(click on titles for pictures)
(updates sent from Nipigon, on the first of June. Day not done, yet)
Ignace to Thunder Bay
228 km, 8.5 hrs
Overcast at first, sunny after, and hot the last 2 hours
occasional light drizzle
winds (15 k/h) behind me (tail and cross-tail)
I thought it'd be a light day (225 km expected), with favourable winds. I decided to ride easy – sit back in the saddle, get a slower cadence, and just sit up for most of the ride. Nothing too strenuous; I knew I'd get to T-Bay by night fall. Plus, I knew I'd lose an hour with the time-zone change. Leaving early made me relax a bit.
What I did enjoy was the start of the hills. It really breaks up the ride, the monotony. I like the uphills, and I definitely enjoy the rewards after them too. No more of “maximum speed of 30” as I had in the prairies, now I can hit 60. Just wait until the bigger hills come on the other side of T-Bay.
Nothing exceptional to report for the first 100 k or so (except that it was just that, 105 km of no towns, just typical little lakes and streams, rocks and trees, and the traffic). After lunch, a sign caught my eye: “Fudge” (at a coming-up store). Twist my arm. Yes, I stopped by and bought a block of it, and started munching on it immediately (accepting the fact that I might have a sugar rush/crash later). No, no crashes.
The time zone actually had a sign, so I stopped to take a few pictures (and eat more chocolate fudge). Good ol' Canadian boy who established the time zones around the world. What I can't understand is why didn't Flemming just put those damn time zones along political borders (say between provinces instead of in the middle of some), and why did he just give Newfoundland 30 minute difference? Lots of things in the world I don't know.
I also saw continental watershed for Atlantic (I believe) and Artic. I was hoping to see that in the Rockies (as I did see them in the Rockies in Colorado, but not in Canada).
Arriving at the junction of the 11 and 17, things just flew from there. It was mainly downhill (with some little tough uphill, notebly Strawberry Hill, the biggest hill I've encountered this side of the Rockies). It was a blast riding those fast rolling hills. I thought the wind was pushing me, but when I stopped, no winds were felt.
On Hwy 102 (sort-of a bypass of T-Bay), I was looking for Dawson Road to turn as my cousin stays there. Biking along, biking, biking, waiting. A pick-up pulls over – it's Mike. he informs me that I passed his house. As it turns out, Dawson Road IS Hwy 102. Luckily for me, he was just doing some errands and spotted this geek dressed in spandex biking by. Sure enough, it was me. Pleasant surprise.
Tonight, I get to stay at Michael (cousin) and Bonnie's place, and meet their cute little boy. Another steak supper, with bacon-wrapped baked potatoes on the bbq – what a good idea. Tasted delicious too. Watch a bit of hockey, talk about things, lovely evening.
I've really been lucky with the great hospitality I've received so far: Paul in Kamloops, Roch and Ali in Crossfield, Yvette and Dale in Winnipeg, and of course, Mike and Bonnie over here. I get to enjoy a rest day plus visiting many uncle, aunts, cousins, and grandmas in 3 days or so. Actually, two days later is a rest day at my mom's and aunt, then 2-3 days later is my sister and the little terrors (love them brats), then a rest day in Toronto visiting the city, and more importantly, friends in the city. Two more days after that, I am in Ottawa, for a bigger rest (and lots of errands and visits, with some biking too). So, I think things are going to fly in the next two weeks.
What a ride.
Tomorrow, beautiful Lake Superior, and Terry Fox tourist spots.
I bought an Ontario map today (I was using the tail end of the Manitoba map for a bit of NW Ontario). I can now see that Kenora isn't on Lake Superior. But, thanks to the “Anonymous” person for writing that. I also noticed that I will not be heading down a very (+++) beautiful section of Lake Superior – towards Wawa. I will miss the big Wawa goose, and the opportunity to dip my big toe in one of the coldest waters Canada has to offer. But, I will get to hike up North a bit and visit family. Sweet.
Well, I will be counting sheep in a few minutes.
As always, i hope you guys are doing quite well. I get to think of you guys during the long days.
Cheers,
Pierre
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
Day 25 - Kenora to Ignace
Kenora to Ignace
249.5 km (oh so close), 10.5 hrs
raining, up to 11 degrees
partly windy (some head wind with cross winds)
On a long and lonesome highway, east of Kenora
You can listen to the rain moaning out its one lone song
You can think about woman, or the girl you knew the night before,
But your thoughts will soon be wandering, the way they always do.
When your riding ten hours and theres nothing much to do
And you dont feel much like riding, you just wish the day was through.
Say, here I am, on the road again. there I am, up on the stage.
Here I go, playing star again.
There I go, turn the page.
Well you walk into a restaurant, strung out from the road,
You can feel the eyes upon you as your shaking off the cold
You pretend it doesnt bother you, but you just want to explode.
Most times you cant hear em talk, other times you can.
Oh the same old cliche, is that woman or a man
You always see my number, you dont dare make a stand.
Here I am, on the road again. there I am, up on the stage.
Here I go, playing star again.
There I go, turn the page.
Out there in the spotlight you're 2000 km away,
Every ounce of energy, you try and give away,
As the sweat pours out your body like the km that you put away.
Later in the evening as you lie awake in bed,
With the echo from the big-rigs ringing in your head,
You drank the days last beer, remembering what she said.
Now here I am, on the road again. there I am, up on the stage.
Here I go, playing star again.
There I go, turn the page.
Here I am, on the road again. there I am, up on the stage.
Ah here I go, playing star again.
There I go, there I go.
Lots of rain today, but no downpour. My bike did pick up lots of crap from the road – the drivetrain was pretty gritty at the end of the day.
Lots of people are doing little Inukshuks along the way. I took a few pics of them.
On a coincidence note, while listening to a tune by Pulp, one of the lyrics was “It's 4 o'clock, and the real world seems so far away”. I thought “It must be close to 4 o'clock” and checked my watch. 16h00 and a few seconds. Interesting. I didn't believ it, so I checked a few seconds later, and confirmed that it was, in fact, 4 pm. I thought that was weird, yet cool.
Food – I stopped into a restaurant as the sign attracted me: a big B with moose antlers on each side, and the restaurant's name is something like “Burgers Barbeque”. Decent food, but what is noteworthy is their award winning bbq sauces – their blueberry bbq sauce. They have two versions: normal, and spicy. I tried them both. Tasty. The spicy one was a bit too risky to put on the burger as I didn't want to suffer any consequences later, so I settled for the regular. Their chicken and sausage gumbo was delicious.
Dryden – when I turned the corner to head to downtown, I get to see some factories spewing out dark grey and black smoke out of their smokestacks. This superimposes the little town. Not the prettiest site. Pulp mill, so it probably smells a bit on hot days.
I lost some time in Dryden looking for the internet, and then for a cup of coffee. After lots of time wasted trying to tap into the library system, I decided to nix the internet thing and go for a coffee. The only thing decent was Tim Horton's. Well, I've never had to wait in line 15 minutes before, and the counter people were a bit on the slow side. What didn't help were abnoxious american hunters (or something) being all confused and such. So, I lost maybe up to 45 minutes in Dryden.
That loss turned out to tap into the daylight hours I had to ride. The tail end of the ride was, well, not ideal. There wasn't much light when I finished the ride.
The campsite was alright. Since I was looking for electricity and Internet access, the guy offered me to camp out on his lawn (his house is on the premises) and tap into the two. That was nice of him. Plus he gave me a discount. What was great about the place was the extremely hot showers. Boy I enjoyed that, I didn't want to leave.
I noticed lately my appetite is getting bigger. I think I must of ate for an hour in the tent. The garbage I took out in the morning was a bag full of empty boxes and such from all the food I ate that night. I basically ate everything I had – toasts, bagels, half a container of pasta and sauce, and chocolate milk/hot chocolate. I think I'll turn into a pig.
On the road, I also saw some tell-tale signs of a cyclist before me. There was an empty compressed-air cartridge on the side of the road, and later, an actual bike tire. Good that someone is biking across the country, but they ignored the “carry-in, carry-out” rule. Oh well.
Alright, time for sleep.
Bonne nuit,
p
249.5 km (oh so close), 10.5 hrs
raining, up to 11 degrees
partly windy (some head wind with cross winds)
On a long and lonesome highway, east of Kenora
You can listen to the rain moaning out its one lone song
You can think about woman, or the girl you knew the night before,
But your thoughts will soon be wandering, the way they always do.
When your riding ten hours and theres nothing much to do
And you dont feel much like riding, you just wish the day was through.
Say, here I am, on the road again. there I am, up on the stage.
Here I go, playing star again.
There I go, turn the page.
Well you walk into a restaurant, strung out from the road,
You can feel the eyes upon you as your shaking off the cold
You pretend it doesnt bother you, but you just want to explode.
Most times you cant hear em talk, other times you can.
Oh the same old cliche, is that woman or a man
You always see my number, you dont dare make a stand.
Here I am, on the road again. there I am, up on the stage.
Here I go, playing star again.
There I go, turn the page.
Out there in the spotlight you're 2000 km away,
Every ounce of energy, you try and give away,
As the sweat pours out your body like the km that you put away.
Later in the evening as you lie awake in bed,
With the echo from the big-rigs ringing in your head,
You drank the days last beer, remembering what she said.
Now here I am, on the road again. there I am, up on the stage.
Here I go, playing star again.
There I go, turn the page.
Here I am, on the road again. there I am, up on the stage.
Ah here I go, playing star again.
There I go, there I go.
Lots of rain today, but no downpour. My bike did pick up lots of crap from the road – the drivetrain was pretty gritty at the end of the day.
Lots of people are doing little Inukshuks along the way. I took a few pics of them.
On a coincidence note, while listening to a tune by Pulp, one of the lyrics was “It's 4 o'clock, and the real world seems so far away”. I thought “It must be close to 4 o'clock” and checked my watch. 16h00 and a few seconds. Interesting. I didn't believ it, so I checked a few seconds later, and confirmed that it was, in fact, 4 pm. I thought that was weird, yet cool.
Food – I stopped into a restaurant as the sign attracted me: a big B with moose antlers on each side, and the restaurant's name is something like “Burgers Barbeque”. Decent food, but what is noteworthy is their award winning bbq sauces – their blueberry bbq sauce. They have two versions: normal, and spicy. I tried them both. Tasty. The spicy one was a bit too risky to put on the burger as I didn't want to suffer any consequences later, so I settled for the regular. Their chicken and sausage gumbo was delicious.
Dryden – when I turned the corner to head to downtown, I get to see some factories spewing out dark grey and black smoke out of their smokestacks. This superimposes the little town. Not the prettiest site. Pulp mill, so it probably smells a bit on hot days.
I lost some time in Dryden looking for the internet, and then for a cup of coffee. After lots of time wasted trying to tap into the library system, I decided to nix the internet thing and go for a coffee. The only thing decent was Tim Horton's. Well, I've never had to wait in line 15 minutes before, and the counter people were a bit on the slow side. What didn't help were abnoxious american hunters (or something) being all confused and such. So, I lost maybe up to 45 minutes in Dryden.
That loss turned out to tap into the daylight hours I had to ride. The tail end of the ride was, well, not ideal. There wasn't much light when I finished the ride.
The campsite was alright. Since I was looking for electricity and Internet access, the guy offered me to camp out on his lawn (his house is on the premises) and tap into the two. That was nice of him. Plus he gave me a discount. What was great about the place was the extremely hot showers. Boy I enjoyed that, I didn't want to leave.
I noticed lately my appetite is getting bigger. I think I must of ate for an hour in the tent. The garbage I took out in the morning was a bag full of empty boxes and such from all the food I ate that night. I basically ate everything I had – toasts, bagels, half a container of pasta and sauce, and chocolate milk/hot chocolate. I think I'll turn into a pig.
On the road, I also saw some tell-tale signs of a cyclist before me. There was an empty compressed-air cartridge on the side of the road, and later, an actual bike tire. Good that someone is biking across the country, but they ignored the “carry-in, carry-out” rule. Oh well.
Alright, time for sleep.
Bonne nuit,
p
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Day 24 - Winnipeg to ...
You'll have to excuse me
I'm not at my best
I've been gone for a month
I've been drunk since I left
This so-called vacation
Will soon be my death
I'm so sick from the drink
I need home for a rest
Take me home!
Gone a month, and I am basically home – Ontario! I haven't been drunk since I left, nor do I need a rest yet.
Had a few sentimental moments after crossing the border. Weird and neat feeling.
Winnipeg to Kenora, 230 k, 9.5 hrs
Overcast
Slightly windy (mainly headwind with a diagonal cross-head wind for most of the day until Ontario)
Pictures updated - click title for them.
If Winnipeg is the gateway to the West, then heading the other way must be the gateway to the East. Prairies are behind me now.
I woke up with my calves being a bit sore today. Odd. It must have been all the walking I did the day before. Gees I'm out of shape.
I decided to not do the Trans-Canada highway again and went North. Good call. I eventually went through a provincial park. The road wasn't that good (alright), but the route was definitely worth it. At one point, I thought “gees, the terrain is changing a bit, it looks different”, and realized that I have entered the Canadian Shield. Nice. Lots of winding up and down roads, lined with streams, lakes and rocks. Some wildlife too. Almost no traffic, just quietness. Definetely better than the TransCanada, in my opinion.
After crossing the Ontario border, while listening to Paul Anka sing Black Hole Sun, the sun came out for about 30 minutes (just faintly, but I could see my shaddow a bit). That was nice.
Kenora seems quite nice. Nestled on inlets of lake superior, there's lots of nice views from here.
There. Short entry as I am quite tired (now 1 am). I got in at 9 (after spending some time downtown), set-up camp, ate, showered, laundry in the sink, spend some time on the phone with a friend, but what took long was just organising those photos and adding comments before uploading them. Priorities – the blog and such, instead of sleep. Oh well. I will be getting up in 6.5 hours or so. Another typical day tomorrow,, so ride all day.
Thunder Bay in 2 nights, so heads-up Michael and Bonnie. Looks like Val Gagne on the evening of the 4th and 5th. I'll crash one evening at memere's, and the other eveving somewhere where I can see as much as the Perron's and Couture's. I have no idea who is where, so if someone could drop me a line and I can be a bit organized with my visiting. It'll be nice to see you folks, and get a day of resting (visiting, not having to do the touristy thing).
Later, et bonne nuit.
p2
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Winipeg - rest day
Winnipeg – Rest day
I've done over 3000 km so far (not exactly sure how much), and just a bit under 3000 k left until I hit Ottawa (with all those little detours). Fun.
Nice sunny day to be a tourist in town.
The morning was a bit tough. The lovely hosts set me up in a big comfy bed, dark room, with temperatures warmer than outside, and a few brown pops the night before. Just tough to get out of bed (well, lack of sleep hours a bit, but I dont mind).
I got a chance to ride into town in a Pontiac Solstice, a nice little puppy. Taking a simple bus downtown, I headed towards a place to have breakfast. After seeing Portage and Main intersection (apparently the windiest intersection in Canada), I strayed a bit off course and found myself in a bit of a dodgy place. The downtown stip is a mix of nice shops, but a bunch of different types of folks (all walks of life). Pretty interesting.
Breakfast nothing worthwhile talking about. The next stop was The Forks, where the Assiniboine River meets the Red River. It was a major spot for the travellers during the Hudson Bay Company early years. There is a path that runs along the river which is a nice stroll.
