Leg 4 - Mantario to Regina, Sask. - June 24 to 29

Leg 4 total - 469.4 km

Grand total - 1986.6 km 

Leg 4 - Mantario to Regina, Sask.

Friday, June 29th
Distance and Time:  31 km at 1:19 (approximate because my odometer zeroed on me)
Route:  TCH and Assinoboine to Wascana Heights (Penny and Allan Hoffman's home)

I got the last leg into Regina in this morning, despite being a bit stiff and bruised.  It was difficult, but only psychologically.  I slowed down for every little piece of gravel.  The rest of the day was spent stocking up on things and taking it easy with Penny and Allan.  I feel so nurtured here, from Penny taking the time to soak the blood stains from my cycling clothes and Allan cooking up some great feeds.  They also accommodated their schedule so that we could have a car to run about.  I could stay here awhile without much persuasion, but we should get on the road tomorrow if we want to be home in late July.  We won't do that, though, until I've seen a massage therapist in the morning for my stiff neck.

Allan, Penny and Christie

"Indy"

Thursday, June 28th

Distance and Time:  56.7 km at 2:10 (approximate because my odometer zeroed when I fell)

Route:  Buffalo Pound Provincial Park (near Moose Jaw) to 30 km west of Regina on hwy 301 and TCH

Thanks Sam for filling in. And a huge thanks to Wayne who came with me to the hospital and stayed at my side throughout.  It was quite a stupid fall, and I'm still kicking myself.  I was just going a little too fast, paying attention to my cell phone instead of the road, and hit some heavy loose gravel. After the last few days of challenging weather conditions this day was picture perfect with sunshine, warm temps and a fresh breeze directly on my back.  I guess I relaxed too much.  Wayne had cycled with me on the TCH and had just turned around towards the RV.  A transport truck honked at me in the gravel so I got up, took a look at my elbow, looked quickly away, and took a picture to make sure my banged up phone still worked.  Instead of staying in one place without any shelter, after a spell I got on the bike to gauge how I was and continued on for another 20 km or so until Wayne caught up.  I was focused on having some lunch and getting back on the road to cycle into Penny and Allan's place (Wayne's daughter-in-law, Kelly's, parents), but then experienced some mild shock symptoms so took Wayne's advice and stayed off the bike.  Penny made an appointment at a clinic for me and came home from work early (the dear soul) to take us there.  The Dr. took a look at it and told me to go to Emergency, so Penny transported us there as well. At triage they apologized because the wait would be close to three hours.  Can you imagine getting looked at within three hours at an Ottawa hospital?  And believe it or not, within three hours I was out of there all cleaned and stitched up.  Best of all, the doctor who sewed up the wound was an old high school friend of Kelly's and we had a great chat throughout the process. It looks neat and tidy and I thank my lucky stars we did go to the hospital.  Kelly's sister Christie came with her mom to pick us up and we were back at the house around 8:00 and treated to a super BBQ.

Thursday, June 28th - 2nd update, post hospital visit

As per my mom's request, I'm adding in before and after pictures of her elbow. Be warned, these are not for the squeamish!!

Before

After

Thursday, June 28th - An update via Sam

Hi Everyone, Sam here with an update from my mom. Unfortunately she is currently waiting in Emergency at a Regina Hospital for stitches to her elbow, due to a fall earlier today that she says was due to "pure inattentiveness on her part". Since she has broken the same elbow twice before, we are just happy that there doesn't seem to be any break and are hoping a few stitches will fix things right up!

If you know my mom as well as I do, you'll know that she'll want to get back on the road as soon as possible. So keep your fingers crossed with me that this is something that will heal quickly!

She wanted me to mention that Kelly's mom, Penny, has been a huge help with getting around and providing support. She assures me she is OK, and an update from her will follow tomorrow while she is (hopefully) taking the time to heal!

Earlier in the day (Lori here)

We started out late in the morning on secondary hwy 301 just east of Moose Jaw, after driving out to the far corner of Buffalo Pound Park to see the Buffalo range and hopefully catch a glimpse or two of the herd.  No such luck!  We did see some fowl-type of wildlife, though.

