Suzanne Vega - "Tom's Diner"

I am sitting
In the morning
At the diner
On the corner

I am waiting
At the counter
For the man
To pour the coffee

And he fills it
Only halfway
And before
I even argue

He is looking
Out the window
At somebody
Coming in...

- Suzanne Vega - "Tom's Diner"

Drumheller – REST DAY
Distance to date: 1196 kms / 738 miles

It was sooo nice to not feel the urgency to get up at 6am and I had a glorious sleep until about 7:30am. It was a gorgeous blue-skied morning and I was really looking forward to a day of doing absolutely nothing. Brendan and I hummed and hawed about heading down to Calgary but then in the end decided to keep it local and I was so glad that we did as the previous evening had been incredibly enjoyable and relaxing with loads of laughs.

A breakfast was in order so Brendan and I hopped on our bikes and biked about 10kms back to a local diner that had been recommended to us the previous evening by our taxi driver – WHIFS – Waffles, Hamburgers, Ice cream, Flapjacks, Salads (Yes, these Albertians are a clever bunch..). It was fantastic recommendation – huge, HUGE portions of food, great service and great food. I was so hungry..!! I had a clubhouse with fries and 2 cups of coffee for breakfast (this following my 3 bowls of rice crispies earlier that morning..!)...

Eating on the TdC – ‘Oink’

I feel the need to discuss my eating here – it is absolutely unreal.

I have never in my life eaten like I am eating on this trip. There is no end to the food I am consuming – chocolate bars, donuts, pasta, pudding, sandwiches, fries, chicken wings, oatmeal, beer, peanut butter, cereal… etc. etc. etc. Every time I feel ‘full’ I wait about 45 minutes and I can eat the monster portion again. It’s been like this for the past two weeks and I have not gained a pound...

For example, a typical day will start with 4 pancakes and a giant dollop of oatmeal followed by a peanut butter sandwich (or two) about an hour later, followed by two donuts & a coffee at Tim Hortons about 20 minutes after that, then a handful of trail mix and then lunch at noon. Lunch usually involves a huge bowl of chili, two more donuts, a litre of chocolate milk, a Pepsi. About an hour and a half later I eat two more peanut butter sandwiches, drink a bottle of Gatorade, and possibly eat a chocolate bar. Rolling into camp around 4ish I usually set up my tent whilst drinking a beer and then top of my diet with a colossal dinner prepared by the Galley Crew. This is also a monster-sized portion high in carbs – more chili or pasta with a light salad. Dessert is also always served and I never skimp on that either…! Then, depending on the campground, I usually seem to get in a cheeky ice-cream just before bed. I can’t believe that I get to do 72 days of this kind of eating..!!

I spent the rest of the afternoon ‘chilling out’ by organizing my clothes and my tent, reading, chatting with everyone, writing postcards and debating what we were going to do about dinner. It was a great day – the weather was spectacular and I was so in need of a break. I love the biking but every once in a while it feels good to have ‘me time’ when I can put on normal clothes and not feel like a 'biker'. I was teased today as well as I put on my watch and some jewellry and even put on some makeup. I steered well clear of anything with lycra and gel padding..!!

We ended the evening by ordering pizza delivered to the camp and then eating around picnic tables in the campground. It was a great evening and I happily crawled into my tent very content around 9:30pm – ready to brave our last day in Alberta the following day.

Neil Young - "Unknown Legend"

Somewhere on a desert highway
She rides a harley-davidson
Her long blonde hair flyin in the wind...

- Neil Young - "Unknown Legend"

Airdrie to Drumheller - 124 kms / 77 miles

Not quite a Harley Davidson but my Trek 5000 made of carbon fibre is certainly doing the trick..!

I was a bit slow off the mark getting out of camp this morning and by the time I got my act together it was already about 8am. It was due to be a relatively short day and the following day was a rest day..!! Hooray..! I was thinking about heading down to Calgary from Drumheller for the famous Calgary Stampede (heeeee hawww!) as Drumheller is only about an hour north of Calgary.

I spent most of the day biking with Jane which was good fun – we did loads of chatting and made quite a few pit-stops for photos. It was nice to get out of the mountains and witness the way the scenery changes… it went from mountains to rolling hills to flat fields to a desert like and almost completely barren landscape. The area is certainly an archaeologists dream come true. The fields were golden with canola and there was a great tailwind that pushed us along. Some people stopped in Acme (home of the Road Runner!) for photos and a double breakfast - we missed Acme as were too busy chatting. We passed through Irricana and Beiseker, both on Highway 9 stopping for more photographs along the way.