I headed towards the legislative buildings afterwards. It seemed like a nice region – tons of polar bear statues all painted differently (like the Vancouver Orcas and those lovely Toronto Moose). There is a gold-plated statue on top of the building, called “Golden Boy”. It's neat. The water fountain in the front of the building is a nice touch. There is also a few different Louis Riel statues all around. I forget my history a bit, but I believe he was a Metis icon, but got hung for being a traitor or something. I dont remember well.
Galivanting downtown, I ventured in and out of shops (mainly at Portage Place, pronounced Portij by the locals). There was also the mandatory MEC store visit, where I bought more gas for the stove and bug repellant (preparing for baren North-West Ontario), more dry-lube for the bike, another dry-bag (for my bread), and some tea-lights (candle thingies, whatever you call them, to see if it can create a bit of heat in the tent on those colder nights).
I also visited a bike shop where I bought a new pair of shorts. My third pair isn't that good of quality, and seemed to be a bit too stretchy. Picture my skinny little legs and arse in baggy spandex shorts.
I tried to visit the spot where the Winnipeg Jets played hockey, but the building got torn down. The new MTS Centre, seats over 16k, is quite nice. The Moose play there, and tons of concerts.
Food – Earl's Restaurant. Major eye candy there. Plus, if the waitresses dont work, they still go there all dressed quite nice and eat at the bar. Easy to get distracted when I ate my meal. Their own beer line, Albino Rhino, isn't bad. I had the honey lager. It tastes a bit like the Palomino Honey Red from Milestones. The dynamite shrimp rolls, which is basically sushi (shrimp tempura, a sweet/garlic sauce), and slightly spicy soy sauce, was very delicious. Although not the best, but quite pleasant, the main course consisted of: Cedar planked salmon with tropical fruit salad (mango, pineapple, red onions, mint and cilantro, and a hint of spicy samfel and sweet honey), with garlic mashed potatos and asparagus. Oddly enough, I was craving asparagus for a little while.
I crossed a neat bridge to St. Boniface, a very french suburb of Winnipeg. It's there where I continued people watching in an internet cafe. To cool down, I had an iced-cap, and a lovely light desert that is similar to angel food cake with strawberries (including sauce) and whipped cream. I got a chance to reply to a bunch of emails. There was some funny ones, thanks.
I didn't get a chance to visit this restaurant that revolves, located on top of a hotel. I planned on having a beer there and write a blog entry or two. Besides that, I believe I did most of the things planned (except to get another haircut – I have a lovely afro happening).
I then met with Yvette at her work to go home. The Solstice had the top down, which made my hair flow all over the place. Fun. Supper – steak, potatos, and peas. Great meal. Oh, with a beer and a glass of wine. Great hosts, top notch. They also explained (took a few minutes) on how I went through the time zone between Alberta and Saskatchewan but didn't change time, but when I cross the Sask/Manitoba border, which isn't a time zone change, the time changes. Simple. (Saskatchewan never changes time). It was just a bit confusing at first, but now it makes sense.
I also got a chance to true my rear wheel. I think the few days of fairly strong cross winds where I was pushed all over the place (off the shoulder, into ruts of broken pavement, etc) took it's tole on the wheel. I am lucky with that wheel. I built it right before heading on my trip with Tanya last year, without testing it before being all loaded up. It stayed true until now. I also had the chance to give Dzie her gift – new handlebar tape (cork gel mixture, by Bontrager). Nice tape, goes on nicely too. I can't wait to ride tomorrow to see how it feels. It looks nice, long overdue.
Now, it's time to retire. Another late night (packing, laundry), but hopefully I will be able to go to bed early tomorrow night. It'll be an interesting trip. I just thought of something today; I will be going through Ontario in close to a month (with that rest before/after Solstice). Hell, big province. But, I will be back in the same time zone as most of you lovely folks.
Ok, petit dodo asteur.
Very special thank you to Dale, Yvette for being excellent hosts, and to Christine to set it all up. Merci.
p2
I've done over 3000 km so far (not exactly sure how much), and just a bit under 3000 k left until I hit Ottawa (with all those little detours). Fun.
Nice sunny day to be a tourist in town.
The morning was a bit tough. The lovely hosts set me up in a big comfy bed, dark room, with temperatures warmer than outside, and a few brown pops the night before. Just tough to get out of bed (well, lack of sleep hours a bit, but I dont mind).
I got a chance to ride into town in a Pontiac Solstice, a nice little puppy. Taking a simple bus downtown, I headed towards a place to have breakfast. After seeing Portage and Main intersection (apparently the windiest intersection in Canada), I strayed a bit off course and found myself in a bit of a dodgy place. The downtown stip is a mix of nice shops, but a bunch of different types of folks (all walks of life). Pretty interesting.
Breakfast nothing worthwhile talking about. The next stop was The Forks, where the Assiniboine River meets the Red River. It was a major spot for the travellers during the Hudson Bay Company early years. There is a path that runs along the river which is a nice stroll.
I headed towards the legislative buildings afterwards. It seemed like a nice region – tons of polar bear statues all painted differently (like the Vancouver Orcas and those lovely Toronto Moose). There is a gold-plated statue on top of the building, called “Golden Boy”. It's neat. The water fountain in the front of the building is a nice touch. There is also a few different Louis Riel statues all around. I forget my history a bit, but I believe he was a Metis icon, but got hung for being a traitor or something. I dont remember well.
Galivanting downtown, I ventured in and out of shops (mainly at Portage Place, pronounced Portij by the locals). There was also the mandatory MEC store visit, where I bought more gas for the stove and bug repellant (preparing for baren North-West Ontario), more dry-lube for the bike, another dry-bag (for my bread), and some tea-lights (candle thingies, whatever you call them, to see if it can create a bit of heat in the tent on those colder nights).
I also visited a bike shop where I bought a new pair of shorts. My third pair isn't that good of quality, and seemed to be a bit too stretchy. Picture my skinny little legs and arse in baggy spandex shorts.
I tried to visit the spot where the Winnipeg Jets played hockey, but the building got torn down. The new MTS Centre, seats over 16k, is quite nice. The Moose play there, and tons of concerts.
Food – Earl's Restaurant. Major eye candy there. Plus, if the waitresses dont work, they still go there all dressed quite nice and eat at the bar. Easy to get distracted when I ate my meal. Their own beer line, Albino Rhino, isn't bad. I had the honey lager. It tastes a bit like the Palomino Honey Red from Milestones. The dynamite shrimp rolls, which is basically sushi (shrimp tempura, a sweet/garlic sauce), and slightly spicy soy sauce, was very delicious. Although not the best, but quite pleasant, the main course consisted of: Cedar planked salmon with tropical fruit salad (mango, pineapple, red onions, mint and cilantro, and a hint of spicy samfel and sweet honey), with garlic mashed potatos and asparagus. Oddly enough, I was craving asparagus for a little while.
I crossed a neat bridge to St. Boniface, a very french suburb of Winnipeg. It's there where I continued people watching in an internet cafe. To cool down, I had an iced-cap, and a lovely light desert that is similar to angel food cake with strawberries (including sauce) and whipped cream. I got a chance to reply to a bunch of emails. There was some funny ones, thanks.
I didn't get a chance to visit this restaurant that revolves, located on top of a hotel. I planned on having a beer there and write a blog entry or two. Besides that, I believe I did most of the things planned (except to get another haircut – I have a lovely afro happening).
I then met with Yvette at her work to go home. The Solstice had the top down, which made my hair flow all over the place. Fun. Supper – steak, potatos, and peas. Great meal. Oh, with a beer and a glass of wine. Great hosts, top notch. They also explained (took a few minutes) on how I went through the time zone between Alberta and Saskatchewan but didn't change time, but when I cross the Sask/Manitoba border, which isn't a time zone change, the time changes. Simple. (Saskatchewan never changes time). It was just a bit confusing at first, but now it makes sense.
I also got a chance to true my rear wheel. I think the few days of fairly strong cross winds where I was pushed all over the place (off the shoulder, into ruts of broken pavement, etc) took it's tole on the wheel. I am lucky with that wheel. I built it right before heading on my trip with Tanya last year, without testing it before being all loaded up. It stayed true until now. I also had the chance to give Dzie her gift – new handlebar tape (cork gel mixture, by Bontrager). Nice tape, goes on nicely too. I can't wait to ride tomorrow to see how it feels. It looks nice, long overdue.
Now, it's time to retire. Another late night (packing, laundry), but hopefully I will be able to go to bed early tomorrow night. It'll be an interesting trip. I just thought of something today; I will be going through Ontario in close to a month (with that rest before/after Solstice). Hell, big province. But, I will be back in the same time zone as most of you lovely folks.
Ok, petit dodo asteur.
Very special thank you to Dale, Yvette for being excellent hosts, and to Christine to set it all up. Merci.
p2
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Day 23 - Souris to Winnipeg
Souris to Winnipeg
248.5 km, 9 hrs
Sunny, slight breeze to light winds, favourable
The friendly Manitoba wave continues today – sort-of that high-five while still holding on to the steering wheel. Nice folks down here. It might be because there are a lot of frenchies around here.
Terrain is fairly consistant – gentle rolling hills with rivers and trees surrounding big open fields. Nice day to ride in the country side. The sun was out, the clouds were inexistant, and the breeze for the first half of the day was keeping me guessing which side it was coming from.
After 110 km, I stopped in Holland for lunch. Nice little place. I ventured into the grocery store and purchased a bunch of cold cuts, some Swiss cheese, yogurt, chocolate bar, and a litre of chocolate milk (they didn't have the 500 mL). To make the sandwich a little less dry, I added some ketchup from the packets I have in my stock. Different taste, but doable.
As soon as I got back on the bike, everything felt sweet. I was surprised that my speed was faster – was it the tailwind? The chocolate milk? I thought of having a camel-back topped up with chocolate milk, but realized that could make me develop diabetes and lactose intollerance. Plus, I wouldn't be the person riding behind me with those conditions.
I attribute the pick-up in pace to the breeze turning into a light wind at my back. Thanks. The clothes were slowly coming off after lunch, with the last items (arm warmers, toque) coming off at the 175 km mark. It was warm when I would stop, but the wind just made it a tad cooler.
At the 175 km mark, I started riding on a concrete highway. The speed just picked up briefly – that stuff is fun to ride on. The music on the mp3 player cued up a Violent Femmes song, which gave me the idea of listening to the entire album. It was also an album I could sing while biking. But, since I am out of shape, I would run out of breath here and there. I hope my singing is getting better. I might have to test out my skills at a karaoke bar and see if I end up in the hospital like all the other times I “attempted” karaoke. But, that's another story.
After the Violent Femmes (self-titled album, 1981, or is it 1980?), I was in the mood for some Radiohead (In Rainbows). Another great album. I basically rode those albums into the city.
I had a quick little supper in town – good old McRaunchies to try the Angus burger again to see if it would do similar respiratory effects. Try anything twice, right? Joel, you'll be glad to know that I didn't hack up a lung afterwards, but I could still feel that grease in the throat that I usually feel after eating fast food of that type. Afterwards, I was off to Yvette and Dale's house for a couple of evenings. Thank you very much Christine for setting things up – I am in debt with you and the lovely hosts. It was great to talk to you too.
I didn't get a chance to reach 250 k. Too bad. I like round numbers.
The evening was also swell – little more supper (spaghetti with a home-made meaty sauce), some wine, and a few beers (Kokanee and Fort Garry dark beer, tasty). A few more beers were consumed while we were in the hot tub.
What I didn't realize was that I changed time zones the day before when I crossed the border. Oops. So, when I went to bed, I thought it was 1 am, and not 2 am.
The next day, Wednesday, is a rest day in Winnipeg where I get to visit the city. Should be fun.
I was surprised to get many emails and some posts on the blog. Thank you, tanan. Some folks commented on how the tune changed while I was in Saskatchewan. I'll try to keep it interesting during the Northern Ontario part. Long riding days up ahead, with towns few and far between.
Oh, even though I wanted to try local things throughout the country, I did not want to sample Prairie Oysters. For those who dont know, they are bull testicles. Yummy! No balls for me, sorry Lisa.
Han, last time I had pizza while biking was in Victoria. I'll take a picture of that next time. Peeing – yes, it has resumed with the calmer winds. Mooning – I am saving that for Solstice. Be near me for those.
Mom – yes, I'll try not to get too drunk too often. Je m'excuse (un peu).
I am peeling at a few spots, even though I have gone through lots of sunblock lately. I guess I am appeeling. Oh, bad pun.
Well, until next entry. Stay tuned.
Thanks for the reading, the interest, the comments, and emails. You guys are in my thoughts.
Ciao,
p2
248.5 km, 9 hrs
Sunny, slight breeze to light winds, favourable
The friendly Manitoba wave continues today – sort-of that high-five while still holding on to the steering wheel. Nice folks down here. It might be because there are a lot of frenchies around here.
Terrain is fairly consistant – gentle rolling hills with rivers and trees surrounding big open fields. Nice day to ride in the country side. The sun was out, the clouds were inexistant, and the breeze for the first half of the day was keeping me guessing which side it was coming from.
After 110 km, I stopped in Holland for lunch. Nice little place. I ventured into the grocery store and purchased a bunch of cold cuts, some Swiss cheese, yogurt, chocolate bar, and a litre of chocolate milk (they didn't have the 500 mL). To make the sandwich a little less dry, I added some ketchup from the packets I have in my stock. Different taste, but doable.
As soon as I got back on the bike, everything felt sweet. I was surprised that my speed was faster – was it the tailwind? The chocolate milk? I thought of having a camel-back topped up with chocolate milk, but realized that could make me develop diabetes and lactose intollerance. Plus, I wouldn't be the person riding behind me with those conditions.
I attribute the pick-up in pace to the breeze turning into a light wind at my back. Thanks. The clothes were slowly coming off after lunch, with the last items (arm warmers, toque) coming off at the 175 km mark. It was warm when I would stop, but the wind just made it a tad cooler.
At the 175 km mark, I started riding on a concrete highway. The speed just picked up briefly – that stuff is fun to ride on. The music on the mp3 player cued up a Violent Femmes song, which gave me the idea of listening to the entire album. It was also an album I could sing while biking. But, since I am out of shape, I would run out of breath here and there. I hope my singing is getting better. I might have to test out my skills at a karaoke bar and see if I end up in the hospital like all the other times I “attempted” karaoke. But, that's another story.
After the Violent Femmes (self-titled album, 1981, or is it 1980?), I was in the mood for some Radiohead (In Rainbows). Another great album. I basically rode those albums into the city.
I had a quick little supper in town – good old McRaunchies to try the Angus burger again to see if it would do similar respiratory effects. Try anything twice, right? Joel, you'll be glad to know that I didn't hack up a lung afterwards, but I could still feel that grease in the throat that I usually feel after eating fast food of that type. Afterwards, I was off to Yvette and Dale's house for a couple of evenings. Thank you very much Christine for setting things up – I am in debt with you and the lovely hosts. It was great to talk to you too.
I didn't get a chance to reach 250 k. Too bad. I like round numbers.
The evening was also swell – little more supper (spaghetti with a home-made meaty sauce), some wine, and a few beers (Kokanee and Fort Garry dark beer, tasty). A few more beers were consumed while we were in the hot tub.
