and feeling good.
This was my longest riding day ever. I had done 148km without panniers before, but this was well beyond that threshold. I hope to do a 200km day along the trip.
June 18: Medicine Hat to Maple Creek (94.41km)
Even though Tony finished the previous days ride full of energy, he was sluggish today. It didn't help that we got a late start because we desperately needed to do laundry. In the end, we were on the road by noon (I know, shameful).
Today we crossed into Saskatchewan. Now I had been promised flat ground and tail winds in Saskatchewan. Neither was the case today. After crossing the border, we had a hill to climb. What's up with that? I wasn't supposed to see another hill until Ontario. It should be said that the hill was very minor, but still when you expect to coast through a province, you are surprised. The wind was an even bigger challenge. it wasn't a super strong wind, but it consistently blew on us and that gets to you after a while.
Since the shoulders were so wide and I didn't have to worry about traffic and there wasn't too much scenery to look at, I brought out my ipod for the first time since my trip started. It was fantastic! I was belting out songs along the highway and at times pumping my arms in the air to the beat of the music – by the way, I must say that I have impeccable musical taste. I must have looked so foolish to the drivers that passed me, but so be it.
We finally reached the campground and met up with another cross-country cyclist. Mark is crazy (but in a good way). He's a 33 year old Vancouverite that wants to cross Canada in 6 weeks and he's riding a fully loaded racing bike. His wheels at the start of his trip only had 8 spokes each (mine have 38). He's making very good time and we won't see him again unless he has problems along the road, but he has had to do so many repairs on his bike so far that it would have been cheaper to buy a new touring bike.
Small anecdote: When driving to the Saskatchewan border we saw a sign for Maple Creek of 41km. We ride another 5km and cross the border and a new sign indicates that Maple Creek is 46km. Darcy, are distances measured differently in your province:)
June 19: Maple Creek to Swift Current (138.18km)
Today could only be politely described as a character building day.
I woke up at 2AM and had an upset stomach. It took me a while to fall asleep, but I finally did. I woke up late and still I felt quizzy. I had a small breakfast of oatmeal, because I couldn't stomach anything else. During this bike trip, my breakfasts are usually quite substantial so that I have enough energy for the day – oatmeal wasn't going to cut it. Ideally, I would have taken the day off, but I was in the middle of nowhere and there were no grocery stores or anything around. I figured I would bike as far as I could and settle there for the evening. Tony's plans were to go to Swift Current. I seriously doubted that I could make it that far. So we said our goodbyes.
The towns in Saskatchewan are far apart. As such, the first town of any consequence was over 50km away from where I started. That was a horrible 50km. I felt awful and I had very little energy. I was grunting the last 10km into Tomkins. I took an Advil, stopped in town for lunch and thought I would decide afterwards whether or not I would stay in town or push on.
Tomkins is an incredibly depressing town. For the movie buffs among you, imagine the Last Picture Show, but remove all the giddy optimism of the movie. The restaurant had not been remodeled since the 1940s and the music hadn't changed either. I did not want to stay in this town and after I ate lunch I felt better. So I decided to soldier on.
Another challenge about today was that I had noticed while packing up that I had lost a screw on my pannier rack. My rack is held up by 4 screws and I was down to three and since my rack has a lot of weight on it, I was constantly wondering if the whole thing would collapse on me 20km outside of nowhere. That was another motivating factor to get to Swift Current, because it being a fairly large city, I could get all the supplies I needed.
My shoulder was in a lot of pain all day, but I finally made it at around 6:30PM and gave Tony's cell a call. He was surprised that I had made it. He had already rented a motel room and I went over to join him.
My theory as too why I felt so bad today was the water. We stopped for lunch in Walsh Alberta yesterday and I drank a lot of water as I had been running low earlier. The water was heavily chlorinated and I think my body didn't react well to all the chemicals. I can't back this up of course, but it's my best guess and from now on, I'll be drinking bottled water throughout the Prairies and likely into Northern Ontario. I don't like the idea of using all those plastic bottles, but unfortunately, it's better than the alternative.
June 20: Swift Current to Swift Current
Today I'm doing as little as I can and letting my body heal. I will clean my bike, get a few supplies and visit the town. I may even go see a movie tonight!
Cheers. Sorry for the long post, but it's been too long since I posted my last entry. Oh yeah, here are my photos.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Bonne fete Hannah et Renee
It so happens that my sister Renee and my niece have the same birthday (some 30 years apart however). Happy birthday to you both.
June 10: Nelson to Nelson (about 4km)
Woke up to foul weather today. The rain was torrential and I was glad to be inside and Tony and I decided to take a rest day in Nelson. This was fine with me as I hadn't had a chance to visit the town the previous day, because the weather didn't allow for it. Moreover, Tony has a friend who is going to pay him a visit and it would be easier for the friend to find Tony in Nelson than in a town where we didn't know where we would stay.