 

The park itself is quite unique, with the lake and valley and rolling hills appearing suddenly out of the flat prairie.  It was a pretty spot to spend the night.

Wednesday, June 27^th

Distance and Time:  85.8 km at 3:00

Route:  Central Butte to Buffalo Pound Provincial Park (near Moose Jaw) on hwy 42 and 202

2^nd installment…..

Just as I was nervous starting out again on Sunday, I was reluctant to get started today and procrastinated until about 2:30 before Wayne kicked me out to give it a try.  The first 40 or so km sped by with the wind directly behind me (as well as the RV for moral support) and hardly a turn of the pedals.  We passed the some villages with interesting names.

Maybe making fun of the sign was bad luck....note the wind!

The next ten km were a little hairy, consisting of a rough dirt road and cross winds and lots of grit in the eyes and mouth.  I cycled some of it in the opposing lane with the RV on my right to block the wind, but it was a bit awkward going back and forth for traffic and my shoulders are sore from gripping the handlebars so tightly. The final 30 km were good again with the wind on the starboard quarter.  Even with the 10 km of rough road, my overall average speed is the best yet, and I hardly feel like I worked today.  Wayne’s day, however, was a little more difficult in terms of driving in the wind conditions and providing close support for me.  He actually had the rig in neutral and coasted with the wind for awhile. As for keeping an eye on me, he mentioned something about avoiding a headline such as “husband runs down wife on bicycle” and noted that when he drafts for me on his bike and bumps into me, he is the one who falls whereas if he is driving and bumps me I would be taking the fall.  An entertaining guy to have for support!

Thanks to those of you who provided feedback on the Ontario route.  It looks like there are better shoulders and slightly less transport truck traffic on the southern route so I should probably prioritize these safety aspects and suck it up in terms of the hills.  I’ve also heard back from Jesslyn at Travel Manitoba with good advice regarding the northern and southern routes being considered.  The northern route may have more construction and less paved shoulders than the southern route, as well as longer isolated stretches so I will probably opt for the southern route. 

1st installment…..

We are still hunkered down in a swaying RV in Central Butte, which has just been added to the list of wind warning spots on the weather radio.  The clouds racing along the sky and the debris on the road are quite something.  Yes, I moaned about the lack of tail winds so far, but 90 km/hr is a bit too much!  It's more than a little scary to contemplate being on the bike sailing down the road too fast and without much control.  Hopefully conditions will abate this evening and we can get part of the way to Moose Jaw.  We might try and drive there this afternoon to have a look at the tunnels, but the RV won't be pleasant on the road in this wind either.  At least Central Butte has an ice cream shop....

Main Street in Central Butte

Tuesday, June 26^th

Distance and Time:  131.6 at 5:54

Route: Wiseton to Central Butte, Sask. on hwy 44 and 42

I am typing to calm my nerves and take my mind off the weather and tornado warnings.  The RV is shaking in a severe thunderstorm. We have our raincoats on, valuables packed and are ready to exit fast and make a run for a school doorway nearby if we see a tornado.  The wind and rain and sky are fierce and although the RV is fine in a thunderstorm it is not the best place to be if a tornado strikes.  Wayne is in the cab keeping lookout and tuned into the weather radio network.  We just heard that the tornado warning is continued for this particular town.  I am edgy to say the least. 

Let me recount the day.  Last night was very warm and it was difficult to sleep.  We could have started the AC, but it is noisy and would have required noisy generator power as well since we weren’t plugged in.  I had weird dreams of being elderly and in great pain walking to a car where people were impatiently waiting for me.  Then of course, I awoke to a fair degree of back pain and a throbbing headache.  It got me out of bed and on the road early (Wayne couldn't believe his eyeballs with meon the road before 7:30), and I’ve been fine today so will attribute it to overdoing it in the heat yesterday.