We noticed the scenery begin to change just before Drumheller (http://www.dinosaurvalley.com/) as the landscape started to resemble the Badlands like those in South Dakota. It was very dry and very hot and it was not hard to imagine how barren and desolate the area once looked during the age of the dinosaurs. I had no idea such landscapes existed in Canada..! Apparently the site is full of fossils and the bones of a tyrannosaurus have been found there as well. Everything has been carefully reconstructed and explained in a world-class museum just off of highway 838, just before our campground.

Jane and I decided to grab a quick drink just about 8 kilometers from the campsite because it was relatively early to be getting into camp and because it was boiling hot. The tarmac seemed to radiate heat and it felt like we were constantly biking up hill. We found a great little very local saloon called the ‘Drumheller Longbranch Saloon’. It was very local and reminded me of the Arlington Tavern in Ridgetown – complete with swinging doors like in a real cowboy saloon..! It oozed atmosphere and it was a perfect escape from the bike saddle and opportunity to indulge in some chicken wings and a plate of fries before heading to the Dinosaur Trail Resort RV Resort.

Jane hesitated before going into the bar because there was a huge rather viscious looking dog outside of the Saloon which seemed to be guarding the five 'pimped up' 4X4 pick-up trucks parked outside. When we were gulping down our nice cool Corona's inside of the bar Jane commented on the dog to the waitress. A cowboy-hat yielding local sat at the bar chuckled and lifted up his arms... to reveal he was missing one of his hands... and commented that it was a good thing we used the front door to get into the bar. Hmmm....! Drumheller has a sense of humor.

The RV resort was great – we had a lovely grass field for our tents complete with picnic tables and a fence where we could hang our clothes on to dry. There was a nice breeze, the sun was shining, and everyone was in good spirits. Brendan and I quickly did some reconnaissance and found a ‘secret laundry house’ and sorted our washing – good to get that out of the way early on so that it wouldn’t interfere with our relaxing time on the Rest Day. Then we were served a wonderful pasta dinner by the Galley Crew.

At around 8pm Andrew, Brendan, Cullen, Megan, James, Eric, Graham and I decided to head back to the Longbranch Saloon and enjoy a few drinks on the patio to celebrate the long awaited (and much deserved) Rest Day on the Saturday...! The Longbranch Saloon did not fail to deliver. We had a wonderful evening drinking pitchers (and pitchers) of beer and listening to the fantastic tunes coming from the jukebox until about 11:30pm. The locals in the bar were so friendly and the owner of the bar, Sheila was also really nice. It was pretty quiet on the patio so we had the place to ourselves for most of the evening. Johnny Cash, Spirit of the West, Blue Rodeo, Neil Young etc. etc. made for a great evening.

Again, I could not help but reflect on what a great experience this is – we have so many laughs about so many different things. Everyone seems to have a story to tell from their ‘days on the road’. I can’t remember the last time I was so content and relaxed and happy. A great day.

Elliott Brood - "Oh Alberta"

U-tube link to excellent (and very appropriate!) Canadian bands' rendition...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3rVfIBWnDk&feature=related

- Elliott Brood - "Oh, Alberta"

Banff – Airdrie – 145 kilometers / 90 miles

Leaving camp that morning was a bit surreal – today was our last day in the Rockies and we were expected to hit the rolling foothills of the Rockies by noon. James, a TdC vet who was with us for this initial leg of the tour promised some fantastic views looking back and his promise certainly did deliver..!

Andrew, Brendan and I set out at about 7:30 for a fantastic downhill on the Trans Canada into Canmore. It was such a treat as the shoulder was wide, there was little wind, and the weather was chilly but glorious..! We did a paceline for about 45 minutes and covered about 25 kms so made some excellent time. BC, the leader of the pack, led us straight into Timmy;’s for a celebration coffee and dounut. It was a great way to break up the morning. In true fashion, we met several other members of the team there as well. Everyone was in good spirits. It’s so refreshing to always be smiling and looking forward to the kilometers ahead. Sitting there nursing my coffee, eating my 2nd honey cruller donut, massaging my aching calf muscle and feeling rather sticky from a recent sunscreen application I tried to remember the last time I felt this relaxed and happy. It’s ironic to think that something that sounds so ‘impossible’ and so physically challenging may just be one of the most relaxing things I’ve done in my life. And great to be in such good company with so much support around.

James, Andrew, Brendan and I then headed back onto the TransCanada for the final few kilometers on the Highway until Ontario (wahoo..!). As much as I love the TransCanada, it is busy and the sound of the trucks whooshing by can be a bit tiring. The secondary roads are generally not as well maintained ubt they are quieter and much more scenic so allows for a more comfortable ride.