I was aching to get out of the motel and meet people however. I decided to move my stuff to the Youth Hostel. Tony preferred to stay in the motel. So after running a few errands, the rain finally stopped and I moved my stuff to the hostel. I'm glad I did. I met some really cool people while making supper and we went to see a documentary about problems with water usage in the world. The documentary was informative if repetitive, but the real pleasure was talking with my new companions. There was a lady from Ireland, another from Denmark and man from France (who I must mention said that he could understand my French much more easily than any Quebecker - HA!) and a lady from Moncton no less. She is probably a few years younger than I am and she went to a rival high school so our paths had never crossed before.
I also visited Nelson. I like it. It has a bohemian feel to it where every second commerce seems to be a cafe or an outdoor adventure store. It seems to attract young people who like doing outdoor activities. In other words, Nelson is the place where pretty people live. My co-worker Sarah Jane gave me a number of suggestions of what to visit (thanks SJ, your tips were bang on).
June 11: Nelson to Boswell (about 60km - I accidentally erased my mileage on my computer)
I woke up to heavy rain and I thought "here we go again", but by the time we were ready to leave, the sun was almost shining. Oh my God, it's a miracle. And by the time we crossed the bridge outside of Nelson, the sun was shining and it was starting to get warm. I started peeling off my rain gear and it had been such a staple of my wardrobe that I felt naked without it.
We rode up north to Balfour to take a ferry across the lake. The ride was spectacular. The weather was warm and sunny and the wind was at our back. I felt great. We reached the ferry in good time and we only had to wait a little bit before it arrived. Also waiting for the ferry were Rebecca and Pascal - two Swiss bikers who took a year off from work and are doing a ton of touring (they've already ridden 8000km since November mostly in South America and are now doing the cross Canada trip - in fact they have their own website of their adventures if you care to visit www.kimble.ch).
Once the ferry reached the other side, we rode south. The wind that was pushing us along on the first part of the trip was now in our face. It made for slower going but it was still nice. At around 4PM we stopped to set up camp. The day had been nice. So camping sounded promissing. Well as soon as our tents were up, it started pouring. The whole night was pretty cold and wet. I stayed dry, but I never got cozzy warm during the night even though I was wearing a lot of clothing. In the morning, I decided that I wasn't going to camp again until the weather turned warmer – likely not until I left the rockies.
June 12: Boswell to Creston (about 60km - I didn't place my bike computer properly and it didn't record the first 35km)
The day was cold and the ride was all rolling hills along the lake – all in all, very pretty.
Since this blog is a transcript of my travel experiences and should be representative of what I am living, I would be remise if I didn't address one important topic ... I smell really bad. It's crazy. I shower every day and I clean my clothes as often as I can and still, I stink big time. Sometimes I get a tail wind while I'm riding and I get a wiff of myself – holy cow! Words do not describe. When I get back home I'll have to take an hour long shower before I approach any of you. Otherwise I may lose some of you as friends. It is however yet more proof that I am now a man and no longer but a boy.
June 13: Creston to Cranbrook (107.72km)
This has been my longest day so far and I finally surpassed the 100km mark. This was the perfect day to have such a long ride. The weather was perfect (mostly sunny, but still relatively cool and a strong wind in our back) and the hills were not devestating. Tomorrow promises to be even more challenging. We hope to get to Fernie which is about the same distance as we did today and it will be a constant uphill from what I'm told.
The mountains that are before us are much more beautiful and dramatic than those that we have already climbed – apparently, because the latter are older and have been more “worn down” than the former. In any case, we are approaching the continental divide and should be out of BC in two days if all goes well.
As Rebecca and Pascal are going north from here, I have said my good byes and depending on when they are going to reach Ottawa, I may be able to see them again.
Last story: All day today I had the song called “Island in the Stream” (I think that's the name) made popular by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers. I feel I must explain that I had heard a new version of this song prior to my trip that was sung by Feist and some dude (the singer of the Weakerthans maybe) and their version was much better than the Kenny and Dolly version. In any case, in a few spots during the ride I was belting out the song with great gusto (my rendition of the Dolly parts are especially poignant:)
Anyways, not sure when I'll post again, but hopefully in a few days. Cheers and check out my pictures
June 10: Nelson to Nelson (about 4km)
Woke up to foul weather today. The rain was torrential and I was glad to be inside and Tony and I decided to take a rest day in Nelson. This was fine with me as I hadn't had a chance to visit the town the previous day, because the weather didn't allow for it. Moreover, Tony has a friend who is going to pay him a visit and it would be easier for the friend to find Tony in Nelson than in a town where we didn't know where we would stay.
I was aching to get out of the motel and meet people however. I decided to move my stuff to the Youth Hostel. Tony preferred to stay in the motel. So after running a few errands, the rain finally stopped and I moved my stuff to the hostel. I'm glad I did. I met some really cool people while making supper and we went to see a documentary about problems with water usage in the world. The documentary was informative if repetitive, but the real pleasure was talking with my new companions. There was a lady from Ireland, another from Denmark and man from France (who I must mention said that he could understand my French much more easily than any Quebecker - HA!) and a lady from Moncton no less. She is probably a few years younger than I am and she went to a rival high school so our paths had never crossed before.