What I didn't realize was that I changed time zones the day before when I crossed the border. Oops. So, when I went to bed, I thought it was 1 am, and not 2 am.
The next day, Wednesday, is a rest day in Winnipeg where I get to visit the city. Should be fun.
I was surprised to get many emails and some posts on the blog. Thank you, tanan. Some folks commented on how the tune changed while I was in Saskatchewan. I'll try to keep it interesting during the Northern Ontario part. Long riding days up ahead, with towns few and far between.
Oh, even though I wanted to try local things throughout the country, I did not want to sample Prairie Oysters. For those who dont know, they are bull testicles. Yummy! No balls for me, sorry Lisa.
Han, last time I had pizza while biking was in Victoria. I'll take a picture of that next time. Peeing – yes, it has resumed with the calmer winds. Mooning – I am saving that for Solstice. Be near me for those.
Mom – yes, I'll try not to get too drunk too often. Je m'excuse (un peu).
I am peeling at a few spots, even though I have gone through lots of sunblock lately. I guess I am appeeling. Oh, bad pun.
Well, until next entry. Stay tuned.
Thanks for the reading, the interest, the comments, and emails. You guys are in my thoughts.
Ciao,
p2
Monday, May 26, 2008
Day x - quick post
Stoughton (SK) to Souris (MB)
213 km, sunny
Winds – calmer (15 km/h) from North and North-East
Friendly Manitoba. True to it's word. I probably had 20 on-coming cars wave at me as they went by. I had one transport truck do a little “toot-toot” and wave to cheer me on. I didn't get those in other provinces. I guess they figured I came this far, I might be doing alright.
After a few hard days, I was able to put in 10 hours on the saddle to get back to only 1 day behind. I knew the winds would be a bit against me for part of the day, but being less than the recent winds, I didn't mind.
It was cold today. I actually woke up cold, and the occasional shivering of the left leg (only, that's odd). Later during the day, I overheard some folks at a restaurant saying that they had to scrape frost off the windshield this morning.
After the laundromat, I headed to George's pizza for some food. Pizza sounded good actually, so it was fitting. Eight inch “all dressed” - tons of stuff on there. I also had to have a chicken frajolaki, as I didn't know what that was. It is a sandwich that also has lettuce, tomato, oninons, and feta cheese. It was good. Lots of food though.
Camping turned out alright. I didn't have to pay (I left fairly early), and the tent was dry by the morning. Bonus.
During the start of the ride, I was playing leap-frog with an RV who was following their cyclist. I never saw them as they were behind me. After two “leaps”, I never saw the RV again. As I said earlier, it was a cool day. I had the whole gear on today (toque, two pairs of socks, tights, knee and arm warmers, coat, and fleece gloves). After the 100 k mark, I took off the tights and coat, but the rest remained for the rest of the trip. The wind was cool, and blowing from a mix of head and cross wind, or simply a cross wind for the entire ride. I knew that was going to happen, hence the early departure to put in my time for today.
Tomorrow will be a similar day for km (a bit more), but I have no idea of the wind. But, being in Manitoba now, there are more trees to dampen the wind. If everything goes well, I am in Winnipeg on Tuesday night. It is a rest day, so 2 evenings and a day there.
Right before entering Manitoba, I had to have my last Saskatoon berry pie, followed by a meal at the local restaurant. Boy I ate lots today. The greek salad was huge (overflowing plate), club sandwich, and beef barley soup (all after the pie, which was at a different and only location in town to serve it).
Being off the beaten path, entering Manitoba has only a small sign. Too bad. Ontario, I will get to see the big signs.
A dear friend of mine wrote to me a few weeks ago and requested that I dont write, in regards to the prairies, “flat, went through them fast, nothing much to see”. She was concerned (for lack of a better word) that it would be boring for me and the blog entries would show. Well, I guess a few things happened in Saskatchewan for me to write about.
But, I am happy to be here in Manitoba. I enjoyed Saskatchewan, but not the wind. I will always remember (not in this order): Saskatoon berries, Moose Jaw Tunnels, the hills, running into Alex again, and definitely Corner Gas (Dog River).
I am now at a campground in town (Souris, pronounced Soo-riss, like the town Forget is pronounced For-Get, and not forjet). I actually wanted to ride a bit further today as there was still daylight for a good hour, but I had no idea if I was going to hit a campground. I just wanted to bite into tomorrow's km a bit, so the day wont be as long.
Well, pictures and more news to come in a day or two.
I hope you are all doing well.
Later,
p2
213 km, sunny
Winds – calmer (15 km/h) from North and North-East
Friendly Manitoba. True to it's word. I probably had 20 on-coming cars wave at me as they went by. I had one transport truck do a little “toot-toot” and wave to cheer me on. I didn't get those in other provinces. I guess they figured I came this far, I might be doing alright.
After a few hard days, I was able to put in 10 hours on the saddle to get back to only 1 day behind. I knew the winds would be a bit against me for part of the day, but being less than the recent winds, I didn't mind.
It was cold today. I actually woke up cold, and the occasional shivering of the left leg (only, that's odd). Later during the day, I overheard some folks at a restaurant saying that they had to scrape frost off the windshield this morning.
After the laundromat, I headed to George's pizza for some food. Pizza sounded good actually, so it was fitting. Eight inch “all dressed” - tons of stuff on there. I also had to have a chicken frajolaki, as I didn't know what that was. It is a sandwich that also has lettuce, tomato, oninons, and feta cheese. It was good. Lots of food though.
Camping turned out alright. I didn't have to pay (I left fairly early), and the tent was dry by the morning. Bonus.
During the start of the ride, I was playing leap-frog with an RV who was following their cyclist. I never saw them as they were behind me. After two “leaps”, I never saw the RV again. As I said earlier, it was a cool day. I had the whole gear on today (toque, two pairs of socks, tights, knee and arm warmers, coat, and fleece gloves). After the 100 k mark, I took off the tights and coat, but the rest remained for the rest of the trip. The wind was cool, and blowing from a mix of head and cross wind, or simply a cross wind for the entire ride. I knew that was going to happen, hence the early departure to put in my time for today.
Tomorrow will be a similar day for km (a bit more), but I have no idea of the wind. But, being in Manitoba now, there are more trees to dampen the wind. If everything goes well, I am in Winnipeg on Tuesday night. It is a rest day, so 2 evenings and a day there.
Right before entering Manitoba, I had to have my last Saskatoon berry pie, followed by a meal at the local restaurant. Boy I ate lots today. The greek salad was huge (overflowing plate), club sandwich, and beef barley soup (all after the pie, which was at a different and only location in town to serve it).
Being off the beaten path, entering Manitoba has only a small sign. Too bad. Ontario, I will get to see the big signs.
A dear friend of mine wrote to me a few weeks ago and requested that I dont write, in regards to the prairies, “flat, went through them fast, nothing much to see”. She was concerned (for lack of a better word) that it would be boring for me and the blog entries would show. Well, I guess a few things happened in Saskatchewan for me to write about.
But, I am happy to be here in Manitoba. I enjoyed Saskatchewan, but not the wind. I will always remember (not in this order): Saskatoon berries, Moose Jaw Tunnels, the hills, running into Alex again, and definitely Corner Gas (Dog River).
I am now at a campground in town (Souris, pronounced Soo-riss, like the town Forget is pronounced For-Get, and not forjet). I actually wanted to ride a bit further today as there was still daylight for a good hour, but I had no idea if I was going to hit a campground. I just wanted to bite into tomorrow's km a bit, so the day wont be as long.
Well, pictures and more news to come in a day or two.
I hope you are all doing well.
Later,
p2
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Day 20 and 21
Saturday, May 24th
Regina to Weyburn
126 km, 7h45mins
Sunny at first, overcast with rain later.
Windy, yes (what did you expect?)
The day started nice. I had breakfast at Melrose's Place (maybe lunch at Twin Peaks?). Belgian waffles with strawberry sauce (with real strawberries) and some whipped cream. Tasty.
The ride out of town was simple. Heading on the 33 (South East), I wanted to hit Stoughton then East onto the 13 right across the border to end up somewhere just South of Bandon (or touch the Trans-Canada again). For this trip, I wanted to explore a bit of the side roads, and not just stick to the Trans-Canada all the time.
The first hour was nice. It was a hell of a grind, but pleasant. The shoulder was good, so I just put my head down for 1-3 minutes at a time and just rode into the wind. I was able to hold a steady 14k/h. The tri-geek (on his aero-bars, riding a crack-n'-fail) who passed me just getting out of town was only able to stay ahead of me for 400 metres. I felt good, all loaded up and keeping up to someone. After the first hour, the wind seemed to start picking up, with more frequent and powerful gusts of wind. I could see the darker clouds up ahead, which was the rain they forcasted. No worries.
An hour later, those gusts and the clouds were getting very dark. I decided to pull over in a town and hide by the post office to get some shelter and eat lunch. After eating, the clouds and wind still didn't look too favourable, so I just sat down and had a little nap. It's always funny to be woken up by those big leg jerks (3x). After that 30 minute nap or so, I headed out on the road.
Rain came down lightly at first, and would pick up a bit here and there. The winds still stayed strong. With the speed I was going at, I knew beyond Stoughton would not be feasable. I eyed that town for the night. As the day progressed, I thought Stoughton would not be feasable anymore, so I decided to duck down South onto the 35 to head to Weyburn (only 50 k away, with some crosswinds). Slight detour, but what can I do.
Going South, there was definitely a crosswind, with a bit of headwind at first, but moved into a slight tailwind for the majority of that part of the highway. I was being pushed all over the place, it was pretty interesting. I started riding on the other side of the road, as if (when) the wind would push me, I would only be in the middle of the lane, vs off the road. Of course, when there was no cars coming. I felt like a jerk doing that, I just hope the cars understood why I was doing that. It was much safer.
Twice someone stopped by to offer me a ride. I guess they also thought the weather wasn't too ideal. Nice folks. I thanked them for the offer, and told them they probably understood that I have to do this on my own. They understood, and wished me good luck.
Campsite in Weyburn was decent. Cheap ($14.00). I honestly can't recall if I took a shower. I must of. The guy at the office offered me an extention cord to bring to the tent so I could have some power to recharge the batteries (mp3 and computer), instead of me being in the bathroom to charge them up. He also offered me a heater for the tent. I declined. Is that safe to put a heater in a tent? Plus, I didn't need one.
The plan for tomorrow, pending on the weather, was to maybe hit the Manitoba border. That would be some 170 km away. There would be 3 campsites along the way, so I could pick my sleeping spot.
Sunday, May 25th
Weyburn to Soughton
Overcast, raining, and you can guess about the wind conditions.
66.66 km, 4h15mins
Unphukenbelievable. Look at those people, in their metal and fiberglass vehicles. Probably drinking coffee, sitting on their heated seats, flying at 100 km/hr. Gees. Must be nice.
These past 2 days have probably been the hardest biking days I can remember. Two times it was quite cold during some of my trips that my hands were seized (couldn't bend my fingers, make/open a fist), which made braking and shifting difficult. Those occasions, stopping for lunch at a restaurant to warm up, I would still shake an hour later. I've also cycled in -40 degrees weather with no problems. These days, with these winds, fairly difficult for me. I think I'm an alright rider, but I was struggling out there a bit yesterday, and definitely today.
Woke up to rain falling on the tent. It'll be a wet one to pack up. Motivation wasn't there that much. I couldn't hear the wind much, so I thought that it might stay mellower (relatively speaking) while it rained. Something I wouldn't mind at all.
After packing all my wet gear, I started talking to a local who gave me the (false) hope that the wind was blowing from the North-West. Heck, I dont mind a cross wind with some tailwind. Wrong. North-East. Plus the rain. I haven't had a chance to check on the internet what the weather (temperature, wind) conditions are for yesterday and today, but I will try to remember and add it to the end of the post. It is for you guys a bit, but for me too (this is a record of my trip for when I revisit this in the future).
I was getting pushed all over the place today. It was a cold rain, a strong wind, the kinds you hear in songs. The shoulder was not in the best conditions, with broken pavement all over the place. I felt like I was mountain biking a technical section, having to chose very tight lines (changing directions within a foot) constantly, while battling the wind that had it's own adgenda of which line I should chose. I am so surprised I didn't flat today with the stuff I hit. Knock on wood.
After an hour, I knew I was only reaching Stoughton as my destination for the day. I didn't curse much, maybe once, as I've accepted that this is what I have to do. Just slowly chip away at km during these times, and then worry about whatever later. I do hope I can still attend Solstice (have a few days rest before the event to hopefully be alright at the event). But, the trip is the priority. Overall, I believe I am 1-2 days behind on where I wanted to be. But, when I planned this, Rouleau was not part of the plan, and staying on the Trans-Canada was.
After 2 hours, and everything soaked (socks, tights, toque, and the necessary fleece gloves), I stopped for lunch in a town hoping they would have a little tiny restaurant. No luck. I cooked a hearty soup, and tried to warm up with the stove. My feet were quite cold, but not numb. Keep on truckin'.
On the road, I decided I would (hopefully) find a motel in Stoughton. I figure I could dry some stuff (tent, clothes) and defrost my body with a shower (or a bath, if it looked tidy enough).
I rode the other side of the road again today, as much as I could. Those trucks (any direction) today were packing a mean punch (briefly cut the wind, or add a gust of wind with the powerful spray of water from the road). Along the way, I noticed more and more of those oil machines pulling up stuff. There was a few at first, but after spotting more than 3 dozens, it was routine. Up ahead, I could see something orange stuff on the side of the road. Was it a building on fire? Couldn't be. It must be flags or something. Nope, actual pipes from refinerires spewing out fire. Pretty neat, pretty powerful too. They would be places maybe 300 metres appart, but for a while (I think I saw a dozen).
Today was not a good day for pictures – the scenery was typical, and the rainy weather didn't make me take out my camera (unless something worthwhile would of popped up).
My arrival to Stoughton. I saw a hotel. Yes! Went there: “No vacancy, campground also full for the summer”. First f-bomb dropped. I enquired about other hotels in this small town at the next-door convenience store. Yes, just up the road into town a bit. I went, and found the place. Talking to the lady, she informs me that there is also no vacancy there. (outside, I dropped another f-bomb). I was cold, shivering, and my hopes of being in a dry and warm hotel room were being crushed. I spoke to some folks, and they mentioned that even though the campground said they are full, “just go there and pitch a tent, they dont mind”. We'll see how that goes. I wonder what goes on for paying, as there is no office there or anything.
After the tent set-up (so much wind, it was awkward setting it up), I had a shower (luke-warm water, but felt nice). It was hard to defrost my feet though. I also gathered all my dirty/wet clothes and headed into town for the laundromat (where I am writing this entry). The plan is to get a pizza or something, eat in (or at the tent), and just chill (hopefully not a pun) in the tent and get a long night sleep. I will most likely hit the road again tomorrow (unless I hear that the weather will be the same or worse than today). I didn't feel safe out there (playing with the traffic, avoiding flats, and it was quite straining – I do not want to get injured in any manner).
So, we'll see what the near future brings for me.
I want to wish good luck to Rolland H, who is leaving on his x-Canada trip on Monday (I believe), starting in Vancouver. I would assume the weather is nice over there. I do hope these winds die down as they head out West.