We had planned on continuing down hwy 44 past Dinsmore and making a decision later in the morning whether to head on the northern or southern route.  When 44 turned into a dirt road, the decision was made easier since we didn’t want to double back and retrace our route to head north at an earlier junction.  According to the local garage guys, the unpaved leg is 22 km long, and used to be paved up until four years ago (my map of Manitoba was fished out of a travel file at home and could be eons old).  So we headed south on 42 which was pretty barren in terms of any settlements or traffic (Chris was right when he told me there were miles of nothing in Saskatchewan and I wouldn’t be stopping at Starbucks every second night).  Most of the landscape consisted of ranchland instead of the cropland we had passed through yesterday.  I saw a few deer and a large grey coyote who eyed me intently.

We heard there were tornado warnings and the advice from my handy meteorologist was to head for the ditch on the opposite side of the approaching tornado, and lie low but not down at the bottom in case of flash floods.  I was also feeling pretty vulnerable to lightening being on a bike on the wide open prairie but apparently the rubber tires would prevent a strike being able to ground, even though the frame is metal.

We lunched in Lucky Lake, eying the darkening sky nervously.  I decided to make a 20 km run to the ferry across Diefenbaker Lake, hoping the thunderstorm would wait awhile.  Wayne emptied the black and grey water tanks and filled the fresh water in Lucky Lake while I went ahead.  When he caught up I asked that he keep pretty close because lightening and thunder were on the horizon. Luckily we made it to the ferry, crossed the lake and were up on the other side before I had to take shelter.  This was a cable ferry, the longest in Saskatchewan, and open 24/7 in season.  It’s a two person operation, unlike the one guy doing everything on the Bleriot ferry north of Drumheller.  Their schedule is nice – two days, two nights and seven days off!

Diefenbaker Lake cable ferry

By the time the storm hit we were near Riverhurst so waited it out in the local library/museum.  This was another town steeped in the past and it was quite something to browse through the museum artifacts spanning the last century or so.  We’re getting old…..both of us recognized items we grew up with!

The cycle from Riverhurst to our present location in Central Butte was challenging with a strong head/cross wind. Wayne cycled back from Central Butte to meet me and I was able to draft alongside him for awhile which made things easier. We are parked in the school yard here and picking up their guest wifi, thanks to the Saskatchewan board of education.  We are also plugged into the winter car heater outlets!  I am happy to report that the storm has passed, we can see blue sky and both me and the RV have stopped shaking.  It’s cooled off considerably so I’m hoping for a good rest tonight.

fellow traveller in Central Butte

Monday, June 25^th....continued

Distance and Time:  108.7 at 5:06

Route:  Madison to Wiseton, Saskachewan on hwy 44

We departed Elrose after 5:00 and managed to put in a few more km before calling it a day in Wiseton.  The wind veered a bit so it became more of a cross-wind, and hence a little more manageable. We had checked the weather radar while online and although it looked like most of the thunderstorm activity was to the northwest, there still were quite a few rain clouds around.  Hwy 44 was in rough shape again after it left hwy 4, but I had the road to myself and could navigate veering around both lanes as necessary.  Wayne stayed close by, and I played hopscotch with the RV a few km ahead or behind in case of wild weather.  And we ran into the plane again!

Wiseton is an interesting place, looking as if it was lifted from a few decades ago.  We drove around to case the joint, and decided to cook supper and remain in the RV for the evening instead of heading over to the hotel and tavern!
 

downtown Wiseton

our overnight location in Wiseton

The sky was rather awesome as the sun was setting into dusk, with a lot of activity still over to the northwest.

On another note, I’ve received some feedback on the northern ON route and am leaning towards hwy 17 around the east shores of Superior.  It seems the shoulders may be better and there may be less transport truck traffic (although more traffic volume in general).  My pie in the sky wish is for Wayne to be able to cycle with me in the area.  Anybody out there interested in driving support for a week or two in northern ON?  John? We can actually carry two people seeing as we have an extra (and private) double bunk

Monday, June 25^th - part one

Distance and Time:  76 km so far

Route:  Madison, Sask to .... on hwy 44

Launching from Madison, Sask.