I also visited Nelson. I like it. It has a bohemian feel to it where every second commerce seems to be a cafe or an outdoor adventure store. It seems to attract young people who like doing outdoor activities. In other words, Nelson is the place where pretty people live. My co-worker Sarah Jane gave me a number of suggestions of what to visit (thanks SJ, your tips were bang on).
June 11: Nelson to Boswell (about 60km - I accidentally erased my mileage on my computer)
I woke up to heavy rain and I thought "here we go again", but by the time we were ready to leave, the sun was almost shining. Oh my God, it's a miracle. And by the time we crossed the bridge outside of Nelson, the sun was shining and it was starting to get warm. I started peeling off my rain gear and it had been such a staple of my wardrobe that I felt naked without it.
We rode up north to Balfour to take a ferry across the lake. The ride was spectacular. The weather was warm and sunny and the wind was at our back. I felt great. We reached the ferry in good time and we only had to wait a little bit before it arrived. Also waiting for the ferry were Rebecca and Pascal - two Swiss bikers who took a year off from work and are doing a ton of touring (they've already ridden 8000km since November mostly in South America and are now doing the cross Canada trip - in fact they have their own website of their adventures if you care to visit www.kimble.ch).
Once the ferry reached the other side, we rode south. The wind that was pushing us along on the first part of the trip was now in our face. It made for slower going but it was still nice. At around 4PM we stopped to set up camp. The day had been nice. So camping sounded promissing. Well as soon as our tents were up, it started pouring. The whole night was pretty cold and wet. I stayed dry, but I never got cozzy warm during the night even though I was wearing a lot of clothing. In the morning, I decided that I wasn't going to camp again until the weather turned warmer – likely not until I left the rockies.
June 12: Boswell to Creston (about 60km - I didn't place my bike computer properly and it didn't record the first 35km)
The day was cold and the ride was all rolling hills along the lake – all in all, very pretty.
Since this blog is a transcript of my travel experiences and should be representative of what I am living, I would be remise if I didn't address one important topic ... I smell really bad. It's crazy. I shower every day and I clean my clothes as often as I can and still, I stink big time. Sometimes I get a tail wind while I'm riding and I get a wiff of myself – holy cow! Words do not describe. When I get back home I'll have to take an hour long shower before I approach any of you. Otherwise I may lose some of you as friends. It is however yet more proof that I am now a man and no longer but a boy.
June 13: Creston to Cranbrook (107.72km)
This has been my longest day so far and I finally surpassed the 100km mark. This was the perfect day to have such a long ride. The weather was perfect (mostly sunny, but still relatively cool and a strong wind in our back) and the hills were not devestating. Tomorrow promises to be even more challenging. We hope to get to Fernie which is about the same distance as we did today and it will be a constant uphill from what I'm told.
The mountains that are before us are much more beautiful and dramatic than those that we have already climbed – apparently, because the latter are older and have been more “worn down” than the former. In any case, we are approaching the continental divide and should be out of BC in two days if all goes well.
As Rebecca and Pascal are going north from here, I have said my good byes and depending on when they are going to reach Ottawa, I may be able to see them again.
Last story: All day today I had the song called “Island in the Stream” (I think that's the name) made popular by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers. I feel I must explain that I had heard a new version of this song prior to my trip that was sung by Feist and some dude (the singer of the Weakerthans maybe) and their version was much better than the Kenny and Dolly version. In any case, in a few spots during the ride I was belting out the song with great gusto (my rendition of the Dolly parts are especially poignant:)
Anyways, not sure when I'll post again, but hopefully in a few days. Cheers and check out my pictures
Monday, June 9, 2008
Smelly in Nelson
June 8: Christina Lake to Castlegar (71.62 km)
Today, I became a man. Gone is the boy that you all know. Sure he was cute and you just wanted to pinch his cheeks and present him to your mother, but he is no more. Now I present to you the tougher, leaner and yes meaner me. For instance, I no longer shave with a razor or even a blade. I now shave with a match and some iodine. I am Rambo, hear me roar.What made me a man? Paulson Pass. Today's journey was similar to the one on the Anarchist Pass in that the weather was cold during a long continuous climb and the rain started shortly after we reached the summit. The major difference between today and the Anarchist was that the climb was higher and steeper. I was huffing and puffing up that hill and fighting my demons as a result.