Alright, enjoy the warm indoors you folks, and have a beer (while chuckling over the times I am encoutering lately).
I have put things into perspective lately, which is probably why I haven't lost it on the road. I just think of what Terry Fox has endured, and the same with Rick Hanson. Amazing folks. I feel so minuscue compared to them. I am minuscule. Those are great folks.
Franck – right on. Felicitation.
Petit bonjour speciale a memere Boucher qui suit ce voyage d'une maniere. See you soon. See all the Val Gagne area gang soon too (after the Thunder Bay crew).
Currently 4 degrees (feels like -2 with the wind), winds at 43 km/hr.
This morning/afternoon: 6-9 degrees, winds at 43-46 km/hr
Yesteray: probably the same. can't get specific data past 9 pm.
Ciao,
P
Regina to Weyburn
126 km, 7h45mins
Sunny at first, overcast with rain later.
Windy, yes (what did you expect?)
The day started nice. I had breakfast at Melrose's Place (maybe lunch at Twin Peaks?). Belgian waffles with strawberry sauce (with real strawberries) and some whipped cream. Tasty.
The ride out of town was simple. Heading on the 33 (South East), I wanted to hit Stoughton then East onto the 13 right across the border to end up somewhere just South of Bandon (or touch the Trans-Canada again). For this trip, I wanted to explore a bit of the side roads, and not just stick to the Trans-Canada all the time.
The first hour was nice. It was a hell of a grind, but pleasant. The shoulder was good, so I just put my head down for 1-3 minutes at a time and just rode into the wind. I was able to hold a steady 14k/h. The tri-geek (on his aero-bars, riding a crack-n'-fail) who passed me just getting out of town was only able to stay ahead of me for 400 metres. I felt good, all loaded up and keeping up to someone. After the first hour, the wind seemed to start picking up, with more frequent and powerful gusts of wind. I could see the darker clouds up ahead, which was the rain they forcasted. No worries.
An hour later, those gusts and the clouds were getting very dark. I decided to pull over in a town and hide by the post office to get some shelter and eat lunch. After eating, the clouds and wind still didn't look too favourable, so I just sat down and had a little nap. It's always funny to be woken up by those big leg jerks (3x). After that 30 minute nap or so, I headed out on the road.
Rain came down lightly at first, and would pick up a bit here and there. The winds still stayed strong. With the speed I was going at, I knew beyond Stoughton would not be feasable. I eyed that town for the night. As the day progressed, I thought Stoughton would not be feasable anymore, so I decided to duck down South onto the 35 to head to Weyburn (only 50 k away, with some crosswinds). Slight detour, but what can I do.
Going South, there was definitely a crosswind, with a bit of headwind at first, but moved into a slight tailwind for the majority of that part of the highway. I was being pushed all over the place, it was pretty interesting. I started riding on the other side of the road, as if (when) the wind would push me, I would only be in the middle of the lane, vs off the road. Of course, when there was no cars coming. I felt like a jerk doing that, I just hope the cars understood why I was doing that. It was much safer.
Twice someone stopped by to offer me a ride. I guess they also thought the weather wasn't too ideal. Nice folks. I thanked them for the offer, and told them they probably understood that I have to do this on my own. They understood, and wished me good luck.
Campsite in Weyburn was decent. Cheap ($14.00). I honestly can't recall if I took a shower. I must of. The guy at the office offered me an extention cord to bring to the tent so I could have some power to recharge the batteries (mp3 and computer), instead of me being in the bathroom to charge them up. He also offered me a heater for the tent. I declined. Is that safe to put a heater in a tent? Plus, I didn't need one.
The plan for tomorrow, pending on the weather, was to maybe hit the Manitoba border. That would be some 170 km away. There would be 3 campsites along the way, so I could pick my sleeping spot.
Sunday, May 25th
Weyburn to Soughton
Overcast, raining, and you can guess about the wind conditions.
66.66 km, 4h15mins
Unphukenbelievable. Look at those people, in their metal and fiberglass vehicles. Probably drinking coffee, sitting on their heated seats, flying at 100 km/hr. Gees. Must be nice.
These past 2 days have probably been the hardest biking days I can remember. Two times it was quite cold during some of my trips that my hands were seized (couldn't bend my fingers, make/open a fist), which made braking and shifting difficult. Those occasions, stopping for lunch at a restaurant to warm up, I would still shake an hour later. I've also cycled in -40 degrees weather with no problems. These days, with these winds, fairly difficult for me. I think I'm an alright rider, but I was struggling out there a bit yesterday, and definitely today.
Woke up to rain falling on the tent. It'll be a wet one to pack up. Motivation wasn't there that much. I couldn't hear the wind much, so I thought that it might stay mellower (relatively speaking) while it rained. Something I wouldn't mind at all.
After packing all my wet gear, I started talking to a local who gave me the (false) hope that the wind was blowing from the North-West. Heck, I dont mind a cross wind with some tailwind. Wrong. North-East. Plus the rain. I haven't had a chance to check on the internet what the weather (temperature, wind) conditions are for yesterday and today, but I will try to remember and add it to the end of the post. It is for you guys a bit, but for me too (this is a record of my trip for when I revisit this in the future).
I was getting pushed all over the place today. It was a cold rain, a strong wind, the kinds you hear in songs. The shoulder was not in the best conditions, with broken pavement all over the place. I felt like I was mountain biking a technical section, having to chose very tight lines (changing directions within a foot) constantly, while battling the wind that had it's own adgenda of which line I should chose. I am so surprised I didn't flat today with the stuff I hit. Knock on wood.
After an hour, I knew I was only reaching Stoughton as my destination for the day. I didn't curse much, maybe once, as I've accepted that this is what I have to do. Just slowly chip away at km during these times, and then worry about whatever later. I do hope I can still attend Solstice (have a few days rest before the event to hopefully be alright at the event). But, the trip is the priority. Overall, I believe I am 1-2 days behind on where I wanted to be. But, when I planned this, Rouleau was not part of the plan, and staying on the Trans-Canada was.
After 2 hours, and everything soaked (socks, tights, toque, and the necessary fleece gloves), I stopped for lunch in a town hoping they would have a little tiny restaurant. No luck. I cooked a hearty soup, and tried to warm up with the stove. My feet were quite cold, but not numb. Keep on truckin'.
On the road, I decided I would (hopefully) find a motel in Stoughton. I figure I could dry some stuff (tent, clothes) and defrost my body with a shower (or a bath, if it looked tidy enough).
I rode the other side of the road again today, as much as I could. Those trucks (any direction) today were packing a mean punch (briefly cut the wind, or add a gust of wind with the powerful spray of water from the road). Along the way, I noticed more and more of those oil machines pulling up stuff. There was a few at first, but after spotting more than 3 dozens, it was routine. Up ahead, I could see something orange stuff on the side of the road. Was it a building on fire? Couldn't be. It must be flags or something. Nope, actual pipes from refinerires spewing out fire. Pretty neat, pretty powerful too. They would be places maybe 300 metres appart, but for a while (I think I saw a dozen).
Today was not a good day for pictures – the scenery was typical, and the rainy weather didn't make me take out my camera (unless something worthwhile would of popped up).
My arrival to Stoughton. I saw a hotel. Yes! Went there: “No vacancy, campground also full for the summer”. First f-bomb dropped. I enquired about other hotels in this small town at the next-door convenience store. Yes, just up the road into town a bit. I went, and found the place. Talking to the lady, she informs me that there is also no vacancy there. (outside, I dropped another f-bomb). I was cold, shivering, and my hopes of being in a dry and warm hotel room were being crushed. I spoke to some folks, and they mentioned that even though the campground said they are full, “just go there and pitch a tent, they dont mind”. We'll see how that goes. I wonder what goes on for paying, as there is no office there or anything.
After the tent set-up (so much wind, it was awkward setting it up), I had a shower (luke-warm water, but felt nice). It was hard to defrost my feet though. I also gathered all my dirty/wet clothes and headed into town for the laundromat (where I am writing this entry). The plan is to get a pizza or something, eat in (or at the tent), and just chill (hopefully not a pun) in the tent and get a long night sleep. I will most likely hit the road again tomorrow (unless I hear that the weather will be the same or worse than today). I didn't feel safe out there (playing with the traffic, avoiding flats, and it was quite straining – I do not want to get injured in any manner).
So, we'll see what the near future brings for me.
I want to wish good luck to Rolland H, who is leaving on his x-Canada trip on Monday (I believe), starting in Vancouver. I would assume the weather is nice over there. I do hope these winds die down as they head out West.
Alright, enjoy the warm indoors you folks, and have a beer (while chuckling over the times I am encoutering lately).
I have put things into perspective lately, which is probably why I haven't lost it on the road. I just think of what Terry Fox has endured, and the same with Rick Hanson. Amazing folks. I feel so minuscue compared to them. I am minuscule. Those are great folks.
Franck – right on. Felicitation.
Petit bonjour speciale a memere Boucher qui suit ce voyage d'une maniere. See you soon. See all the Val Gagne area gang soon too (after the Thunder Bay crew).
Currently 4 degrees (feels like -2 with the wind), winds at 43 km/hr.
This morning/afternoon: 6-9 degrees, winds at 43-46 km/hr
Yesteray: probably the same. can't get specific data past 9 pm.
Ciao,
P
Friday, May 23, 2008
Day 19 - That place to Regina
Rouleau to Regina
75 km, sunny.
Suppose to be a rest day, but became a “light” day.
The day started off with that headwind again. But, I was fairly certain that I'd get a bit of a cross-wind with a bit of tailwind on the way to Regina.
Grinding for 20 km or so. At one point, where I did a little 180 to go get a service road towards a store, I was coasting (not pedalling, just sitting) at 12-13 km/h. I am doing the same speed as pedalling going the other way. I could technically coast for 100 km or so, at the same speed, without pedalling. Very interesting. Predominantly western winds........
At the turnaround point (after the 20 k mark), I was heading to Regina. Yes, I was right this time – the wind would help me out. It felt so nice. I almost had a few tears too; it was such a change. I even closed my eyes for 5-10 seconds or so and just pedalled. Felt so nice.
The ride into town was great. I had my rip n' hammer shirt (which unzipped to the bellybutton, naba), so I just peeled it off in order to get a bit of a tan on the back and shoulders to even out those tan lines. I love that shirt. It's the main reason I have that shirt (even though it is ripped). Nice jerseys like that are hard to find (well, I am also picky about styles).
Regina. Entering town was interesting. Tons of chiropractor clinics (3-4 within the first km), along with Thai restaurants (Viet-Thai, Chinese-Thai, Thai, etc.). Later, the Green Mile starts – very pretty. They are trees lined up on each side of the boulevard. I can picture that in 30 years, and it'll form a nice canopy. Shots of the Parliament building were nice. There's a little park in front too that looks like a nice spot to take a stroll. In the pics, take note of the waves created by that wind that has been bugging me a bit for the past few days.
After the “Mile”, which gets into downtown, well, pretty sketchy. Nothing special about the downtown. I ate a bit, then headed to find a good bike shop. I found one, and purchased a new pair of shoes (good for another 10 years again?), new cheap pedals (as the old ones I have dont exist anymore), thread-on cartridges (for blowing up my tubes), a spare mirror (the one I have will probably fall to pieces soon from the helmet falling to the ground when the wind takes a hold of it), and a few new waterbottles (the new ones I bought before the trip are cheap, and they always taste bad). I also looked at some jerseys (found one that was nice, but didn't buy it), dido for a pair of shorts and a helmet. I figured I will spend enough today. Maybe later.
I searched for the HI Hostel – it was completely booked. So, I went to another spot they recommended. The Plains Hotel. Very dodgy place. But, I had to take it. 70 bucks. The faucet in the shower dripped constantly, the toilet ran a bit. It will have to do. I slowly got organized, shaved, showered, then headed out to the laudrymat. Who do I see in the lobby reserving a room? Alex, the Swiss guy biking across Canada that I met in Golden. Hell, I told him to cancel his room and we can split ours. I enjoy that price a lot more now. Plus, he's a nice guy. Unfortunately for him, he has to stop biking due to a pain in his leg when he rides. The great thing about him is that he will continue to visit the country via bus, train, and possible hitch-hike here and there. I think it's great that he continues the trip. I was thinking the same if i was injured somehow earlier.
Laundry, then supper – greek at the Copper Kettle.
Food – starters was feta cheese in a phyllo pastry, with a Saskatoon berries sauce. Very good. The main course was the Grecian platter, consisting of moussaka, pork and chicken souvlaki, 3 other things I can't remember what they were, potatoes, and a greek salad with only one olive. I had desert, baclava. All very tasty.
I didn't spend much time downtown, or in Regina. The park seems nice, except for some drug dealers and such hanging out there. Few little statues and such, located in a very green area (lots of trees and grass). If I had more time, I'd like to visit the RCMP training academy, as well as watch the Louis Riel play (starts in August).
At the hotel, it was basically time to prepare for the ride on Saturday – one that would have similar winds than the past few days, plus the beauty of possible rain. Yeah.
So, so much for that full rest day. But, it was a good day overall.
One of the pictures I took, I entitle it "Ode to Vinokourov, 2007". Some of you will be able to figure out what I mean (and I dont mean taking performance enhancing drugs).
Alright, later,
p
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Day 18 - Mortlach to a happy place
(click on title for pictures)
Basant Campground to a fictional yet real place
98 km, 7 hours, average of 14 km/h
Sunny, and windy again.
What a day, very interesting.
Ride out of the campground was fast (tailwind) for a km. Nice. Felt bizarre.
Ride into Moose Jaw – headwind. I thought the winds were less than the day before as my average speed was 15.1 km for the 45 km or so. I thought...
Moose Jaw – Nice little downhill into town, that probably brought up my average speed. I went to the Tunnel's of Moose Jaw (I dont know the official name). The tour I took wasn't the Chinese Freedom one, but the Gangsters of Chicago. It is highly believed that Al Capone would spend lots of time here during hot times back home. Plus, this was a hotbed for booze bootlegging. At the time, Sask was a dry province. You could produce booze, but not consume it, and not really sell it. How's that for logical thinking. With the direct link from Chicago to Moose Jaw by train, it was a fairly major centre in the mob opperations. Very cool and interesting. I highly recommend anyone to do these underground tours. The tour guides were great, especially Gus. It was all acted out, not just the typical tour. Excellent.
I also checked out some murals around town. But, when you see the Mural Capital of Canada (or something like that, near Duncan), maybe these aren't as good. But, fun to look at.
Off to do a detour before (hoping) to end up in Regina for the night. It would be a b*tch of a ride, as I would have to endure a headwind for a good 45 km or so. But, I would enjoy the ending, and once I get back on another highway to head into Regina, I would (should) benefit from a side/tail wind. I knew time was tight, but I accepted the fact that I'd ride probably one hour in the dark tonight (with lights, of course). That was plan A, as I really didn't want to bike on my rest day. I figure Dzie needs a break from me. She's been good to me, I'll treat her to a few little things in Regina (and treat my feet too, hopefully).
Grind, grind, grind. I spent most of the time in my granny gear (85%), and the other gears were the 2nd, and 3rd easiest. I would use those to get out of saddle at times to mash on those pedals (stretch out the old legs and give my butt a 10 second break). Flat, uphill, downhill, they all blended together. Nonetheless, I was holding a constant 12 km/h (plus/minus 1). The average dropped down to 14. Nice. My new record. That last bit, to put things in perspective, someone can walk the same distance, but in double the time, and we'd be at the same place. But, if someone walks fast, it'd be less than double the distance. I was slow. I am slow.