This is Madison

I love these big open prairie skies, but where are those prevailing westerly winds I was so confident in (almost to the point of boasting about sailing across the prairies)?  I have been battling headwinds all day and watching my average speed drop off as I struggle to reach anywhere near 20 km/hr.  It is also quite hot with humidex readings - Ontario weather we were told by a local. We are stopped in a little place named Elrose, south of Rosetown and north of Swift Current, waiting for an abatement in wind and thunderstorm activity. We’ve parked near a school and luckily have guest wifi! But although we have internet, we don’t have cell phone coverage, drat!  There seem to be a lot of towers and we see people using their cell phones, but our Rogers account is likely not synchronized with Sasktel or whatever provider is out here.

On a positive note, the road is better today with a bit of a shoulder and not quite so rough.  Traffic is still sparse, although I was freaked out a bit by a plane with quite a large wing span landing in the distance and coasting towards me!  Unfortunately, by the time I fished my camera out it had turned into a driveway, but I got a picture anyway.

We haven’t decided yet whether to continue on hwy 44 to 15 and go north of Regina, or hwy 42 to Moose Jaw and then south of Regina.  Either way we will drive the RV into the city to replenish and pay a visit to Kelly's parents.  ETA Regina will likely be Thursday instead of Wednesday as hoped since we’re not putting in the distance we anticipated. 

As for Manitoba, we are considering two options.  The first is to head north through Dauphine on hwy 5 and across the lake on hwy 68 before coming south and joining hwy 44 north of Winnipeg.  The route intrigues me, especially through the lake area, but I am concerned about wildlife and long stretches of isolation.  The second option is farther south, heading east on hwy 2 and then joining hwy 15 and 44 east of Winnipeg.  This will likely be more populated but perhaps also warmer and with more traffic.  Is anyone out there familiar with either route?

Sunday, June 24^th

Distance and Time:  55.6 km at 2:51

Route:  Mantario to Madison, Sask on hwy 44

It was quite a change to go from driving the Corvette one day to heading down the highway in a big plywood box (Troy’s expression, not mine) the next.  We departed Sylvan Lake mid-morning, and didn’t get into Saskatchewan and on the bike until after 5:00.  It was a slow drive because of rain and wind and a pit stop in Hanna for groceries.  Big mistake – price and selection in small town Alberta is not that great.  The strong headwinds continued throughout the cycle, as you can see by my time and distance logged.  Fortunately, I missed any real amount of rain but I did manage to find what is probably the only hill in this part of the country.

We owe a huge thanks to Teri and Dan for their generous hospitality, and willingness to share their home, food, vehicles and grand-kids.  It was very relaxing to spend the week with them and they didn’t seem to mind my idiosyncratic ways.  I was able to get caught up on a few things, connected with family and some old friends and just had a really nice time hanging out there.  These two are very generous and giving souls, indeed and we hope they'll be able to join us for a spell in the Maritimes this fall.

Good-bye to Alberta a second time.  We certainly appreciate your roads and scenery and hospitality, and will be back soon to get to Head-Smashed-in Buffalo-Jump and more of the mountains!

Alberta hiatus - June 14 to 23

Hey, this is hard, waiting around.  The days are slipping by and I'm enjoying the break, visiting with Teri and Dan, and seeing some old friends, but am certainly looking forward to being on the bike again and heading in one direction through the prairies.  Let me provide a quick update.

 Saturday, June 23rd

We drove to Edmonton (Spruce Grove) in style (see below) to see Wayne's twin sisters and their families. Thank you Janice and Joyce for getting everybody together on short notice and dishing out such a terrific feast.  It was such a pleasure to see you again and for me to meet Reg and Alex, Holly, Ken and Riley, and Pat and Ginny. 

Reg, Holly, Alex, Ken, Joyce, Ginny, Janice, Pat, Riley and Wayne

An early birthday celebration

Wayne at the wheel of Dan's Corvette

We rounded out the day by stopping in on Laura enroute back to Sylvan Lake.  It was great to see her one more time and for her to meet Wayne.  The conversation revolved around computers, of course!