I was slow to start this morning as Tony and I rented two movies the night before (Freedomland - pretty bad - and 3:10 to Yuma - very good). Anyways, Tony left about half an hour before me and I figured that I would see him in Castlegar. I wasn't even sure if I was going to make it as I didn't feel top shape when I woke up and I knew we had a big climb to do. I figured I would try and if I saw that the legs weren't up to the task then I would turn back. That being said, it would have been a shame not to do a lot of riding as the forecast was pretty good for the day and the coming days were not as positive. Anyways, I left and after a climbing for God knows how long, I caught up to Tony near the top of the pass (about 30 km after Christina Lake). I was able to catch up to him largely because he had met another cross country rider and they had stopped to chat for a long while. Serge is a guy from Cambelton, NB, who now lives in Montreal. He left a week earlier from Vancouver and had already caught up to us. He's clearly doing better time than we are.
Anyways, even though we suspected that the climb would never end, we finally reached the summit. As mentioned earlier, the clouds darkened at that point and the weather was very cool. We all changed our clothes and put our rain gear on and thank God for that. The descent which was 37km in length brought us straight to Castlegar. Along the way it rained, it poured, it hailed and it was thundering in the distance (no exaggeration). Thankfully I had put on dry clothes at the summit and I wore my new long fingered gloves. As a result, even though I was damp and a bit cold, it was nothing like a few days earlier. Tony wasn't as lucky however. He was very wet and while they waited for me in Castlegar (my parents will be happy to learn that I am very slow and cautious going down these hills) he got quite cold which sapped him of his energy.
June 9: Castegar to Nelson (46.23 km)
Today was a planned short ride. I wanted to see Nelson as I had heard a lot of good things and as has been mentioned in a few of the comments I have received, the movie Roxanne with Steve Martin was filmed here.At this point Tony and I were going to go different paths. He planned on going to Salmo and then to Creston rather than doing a detour to Nelson. Tony has been an excellent biking partner and it has been a pleasure riding and sharing rooms with him.
Once arrived in Nelson, I headed for the Visitor Information Office. I turn a corner and I see these yellow arms flailing about - it was Tony! I was shocked. I was sure that Tony was comfortably in Salmo by now and that I wouldn't see him again. As it turns out, after he left Castlegar the clouds had darkened considerably and he didn't want to deal with the climb that awaited him if he went to Salmo. The ride to Nelson was much easier even though it was a detour (essentially you avoid two significant hills by going to Nelson but you add about 60km to the ride). Since he had left the motel a good hour ahead of me, he had gotten caught in much heavier rain than I had and had had a miserable day so far. Even though he had initially planned to go beyond Nelson, he decided to stop for the night because of the aforementioned miserable day and because he hadn't fully recovered from the chill he had gotten the day before. So here we are, together again in Nelson.
The plan for tomorrow is unclear. The weather is supposed to be horrible with a high of 10:( We may stay in Nelson or make a short jaunt to Balfour so that our next day to Creston will be more manageable.
I've explored a bit of Nelson so far and it is a cool place. Apparently it was a haven for draft dodgers during the 60s and it has maintained an artistic feel ever since. I hope to explore some more this evening once my clothes are clean and dry (I'm writing this post as most of my clothes is being washed).
Last anecdote: our motel room is pretty nice, but it has one quirky aspect to it, it has a mirror on the ceiling over my bed! I thought this was hilarious and have included a picture. Check it out.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Weather woes
June 5: Osoyoos to Midway (69.49km)
Well today we climbed the notorious Osoyoos hill. It was definitely long, but with what everyone was saying, I anticipated a cliff. As it turned out it was a 28km climb where we went up some 1300 meters. They actually call the hill the Anarchist pass (there's a picture of me at the top). The day was super cold. At a break that I took a car was stopped and the driver mentioned that the air temperature was 12 degrees. Even with that cool weather, I was still in a T-shirt and sweating like crazy. After reaching the top, it started raining and thankfully it only started then, because I could put on my rain gear and not sweat like crazy as we were going downhill. It was raining pretty heavily at times.
The day before I had determined that I would stop being such a woos and start camping. Well my conviction started to wain as the rain was coming down and the temperatures were still in the low teens. So when we got to Midway at around 4:00 I told Tony that my preference was a motel. Well apparently the Gods had heard my initial vow and they would have non of my wavering, because the one motel in town was booked solid and the next town was 13km away with another hill in between only had one room left. So we succumbed to the forces and decided to go to the municipal campground. I feared how the evening would go thinking that my gear would be all cold and wet. As it turns out, it went pretty well. I pitched the tent and got my stuff in and hung my food in the trees (because there were apparently bears in the area) without getting too wet.
June 6: Midway to Grand Forks (55.87km)
This day was rough.