I even took a cheesy picture at one point. Speaking of cheese, I am having cheese withdrawls. I miss some cheese on my spaghetti. Boo hoo. Life is tough.
Arriving at my destination, I couldn't hold back the smiles (and some tears too). I forgot about al the struggles (manageable struggles) of the day. Surreal. I am somewhere where it technically doesn't exist, but does exists. I took pictures, went around the “town” and took pictures of those “establishments” (curling rink, the police station, the Howler bar). I spoke with Alex, a guy who works there for most of the year, and got some fun stories from him about this place.
He also informed me that the route I was planing on taking to head to Regina was not good (rough gravel). I would have to go further down the highway I am on and then take the other highway – a detour of maybe 40 km or so. At that point, since it was getting late (sun was almost setting), I decided to camp here (right behind Emma and Oscar's house!) for free, and head out in the morning to Regina.
Any guesses where I am?
If you guessed Dog River, Saskatchewan, you are right. If you guessed Rouleau, Saskatchewan, you are right. The latter is the real town. This is very bizarre, unreal. Very fun. Unbelievable. When I got into “town”, I pulled out the cell phone to give a call to a few people. Unfortunately, there was no reception here. Dang.
Well, enjoy the pics.
Off to have a dodo, then a sort-of rest in Regina. I am writing a poem; what rhymes with Regina? I know, that teenage witch Sabryna. No, that's a made-up word.
With these winds, and shorter bike days, I am back on the schedule that I originally planned. No more ahead of a day. Crap. Maybe I'll make up some time somewhere, but it's tight. Northern Ontario is loaded with heavy days. Yes Mario, there might even be back-to-back double century (magic?) days. Sorry, I had to pick on you, and I know you can take it.
I hope everyone is still having a blast with things.
Tout mes neveux et nieces, je vous aimes, et vous me manquez. Diddo pour ma famille. Heck, tout le monde.
Pierrot
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Day 17 - Swift Current to Mortlach
Swift Current to Mortlach (Basant campground)
8h 45 mins
Overcast
Windy, again, 35-40 km/h with gusts of 50 m/h
Click on title for pics.
Similar to my mind today, this entry will most likely go all over the place, so here goes.
Midnight, chillin' in am/pm.
I was really slow to get out of bed this morning, as I knew what was ahead of me today – stong headwinds with some tailwind on top of that. Even during breakfast time at Husky's, I was hesitant to get out of there. But I did. Plus, I thought of two things: a) I have to bike as I am on a bike trip, b) what would of the great ones before me done (Tanya and Al) – they would of hit the road as well.
It was quite windy there that men were holding their hats while walking, and I saw one old little lady hold her wig so it wouldn't fly away. Funny (in a way). The big Canadian flag was flying straight – that's a big puppy that needs a lot of wind to get straight.
Husky's restaurant. Well, the food are basically like the waitresses – you are not looking for quality, but something that might do the trick. I actually didn't finish all my breakfast today, a weird concept.
The ride was a bit of a grind for a while. Those wind were strong, and the hills were ever-so present again. I wont go on about “flat Sask”. The picture that is probably at the start of the entry was a hill that I took a picture from near the top of a little hill right before it. When I reached the top, it was 6-7 songs later, so probably 25-30 minutes later.
I caught up to another couple of cyclists today. I caught up with Michelle, who was riding with her “friend” Phil. They are both from Toronto, and are riding there from Vancouver (except the Rockies, where they took the bus through them). I think she was about to crack, just riding 400 metres behind him. I can imagine there comes a time when you want to be appart from someone on these trips. She had enough of things, and she wanted a break from him. I left her on her own and caught up with the fellow. He stopped, and we had a longer chat until she caught up to us. He was hardcore – riding with these 12-hole boots, flat pedals, and the bike all loaded up. He was pretty easy going, which probably fueled her bitterness of the day. I asked how it was coming along, and if they were getting along. Her reply: “I hate him”. (I am laughing when I write this). She said it a few times, and he laughed.
I can imagine trips like those, or the competitions like The Amazing Race, can be a make-or-break for some friends or couples. Especially on a day like today. The more the wind gets to you, with those hills too, you're about to snap at anything and anyone. I think by the end of the day, hell, halfway, she probably lost it. The worse part of the ride was coming up (I was only 45 minutes or so into the ride). I hope things are well. Coming up very soon for them was a long hill (talk about it later), and a bit further up, a 20 km or so stretch of headwind, on a completely straight road.
I believe I have the personality and so-called wisdom (for lack of a better word) to be able to adapt to such situations with someone. I'd like to test that theory. I don't lose track of the goal, I have a lot of patience, and I realize the importance of certain things (like friendship) that I will try my best not to let minor things damage that. I guess the other thing is that both parties involved must want the same thing, and realize it too (like relationships). But, I guess we find out eventually if both parties are on the same wave-length. Can't wait to get a great gal, and get that connection where we both work on the same goal. Hell, maybe even go on a cross South America bike trip to test things out.... Well, maybe not.
Tangent, oh well. No alcohol involved tonight either.
Due to the constant howling of the wind in my ears, and the wide shoulders of the road, I decided to put both earphones. I would be able to “zone out” a bit more and focus less on the wind.
During the ride, the mp3 player started playing Pierre Lapointe songs back to back. All the songs in that album have “Pierre Lapointe” first, so when the mp3 player plays all the songs in alphabetical order, I get to hear the whole album. It gave me the idea of listening to a bunch of frenchie albums for a while. Saez (France) was next. Not the most happy music, but it is mainly mellow, so it fit the bill for today. I didn't want too aggressive or poppy, as I wanted to just ride easy today (I had no choice). After 3 albums by Saez, I was ready for another album. I didn't have any other French albums. Music story to be continued soon.
After 5 hours of biking, the average speed was 15 k/h. To put things in perspective, picture biking up any of the hills in the Gatineau Park (usually 15 k, minimum), and riding like that for 5 hours. Another example: our walking speed is an average of 6 km/h (not a fast walk). A fast walk might be 8 k/h. I wasn't going much faster than that. I also thought that if I stopped pedaling while going down a small hill, it would take me 10 seconds to come to a complete stop. I was wrong, it was 7 seconds when I tried it. Pedaling, I could maintain 15 km/h (that is using my 3rd easiest gear). Uphills, the wind also against me, I would go into the single digits (something that only the Coquahalla Highway, the last part, did to me). This was the hardest 5 hours of biking I've ever done. I would actually stop here and there to take breaks (mainly mental breaks). It was also neat to watch the tumbling weeds being blown down the road. I would dodge a few here and there.
I was hoping that I could get to Moose Jaw (175 km), but settled on the furthest I could get for today. I just had to put in my time (not km, but time today). I set my mind on over 100 km (a good 7 hours at expected 15 k/h). If I was lucky, I'd reach this campsite outside of Moose Jaw (145 km from Swift Current) before I either crack or night falls on me. As the trip went on, I started thinking of other places (closer) to stop for the night – Parkbeg (135 km), Secreton (spelled wrong on the map) at 125, Chaplin (115 km), or worse comes to worse, Morse (90 km). During those first 5 hours, I thought Morse was looking good (and the final destination). Lunch number 2 was in Morse. I decided to keep going, as there was still some daylight for a good 3 hours.
Near Morse, there was this dried-up lake that looked like it was snow-covered. Nope. It's actually an alkalyne dried-up lake. The wind was blowing this fine white powder into town too. I covered up my mouth with my glove to hopefully avoid that stuff in my lungs. I don't think that would be good.
Just up the road, some more white stuff. Snow? Snow banks? Nope. Sulfur. Chemical plant there. Plus, there's actually fishing in that lake. I would not want to eat a fish that was swimming in that sulphur lake. (is it sulfur or sulphur?).
Oh, Roch, yesterday, I think I saw that “junk yard” of old farm equipment and such outside of Swift Current. When I stopped to take a break, hence my head was not staring down at the ground, I saw something that I believe you were talking about. See pics from the day before to see if it's what you were thinking of.
Oh, I forgot to write yesterday that Medecine Hat apparently has the most summer sunshine in all Canada; 1440 hours.
Mario – the third feat I am hoping on achieving isn't back-to-back days of double century, but a triple century. We'll see if it happens before I hit Ottawa. Most of my bike trips are 200k/day (average). Examples: Toronto to Thunder Bay (2000 km in 10 days), Ottawa to Halifax (1400 km in 7 days), Grand Falls NB to Ottawa (900-950 km in 4 days), and Ottawa to Toronto/Newmarket (2x), which was around 475 km within a 25 hr period. Two centuries two days in a row – for the birds, for the birds. Really, it is a big thing, and I am lucky to have the health (and little legs) to be able to do that. I used to be alright for cycling, I just hope I find that old form again.
Pascale Picard was next for album to listen to. She's from Quebec City, but sings in Anglais. It turned out to be a great move. Not too poppy, agressive, mellow, or bitter. It actually took my mind almost completely away from the task at hand. I had a great memory trip to the supper/concert that Saturday night. That was basically my birthday week-end too. I thought of every single one of the lovely folks that were there. Funny things too, like the medium-rare chicken, that piteful tomato salad, the pitcher on my head, black ligthing, the dancing at both Zaphod's and Mercury Lounge. Fun time. The re-visiting during the biking today was awesome. I miss al the folks that were there. i also miss someone, en eesti.
The biking during that time was great. My average speed went from 15 to 15.4 km/h in one hour. I stopped for another coffee break in Chaplin (7th hr of biking), where I decided to keep on truckin'. Music cued up were: Beth Orton's Trailer Park, Hawksley Workman's Between The Beautifuls (Canadian), and then something a bit more trippy – Recoil's Subhuman. The latter has 7 tracks, but 5 of them are over 10 minutes long (the other two are only 7 minutes). It is great to get into that and just zone out. One of their other album, Liquid, is an amazing album with so much variety. Very poignant. Unfortuately, I dont know anyone who can rip it, and it is not found on the p2p sharing websites.
Weird – when Beth sang “I wish I never saw the sunshine, so I wouldn't mind the rain”, it started to rain (drizzle) a bit, and would do that here and there until I got to the campsite.
The ride started getting faster after 7 hours, as the wind dropped down to maybe 20k/h (manageable). I decided to go all the way to the campsite just outside of Moosejaw (the 145 km goal). It would be tough, as I would probably have to bike borderline in the dark. Speed was starting to pick up.
The last hour was great. Plus, when I saw the sign for the campground, 7 km away, I dropped the hammer and just TT (time trialed) there. What didn't help was the mainly uphill, but I gave it all I could. Pascale re-entered the playlist to bring me home. The quads definitely feel it during that stint. Felt great. It was also dark when I arrived on site. I am happy that I arrived where I wanted to get. The winds cooperated at the end, thanks. Reaching the site, I said a little “woo hoo”, and I was eager to eat and have my chocolate milk (for you Ka).
Final numbers – 145 km, 8h45 mins, average speed at 16.5 k/h. This is the first time during this trip that the average is below the twenties, dang.
So, now at the campground, tapped into some power to recharge the mp3, and getting ready for bed. I couldn't find the showers here tonight, but managed to get cleaned up with a sink (with only cold water, dang). Laundry (sink method) was also done.
Tomorrow, off to Moose Jaw, then a detour to get to Regina. I found out a special surprise that I will try to fit in tomorrow. Things should (hopefully) be fine with the wind situation, but we'll see what happens when I am on the road.
Side note – this is the longest entry yet (sorry, in a way), the longest bike trip yet (I haven't calculated the exact km as I think my odometre is off currently), and the longest time I have been away from a home base.
This entry has been more structured (believe it or not) than what was going through my head all day. Lucky you (well, you probably still read the whole thing). Sorry, I do hope some stuff was entertaining.
Bonne nuit, il est un peu tard. Ca va etre dur me lever demain matin.
Take care, and until next time.
p
(note - when this was uploaded, I am safe in Regina. I am waiting a bit (maybe a day) before sending you the next post. Regina is a "rest day", which means I had to bike 70 k today. Winds - still strong, still headwind, but tomorrow it's the same + rain in afternoon)
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Day 16 - Medecine Hat (AB) to Swift Current (SK)
Medecine Hat (AB) to Swift Current (SK)
229 km, over 10 hours
Sunny (mostly)
WINDY – 40 km/hr with gusts of 50 km/h
Picture link updated, click on the title of this entry to view.
What is the story of the day. The minor one is that Saskatchewan is not flat. I spent a lot of time in the granny gear at the beginning of Saskatchewan. The second story is the wind, the relentless and unforgiving wind.
But, other stories for now. Last night, after doing my homework (blog and pictures), I visited the couple who invited me to join them. They are from Windsor, heading out West for the guy to live there, and she returns. Nice folks. I had 3 beers with them, socialized by the fire, then head to bed.
The morning, the usual – would like to stay in bed (or in a bed) a little longer. But, no rest – I'll get plenty of rest on the bike today (just sitting on my bum). The plan: Swift Current, estimated 230 km, so 8-8.5 hours. I hoped to get an early start as I would change time zone as soon as I cross the provincial border.
Start time was decent (9 am), but I spent some time at the World's tallest teepee in Medecine Hat. After that, frapper la route.
The wind seemed strong today, but manageable. It was mainly a cross-wind, with a bit of headwind heading towards the border of Sask/AB, but with the road heading a bit North, I would expect a crosswind with the bit of tailwind. Hmmmm..
Crossing the border, this RV was backed all the way into the Welcome to Saskatchewan sign. It looked like a bicycle touring RV for a fundraiser of some sort. I was a bit annoyed and disappointed that I couldn't get a nice clean picture of the sign. I almost missed it too (damn RV).
Even though I am in a different time zone, the time hasn't changed (same as Alberta time). Only in the winter it changes. So, on the other side of Manitoba, I'll lose 2 hours, not one.
Hills – who said Saskatchewan is flat? I'd like to take them biking these parts.
Ran into a group of 4 cyclists who are touring Canada as well. They are based out of Ottawa, and it's a fundraiser for them. I believe it is www.typicallycanadian.com, and the folks are Alex, Kyle, Andrew and Steve. I saw them up ahead while biking at one point, and I was able to catch up sooner when one of them had a flat. They weren't heading much further for the day. It was their RV (support crew) that was blocking that provincial sign.
What was suppose to be a 8-8.5 hr day in the saddle turned out to be a lot more. The expected sidewind with a little bit of tailwind, well, didn't exactly happen. It went back and forth from a bit of tail wind to a bit of head wind. But, around 55 km left, the wind changed direction, and intensity. It became a bit aggressive, and relentless. I was being pushed around a lot. I felt like a beginner tri-geek (triathlon) who is learning how to ride with aerobars: all over the place. The wind was mainly a crosswind with becoming increasingly a dominant headwind. The last 10 km were completely headwind. I remember going down a hill, head down, pedalling, and able to hover around 15-16 km/h. For the first hour, I just put my head down and pedaled (having a speed of maybe 20 km/h). After that hour, the curse words were coming out (not softly either). I grunted for another hour, then gave up for the last hour – I just put in my time and ride into town.
