2002 Ride

Day 1 As I left the house I joked with Wanda & Rob that if they saw me in the ditch stop and help me. Well I got the shits from heatstroke, Wanda & Rob just happened to stop just as I got out of the ditch. Boy did I feel like an idiot! Heat and I don’t get along I have found out J

Day 2 Motivation just was not happening and I got a ride from parents to Goldeye.

Day 3 Rode to DT so that I could have a warm breakfast Crystal and Glen were excellent waiters.

Day 4 Saw my first cyclist a guy from Chicago area going to Prince Rupert BC then he was going to take a ferry to LA. I stayed at a youth hostel, turns out it was the most expensive stop of the trip $22! At least it had a sauna that some ladies got going. Met a lady from Switzerland Marlene, James from New Jersey working for Lets Go Travel guides, A guy that was staying at each hostel in Alberta and BC, and a group from UofC doing Mtn Climbing activities. When I first got there it was raining so I took shelter under the bike rack structure and this cat hide under a wheelbarrow until the rain stopped I laughed at that cat so much.

Day 5 I couldn’t make up my mind if I wanted to go north or South, the weather report was rain in the north sun to the south. So I went south not going up Sunwapta pass to the Ice fields. I experienced the hardest 12Km ever on the Bow Pass, I only walked about 2k IF I CAN DO THIS BAD ASSED HILL I CAN DO ANY DAMN THING I WANT!!!! As I went up I saw a couple on a tandem going down and I stopped to talk to a family from Mexico that was going to Alaska they started in March and planned to get there by September, The little girl will have many stories to tell her kids when she grows up! This was the second day in a row that when I stopped for the night before it started raining.

Day 6 Saw another couple on a Tandem and an Englishman on a racer with backpack that stayed at hotels, not a bad idea. He had this wristwatch that had an altimeter and weather station in it, one of the mtn climbers had one as well, the elderly guy said he would not ride without it because it gives him so much info. Later I find Uncle Nic has one as well, spot the trend.

I decided to ride up the chateau and sit for a few hours. 4.5K up a 500ft change in elevation took me forever I think it was harder than the Bow Pass for some reason. I get to the top and see yet another couple on a Tandem this pair I got to talk to. It was the wife’s opinion that with the tandem she could stay with her husband and not get discouraged by not keeping up so she tried harder, the Guy rides so much more than she. He thought it was great because he knew that he couldn’t leave her behind and then she didn’t get mad. I immediately thought this might be an idea for Rob & Wanda for their bike ridingJ

Well I thought it would be nice to eat in the restaurant, trouble is it was really fancy, I mean FANCY!!! I realized that I hadn’t had a shower yet on the trip and that I could smell myself I felt uncomfortable and out of place. Nobody asked to have a different table so I think they all knew but they probably saw me struggling up the hill and took pity on me. The downhill was one of the most exciting thing I did all trip I think, I SCREEMED down that hill maxing out at 64Kph the speed limit is 60. There was a Motor Home the size of a freaking Bus and car in front of me that I could have easily passed if I wanted to.

Because the LL sites were closed to tents I had to go to the overflow campsite where the warden’s don’t patrol. It was cheaper but when I got there it was an open field that was signed as a Commercial truck rest stop I just about went past it. I could have stayed at the Lake a lot longer than I had because I had this huge field to myself when I crawled into bed.

Day 7 I woke up in the morning and to my surprise I had a neighbour, Christian from Germany. We broke camp and had breakfast together and didn’t leave till 9am! He had so much gear on his bike it was heavier than mine. He originally planned on riding from Vancouver, Jasper or Banff then to Calgary in 2 Months, but he hurt his knee and spent most of his money getting a bus to Calgary then rode to Jasper and back.