One of my physiological characteristics is that I sweat a lot. In the heat of the summer this doesn't cause any problems because it evaporates as quickly as I produce it. However, today it was drizzling and the terrain was rolling hills. As a result, I was wearing my rain gear which doesn't breath well. So when I was climbing small hills, I would start sweating. There would then be a small downhill where the cold wind would make me freeze. This up and down continued for a couple of hours. I tried different things to try to warm up from wrapping myself in paper to block the wind to working harder to get my body temperature up. Anyways, after we reached the summit of these meandering hills I changed my shirt and put a sweater on under my rain gear. I am so glad I did because we then had a long continuous downhill into Grand Forks into a glacial headwind. My torso - though still cold - wasn't getting any colder given my new clothes was dry. My hands on the other hand were freezing. To get my blood going as I was going down the hill, I was cursing and yelling and it helped considerably - anger when well placed can be beneficial and warming:)
When I got to Grand Forks I told Tony that there was no way I was continuing - we wanted to reach Christina Lake that evening. So we checked into a motel, I took a hot bath and we went to the laundromat to do a wash and dry our tents.
June 7: Grand Forks to Christina Lake (23.17km)
Since there is nothing past Christina Lake for quite a ways and we have a huge hill to climb, we decided to make today a short day and only go to Christina Lake. This suited me fine as the cold from yesterday was still sapping my energy and the weather today was no better. I just wanted to recharge the batteries.
So I'm in a little motel in Christina Lake and will relax today. Sarah Jane, I'm not sure that I'll call your friends because I'm not really up to doing anything but veg so I wouldn't be good company if we went for a drink. Anyways, I'll see later after I run a couple of errands. We actually have a DVD player so we might rent some movies tonight:)
One last note. I'm continually impressed with the people I meet on this trip. Aside from a few drivers who drive badly or give me the finger, I have met nothing but the nicest of people on this trip. People go out of their way to be helpful and most people are curious about what we're doing. The nicest folk are in the campgrounds and, if only it would get a bit warmer, I'd could meet more of them.
Anyways, that's it for now. We're planning on going to Castegar tomorrow and Nelson the next day. If the weather continues to be foul, I may stay in Nelson for a few days until it warms up a bit. We'll see when I get there. Check out my pictures.
Well today we climbed the notorious Osoyoos hill. It was definitely long, but with what everyone was saying, I anticipated a cliff. As it turned out it was a 28km climb where we went up some 1300 meters. They actually call the hill the Anarchist pass (there's a picture of me at the top). The day was super cold. At a break that I took a car was stopped and the driver mentioned that the air temperature was 12 degrees. Even with that cool weather, I was still in a T-shirt and sweating like crazy. After reaching the top, it started raining and thankfully it only started then, because I could put on my rain gear and not sweat like crazy as we were going downhill. It was raining pretty heavily at times.
The day before I had determined that I would stop being such a woos and start camping. Well my conviction started to wain as the rain was coming down and the temperatures were still in the low teens. So when we got to Midway at around 4:00 I told Tony that my preference was a motel. Well apparently the Gods had heard my initial vow and they would have non of my wavering, because the one motel in town was booked solid and the next town was 13km away with another hill in between only had one room left. So we succumbed to the forces and decided to go to the municipal campground. I feared how the evening would go thinking that my gear would be all cold and wet. As it turns out, it went pretty well. I pitched the tent and got my stuff in and hung my food in the trees (because there were apparently bears in the area) without getting too wet.
June 6: Midway to Grand Forks (55.87km)
This day was rough.
One of my physiological characteristics is that I sweat a lot. In the heat of the summer this doesn't cause any problems because it evaporates as quickly as I produce it. However, today it was drizzling and the terrain was rolling hills. As a result, I was wearing my rain gear which doesn't breath well. So when I was climbing small hills, I would start sweating. There would then be a small downhill where the cold wind would make me freeze. This up and down continued for a couple of hours. I tried different things to try to warm up from wrapping myself in paper to block the wind to working harder to get my body temperature up. Anyways, after we reached the summit of these meandering hills I changed my shirt and put a sweater on under my rain gear. I am so glad I did because we then had a long continuous downhill into Grand Forks into a glacial headwind. My torso - though still cold - wasn't getting any colder given my new clothes was dry. My hands on the other hand were freezing. To get my blood going as I was going down the hill, I was cursing and yelling and it helped considerably - anger when well placed can be beneficial and warming:)
When I got to Grand Forks I told Tony that there was no way I was continuing - we wanted to reach Christina Lake that evening. So we checked into a motel, I took a hot bath and we went to the laundromat to do a wash and dry our tents.
June 7: Grand Forks to Christina Lake (23.17km)
Since there is nothing past Christina Lake for quite a ways and we have a huge hill to climb, we decided to make today a short day and only go to Christina Lake. This suited me fine as the cold from yesterday was still sapping my energy and the weather today was no better. I just wanted to recharge the batteries.
So I'm in a little motel in Christina Lake and will relax today. Sarah Jane, I'm not sure that I'll call your friends because I'm not really up to doing anything but veg so I wouldn't be good company if we went for a drink. Anyways, I'll see later after I run a couple of errands. We actually have a DVD player so we might rent some movies tonight:)
One last note. I'm continually impressed with the people I meet on this trip. Aside from a few drivers who drive badly or give me the finger, I have met nothing but the nicest of people on this trip. People go out of their way to be helpful and most people are curious about what we're doing. The nicest folk are in the campgrounds and, if only it would get a bit warmer, I'd could meet more of them.