Food – At lunch, I had a Saskatoon Berry pie. They are berries from that area, tasting sweet, similar to blueberries and cherries. They are red, with the size of a blueberry. Very good. I had it with Hokey Pokey ice cream – toffee and chocolate chunks with vanilla ice cream. It's like the Mirage candy bars we have. At supper, as I couldn't find a Subway or something similar (and I didn't want to bike further into that wind), I ate at Huskies. The deal – a double burger with cheese and the works, plus an egg in there. Turned out alright.
I am at a campsite, where it was quite fun and interesting setting up the tent in this wind. At the moment, it is nuts outside. I have weights at all corners, as the pegs would just rip out. During the set-up, I could just picture the tent flying away, like in the movie The Motorcycle Diaries. Have I talked about how great of a flick that is? If so, sorry.
I checked out the temperature (well, honestly, doesn't matter for temperature) but mainly the wind for tomorrow. It looks like it is settling down – only 30 damn km/hr, from the East. Guess what? I am heading East. Argh. I might have to break up my day. I have a feeling it'll be a grunt day. I dont know where I'll end up. I was hoping (best case scenario) to end up in Regina (250 km), but I hope that I can reach Moose Jaw (170 km) then do a shorter day into Regina. With the later option, I am still ahead a day, but I was hoping to be ahead 2 days to save things for a rainy day (have lighter days here and there). Oh well.
Alright, I will head to bed in a little bit, and I hope the tent is still around when I wake up tomorrow.
Cheers,
p2
Monday, May 19, 2008
Day 15 - Dorothy to Medecine Hat
Outside of Dorothy – Medecine Hat
215 km, sunny (up to 21 degrees)
Light wind, mainly crosswind to some cross-head wind
Well, first day in the prairies. It is fairly flat, but a deceiving flat. Multiple little hills of a few percentage (just to say you are going uphill) which goes on for a while 2-15 km. The “downhills”, once you reach the crest of the hill, greet you with stronger winds as you are “higher”. So, the speed stays fairly consistant. Actually, the highest speed for today is only 13 km faster than my average speed of the day. I think I reached that going down an overpass (or maybe when I put my head down and just hammered for a bit).
Oh, it seems like the reputation of some Aylmer folks is known over here – they even named a town after them. See picture in the section (today's pics will be added in a few days).
Seriously, pretty bare country. It was similar scenery everywhere. The first half was in the country, heading towards the Trans-Canada. I had lunch in the town of Brooks, which is a very sketchy town. I dont recommend you stop there for more than a few minutes. Actually, when I arrived in Medecine Hat, a few locals asked me if I came from Brooks. I said that I stopped there for lunch. They replied “and you still have your bike? It did't get stolen?”. Originally, Brooks was a destination to sleep the first night after Calgary. I am glad I did that detour and visited the Badlands. I am still on track with the schedule (i.e. still a day ahead).
The Trans-Canada is still fairly bare. There are no stops from Brooks to Medecine Hat. Medecine Hat is the first spot in Alberta to accidentally find natural gas. It is also the town where Rudyard Kipling refered to in one of his poems by writing “all hell for a basement” (a line made famous by the great song by the same name, of Big Sugar). Since my mp3 battery ran out of juice in Brooks, I had that song in my head for a while. Luckily it is a good song.
On that note, I remember biking to Thunder Bay in '98. I passed by this guy who was painting his shed while listening to the radio. The song playing was by the Spice Girls - “Stop right now, thank you very much, I need somebody with a human touch” (and a few other lines). Unfortunately, for the rest of the trip, I had that song (those 6 or so lyrics) stuck in my head the whole time. On another side note, have you seen the movie “Touching The Void”? The guy has a Boney M song stuck in his head. Pretty funny. Great movie, watch it if you haven't. True story too.
Medecine Hat – everything is closed because it is Victoria Day. The gas stations have barely anything in there too.
I went to a campsite to get a shower, to charge up batteries, and to write this entry (of course). No-one is here (except for a young couple that invited me for a beer after I am doe). I was able to get an “overflow” spot, with no electricity/water or fire pit, for a grand total of 11 bucks (taxes included). I like that price.
The other day in Calgary, I was talking about my cycling shoes are borderline on the fritz. Well, tonight, the strap broke where it connects to the shoe. I will try to jimmy something with duct tape tonight. Worse case scenario, I will duct tape the shoe onto my foot tomorrow.
My tent is also showig it's age. Ten years going strong, but showing a bit of wear and tear at the base. The poles – 2 of them have busted a bit, but I was able to jimmy things to make it work.
Alright, time for a bit of laundry, visit a bit, and then head to bed. Tomorrow, I get to leave Alberta behind, and step into another time zone. Alberta had come and went fairly quickly (so has the mountain time zone).
Later dude and dudettes,
p2
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Day 14 - Crossfield to past Dorothy
Crossfield to outside of Dorothy
176 km. mainly sunny (behind clouds).
Windy, more crosswind than tailwind.
Few passing rainstorms in the evening.
Allo,
It was a tough start of the day. Leaving family and friends was a little barrier that I had to overcome. Shortly after the departure, a Feist song came on, so I decided to listen to the whole album (it is playing songs in alphabetical order, so it is fairly random). It was a great album for that moment.
At one point, I had to go through approximately 7 km of torn-up road (gravel and rocks). I am still surprised that my rear tire is holding up. I hope I didn't jinx it. Other than that, most of the roads were quite nice (including some that were repaved maybe 1 year ago, with wide shoulders).
The scenery changed from the Rockies. It is mainly open (rolling hills), but no trees. You can see for quite a while. Before Drumheller, I could see the water tower 10 km out of town. But, entering Drumheller, that's where the scenery changed, big time. Welcome to the Alberta Bad Lands. It was an area rich in dinosaur findings, and interesting geological stuff. See pictures for what I am talking about (I can be on occasion not the best with words).
In town, I saw the World's biggest Dinosaur (man-made), the Royal Tyrrell Museum (slightly out of town in another direction) where tons of dinosaur bones were discovered and they could replicate entire (or close to) creatures. Very good museum. I also headed towards the Hoodoos, also out of town (but luckily in the right direction). Fun. There, I got hit by the 2nd (of three) passing rainstorms. The first was on the way to the Museum (the rain came down quite hard, I couldn't tell if it was hail or not – it stung the skin). I wanted to climb the path to the top at Hoodoo area, but the rain stopped those plans. Once the storm passed (along with the lightining), I attempted the climb. But, the entire area was slick, where the mud was thick under the sandals.
So, off I went to see how far I could ride before darkness set in (and find a spot where I could be slightly hidden). For miles, there were no “closed” spots – just open farm land with no trees and such. I found a spot behind a fire station in the middle of nowhere. There's a brick wall in the back that is offering me shelter from 3 directions, but I hope the 4th direction doesn't have much traffic that would make me visible.
Well, I will call it a night.
I hope you lovely folks are doing quite well. I will look forward to hearing from you guys soon in some form.
Cheers,
p2
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Calgary - rest day
Calgary – Rest day.
(oh, for more pics, find another post where there's a link to the pictures, and click on them. The Internet here is really slow and I can't get the link to add to the title).
My dad and my aunt (Lady) Diane came down from Edmonton so we could hit the big city of Calgary. It was nice to spend time with family and friends.
Calgary – after a late start, we tried to make up for it. The Glenbow Museum, where tons of Native American, Asian, and Albertan artifacts can be found. Very interesting stuff, quite amazing. Some of the Native American paintings are incredible – eerie, disturbing, beautiful, poignant. Closing time prevented us from seeing the fourth floor – mideval time artifacts, and apparently a world-renown collection of gems and stones originating from the soils of Alberta.
The Devonian Gardens was next. It is located on the top floor (indoor) of the Eaton mall downtown. It is a little oasis of multiple plants, with some waterfalls and ponds (with koi fish, turtles and such). It would be a perfect place to eat your lunch if you worked downtown everyday. Pretty neat. Although I can only imagine how much extra energy it must require to run that place. I wonder what will happen when we do hit an energy crisis in the future.
Next – I made the decision to take a taxi to the Calgary Olympic Park, where the '88 Winter Olympics were held (part of it in Canmore at the Nordic Centre, see the previous day). Cool stuff there. It looks like an amazing centre for mountain biking, skiing, bobsledding and for luge. We had fun with the luge track.
Upon our return downtown, it was the Saddledome – home of the Calgary Flames (and also a venue for the Olympics, figure skating I believe). There was not as much advertisement (player billboards, tons of flags, etc) as in Vancouver. We also got to see a great view of the dome from the Calgary Tower – where we were heading next.
With closing time in 15 minutes, we were able to go to the top of the tower. Unfortunately, the 762 steps up. The tower is 190 metres tall (530 feet or so). It was 9:30, so we could see the sunset a bit. We had a lovely view of the city all around us, and at one point, the view of the city directly below us. There is a section of the floor that is glass. Lady Di had some difficulties at first, but was able to ease her way onto the platform (for a limited time).
Food – Saltlik (could be a spelling error there) was one of the recommendations we had for great steak. Since it was downtown, and affordable (compared to $55.00 steaks at ather ritzy place), we headed there. Lovely meal. We were all in the moooooood for a great steak, and they delivered. Most of us surfed it (nothing special about the shimp, they were alright), and the baked potato was loaded with butter, sour cream, bacon, little pieces of cheddar cheese and I can't remember if there were onions too. The beer of choice for me was the only one on tap that was local – Big Rock selections (I chose the honey beer of some sort). Yes, also tasty. I still think the Grizzly Paw breweries is tops. Dessert – they had this huge New York Style cheesecake (no surprise to those who know me) with berries. Very good. Pops had a lemon tart with merringue on top, and some vanilla bean ice cream. All delicious. So, another good meal. With the trip moving into the prairies, where more camping will be done, I think a fancy meal will be some Kraft Dinner with peanut butter sandwiches. Yummy!
A late evening, but great one indeed. Tomorrow, I'm off on the road again, for a fairly long part of the trip.
Ciao,
p2
(oh, for more pics, find another post where there's a link to the pictures, and click on them. The Internet here is really slow and I can't get the link to add to the title).
My dad and my aunt (Lady) Diane came down from Edmonton so we could hit the big city of Calgary. It was nice to spend time with family and friends.
Calgary – after a late start, we tried to make up for it. The Glenbow Museum, where tons of Native American, Asian, and Albertan artifacts can be found. Very interesting stuff, quite amazing. Some of the Native American paintings are incredible – eerie, disturbing, beautiful, poignant. Closing time prevented us from seeing the fourth floor – mideval time artifacts, and apparently a world-renown collection of gems and stones originating from the soils of Alberta.
The Devonian Gardens was next. It is located on the top floor (indoor) of the Eaton mall downtown. It is a little oasis of multiple plants, with some waterfalls and ponds (with koi fish, turtles and such). It would be a perfect place to eat your lunch if you worked downtown everyday. Pretty neat. Although I can only imagine how much extra energy it must require to run that place. I wonder what will happen when we do hit an energy crisis in the future.
Next – I made the decision to take a taxi to the Calgary Olympic Park, where the '88 Winter Olympics were held (part of it in Canmore at the Nordic Centre, see the previous day). Cool stuff there. It looks like an amazing centre for mountain biking, skiing, bobsledding and for luge. We had fun with the luge track.
Upon our return downtown, it was the Saddledome – home of the Calgary Flames (and also a venue for the Olympics, figure skating I believe). There was not as much advertisement (player billboards, tons of flags, etc) as in Vancouver. We also got to see a great view of the dome from the Calgary Tower – where we were heading next.
With closing time in 15 minutes, we were able to go to the top of the tower. Unfortunately, the 762 steps up. The tower is 190 metres tall (530 feet or so). It was 9:30, so we could see the sunset a bit. We had a lovely view of the city all around us, and at one point, the view of the city directly below us. There is a section of the floor that is glass. Lady Di had some difficulties at first, but was able to ease her way onto the platform (for a limited time).
Food – Saltlik (could be a spelling error there) was one of the recommendations we had for great steak. Since it was downtown, and affordable (compared to $55.00 steaks at ather ritzy place), we headed there. Lovely meal. We were all in the moooooood for a great steak, and they delivered. Most of us surfed it (nothing special about the shimp, they were alright), and the baked potato was loaded with butter, sour cream, bacon, little pieces of cheddar cheese and I can't remember if there were onions too. The beer of choice for me was the only one on tap that was local – Big Rock selections (I chose the honey beer of some sort). Yes, also tasty. I still think the Grizzly Paw breweries is tops. Dessert – they had this huge New York Style cheesecake (no surprise to those who know me) with berries. Very good. Pops had a lemon tart with merringue on top, and some vanilla bean ice cream. All delicious. So, another good meal. With the trip moving into the prairies, where more camping will be done, I think a fancy meal will be some Kraft Dinner with peanut butter sandwiches. Yummy!
A late evening, but great one indeed. Tomorrow, I'm off on the road again, for a fairly long part of the trip.
Ciao,
p2
Friday, May 16, 2008
Day 13 - Banff to Crossfield
Banff to Crossfield
175 km, sunny, hot, and good winds
I am hung over today. Oh well, part of the job, right?
I am 40 km or so North of Calgary, visiting Roch and his family. Pops will join me on Saturday so we can do the touristy thing in Calgary.
Last night, as I am having my 4th beer in the bathroom typing the previous day's entry (and charging up the batteries on the computer and mp3 player), Jason starts a conversation with me. He invited me to join them at their campfire when I was done. I thought “what a good opportunity to give away my last 2 beers”. So I went. I had another Grasshopper, gave the other one away. Well, another beer followed, and another, and another, and I lost track of the number after that. The walk to the campsite near 4 am was challenging. Good folks. Talking federal politics and the environment was slightly sketchy, but good nonetheless. Different views.
The morning, well, it was tough to get up. More of a lack of sleep situation. I left the campsite late (noon), then headed to Canmore to visit the town a bit. I focused on the Canmore Nordic Centre, where some of the '88 Olympics were there. Very quiet place, not much happening there in the lull season (maybe another week and things will be busier with biking season). There was a neat row of flags there – I got to see some country flags such as Czech, Sweden, Jamaica (remember their bobsled team?), but there were a few that weren't there.
Beer and food - When I passed through town at first (to get to the Centre), something caught my eye: “Grizzley Paw Brewing Company”. Ohhhhh. Just an hour after eating breakfast, should I stop in and have a pint? On the way back into town, I made an executive decision – lunchtime, with a beer. I am very glad I did. Atta boy. It was tough to chose which beer to have, so I had the sampler – 7 beers. Excellent. Big Rock, move over a bit, Grizzly Paw just took the number one spot on the list. The joint also does it's own colas using the same glacier waters it uses for it's beers. I didn't get a chance to try them. Neat thing too, all the waiters/waitresses are hardcore: tatooed arms, lip/nose rings, shaved head (and that's only the girls). The men looked like bouncers – shaved head plus a beard. The meal, California club on pesto focaccia bread (with guacamole, cheese and onions), was quite nice. It came with fries, and a caesar salad with vegetarian dressing (tasted good, and light).
Also, Canmore seems to be the best spot now – followed by Banff, then Golden. I think I like this region. A super sweet girl wrote to me the other day and stated that I probably enjoy the mountains as I'm a capricorne. Good theory.