We passed through Canmore and through to Cochraine stopping several times along the way to take photos and also to check out the views. When leaving the Rockies you have to look ahead to see the foothills and look behind to see the spectacular jagged peaks that you’re leaving in your wake. Every 45 minutes or so we’d stop and turn around to see the mountains disappearing quickly off into the distance. It’s amazing how quickly you can cover ground on a bicycle and how every 100kms of Canada’s landscape seems to be different – from mountains to fields to geology to fields. No kilometer is ever the same. I also tried a new technique today – I’m going on my low-bars which allows me to cover ground much quicker and take advantage of the downhills so maximize the ‘up travel’ on the uphills. Combined with a nice, strong and stead tailwind it feels like you’re about to lift off the highway and fly..!

I knew it was going to be a hot, hot day as around 11am you could feel the steam coming off the highway. The ride was fantastic but because I was enjoying the speed, the downhills etc. so much I suddenly realized that I was running super low on energy. James and Brendan were up ahead but Andrew and I pulled off so I could drink a few liters of water, devour a peanut butter sandwich, eat a granola bar and a few handfuls of peanuts and raisins. It felt good to have a little break and my body definitely did need the little boost of energy. I find my metabolism is skyrocketing and I am burning calories so quickly. I am constantly hungry.

We pulled into another Tim Hortons in Cochrane and met with James and Brendan. I devoured a huge bowl of chili, a chocolate milk, and another peanut butter sandwich (the toll for the day now reaching 3 and it was only 1pm!). It was HOT so the air conditioning at Timmy’s was a welcome treat.

If biking through the Rockies can be compared to being ‘happy-drunk’ then the foothills can certainly be compared to a bad hangover..! We met the ‘French Connection’ on the way out and tried to keep pace with them during the 40kms of rolling foothills out of Cochrane. It was so incredibly hot and the foothills were about 40kms of up and down and up and down. Looking ahead the asphalt looked like a long grey ribbon cutting it’s way through the rolling fields and going on as far as the eye could see – to the horizon and behond. You could see for miles and miles and the road seemed to go on forever. We were faced with a headwind which made things a bit challenging but also very tiring BUT having said that, it was great to be together in a group and slog through it all in our own speeds. It was an incredibly hot, tough and long afternoon but not impossible and I was very, very, very happy to see the sign indicating we’d reached Airdrie. I was definitely ready to sit down and take a deep breath and relax..!

I’d never heard of Airdrie (http://www.airdrie.ca/) before but I think it must be about the size of Chatham, Ontario. It had the same feel to it anyway. Our campground was at the city Scout Hut which was bordered by a GIANT recently opened indoor waterpark – complete with hot tub, high-pressure showers, Olympic size length pool, play pool and a giant waterslide. Given I had about 5 layers of sunscreen on, was covered with a thick layer of dried sweat and had chain grease all over my legs the waterpark was a welcome treat..! Everyone had a blast and totally relaxed and ‘decontaminated’ thanks to a heavy dose of chlorine.

It was a great evening to end a long, very hot day. I was happy to have survived the Rockies – and doing it relatively gracefully and with thorough enjoyment - and looked forward to all that the Prairies had to offer..!

Gordon Lightfoot - "Alberta Bound"

Oh the prairie lights are burnin bright, The chinook wind is a-movin in
Tomorrow night Ill be alberta bound,

Though Ive done the best I could
My old luck aint been so good and
Tomorrow night Ill be alberta bound
No one-eyed man could eer forget

The rocky mountain sunset...

Alberta bound, alberta bound
Its good to be alberta bound
Alberta bound, alberta bound
Its good to be alberta bound

- Gordon Lighfoot - "Alberta Bound"

Field - Banff -- 82 kms / 51 miles

On a scale of 1 - 10 where 1 = desire to get up and 10 = desire to stay in bed I was about a 15 this morning.

Cleaning up a soaking wet tent is among the top 10 worst things in the world. Everything is wet. It stopped raining overnight but the damp stayed as there was a lot of low-hanging cloud. The fly on my tent was sopping wet but fortunately the inside of my tent was totally dry. There is a fine art to taking off the fly so that everything inside stays dry… and there is also a fine art to figuring out the order to do things – eat first? Pack wet sleeping bag first? Take off fly first? Take down tent first? Brendan got the order a bit wrong – he packed, took down tent, organized stuff, made lunch etc. but made the mistake of leaving his packed peanut butter lunch on the picnic table. It took about 5 seconds before a giant black crow discovered it and immediately devoured it leaving BC lunch-less. He was not amused and cursed the crow for the rest of the day.