Thursday, June 21st
I am being thoroughly entertained by Teri's grand-kids.  They like looking at pictures on the computer and every time Enoch sees a photo of Wayne he asks me if that is my Dad :)! 

Today was the best day so far during the week in terms of weather, with sunshine, light winds and temps in the high teens.  I abandoned Teri and hit the road for about 76 km then basically relaxed and ate the rest of the day.

Asia and Enoch

Wayne has arrived back in Ottawa and will be making a quick turn-around to Calgary tomorrow morning.  We'll head to Edmonton on Saturday to see his twin sisters and some extended family, and then make our way back to Saskatchewan on Sunday.  The forecast looks great there all week.


Wednesday, June 20^th

Thanks Eileen for the link to info on the Confederation Bridge.  Pedestrians and cyclists are restricted from crossing on their own, but a 24/7 shuttle service is available from both ends.  Sounds like a fine idea to me!

I spent a quiet day hanging out with Teri and her grand-kids Asia (18 months) and Enoch (4 years).  The weather is much better (sunny, light wind, temp around 20) so we walked down to the beach for ice cream and some playground time.  I connected on Skype with my "Ladies and Laughter" book club in Ottawa and one of their first questions was "How is your bum".  Well, Enoch happened to be sitting on my lap at the time and he was so impressed that older people shared his bathroom sense of humour (you know that four year-old stage).

Some thoughts on the cycle trip so far:

·         Cycling through the prairies has been very relaxing because of the lack of traffic and not having to pay close attention to the pavement all the time, as well as the decent weather we had last week.  It was almost mesmerizing and quite meditative on those long straight stretches in the fresh air.  It's just so nice to be outside most of the day in the peace and quiet. This week as I've been on the road in a vehicle a lot, I realize I miss the sights and sounds of the road - the different birds shouting verbal abuse when you get too close to their nests, the strong rush of mountain streams, gophers standing up to see what's coming, hawks circling before deciding you're too big for prey, and even the bears and porcupine. 

·         I noticed my core has strengthened significantly, way more than what I have experienced when doing pilates and yoga classes.  I don’t have a six pack or anything like that, but I feel rather solid inside and attribute it to pedal power required in the mountains.  There were a few times when the old legs simply weren’t enough and my body naturally turned to other muscles for assistance.

·         Two provinces down and only six to go unless we decide to do PEI.  I kind of think it would be neat to cycle Confederation Bridge and must check to see if that is possible.

·         I am worried already about northern ON.  My friend Kathy in Thunder Bay has advised that the northern route through Kapuskasing (where I lived for two years during adolescence and became friends with her) is much flatter and has less traffic than the more scenic and southern route along the shores of Lake Superior.  I have heard that the hills on that route are the most difficult part of cycling across the country, even harder than the Rockies, because they are steep and there are no flat stretches in between them for days.  I am tempted to do the southern route because of the scenery and opportunity to spend a day or two kayaking Superior, but guess I will assess my strength when we leave Thunder Bay and make a decision then.

·         Wayne provided me with a few comments when he finally read the blog.  I’ve overheard him say that my references to we mean the “royal” we.  He has also asked me why I didn’t simply lay my bike across those culverts running down outside the avalanche tunnel instead of throwing it (and damaging the frame and losing the bottles)???  I don’t have an answer other than I didn’t think of it….duh!

·         I’m so lucky to have the opportunity to do this, and I couldn’t have set my sights on it without the generous contribution of Wayne’s time and support with the RV.  I always thought it was “our” cycle, but in the pattern of our days I realize I am the one who is choosing the routes and schedule, and he is the one who is following me and not quite getting the amount of cycle time anticipated. Thank-you, dear.
 ·       It looks like it is much too impractical to try and sell the RV here in Alberta, in terms of availability of smaller units, taking a hosing on the selling price, and the logistics of registering the vehicle in Alberta with a seven day window to transport it to Ontario (thanks for that info, Lorraine).  So we’ll (the royal we) will assess back in Ontario and see what is on the market in terms of something smaller.  In the meantime, I will appreciate the comfort.