Anyways, that's it for now. We're planning on going to Castegar tomorrow and Nelson the next day. If the weather continues to be foul, I may stay in Nelson for a few days until it warms up a bit. We'll see when I get there. Check out my pictures.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Happy Birthday Tony
Yeah, my biking buddy is turning 50 today. May the next 50 be just as good as the first.
June 2: Princeton to Keremeos (68.84km)
Another late start to our day. After breakfast and getting a few groceries we were on the road by 10:00. Riding was really good today because it was again mostly downhill. So we made good time and reached our destination in early afternoon. There was only one campground and it was on the side of the highway. So we skipped that and went to a motel. Tony is proving to be not only good company, but also a shrewd negotiator. We had to get two rooms as one of Tony's friends was coming to visit him and I would have a room to my own. Anyways, Tony negotiated my room from $65 to $40. Thanks Tony.
I let Tony and his friend catch up and I spent the evening on my own. So I decided to check what Keremeos has to offer. Well apparently not much. The few merchants were closed by 6:00 and even most restaurants closed not long after 7:00. So I went to the town bar and watched the hockey game. It's strange, I'm watching more TV on this trip than I ever do. That's going to change shortly as I plan to do more camping.
My morale is surprisingly good so far. I say surprisingly because I anticipated that the first few weeks were going to be really tough as I would be transitioning into this new lifestyle and getting used to not having my usual creature comforts. It's true that I've spoiled myself with a number of motel nights and having Tony around to chat with makes things easier as well.
Small anecdote: As you may know, Rambo (the first movie) was filmed in Hope BC which I visited a few days ago. As a result, I'll have to rent that movie when I get back home to see if I recognize the sights. Anyways, when Tony was talking to his friend this evening, he mentioned this bit of trivia and subsequently told a story where I was involved. The two bits of information got mixed up in Tony's mind and he referred to me as Rambo. This garnered a good laugh between the two of them (not exactly sure why:) and they have come to refer to me with that name ever since. I can safely say, this is the first time I have been confused with Sylvester Stallone!
June 3: Keremeos to Osoyoos (52.45km)
A fairly easy ride today. The day began with some rolling hills and then there was a long uphill followed by a nice downhill into Osoyoos. I could have gone further, but I need to get a few things done (e.g. laundry, getting my bike checked, etc) and Osoyoos is the best place to do this for another few days. When I leave, it promises to be challenging as I'm told that the hardest hill I will face is not long after leaving town. Yikes!
Osoyoos is in the desert. So I deduced that it would be pretty warm here. Well I was wrong. It's cloudy, drizzly and threatening rain for tomorrow. But we decided that it was enough with the motels and are camping at a nice campground tonight. In fact the weather has been coolish ever since I began the trip except for one day. Hopefully it won't persist.
A couple of people asked me for my review to Indiana Jones. Errr, mediocre. Maybe I wasn't in the mood for mindless action, but I was rolling my eyes at the unlikely predicaments that the characters would endure unscathed. I guess it wasn't cerebral enough for me ... ah ha ha ha! Phew, I kill me. In case you don't know – I have horrible taste in movies and cerebral would not describe most of my movie choices.
June 4: Osoyoos to Osoyoos (about 8km running errands)
Well as the heading suggests, I ran errands this morning. It was actually good to get on the bike, because it was freezing cold this morning and I needed to warm up. I was nice and cozy in the tent, but when I got up to make breakfast, zowie it was freezing and the wind off the lake was biting (my campsite is right on the lake).
Anyways, not much to report except that I met a number of nice people and my campsite neighbours invited me to supper when I cross through there home town of Thunder Bay.
Not sure when I'll post next. Probably not until I reach Nelson which hopefully should be in about 4 days. Here are my recent photos.
June 2: Princeton to Keremeos (68.84km)
Another late start to our day. After breakfast and getting a few groceries we were on the road by 10:00. Riding was really good today because it was again mostly downhill. So we made good time and reached our destination in early afternoon. There was only one campground and it was on the side of the highway. So we skipped that and went to a motel. Tony is proving to be not only good company, but also a shrewd negotiator. We had to get two rooms as one of Tony's friends was coming to visit him and I would have a room to my own. Anyways, Tony negotiated my room from $65 to $40. Thanks Tony.
I let Tony and his friend catch up and I spent the evening on my own. So I decided to check what Keremeos has to offer. Well apparently not much. The few merchants were closed by 6:00 and even most restaurants closed not long after 7:00. So I went to the town bar and watched the hockey game. It's strange, I'm watching more TV on this trip than I ever do. That's going to change shortly as I plan to do more camping.