It was an amazing pancake breakfast which was a great ballast for the short day ahead. By the time we left at about 9:30 (I waited for BC and Andrew who were on Galley Duty) the sun had begun to burn off the thick layer of fog which had enveloped the campground overnight and made the mountains appear almost ‘mystical’. By the time we hit the road most of the fog had burned away. We were all really excited because it was a short day and today we’d be heading to Lake Louise..! The first challenge of the day was to get over our final climb in the Rockies – Kicking Horse Pass..! Half way up the pass we stopped at the Spiral Tunnels.

When we reached the top of the Pass Andrew and Brendan decided to treat themselves to a huge, huge second breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausages etc. It was nice to sit down and relax and enjoy the spectacular view of mountains. We then turned off of the Trans Canada onto a bike-only trail which was awesome. Rolling hills, through thick pine forest and not a car in sight. We were all on the look-out for bears as this was total bear country. It was sooo beautiful. We then reached yet another “Point of Interest” on our trip – the Continental Divide AND the border between BC and Alberta..!! We had cycled through our first province..! 1 down, 9 to go..!! We celebrated with photos and lots of water.

Next Point of interest along the route was the famous ‘Lake Louise’. Lake Louise is, as always, stunning and full of tourists. We took the steep uphill to the chateau and then parked our bikes for a few photo sessions down by the lake. We were soooo lucky with the weather as there was a light breeze and loads of sun.

As we still had about 50kms left to do that day we decided to cut our visit to Lake Louise short. We were also keen to get into Banff with some time to spare so we could set up our tents and head into town. The ride through to Banff was spectacular – rolling hills, some gorgeous downhills, great shoulders, and a light breeze. The views around every corner were wild. Every mountain and every hill seemed to be a photo opportunity. Canada is really an absolutely stunning country especially when set against the backdrop of the majestic Rocky Mountains. We hit about 60kms / hour coming down from Lake Louise which was a bit insane but so much fun..!

At one of the rest areas about 30 kms from Camp we stopped and took a quick lunch break where we met up with Christie and Dave for a quick photo shoot. Again, absolutely incredible views and some tame wildlife – birds that would fly down and eat straight out of your hand..!

As it was getting hot and late and as we were keen to head into Banff that afternoon to check out some bike shops we decided to do a ‘5-man pace line’ down into Banff – a distance of about 35kms from where we were. I have tried the pace line now a few times but if you’re an inexperienced biker it can be a bit nerve wracking. bAlso, because you’re always looking at the wheel in front of you trying to maintain the 1.5 foot distance between your front wheel and the other bikers back wheel you have very little time to look up and look around you. BUT, having said that, pace lines definitely work and the last person in the pace line can use about 50 – 60% less energy than the leader because a ‘tunnel’ has been created through the wind. Yes, I am being educated on this trip..! We literally FLEW down to Banff. Christie is training for an Iron Man and she led the pack and I held up the rear as I’m still slower on the uphills because of my double chain ring. We averaged about 32kms / hour and breezed into Banff.

I have begun to pick up patterns in the traffic which I think has made me a more aware biker. For example, when you notice that there is a ‘gap’ in traffic (eg. nothing has come by for about 2 – 3 minutes) you can guess that there is a camper / trailer / huge transport coming either from behind you or from the other direction. This also inevitably means that behind the camper / trailer /huge transport is a chain of vehicles waiting to pass… So, as a biker, you really need to be on the ball particularly if they are coming up from behind as the second vehicle behind the ‘blocking’ vehicle likely won’t see the biker on the road because it’s blocked from view.

Beautiful Banff...

The sky threatened rain so we grabbed our tents, ran up into the forested area and set everything up just in time for the clouds to blow over and reveal an absolutely stunning blue sky set against the backdrop of the beautiful Rocky Mountains. It seemed almost surreal – if one was to build a hotel in the spot where we set up our tents the rooms with the mountain views would have cost a fortune..!

In Banff we checked out the bike shops and wandered around the streets trying to get reacquainted with civilization. We did what we know best – head to a local eating establishment and eat..! We ordered two huge pitchers of beer (sooo refreshing!), a pitcher of water and a gargantuan plate of nachos with all the dressings. It was fantastic. It took about 3 minutes for us to devour both food and drinks sitting outside on the patio enjoying the hot Banff sun. Bliss..! What a lovely, lovely town.

It’s always fun to sit down with the group and run through the days events – something seems to happen every day and we never come short of things to talk about, laugh about or debate. Everything under the sun is discussed – from tan lines to politics to bike-talk.