Tuesday, June 19^th

This has been a pretty laid back day.  We did some shopping in Red Deer, and some baking in the afternoon.  It was blustery and cool all day with short periods of rain. I managed to get out for a mini cycle in the evening (have I mentioned the daylight here stretching well into late evening) in between dark rain clouds, but it was a bit of a chore with the wind and bugs going down my throat.  I hear there is a heat wave in Ottawa, so I shouldn't complain about this weather.

Angus sent me a document with Williamina Bell-Irving's family stats, which I shared with my daughters.  Sam was intrigued and went online to learn some more.  Here is some of her feedback:  
"It's so cool to look at this sort of stuff! I did a little bit of internet researching this morning because I was interested and I found this link to the Bell-Irving family tree:
http://www.clanirving.com/pdfs/Descendant%20Chart%20for%20the%20Bell-Irvings.pdf
You can see your grandmother on it, as well as William and Williamina and even further back to the 1500s! Did you know that the Bell-Irving name was created in the 1700s when Mary Irving married Thomas Bell and she refused to take his name? She was from a more prominent family and didn't want to give up the Irving title so she became Bell-Irving. Which was pretty rare in those days!
I was also able to find a picture online of Williamina Bell-Iriving.  Apparently the picture is in the archives at a museum in Calgary called the Glenbow and there's a picture of her husband there too.
http://ww2.glenbow.org/search/archivesPhotosResults.aspx?XC=/search/archivesPhotosResults.aspx&TN=IMAGEBAN&AC=QBE_QUERY&RF=WebResults&DL=0&RL=0&NP=255&MF=WPEngMsg.ini&MR=10&QB0=AND&QF0=File+number&QI0=NA-4286-2&CISOPTR=DF=WebResultsDetails
Cool eh?  There's also tons of information online about Henry, Williamina's eldest son and his work in and around Vancouver. I even found some academic papers written about him.

Monday, June 18th

Another day on the road, but what an interesting one it was.  Teri and I picked up our uncle Angus in Calgary in the morning and then we all headed to Cochrane to dig up some old family history.  My grand-mother was a Bell-Irving and her grand-mother homesteaded in Calgary and the Cochrane area. As I mentioned earlier in the blog, Angus is a treasure trove of information on his mother’s side of the family and it was such a delight to listen to his stories all day long.

Angus and I

We stumbled upon a wonderful librarian in the Cochrane Archives.  She helped us find some passages in the historical record books about the family, and located the tiny Anglican church (of which my great-grandfather was the first warden) for us.  It was moved by horse from Mitford to Cochrane at the turn of the century, quite a mean feat in those days and a plaque was erected at that time to commemorate the people who were buried in the original church graveyard.  The first person on the list is Frances Bell-Irving, my grandmother’s sister who died at three years of age on the ranch in the same week my grandmother was born.  The church has since been moved to a senior’s residence in town and is used for services there.  We tracked it down were lucky to find the pastor still at the residence late in the afternoon.  He was most helpful and enthusiastic.

We found the old church in it's new place

We delivered Angus back to Sue in well after supper time, and I think we may have tired him out gallivanting all over the place.  He had a smile on his face, though!

Sunday, June 17th

Teri lent me her brand new (hybrid) SUV yet again and I motored off to Edmonton to see a dear old CG friend Laura McWilliam.  Laura and I were at the College together, worked in St. John’s at the same time, and saw each other quite a bit when our kids were young and she lived in Kingston and worked at Queen’s.  Laura is a talented computer techie and sadly for me, she was recruited for a job in Edmonton ten years ago and I hadn’t seen her since.  We had a great time with years and five kids and extended families to catch up on.  I don’t think we stopped talking for six hours straight.  I got to see her son Chris again and this time we got some pictures taken. 

Laura and I

Laura is on the executive of the Alberta speed skating association (her kids are athletic to say the least) and will be in Montreal this August, so we’re hoping to catch up with each other again.