My morale is surprisingly good so far. I say surprisingly because I anticipated that the first few weeks were going to be really tough as I would be transitioning into this new lifestyle and getting used to not having my usual creature comforts. It's true that I've spoiled myself with a number of motel nights and having Tony around to chat with makes things easier as well.
Small anecdote: As you may know, Rambo (the first movie) was filmed in Hope BC which I visited a few days ago. As a result, I'll have to rent that movie when I get back home to see if I recognize the sights. Anyways, when Tony was talking to his friend this evening, he mentioned this bit of trivia and subsequently told a story where I was involved. The two bits of information got mixed up in Tony's mind and he referred to me as Rambo. This garnered a good laugh between the two of them (not exactly sure why:) and they have come to refer to me with that name ever since. I can safely say, this is the first time I have been confused with Sylvester Stallone!
June 3: Keremeos to Osoyoos (52.45km)
A fairly easy ride today. The day began with some rolling hills and then there was a long uphill followed by a nice downhill into Osoyoos. I could have gone further, but I need to get a few things done (e.g. laundry, getting my bike checked, etc) and Osoyoos is the best place to do this for another few days. When I leave, it promises to be challenging as I'm told that the hardest hill I will face is not long after leaving town. Yikes!
Osoyoos is in the desert. So I deduced that it would be pretty warm here. Well I was wrong. It's cloudy, drizzly and threatening rain for tomorrow. But we decided that it was enough with the motels and are camping at a nice campground tonight. In fact the weather has been coolish ever since I began the trip except for one day. Hopefully it won't persist.
A couple of people asked me for my review to Indiana Jones. Errr, mediocre. Maybe I wasn't in the mood for mindless action, but I was rolling my eyes at the unlikely predicaments that the characters would endure unscathed. I guess it wasn't cerebral enough for me ... ah ha ha ha! Phew, I kill me. In case you don't know – I have horrible taste in movies and cerebral would not describe most of my movie choices.
June 4: Osoyoos to Osoyoos (about 8km running errands)
Well as the heading suggests, I ran errands this morning. It was actually good to get on the bike, because it was freezing cold this morning and I needed to warm up. I was nice and cozy in the tent, but when I got up to make breakfast, zowie it was freezing and the wind off the lake was biting (my campsite is right on the lake).
Anyways, not much to report except that I met a number of nice people and my campsite neighbours invited me to supper when I cross through there home town of Thunder Bay.
Not sure when I'll post next. Probably not until I reach Nelson which hopefully should be in about 4 days. Here are my recent photos.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Hills, funky tan lines and Tony
May 31 Hope to Manning Park Resort (66.20km)
OK, enough of being lazy and back to work. I left Hope this morning at around 9:30 in the hopes that it would warm up. Well, I needn't have worried because almost as soon as I got out of town, there was a super long hill and I was dripping in sweat in no time. This was the first real hill that I've climbed since my trip began. There were a few rolling hills in the first few days, but this hill went on forever. I should have checked, but I'm guessing it was between 10 to 15 km.
The whole day was essentially long climbs interspersed with some shorter climbs:) Apparently, I climbed about 1000 meters today. Thankfully, the hills were not excessively steep, but very long.
Along one of the hills, I saw another biker on the side of the road who was fully loaded as I was. I stopped for a chat and he, Tony, is going to Winnipeg. He's done a ton of touring before (went from NFLD to Victoria in 1987 and will do it in the opposite direction in stages this time). We essentially leeped frogged over one another all day in that I would pass him while he was taking a break and he would pass me when I was. In late afternoon I was ahead of him and I got to Manning Park resort - the first bit of civilization since I left Hope. There was a campground 10km further ahead, but it didn't have any services and I knew there wouldn't be anything after that for a long while. Since the skies were threatening rain at that point, I thought that I would spoil myself and sleep in the resort. I figured that that was going to be the last that I'd see of Tony because he's a hardier soul than I am (he slept off the highway the previous evening). As I was checking into the motel, Tony pops in and we decide to room together. It's cool to have company for a bit and since he has done so much touring, he has some great advice for me.
Final anecdote for today. As mentioned earlier, I shaved most of my hair at the beginning of this trip. For most of the day, it was hot and sunny out. I figured that the little hair that I do have was going to protect me against the sun. Well it turns out I was wrong and now my skull and upper forehead have stripes of tanning that corresponds to the air vents on my helmet. It is especially noticeable on the top of my forehead where I have three chunks of skin that are tanned while the rest is the normal colour. It sorta looks like flattened out horns and gives me a devilish look:) Tony took a couple of pictures, but they don't show exactly how it looks.
June 1: Manning Park to Princeton (67.10km)
I was some glad that we decided to motel it last night because it was cold and rainy when we got up this morning. We took our time packing up and only got on the road at about 10:15.
The day started with a 20km downhill, which was a welcome change from the climbing of the previous day. Learning my lesson from the other rainy day where I froze, I put my poncho that I'm using as a groundsheet for my tent underneath my raincoat. In that way, I stayed dry and warm during the rainy downhill.