Pitchers and nachos were then followed by Guinesses in the Irish bar next door (Brendan had another craving), followed by a huge dinner in “Earls” with more beer and more food. By the end of it we were totally full, quite ‘giddy’ (to say the least!), and looking forward to topping out evening of debauchery and gluttony off with a Dairy Queen blizzard ice-cream.

Needless to say, when we did reach camp I slept fantastically well in spite of some dehydration worries and looked forward to the next day..!

Five Iron Frenzy - "Canada Song"

Welcome to Canada it's maple leaf state
Canada O Canada It's great
The people are nice and they speak French too
If you don't like it man you sniff glue
The great white north their kilts are plaid
hosers take off it's not half bad
I want to be where yaks can run free
Where Royal Mounties can arrest me

Let's go to Canada
Let's leave today
Canada O Canada
S'il Vous Plait

- Five Iron Frenzy - "Canada Song"

Golden – Field – 62 kilometers / 38 miles

Happy Canada Day..!!!!

Everyone was dressed up in their Tour du Canada shirts and geared up for our last and final day in British Columbia..!

I was nervous leaving camp as Cue Sheets indicated that the day would start with a 18 kilometer uphill - eek. It was mostly climbing out of the Kicking Horse River Valley. Everyone was anxious to get going and get the ride over with as it was only a 62 kilometer day and we all hoped to have it done by about 11am so we could sit back and enjoy the rest of the afternoon in Field.

Either my legs are getting stronger or I am approaching the hills with a more positive attitude because it’s getting easier. Whilst I still struggle to go fast and push on, I am able to get up and get up at a steady pace of about 11km / hour. They key is to not think about it too much and just relax and enjoy the scenery. I biked on my own for most of the day which was great. The scenery coming into Yoho National Park was spectacular as we left the Cascade Mountains and entered into the Rockies. The road had a wide shoulder and wound its way into the Kicking Horse River Valley.

We saw 5 mountain goats at the side of the road cycling out of Golden – they were sitting quietly on the side of the road and at first I thought they were statues..!

The route took us through the gorgeous Yoho National Park which was absolutely stunning. I stopped every 20 kms and had a peanut butter sandwich and chatted with Rick and Jan as well as Tony and Darlene. Everyone was totally chilled out. I hadn’t ever heard of Field but was so pleasantly surprised at how lovely it was set against the base of the steep rocky cliffs which seemed to tower over the village below. We pulled into the ‘Alberta Visitor Centre’ which was rocking with Canada Day celebrations. Fire trucks were winding their way up the streets spraying the pedestrians with water – it was a great atmosphere. Everyone was wearing maple leaf tattoos, red and white shirts, and at one point a lady got everyone to sing ‘Oh Canada’ in both French and English. Our timing was impeccable as we pulled into the Info Centre just as they were serving burgers and soft drinks..!



A moment of reflection...

One of the firemen asked what we were up to so we told him that we were biking across Canada. He then told us some very disturbing news – a family of 4 biking across Canada who we’d heard about from one of the campground managers before we did the Coquahalla had been hit by a car in Manitoba. This really hit home as the family were biking across Canada to raise awareness and money for Juvenile Diabeties. Andrew had picked up a Readers Digest article about them and a bit of the history of the family etc. It was really disturbing and tragic news. It also really made me realize (as well as everyone in the group) the risks that we were taking. The father of the family was killed and the others were also in hospital. It was on the front page of the Globe. It was very sobering news. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2008/07/01/cyclist-accident.html

We continued on through to the campground as dark clouds loomed overhead – rain was in the forecast so we peddled frantically to beat the storm. The campsite was set in a giant open field area with grass (!!). Grass seems to be a luxury in campsites these days so it as nice to be able to stick the pegs in the ground especially given that with storms come wind and rain..! Whilst we were at the Info Centre a Eric found out that the Canadian band, “Bedouin Soundclash” was playing at Lake Louise which was about 25 kms up the highway BUT it involved the steep climb over Kicking Horse Pass..! After humming and hawing for a few minutes they managed to get a group of 10 people together to head out to Lake Louise for the concert. I was tempted to go but was pretty tired, had my tent set up and BC and Andrew were both on Galley Duty so knew they’d be taking it easy the following day and looked forward to biking the Lake Louise day with them as it was rumored to be one of the best ‘funnest’ days of the trip scenery wise.