I had a really good ride into Banff saw many more cyclists as I walked around. I was going to meet Christian at Tunnel Mt Campground but I was having a really good riding day and I am beginning to Hate Banff with a passion. So I headed off to Canmore to avoid another park pass fee, a guy in a shop told me the campsites in Canmore are next to the highway and there were better ones further on, just didn’t say how far they were. So I ended up in Bow Valley PP, actually Willow Creek. Apparently there are about 5 sites in the PP and this one was the closest to the highway. I am planning to get to IKEA by noon so I can talk to David or Don (found out later David is still on Vacation)

I was sitting in my mosquito-infested area (note to self no camping next to shady creeks) and a group of cyclist rolled up with banners on the back and such. Turns out to be 8 men from Scotland, 1 Alaskan, and a guy from BC. They are part of a Protest group for Debt Relief in 3^rd world countries. They tell me of a Critical Mass ride the next day in Calgary, which is the main reason for their ride from Vancouver. Later on in the evening the army was showing off, NINE helicopters in a row circled the valley. We all just smiled and waved at them.

Day 8 Woke up and got a good start to the day, found a monster of a hill by highway 68. I rushed into the city and used the C-train to get to IKEA at 12:20 not bad for an estimate (TIP do that more often rest less) I talked to Don for a while and found out about a 35+ position in Logs, filled out a form to keep my foot in the door, it sounds like a really sweet deal. I showed up for the Crit Mass and so did about 200 others, groups from were riding from Sask, Ed, Red Deer, and Vancouver. One of the guys from Edmonton was a real idiot he owns a bike shop. It was quite the experience of a lifetime to turn around and see a sea of bikes taking over the downtown area. One guy said there was a cop annoyed that we weren’t violent because he wanted to crack some heads. I stayed the night at Nick’s. Oh I drank the whole bag of water today 3L plus 2 Gatorades.

Day 9 Oh woke up out of a real bed and didn’t move for a while; a real bed can snap the strength right out of you. Betty made breakfast and Leah had to work, Andrea slept in till around noon. I didn’t leave till around 1pm, it was a bad start to the day but the Crit Mass made the paper and I think I am hidden in the pic or just behind it I am not certain. I took the C-Train to Whitehorn station, I just felt like leaving the city again but not as bad as before, just wanted to get to get to Blackfalds to avoid the heat wave that was coming. So I made it to Bob’s house to find that it was Grad week for Heather. Don & Elaine were there for the events. Jake is quite the biking person I have found; they plan on biking to Dawson next summer. I had a few beers with Bob and I forgot that I hadn’t eaten lunch so I probably looked like I was drunk off two drinks.

Day 10 Rode to Bob’s worksite with him; damn he has a fast pace! I think riding alone makes me forget to keep a good pace up. I think I ate more today riding than any other day. It was probably the hottest as well. I just about bonked a few times I don’t know if it was because my belly was full or not. By Inesvail I honestly thought I was going to die it was so hot and I was not feeling good. I pressed on to the Chapters where I knew there would be air conditioning and just sat and pretended to read magazines to cool off. I took my time to get across town and thought about finding Rob’s workplace and throwing my bike in the back of it and wait for him. But that seemed like a rotten way to end a good trip so I stopped at DQ and ate AGAIN and rested, felt even better. As I rode to Blackfalds there was a traffic jam, I got a few cheers from people as I kept up and passed traffic. I kept up with this semi up a hill, which made me feel really good. Stopped off to pick up some booze to celebrate the end of the trip.

Things I have learned about biking from the trip

- Get one of those watches

- WASH bike shorts every day no matter what!!! If not remember the discomfort

- If I don’t feel good find SHADE!!! Drink water and eat something light

- Find a way work in time to cook a decent breakfast in the morning (instant oatmeal or something)

- Do not pitch the tent next to a shady creek... massive mosquitoes

- Every hill has a top somewhere and a downhill

- There are friendly people out there and they ride bikes

Things I don’t need to bring next time

- The little radio because there is no reception

- Binoculars I used them once

- Long underwear and cold weather gear

- Less clothing Ride set and Hang out set… That is it.

Things I didn’t bring but needed

- Wet wipes

- Bigger sized notebook

- Small calculator

- Slippers were good until they got wet