The downhill was followed by a 12km uphill in which we essentially reached the same altitude that we had just descended. The day ended with another long downhill into Princeton.
Tony and I more or less biked together today in that we gave ourselves a place to meet for lunch and we would go on from there. Once we arrived in Princeton we decided to check into a motel together for the night as there was no camping and the next possible accommodation was 35km away. So here I am sleeping in a bed once again living the life of luxury:)
Final story: now that the hills have started, I decided to shed some pounds. I brought two books with me: 1) Lonely Planet Guide to Canada and 2) Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Well I ditched them both. I figured the Guide wasn't going to be helpful because it talks mostly about towns that I won't be going too. As for Zen, I thought it would be a really appropriate read for my trip. If you don't know about it, it's essentially this guy that talks about philosophy and how it relates to a road trip that he's taking (I'm sure there is more to it then that, but I didn't get too far). Anyways, I read a bit of it and it really didn't speak to me and I thought the main character was self-righteous. Thanks for your suggestion Ian, but I turfed it.
Well that's about it for now. I tried loading pictures, but I think I have very limited bandwidth. So I'll post them when I can. I'm planning on taking another day off in Osoyoos which is two days away. So I'll try to post again at that point.
OK, enough of being lazy and back to work. I left Hope this morning at around 9:30 in the hopes that it would warm up. Well, I needn't have worried because almost as soon as I got out of town, there was a super long hill and I was dripping in sweat in no time. This was the first real hill that I've climbed since my trip began. There were a few rolling hills in the first few days, but this hill went on forever. I should have checked, but I'm guessing it was between 10 to 15 km.
The whole day was essentially long climbs interspersed with some shorter climbs:) Apparently, I climbed about 1000 meters today. Thankfully, the hills were not excessively steep, but very long.
Along one of the hills, I saw another biker on the side of the road who was fully loaded as I was. I stopped for a chat and he, Tony, is going to Winnipeg. He's done a ton of touring before (went from NFLD to Victoria in 1987 and will do it in the opposite direction in stages this time). We essentially leeped frogged over one another all day in that I would pass him while he was taking a break and he would pass me when I was. In late afternoon I was ahead of him and I got to Manning Park resort - the first bit of civilization since I left Hope. There was a campground 10km further ahead, but it didn't have any services and I knew there wouldn't be anything after that for a long while. Since the skies were threatening rain at that point, I thought that I would spoil myself and sleep in the resort. I figured that that was going to be the last that I'd see of Tony because he's a hardier soul than I am (he slept off the highway the previous evening). As I was checking into the motel, Tony pops in and we decide to room together. It's cool to have company for a bit and since he has done so much touring, he has some great advice for me.
Final anecdote for today. As mentioned earlier, I shaved most of my hair at the beginning of this trip. For most of the day, it was hot and sunny out. I figured that the little hair that I do have was going to protect me against the sun. Well it turns out I was wrong and now my skull and upper forehead have stripes of tanning that corresponds to the air vents on my helmet. It is especially noticeable on the top of my forehead where I have three chunks of skin that are tanned while the rest is the normal colour. It sorta looks like flattened out horns and gives me a devilish look:) Tony took a couple of pictures, but they don't show exactly how it looks.
June 1: Manning Park to Princeton (67.10km)
I was some glad that we decided to motel it last night because it was cold and rainy when we got up this morning. We took our time packing up and only got on the road at about 10:15.
The day started with a 20km downhill, which was a welcome change from the climbing of the previous day. Learning my lesson from the other rainy day where I froze, I put my poncho that I'm using as a groundsheet for my tent underneath my raincoat. In that way, I stayed dry and warm during the rainy downhill.
The downhill was followed by a 12km uphill in which we essentially reached the same altitude that we had just descended. The day ended with another long downhill into Princeton.
Tony and I more or less biked together today in that we gave ourselves a place to meet for lunch and we would go on from there. Once we arrived in Princeton we decided to check into a motel together for the night as there was no camping and the next possible accommodation was 35km away. So here I am sleeping in a bed once again living the life of luxury:)
Final story: now that the hills have started, I decided to shed some pounds. I brought two books with me: 1) Lonely Planet Guide to Canada and 2) Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Well I ditched them both. I figured the Guide wasn't going to be helpful because it talks mostly about towns that I won't be going too. As for Zen, I thought it would be a really appropriate read for my trip. If you don't know about it, it's essentially this guy that talks about philosophy and how it relates to a road trip that he's taking (I'm sure there is more to it then that, but I didn't get too far). Anyways, I read a bit of it and it really didn't speak to me and I thought the main character was self-righteous. Thanks for your suggestion Ian, but I turfed it.
Well that's about it for now. I tried loading pictures, but I think I have very limited bandwidth. So I'll post them when I can. I'm planning on taking another day off in Osoyoos which is two days away. So I'll try to post again at that point.
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