Saturday, June 16th

I took Wayne to Calgary airport in the morning, then had a nice second visit with my old high school friend Lorraine.  She is selling her house in Calgary, so had to be out for lunch anyway!  It was great to see her again and catch up even more.  It’s funny how after 40-odd years of staying in touch sporadically we can pick up the conversation so easily and laugh at each other again.  Unfortunately I forgot for the second time to get a photo of the two of us together.  Drat!

The day was warm and by the time I arrived back in Sylvan Lake in late afternoon the wind had died down and I thought it would be a good idea to get a cycle in around the lake to keep the legs in shape.  Well, the paved roads around the lake don’t really hug the contour of the shoreline but rather stretch out in a large box encompassing it.  Sixty odd km later…….

Friday, June 15th

This day consisted of laundry, lots of yacking, Wayne behind the wheel of Dan’s Corvette, and a gorgeous boat ride on Sylvan Lake in the early evening.  It was a little cool so we virtually had the lake all to ourselves with Dan giving us a tour of the entire perimeter, after which he cooked his specialty bok choy beef dinner.  Mmmmm.

Teri and Dan

The royal "We"

It's not warm in Sylvan Lake at this time of year

Thursday, June 14th
We headed to the Horseshoe Canyon lookout and what a nice surprise it was!  It kind of hits you all of a sudden like the Grand Canyon – one minute you’re on the flat prairier and the next staring down into an abyss.

Horseshoe Canyon

One cannot visit Drumheller and not see the dinosaur museum, so I told Wayne.  Wow, we were both quite impressed.  It was so well done and worth every moment (we only took 62 pictures)!

 

 

 

Dino pictures

We started driving to Sylvan Lake about mid-afternoon, arriving at Teri and Dan’s just at dinner time J, and what a lovely dinner we were treated to indeed!  Wayne sometimes calls me a food snob in terms of trying to eat organically and gluten-free and passing on this and that, so when I find kindred folks on the same food page it is a nice surprise.  Another welcoming treat - we have come indoors to a bedroom, bathroom, wifi, and all the amenities.  I have a very generous sister.

Leg 3 - Calgary to Mantario, Saskatchewan - June 11 to 13

Leg 3 total - 411.2 km (including Calgary transit)

Grand total - 1517.2 km

Calgary to Saskatchewan border

One quarter of the distance travelled so far!

Wednesday, June 13^th

Distance and Time:  100.9 km at 5:01

Route:  12 km past the turn off for Big Stone on hwy 570 to 25 km into Sask on hwy 44 near Mantario

Well, the past two days were probably as good as it gets on this cycle, especially with those long stretches of empty highway, when we cycled together side by side and chatted about different breeds of cows and cloud formations (exciting conversation, eh). Today the weather and wind and road conditions changed dramatically.  The morning started out OK as I launched from the roadside campsite, but as the day progressed the sky darkened and the wind veered to the northeast. 

Launching in the middle of nowhere

It was slow going after that, and by mid-afternoon the wind was fierce and the dark rain clouds were all about.  I asked Wayne to keep within a couple of km of me the last hour or so so since I was being buffeted about a bit, and managed to get just past the 100 km mark when we called it a day, again, in the middle of nowhere.  By that time we were about 25 km inside Saskatchewan.  As soon as we crossed the border on this quiet secondary road , the pavement became sketchy with long stretches of gravel.  Gone were the wide shoulders and centre-line rumble strips.  This reminds me that I haven’t mentioned rumble strips yet.  I much prefer the centre-line location since the ones on the shoulder (throughout the Rockies) can create havoc on a bike, especially in wet weather when they are full of gravel!

At the end of the day we drove back to Drumheller in a thunderstorm to hunker down for the night at the same park.  Tomorrow we'll explore a little more around here and then head back to Sylvan Lake (near Red Deer).  As mentioned, I'll spend the next week there on hiatus with my sister while Wayne heads back home for some contract work.  I'm looking forward to a week of rest and re-organizing but will likely be chomping at the bit to get going again on the 23rd.  I'll update the blog periodically.