About 20 minutes later I was sooooooooo glad that I had decided not to join the others on their trip to Lake Louise as the heavens opened and it POURED down. It rained and rained for about 2 hours leaving puddles in the field where our tents were. I decided to brave the rain and ran from the truck to my tent and immediately fell asleep. I haven’t had an afternoon nap in ages and ages and man, did it ever feel good..! It was still raining over the deliciously prepared dinner by Brendan and Andrew’s Galley Crew so we all ate in one of the shelters which was really enjoyable – everyone was in good spirits and had to laugh about the weather. It was bear country so we also had to ensure that everything was cleaned up and put away.


An Oasis... Cathedral Mountain Lodge

I decided to go for a short walk and discovered an absolutely stunning lodge called, “Cathedral Mountain Lodge” (http://www.cathedralmountain.com/) which was located at the entrance to our campground. I quickly checked it out and then rushed back to the camp to tell BC about the little oasis. We quickly grabbed our books and headed down to the lodge to escape from the soggy campground into dryer surroundings. It was stunning. It was advertised as a secluded and luxurious mountain hideaway and that it was. There are 35 cabins which make up the lodge and they are all done in a ‘rustic’ mountain style which are all handcrafted timber frames and made from old-growth wood. The main restaurant area is split level and is a combination of glass and wood. There were dining tables in the upper area and in the lower stage area there is a giant flagstaff fireplace. In front of the fireplace was a huge leather couch, lovely oriental carpets, a large wooden table with giant color atlases and two lovely leather arm chairs. We couldn’t believe our luck and sat ourselves in front of the fireplace, armed with books and immediately ordered beer / wine and chilled.

I must say, I am really enjoying the camping and the outdoors stuff but the opportunity to escape to this little bit of ‘normality’ was soooo nice. I really needed those 2 hours of ‘creature comforts’. It was a little bit of luxury on a particularly dreary, wet day. It was also nice just to sit and sip a glass of wine, read a book / newspaper and listen to Nora Jones. I was clean, warm and happy. Terry, Dave, Andrew and Jane joined us a bit later and we all just had a mega chill-out session. Brendan treated everyone to drinks which was super, super nice – it was one of the most enjoyable, relaxing and much needed glasses of wine that I’d had in ages.

A wonderful, perfect way to end a busy day.

The Beatles - "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"

Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Ah... Ah...

{VERSE 2}
Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain
Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies,
Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers,
That grow so incredibly high.
Newspaper taxis appear on the shore,
Waiting to take you away.
Climb in the back with your head in the clouds,
And you're gone.

- The Beatles - Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

Rest Day – Golden

** TOTAL KMS Covered To Date: 782 kms ***

I chose 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' because the mountains surrounding the campsite were like diamonds in the sky and completely surrouneded the site. It was a gorgeous setting for our Rest Day..! The day in Golden provided a much needed break from the saddle and a wonderful opportunity to catch up on laundry, eat 5 or 6 full course meals at 7-11 and wander around the thriving metropolis of Golden.

The campground was nice – lots of mosquitoes but close to the river and an easy walk into town. It didn’t take too long to discover both the laundry mat and the bakery…! I spent most of the day catching up on my journal entries and chatting to everyone around the camp. Peter and BC provided a great ‘how to change a tire’ course which I managed to document on film.

I found a fabulous internet café which was actually a bike shop. It was a perfect recluse from the heat as the temperatures soared to 38 degrees…! The people in the bike shop were super nice and I also took the opportunity to indulge in some retail therapy – I bought a Gore-tex jacket to protect against the rain… as I knew it would be inevitable that we’d get caught out in a Prairie shower.

In the evening we all headed down to the town movie-theatre to watch “Love Guru” starring Mike Myers. It was a comedy – a total, total ‘no brainer’ which inevitably did make everyone laugh, full of Canadian content..! It was refreshing to be away from ‘bike talk’ and be able to think about something other than the climbs, the steeps, etc. My knees were aching so I was convinced that it was going to rain so rushed back to the camp to clean up my stuff and also prepare for an early departure out of Golden. Brendan, Cullan and I went out and had a great dinner at a new little pub in Golden which was a total gem – soooo good. We tried a great new beer Kootenay. Fab homemade burgers and house fries washed down with a few beers.

A great way to end a relaxing and quiet rest day in Golden. Our next rest day would be in 4 days in Drumheller, Alberta.

Lovin' Spoonful - "Summer in the City"

Hot town, summer in the city
Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty
Been down, isn't it a pity
Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city

All around, people looking half dead
Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head

- Lovin' Spoonful - "Summer in the City"


Albert Canyon – Golden - 115 kms / 71 miles

I am pretty sure that I came relatively close to seeing my life flash before my eyes today… Brendan summed up the day in a way that only Brendan can:

“Disney World doesn’t even have rides which compare to today”.