The ride to Crossfield was fairly good. The route was nice (1a, parallel to xCanada), with nice tail winds, and lots of Rocky Mountain sheeps. The scenery changed also – no hills per say, but just open fields, with the occasional water here and there.
In retrospect, I was surprised at how things were “easy” (for lack of a better word) in the Rockies. I think I envisioned somethings similar to in the Tour de France, where there's cliff-edges at times on the side of the road, switch-backs everywhere. But, two things – a) I enjoyed them tremendously (challenge, views, the idea itself), b) I shall visit the South of BC for a different and (apparently) more challenging route, and c) I think I hear the Alps and/or Pyrenees calling me.
Wildlife was fairly abundant in the past week – various types of sheep, lamas, cows, horses, wapitie, prairie-dogs, ducks, various game, but no bears, cougars, wolves or moose. Although I didn't see any, there were plenty of stepped-on ducks, and African barking spiders all over the place.
In Cochrane, AB, that's when this hangover stuff started to affect me more. What didn't help were the crosswinds, and the nice long continuous climbs out of town heading North. At one point, one of the roads was just gravel for 2 km. Fun. No mechanical problems yet of any kind – knock on wood. I wonder if I should of wrote that line as I dont want to jinx anything.
Well, rest day awaits me tomorrow.
Pictures for the past few days to follow.
A la prochaine chicane,
p2
175 km, sunny, hot, and good winds
I am hung over today. Oh well, part of the job, right?
I am 40 km or so North of Calgary, visiting Roch and his family. Pops will join me on Saturday so we can do the touristy thing in Calgary.
Last night, as I am having my 4th beer in the bathroom typing the previous day's entry (and charging up the batteries on the computer and mp3 player), Jason starts a conversation with me. He invited me to join them at their campfire when I was done. I thought “what a good opportunity to give away my last 2 beers”. So I went. I had another Grasshopper, gave the other one away. Well, another beer followed, and another, and another, and I lost track of the number after that. The walk to the campsite near 4 am was challenging. Good folks. Talking federal politics and the environment was slightly sketchy, but good nonetheless. Different views.
The morning, well, it was tough to get up. More of a lack of sleep situation. I left the campsite late (noon), then headed to Canmore to visit the town a bit. I focused on the Canmore Nordic Centre, where some of the '88 Olympics were there. Very quiet place, not much happening there in the lull season (maybe another week and things will be busier with biking season). There was a neat row of flags there – I got to see some country flags such as Czech, Sweden, Jamaica (remember their bobsled team?), but there were a few that weren't there.
Beer and food - When I passed through town at first (to get to the Centre), something caught my eye: “Grizzley Paw Brewing Company”. Ohhhhh. Just an hour after eating breakfast, should I stop in and have a pint? On the way back into town, I made an executive decision – lunchtime, with a beer. I am very glad I did. Atta boy. It was tough to chose which beer to have, so I had the sampler – 7 beers. Excellent. Big Rock, move over a bit, Grizzly Paw just took the number one spot on the list. The joint also does it's own colas using the same glacier waters it uses for it's beers. I didn't get a chance to try them. Neat thing too, all the waiters/waitresses are hardcore: tatooed arms, lip/nose rings, shaved head (and that's only the girls). The men looked like bouncers – shaved head plus a beard. The meal, California club on pesto focaccia bread (with guacamole, cheese and onions), was quite nice. It came with fries, and a caesar salad with vegetarian dressing (tasted good, and light).
Also, Canmore seems to be the best spot now – followed by Banff, then Golden. I think I like this region. A super sweet girl wrote to me the other day and stated that I probably enjoy the mountains as I'm a capricorne. Good theory.
The ride to Crossfield was fairly good. The route was nice (1a, parallel to xCanada), with nice tail winds, and lots of Rocky Mountain sheeps. The scenery changed also – no hills per say, but just open fields, with the occasional water here and there.
In retrospect, I was surprised at how things were “easy” (for lack of a better word) in the Rockies. I think I envisioned somethings similar to in the Tour de France, where there's cliff-edges at times on the side of the road, switch-backs everywhere. But, two things – a) I enjoyed them tremendously (challenge, views, the idea itself), b) I shall visit the South of BC for a different and (apparently) more challenging route, and c) I think I hear the Alps and/or Pyrenees calling me.
Wildlife was fairly abundant in the past week – various types of sheep, lamas, cows, horses, wapitie, prairie-dogs, ducks, various game, but no bears, cougars, wolves or moose. Although I didn't see any, there were plenty of stepped-on ducks, and African barking spiders all over the place.
In Cochrane, AB, that's when this hangover stuff started to affect me more. What didn't help were the crosswinds, and the nice long continuous climbs out of town heading North. At one point, one of the roads was just gravel for 2 km. Fun. No mechanical problems yet of any kind – knock on wood. I wonder if I should of wrote that line as I dont want to jinx anything.
Well, rest day awaits me tomorrow.
Pictures for the past few days to follow.
A la prochaine chicane,
p2
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Banff - rest day
Banff – rest day.
Boy I feel lazy today. I slept in. I like to sleep in. I might of past my bedtime yesterday. Although I didn't feel like I wanted to hop on the bike to continue the journey as I did in Kamloops. It was a nice town, with nice people, but I feel Banff had more to offer and I wanted to explore a bit.
I headed to town to inquire about bike rentals and trail conditions. Bike availability – didn't seem to be the problem. Trail conditions, well, considering the fact that 50 cm of snow was dumped on Banff 6 days ago, most of the trails are shut down. What was available was the Hoodoos trail near the campsite. So, strike two for mtb. Dang. I did meet a former olympian for cycling (Barcelona, '92). I dont recall her name though.
I spent the first hour contemplating renting a bike and doing the fairly simple Hoodoos trail (mainly singletrack, wide single track, few roots, switchbacks), or head out of town to Canmore and try my luck there. Canmore's trails were also out of commision, so I just decided to relax a bit more downtown (gawk at people while I ate a bit), and then hit 3 areas to hike.
Tunnel mountain – nice climb to the top, nice views as well. Switchback trails. Impossible to bike up (well, with my amateur skills), but would be a blast to come down. The hike up made me work a bit. I think I should stop smoking and start working out.
Bow Falls – more like rapids. But, quite nice. It's also a chance to see some of the turquoise waters nearby. For supper, I returned to that area.
Hoodoos trail – near the campsite, 0.5 km in length. I then ventured to another trail (4 km) which lead me to the falls, where I had supper.
No matter where I went, I kept on staring at this nice rockface. I can see a couple lines to climb it. It would be a blast – standing on top, on the snow. I took a bunch of pictures of it, and I had to delete tons as throughout the day, I seemed to take similar shots of it.
Nothing major to report regarding food for today – I mainly cooked some stuff that I purchased at the supermarket the other day. I did buy a six-pack of Big Rock Grasshopper Ale. A good beer, goes down well.
Tomorrow – off to Canmore for a bit, then head to Crossfield (North of Calgary). I get to spend some time with Roch and his wonderful (and growing) family. He's a buddy that I met in grade 5. Good times, good memories.
Saturday, rest day again (sheesh, lazy bum), where my dad will come down from Edmonton and we get to visit the town. I think a nice Alberta steak is in order.
After Calgary, it's phase 4 of the trip, what I call the “2's” (aka the 200 km/day). I have to not only boot it for a bit to get to Solstice on time, but have to get in shape if I am going to ride a bit there. I would also hate to go riding with the Rick/Ken crew and be out of shape. They have standards.
So, Island done, Vancouver area done, Rockies (uphill) done, off to the prairies.
Ma ei joua ara oodata millal me jalle kohtume.
Ciao,
p2
Boy I feel lazy today. I slept in. I like to sleep in. I might of past my bedtime yesterday. Although I didn't feel like I wanted to hop on the bike to continue the journey as I did in Kamloops. It was a nice town, with nice people, but I feel Banff had more to offer and I wanted to explore a bit.
I headed to town to inquire about bike rentals and trail conditions. Bike availability – didn't seem to be the problem. Trail conditions, well, considering the fact that 50 cm of snow was dumped on Banff 6 days ago, most of the trails are shut down. What was available was the Hoodoos trail near the campsite. So, strike two for mtb. Dang. I did meet a former olympian for cycling (Barcelona, '92). I dont recall her name though.
I spent the first hour contemplating renting a bike and doing the fairly simple Hoodoos trail (mainly singletrack, wide single track, few roots, switchbacks), or head out of town to Canmore and try my luck there. Canmore's trails were also out of commision, so I just decided to relax a bit more downtown (gawk at people while I ate a bit), and then hit 3 areas to hike.
Tunnel mountain – nice climb to the top, nice views as well. Switchback trails. Impossible to bike up (well, with my amateur skills), but would be a blast to come down. The hike up made me work a bit. I think I should stop smoking and start working out.
Bow Falls – more like rapids. But, quite nice. It's also a chance to see some of the turquoise waters nearby. For supper, I returned to that area.
Hoodoos trail – near the campsite, 0.5 km in length. I then ventured to another trail (4 km) which lead me to the falls, where I had supper.
No matter where I went, I kept on staring at this nice rockface. I can see a couple lines to climb it. It would be a blast – standing on top, on the snow. I took a bunch of pictures of it, and I had to delete tons as throughout the day, I seemed to take similar shots of it.
Nothing major to report regarding food for today – I mainly cooked some stuff that I purchased at the supermarket the other day. I did buy a six-pack of Big Rock Grasshopper Ale. A good beer, goes down well.
Tomorrow – off to Canmore for a bit, then head to Crossfield (North of Calgary). I get to spend some time with Roch and his wonderful (and growing) family. He's a buddy that I met in grade 5. Good times, good memories.
Saturday, rest day again (sheesh, lazy bum), where my dad will come down from Edmonton and we get to visit the town. I think a nice Alberta steak is in order.
After Calgary, it's phase 4 of the trip, what I call the “2's” (aka the 200 km/day). I have to not only boot it for a bit to get to Solstice on time, but have to get in shape if I am going to ride a bit there. I would also hate to go riding with the Rick/Ken crew and be out of shape. They have standards.
So, Island done, Vancouver area done, Rockies (uphill) done, off to the prairies.
Ma ei joua ara oodata millal me jalle kohtume.
Ciao,
p2
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Day 12 - Golden, BC to Banff, AB
Golden, BC to Banff, AB
165 km, mainly sunny, favourable wind.
Short version – massage, clean bike, “10 Mile Hill Truck Stop”, great food in Field, Alberta, frozen Lake Louise, beautiful Banff.
Regular (i.e. winded) version:
First – Happy birthday Lisa, and Gilles. Also, happy trails – officially the start of the mtb season in the Gats. Ride hard, and keep the rubber side down.
I went into town in the morning to (hopefully) do two things – clean the drive-train at a bike shop (gritty from the sand being kicked up by the rain the previous few days, shifting was being affected, and panniers were cooked with that stuff), and maybe get a treatment.
Bike – got it cleaned by a frenchie from Sturgeon Falls (ON). Funny thing too, my wireless bike computer, even when not attached to the unit, was going haywire – 45 km/h, then 13, then 28, then 72, etc. That affected my odometre, so I will have to do some calculations to find out how many km I've done.
Massage – not worth mentioning. I treat people like I want to be treated (pun intended), and I didn't get what I wanted (and asked). Trial and error, I guess. He did inform me of the Jasper Highway, a grizzly bear that figured out cyclists usually carried food with them. So, that bear would attack the cyclist (well, scare them off), and tackle the traveling food basket. It's not there anymore, and unfortunately, I am not heading in that direction (not this year).
Golden is/will be designated a Resort town, one of 7 in the province. Tourism is booming there, semi-ruining what was of the town before (according to the locals). Plus, a house goes for around 300k. Not bad. Prices have quadrupled in the past 12 years. Too bad. But, I still like the feel.
The ride – fun hill to get out of town. Saw some mountain goats again today (boy they look pittefull). Shortly after the climb out of town, I was rewarded by a nice downhill (80k/h this time, not much shaking from the bike weighted down, so there's still more kms to go get).
Plus, I learnt an expression today “Buffaloed”, as in “I am buffaloed”, meaning “confused”. I was buffaloed – why would they name a truck stop “10 Mile Hill Truck Stop”? Why not “16 km hill...” What made it even more confusing, the uphill was only 4-5 km. Lucky me.
Road – nice new pavement from a year ago, odd time narrow shoulder, but very nice ride.
Field, BC. Great place that was recommended to me – The Truffle Pig. But, it's now named “Chercher la vache”. I asked the guy behind the counter why “Chercher” instead of “Fetcher”, which he informed me of probable copywrite infringement. For those who are lost, do some research on “The Holy Grail” - Monty Python. They even had a drawing re-enactment of the battle between the “English pigs” and the “annoying Frenchmen”. “Stop, or I'll taunt you again!”. Time for Youtube for some of you.
Food – excellent there. The cream of fennel with smoked Gouda cheese was quite tasty. The smoked salmon turkey club was also delicious (with Gouda cheese, and a bunch of other things on there). The beer for lunchtime was the Bigbie Mountain Light Ale. Good, but not as good as the Big Rock's I've had lately. It was the second restaurant that had some Tom Waits on the radio (satellite). I realized that if a restaurant plays Tom Waits, it must be a kick-ass restaurant. I should visit the Black Tomato in Ottawa more frequently.
After that fulfilling meal (and beer), it was the start of the big pass of the day. Fun hill. See picture attached – but, not to scale – they make it look scary steep. Surprisingly, it wasn't as bad as I thought, just like Roger's Pass the other day. After the hill, I knew all the major passes were behind me, hence the mountains were basically behind me. It was mainly downhill from now. Up the hill – tanan tuul (and tanan Tuul). I had the wind helping me a bit, which was much appreciated.
Alberta/BC border – there's 200 metres between the two signs. I was in no-man's land for a while. Weird.
Lake Louise – I didn't bother venturing into the little town (the information centre said don't bother). They did recommend I climb the 4 km hill up to the Lake, and soak in the view. That hill was actually the hardest climb on the mainland (in my opinion). The heat from the sun on my thighs – I wasn't sure if the quads were on fire, or if it was just the sun beaming down. I believe it was the latter.
The Lake – still semi-frozen. You can still see the skating rink there. Lots of tourists, Korean, frenchies, you name it. Nice views though. So, I didn't get to see the turquoise water as I've seen in pictures before. Maybe another time.
The downhill – I thought I'd be able to hit at least 80 k going down, but the winding road did not allow for me to keep my line, so I had to stick to a measly 50-60 k/h. Disappointing.
The 1a Highway (Bow Valley Parkway) is a side road parallel to the Trans-Canada heading to Banff. Very scenic, no cars (10 within 2 hours?). Picture a corridor of pine trees, with the “end” displaying a Rocky Mountain top, rolling hills, slight switchbacks here and there, and the occasional split of the two lanes heading in different directions just winding up and down the hills. I spent most of that ride just cruisin', enjoying the scenery, riding on the wrong side of the road, slaloming with the dotted yellow line, and spending most of the time not looking at the road, but at the mountains and the trees (looking for wildlife). Very great ride. The tune “Gin and Juice” (Snoop) was perfect. There were many great tunes that went well with the terrain, I would have to start a seperate entry of music “coincidences”. As examples: climbing Roger's Pass, listening to Peter Gabriel's “Dont give up”, or riding trough Pitt's Falls and The Dead Milkmen's song “The Pit” was on, or “Slow Down” (Kanye) while barrelling down a hill somewhere. Lot of weird coincidences.
Banff – beautiful. Oh, the Rockies, beautiful too. Majestic. I kept on staring at various peaks all day. I can just imagine how high they are, and they are still covered by snow. Entering Banff, I see many white-tailed deers (but they are not deers, I just can't think of their name). I think I saw 30 by the time I reached the campsite. It looks like a beautiful town, lots of various shops (chocolate, jewelery, gift shops). Very geared to tourists though.
At the campsite, I hooked up with these frenchies from all over the place (all originally from Quebec, but now posted in Fort McMurray, traveling to Nicaragua, etc.) After I drank my only beer that I bought for the evening, I had 3 more of theirs. The party kept going fairly late, with neighbours not complaining, but joining us instead. Had people from Northern BC, UK, Quebec, Ontario. No one complained about the Marley blaring until 2 am or so. So, I didn't get to write my entry until now (6 pm currently the next day). I hope I dont get in trouble.
But, this seems like a lengthy entry – sorry. It seemed like lots has happened yesterday (Rockies, food, party, massage, Alberta, etc).
Well, on to the next entry. I will upload the photos later (when I have more juice for the computer, and access to internet again sometime in the next 20 hours).
Thursday is a rest day – plan: rent a mtb, and ride those trails over here. you can guess if I'll finally get my wish....
Merci, et a bientot,
Bisous.
(enjoyed the comments . No, my little skinny legs can not carry more supplies – food, beer, to Ottawa on a trailer. I wish I could, seriously though. No, no need for Shamy butter, or Utter stuff for the “sensitive” area, all natural – just good hygiene, clean clothes daily, great shorts, and a great saddle. I highly recommend Koobi (from Colorado), the Xenon. Women and men love it, and I can ride 24 hours straight and still ride the next day without being sealed-up for good. My little p2-2, she's so cute. I can picture her now. I hope I get to create some excitement in Rachel with some animal pics being uploaded soon, and Riley will (hopefully) go crazy with the pictures of the Red Mile (and surrounding area) from Calgary in the next few days. Franck – by naked women movies, you must mean the David Lynch films, with gratuitous nudity in there. He is a great director. I must say I prefer those films to your favourites, which I haven't seen – The Butterfly Effect and Broke (his) Back Mountain. Do, about the facial not knowing when to end, nice one, touche.)
Also thanks to the folks to write me an email here and there with some news.
On se reparle bientot, merci,
p2
There, nice, short and sweet entry.
165 km, mainly sunny, favourable wind.
Short version – massage, clean bike, “10 Mile Hill Truck Stop”, great food in Field, Alberta, frozen Lake Louise, beautiful Banff.
Regular (i.e. winded) version:
First – Happy birthday Lisa, and Gilles. Also, happy trails – officially the start of the mtb season in the Gats. Ride hard, and keep the rubber side down.
I went into town in the morning to (hopefully) do two things – clean the drive-train at a bike shop (gritty from the sand being kicked up by the rain the previous few days, shifting was being affected, and panniers were cooked with that stuff), and maybe get a treatment.
Bike – got it cleaned by a frenchie from Sturgeon Falls (ON). Funny thing too, my wireless bike computer, even when not attached to the unit, was going haywire – 45 km/h, then 13, then 28, then 72, etc. That affected my odometre, so I will have to do some calculations to find out how many km I've done.
Massage – not worth mentioning. I treat people like I want to be treated (pun intended), and I didn't get what I wanted (and asked). Trial and error, I guess. He did inform me of the Jasper Highway, a grizzly bear that figured out cyclists usually carried food with them. So, that bear would attack the cyclist (well, scare them off), and tackle the traveling food basket. It's not there anymore, and unfortunately, I am not heading in that direction (not this year).
Golden is/will be designated a Resort town, one of 7 in the province. Tourism is booming there, semi-ruining what was of the town before (according to the locals). Plus, a house goes for around 300k. Not bad. Prices have quadrupled in the past 12 years. Too bad. But, I still like the feel.
The ride – fun hill to get out of town. Saw some mountain goats again today (boy they look pittefull). Shortly after the climb out of town, I was rewarded by a nice downhill (80k/h this time, not much shaking from the bike weighted down, so there's still more kms to go get).
Plus, I learnt an expression today “Buffaloed”, as in “I am buffaloed”, meaning “confused”. I was buffaloed – why would they name a truck stop “10 Mile Hill Truck Stop”? Why not “16 km hill...” What made it even more confusing, the uphill was only 4-5 km. Lucky me.
Road – nice new pavement from a year ago, odd time narrow shoulder, but very nice ride.
Field, BC. Great place that was recommended to me – The Truffle Pig. But, it's now named “Chercher la vache”. I asked the guy behind the counter why “Chercher” instead of “Fetcher”, which he informed me of probable copywrite infringement. For those who are lost, do some research on “The Holy Grail” - Monty Python. They even had a drawing re-enactment of the battle between the “English pigs” and the “annoying Frenchmen”. “Stop, or I'll taunt you again!”. Time for Youtube for some of you.
Food – excellent there. The cream of fennel with smoked Gouda cheese was quite tasty. The smoked salmon turkey club was also delicious (with Gouda cheese, and a bunch of other things on there). The beer for lunchtime was the Bigbie Mountain Light Ale. Good, but not as good as the Big Rock's I've had lately. It was the second restaurant that had some Tom Waits on the radio (satellite). I realized that if a restaurant plays Tom Waits, it must be a kick-ass restaurant. I should visit the Black Tomato in Ottawa more frequently.
After that fulfilling meal (and beer), it was the start of the big pass of the day. Fun hill. See picture attached – but, not to scale – they make it look scary steep. Surprisingly, it wasn't as bad as I thought, just like Roger's Pass the other day. After the hill, I knew all the major passes were behind me, hence the mountains were basically behind me. It was mainly downhill from now. Up the hill – tanan tuul (and tanan Tuul). I had the wind helping me a bit, which was much appreciated.
Alberta/BC border – there's 200 metres between the two signs. I was in no-man's land for a while. Weird.
Lake Louise – I didn't bother venturing into the little town (the information centre said don't bother). They did recommend I climb the 4 km hill up to the Lake, and soak in the view. That hill was actually the hardest climb on the mainland (in my opinion). The heat from the sun on my thighs – I wasn't sure if the quads were on fire, or if it was just the sun beaming down. I believe it was the latter.
The Lake – still semi-frozen. You can still see the skating rink there. Lots of tourists, Korean, frenchies, you name it. Nice views though. So, I didn't get to see the turquoise water as I've seen in pictures before. Maybe another time.
The downhill – I thought I'd be able to hit at least 80 k going down, but the winding road did not allow for me to keep my line, so I had to stick to a measly 50-60 k/h. Disappointing.
The 1a Highway (Bow Valley Parkway) is a side road parallel to the Trans-Canada heading to Banff. Very scenic, no cars (10 within 2 hours?). Picture a corridor of pine trees, with the “end” displaying a Rocky Mountain top, rolling hills, slight switchbacks here and there, and the occasional split of the two lanes heading in different directions just winding up and down the hills. I spent most of that ride just cruisin', enjoying the scenery, riding on the wrong side of the road, slaloming with the dotted yellow line, and spending most of the time not looking at the road, but at the mountains and the trees (looking for wildlife). Very great ride. The tune “Gin and Juice” (Snoop) was perfect. There were many great tunes that went well with the terrain, I would have to start a seperate entry of music “coincidences”. As examples: climbing Roger's Pass, listening to Peter Gabriel's “Dont give up”, or riding trough Pitt's Falls and The Dead Milkmen's song “The Pit” was on, or “Slow Down” (Kanye) while barrelling down a hill somewhere. Lot of weird coincidences.
Banff – beautiful. Oh, the Rockies, beautiful too. Majestic. I kept on staring at various peaks all day. I can just imagine how high they are, and they are still covered by snow. Entering Banff, I see many white-tailed deers (but they are not deers, I just can't think of their name). I think I saw 30 by the time I reached the campsite. It looks like a beautiful town, lots of various shops (chocolate, jewelery, gift shops). Very geared to tourists though.
At the campsite, I hooked up with these frenchies from all over the place (all originally from Quebec, but now posted in Fort McMurray, traveling to Nicaragua, etc.) After I drank my only beer that I bought for the evening, I had 3 more of theirs. The party kept going fairly late, with neighbours not complaining, but joining us instead. Had people from Northern BC, UK, Quebec, Ontario. No one complained about the Marley blaring until 2 am or so. So, I didn't get to write my entry until now (6 pm currently the next day). I hope I dont get in trouble.
But, this seems like a lengthy entry – sorry. It seemed like lots has happened yesterday (Rockies, food, party, massage, Alberta, etc).
Well, on to the next entry. I will upload the photos later (when I have more juice for the computer, and access to internet again sometime in the next 20 hours).
Thursday is a rest day – plan: rent a mtb, and ride those trails over here. you can guess if I'll finally get my wish....
Merci, et a bientot,
Bisous.
(enjoyed the comments . No, my little skinny legs can not carry more supplies – food, beer, to Ottawa on a trailer. I wish I could, seriously though. No, no need for Shamy butter, or Utter stuff for the “sensitive” area, all natural – just good hygiene, clean clothes daily, great shorts, and a great saddle. I highly recommend Koobi (from Colorado), the Xenon. Women and men love it, and I can ride 24 hours straight and still ride the next day without being sealed-up for good. My little p2-2, she's so cute. I can picture her now. I hope I get to create some excitement in Rachel with some animal pics being uploaded soon, and Riley will (hopefully) go crazy with the pictures of the Red Mile (and surrounding area) from Calgary in the next few days. Franck – by naked women movies, you must mean the David Lynch films, with gratuitous nudity in there. He is a great director. I must say I prefer those films to your favourites, which I haven't seen – The Butterfly Effect and Broke (his) Back Mountain. Do, about the facial not knowing when to end, nice one, touche.)
Also thanks to the folks to write me an email here and there with some news.
On se reparle bientot, merci,
p2
There, nice, short and sweet entry.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Day 11 - Revelstoke to Golden
Revelstoke to Golden
160 km. Overcast to cold rain.
Temperature – 6 degrees, to max of 10.
Tere,
(pictures, click on the title again)
I changed time zones now, I am only 2 hours difference from Ottawa. I dont know why they dont put the time zone line on the border of BC/AB. That Flemming guy....
Golden, in Kicking Horse country. For the people who race at Solstice, the coffee that we get in our race package comes from here. This town seems to be the number one town that I would consider moving here. If there was more French so my (eventual) kids could keep the language going, I would consider moving here. This place seems to rock. It has been the one that has impressed me the most, followed by Hope.
I debated on what to put first – the route (thus the hills), or the food.
Food – The Kicking Horse Grill. 2005 North American Resort Restaurant of the year. Starters: roasted squash soup with pesto cream (very good), and the 12 grain bread (straight out of the oven) with the garlic butter – lovely. Main course – their signature locally farmed Buffalo back ribs with their house BBQ sauce, with rosemary-garlic potatoes and vegetables. I didn't want the meal to end, it was so delicious. The meat was so tender – no eating ribs with your hands. You stick your fork in it, and it just falls to pieces. So great. The meat, the fat, the fascia, eat it all. I am hungry again. Beer – Big Rock Traditional Pale Ale (Alberta) – very very good. Desert – I requested their vanilla crème brule, but they were out of it. I settled for the apple crisp baked inside the apple. Whip cream and strawberry sauce on the side – nice touch. I didn't want to leave that place, especially in the drizzle outside to bike to the hostel.
The ride. The first 75 k were nice. Even though it was overcast, I enjoyed the hills. Yes, I did write that correctly. I love hills, I feel I was a mountain goat before (cycling wise), and I lost that. The Rogers Pass hill was fun. I caught up with these two Quebecers, Roger (60) and Jasmine (53), who are riding Vancouver to Montreal, raising money for cancer research. Lovely folks. They took the picture of me at the summit. They were stopping there for the night. Info at www.vancouver-chambly.ca
During lunchtime, it was starting to get cold (snow in the area, 5 degrees?). I put on my coat hoping to stay warm and dry (drizzle was staring) for a expected descent coming up. A great part was riding downhill, going through tunnels at 70-75 km/h (I think I went through 7 avalanche tunnels today, one being competely dark that i couldn't see with my orange lens, and barely with no shades on). After that 15 k downhill, the drizzle turned into rain, and it was my visitor for the rest of the ride into town. After a while, my feet were numb (like that swollen feeling in a shoe), they felt like stumps on my pedals. There was a nice descent of 4-5 km, 6 to 8%, in the rain, that was sort-of nice.
Visibility was fairly poor today, so I couldn't really enjoy the scenery as much. But, I can only imagine what it looks like here in the winter. It must be breath taking.
I had planned on camping again. I scoped out this place right in town (21 bucks), then went to eat. (boy that food was good). While reading some info at the restaurant, I decided to go to the hostel on the edge of town. For 8 bucks more, to have a clean bed, warm shower, and a place to hang up my clothes, I'll take it. Plus, it is very close to 2 things I want to try to do tomorrow – get my bike cleaned up (it is full of sand that was kicked up from the road today), and there are massage therapy and physiotherapy places nearby. We'll see if I get to have my legs ripped up by one of them.
I always enjoy reading the comments you guys post. They are funny. A few quick replies to them (the ones that I can think of off the bat):
solstice, I plan on being there. I decided to leave this early for this trip since I wanted to be (hopefully) back for the race on time, and I am done school (thus house is sold), so I didn't have to find a place to stay for a month. And, the sooner I am done the trip, the sooner I can start work. Call me crazy, but I like work. I like trying to make a difference in people's lives, plus I feel appreciated. Rewarding. If you enjoy what you do, it doesn't seem like work.
220, yes, it can be a lot of km. Just wait though... Look for repetitive 200+/days, and more. Les boys et les environs s'habituent, et l'equipement marche encore.
Capone's tunnels – already on my list.
Spa??? Do I look like a spa kind of guy? “Can I get the manicure, pedicure, and the bath special please?” Na, not for me. But if they have good therapists that can make me squirm when the beat me up, bring it on.
Big Al – un A pour notre projet – rock on. Dream team it was. Good work Chady(aka Chad).
Mario – putting on my (sometimes) damp spandex in the morning, when I come out of my warm sleeping bag and it's cool and damp outside – not the easiest, but it has to be done.
I'll skip on Twinkies, I do enjoy cupcakes, and I am not that keen on fruitcake.
I'll take a snake over a bear anyday. Consequences are less severe (except for potential embarassment of me “dancing” on the spot when I see a snake, vs freezing when I see a bear). In either cases, I am sure the audio is funny as hell (to others).
Off to Field, Lake Louise (the tourist trap), and end up in Banff tomorrow. I get to be in another province. It's considered a rest day, as I want to rent a bike, and hit those trails. I wonder if I'll have to duck down to Canmore to get what I want. In either cases, I want to ride those fat tires in a few days.
Thanks for the postings, and the emails too. I enjoyed reading a lengthy one today, it was nice to hear news from folks I dont get a chance to see that often.
Until next time,
p2
(oh, final note. No offence to vegetarians with my food postings. That is not my intentions. Cows are vegetarians, right?)
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