I think that is the quote of the trip so far.

*****

Breakfast was served at about 7am but a lot of the riders had already left as the forecast was HOT HOT HOT. Expected high was 38 degrees for our expected high of 1330m at the summit of Rogers Pass.

The climb over Rogers Pass and the subsequent Kicking Horse hills were rumored to be tough ones and quite a slog in the heat. As our Galley Crew was on duty we had quite a lot of work to do that morning and didn’t leave camp until about 9am. In a way I didn’t mind it too much because it was nice not to have the feeling that you had to rush to get out and that the camp had to be cleaned up first.

Andrew waited for me which was super nice because I must admit, I was worried about being the sweep (the person who is the last one into camp and has to help other riders along). We headed out up the pass, stopping to take pictures and to eat our peanut butter sandwiches along the way. Andrew also has a double chain ring rather than a triple so when I am cranking in my granny-gear I am not disheartened by watching his pedals spin along in front of me like the triple-chainers would be doing.

I was totally dreading the climb over Rogers Pass as it was one of the tough climbing days but it actually wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be…! I was about to average about 13 km/hour up to the Pass. Whenever it got a bit tough I’d repeat over and over, “What goes up, must come down” and I knew from the discussions in camp the previous evening that the Rogers Pass downhill is pretty sweet..!!

The main thing I worried about were the tunnels. There are several tunnels on either side of the Pass which were built to protect the road from the avalanches and snowfall. The tunnels are sometimes filled with debris coming off of the trucks and can be poorly lit. The tunnels that are well lit do have a tendency to create ‘optical illusions’ and make a biker feel disoriented by the light coming in on the right hand side. Plus, the traffic through the tunnels is single lane and the average speed for the huge transports is about 90kms / hour and often the last thing they expect to see in the tunnel is a biker… To make a long story short, the advice is to get through the tunnels as fast as humanly possible.

Whilst I was incredibly nervous the first few tunnels went ok – there were 4 of them on an uphill section and before Rogers Pass. I took off my sunglasses to avoid the optical illusions created by the sun and so I could better see the debris along the side of shoulder in the tunnels. After the last tunnel on the uphill I got a bit cocky and was actually able to speed through them quite confidently and comfortably. Fortunately the only traffic coming through the tunnel at the time were small cars and trucks so I didn’t have to worry about being pushed into the side.

Well, we had a short ‘chill out’ at the top of Rogers Pass where I devoured a huge bag of chips and drank 2 bottles of orange juice and also called home from a pay phone. Dave, Andrew and I then continued on chatting happily and excitedly along the way about the incredible 8% downhill which lay ahead… the reward from the long, hard slog uphill. I was praying for a nice smooth shoulder so I could break my speed record on the descent.

There it was – the first tunnel off in the distance and I was soaring along at about 50kms / hour. I thought back to the previous tunnels on the uphill and realized that I could comfortably have worn my sunglasses through the tunnels. I decided to risk it and leave my dark tinted Oakleys firmly on my face.

BOOM. TOTAL DARKNESS.

It is amazing how incredibly long 4 seconds of absolute, white knuckle, terror can feel. My body froze. Where were the lights? I was going through a tunnel completely blind as this tunnel was 120% different from the other tunnels. I kept peddling trying not to panic, trying not to run into the side of the tunnel and also trying not to think about what might happen. I wondered if Andrew who was behind me was having the same issues. I started swearing frantically under my breath… “shit, shit, shit, shit…” I was going too fast to take off my sunglasses, too fast to brake and at that stage even plyers would not dislodge my hands from my brake hoods. Suddenly, from behind, my worst fear materialized into reality….

Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm….

As a huge, huge transport passed by me in the tunnel. My instant reaction was to hug the shoulder even more but I wasn’t sure how much shoulder I had left between me and the side of the tunnel..! I am pretty sure that the transport didn’t realize that the tunnel was pitch dark either as it didn’t have its lights on so I am sure that it didn’t even realize that it was sharing the lane with me.

I have never been so happy to see the cold light of day. As soon as I got out of the tunnel I breathed a huge sigh of relief and looked behind me to see Andrew emerge white as ghost as well. I whipped off my sunglasses just in time to fly through the second tunnel, totally prepared for the worst…

WHOOOOOOSSSSH…………………

A giant waterfall from glacial melt soaking through the roof of the tunnel poured over the lanes. It was a total freezing cold shower which quickly snapped me back to my senses. I wondered what was going to happen next. I was absolutely soaked with sweat and freezing cold water but still peddling trying desperately to get out of the tunnel alive. I recalled one of the ‘Hard Cores’ words of advice:

“Just follow the light”

So I did – I just hoped that it was the light at the end of the tunnel and not the light at the end of the stairway to heaven.

I was so incredibly happy to have that tunnel over with when suddenly around the next bend came yet another tunnel. Here I decided to stop tempting fate and slammed on my brakes to take a HUGE drink of water, say about 1000 Hail Marys’ and take a few deep breaths. We were all a bit shaken up but had to laugh at the entire incident. It is amazing how quickly adrenaline and ‘survival mode’ kick in.

The last tunnel was a walk in the park – plenty of light, no transport trucks, no cold showers… it was actually fun. Having said that, I would not do any of the tunnels over again..!

This goes back to the opening line of this entry and compliments to Brendan who can tell the story much better than I. Disney World does not have a ride which even comes close to the tunnels at Rogers Pass. (BC, 29/06/2008)

The downhill off of the Pass was good but the highway shoulders were in rough shape on account of the freeze / thaw temperature ranges in the mountains which destroy the asphalt. It would have been easy to reach speeds which break the sound barrier off of the downhill but unfortunately because of heavy traffic we were restricted to the bumpy shoulders and had to take it slow. I averaged about 60kms /hr going down which was a nice break from the long, hot ascent.

Unfortunately as soon as we got to the bottom of the Pass we started the long, hot climb into Golden which turned out to be longer and steeper than the ascent of Rogers Pass. We’d been warned to leave enough time in the afternoon for the ascent into Golden but as we’d had a late start because of our Galley duties it was already about 2pm and we still had about 50kms of climbing to do before getting into Golden. It was incredibly hot, we were running low on water, everyone seemed to be complaining about their ‘tender bottoms’ and we knew that we had to push on. I am pretty sure that it was the longest 50kms of my life..! Every time I felt like we’d done at least 10kms I would look down at my odometer and realize that we’d only done about 4. I was in my granny gear most of the way and kept cranking my way up. We would stop every 10kms or so to give each other pep talks, ‘take photos’ (code for taking a break), ‘have a drink’ (code for taking a break), check tire pressure (code for taking a break) etc. etc. In short, we took A LOT of breaks but it was a necessity as I was really, really struggling to keep a steady pace. I am sure that the climb would have been easier if it had been about 20 degrees cooler. When we arrived in Golden later that afternoon we found out that it had been 38 degrees…!!

Short history of Golden

Golden is a lovely ski-resort sort of town which offers plenty of mountain biking, white water rafting, hang gliding, snowmobiling, heli-skiing, dogsledding, ice climbing, ice fishing excursions. It has a laid-back feel to it. Someone commented that it had 5 liquor stores, 6 bars, a post office and a church (info not verified but I can attest that the bar is quite good!). It is set in the Columbia valley and was initially established in the late 1800s with the Canadian Pacific Railway brought a lot of tourism into the area because of the mountaineering opportunities – there were no shortage of peaks to climb..! In 1883 Golden was originally known as ‘The Cache’ when it was a base camp and a supply area for Major A.B. Rogers and his survey crew during the building of the CPR railway. When ‘Carlins’ Camp’ (east of Cache) dubbed themselves ‘Silver City’ after falsely planted silver ore was discovered, the people of Cache dubbed themselves ‘Golden City’ as not to be outdone. Four years later it was shortened to ‘Golden.

In 1858 Sir James Hector was commissioned by CP Rail to locate a pass to connect the newly established west coast with the rest of Canada. After a long, tiring day, an upset pack horse bolted out of the campsite. Hector retrieved the horse an in the process of securing it, was kicked squarely in the abdomen, rendering him unconscious. Thought to be dead, he was dragged to a valley for burial. Just as he was about to be thrown into the ground he awoke… and then aptly renamed the pass ‘Kicking Horse Pass’. (source: Golden, Visitors Info guide book).

I felt a bit like I’d been kicked in the abdomen and left for dead by the time we’d reached Golden. There was a Tim Hortons off of the highway and it took about .001 seconds for the decision to be made to stop and take a break. I had a freezing cold wonderfully refreshing ‘ice cap’ iced coffee EXTRA large. By this stage it was 6pm and we were starving..! We hightailed it into camp where we were handed cold beers and our tent pegs. We were also given instructions to be at the “Kicking Horse” bar by 7pm for an evening of festivities to bring in the next days’ rest day.

A lot of tunnel-related horror stories were exchanged that hot summer evening over many, many pitchers of beer, burgers, onion rings, pool and fooze-ball.