Tuesday, June 12^th

Distance and Time:  133.9 km at 5:24

Route:  Drumheller to 12 km past the turn off for Big Stone on hwy 570

We awoke to the birds chirping at the Rivergrove campsite, located across the river from Drumheller and a stone’s throw from all the town has to offer.  The site was nice and quiet, though, maybe because of the insulation from all the cottonwood trees.
 

The cottonwoods at Rivergrove park

On our way out of town to start at yesterday’s stop point, we got another good glimpse of the giant dinosaur!

Getting out of the dinosaur capital

Cycling southeast of Drumheller through the valley of the Red Deer River we came across the hoodoos.  It isn’t hard to imagine why this area was named the Badlands, with all the nooks and crannies and deceiving optical perspectives in which outlaws could hide.

The hoodoos

Coming into Drumheller yesterday we cycled on an 8% grade downhill into town, a nice coast which would rival Champlain lookout in the Gatineau Hills of home.  On the outbound we figured we would have to cycle uphill at some point, and that point came 20 km into the cycle just after the towns of East Coulee and Dorothy.  That one seemed to rival the hill coming out of Merritt and anything the Rockies had to offer.

Otherwise it was a cyclist’s heaven today, with the state of road, weather and wind.  I can’t quite figure out why this secondary highway with hardly any traffic is in pristine condition, much of it newly paved, but I’m not complaining.  The sun was out for the most part, the temps were in the mid-twenties, and a gentle wind blew behind us.  Although there were few signs of human habitation, other than abandoned homes from decades ago, there was lots of wildlife in the form of prairie gophers all lined up on the shoulder trying to figure out what was coming before scurrying into their burrows one by one; and long-legged deer with huge white butts, bounding over the fences a mile high.  Most of the terrain consisted of ranch land with a few small oil drills here and there. I chatted throughout the day to the cows, and they all looked at me like I was from another planet.

Wayne cycled an hour or so with me past the hoodoos, and then caught up with me for lunch at the 85 km mark.  After an hour long siesta we hit the road again for another 45 km.  We camped out for the night at the side of the road with endless vistas at every angle and a gorgeous sunset.  I LOVE these PRAIRIES!

campsite by the prairie roadside

Sunset in the prairies

Monday, June 11th - Day 14 (on cycle)

Distance and Time:  130.9 km at 5:06

Route: Calgary to Drumheller via Country Hills Rd. and Hwy 9

We decided to head east today since the weather forecast was so good.  Originally we were going to head north to spend some time with Teri and Dan in Sylvan Lake and get up to Edmonton for some more visiting, but with the forecast this good we opted to put some distance behind us before returning back to Sylvan Lake and Calgary on the weekend.  Wayne will be travelling back to Ottawa on Saturday for a week due to a work commitment and I will spend the time visiting with my sister and old friends perhaps getting to see a few sites we missed along the way (i.e. smashed in head buffalo jump and some more time in the mountains).

So, good-bye Calgary, with your extreme hills on the bike paths, numerous pretty magpies and long-legged jack-rabbits.  So long also to four nights in Walmart parking lots with other RV riffraff – they offered great convenience in the city, but not much in the way of ambiance. 

launching from Walmart - new vest and new shorts, ready to go

Once we got away from the city, the roads became quiet and straight and flat.  Though it was my longest day yet in terms of distance, we rolled into town and settled down earlier than most nights, at a pretty RV park just outside Drumheller.  The cycle was awesome in warm temps with a mix of sun and cloud and long stretches of easy up and down grades.  The mountains became a distant speck on the horizon and the prairies opened up on all sides.  I like that you can see a rain shower coming for miles and miles and can even try and outrun it (which I managed to do).  I also like that I can see Wayne cycling back to meet me for miles and miles, as a small distant speck on the horizon.

Important sign along the route

Abandoned dwelling - one of many

Drumheller, the Dinosaur capital of North America, seems like a neat spot. I’m looking forward to seeing the dinosaur museum and travelling down through the dinosaur trail.  We may continue cycling towards Saskatchewan tomorrow, and take in these sights on our way back since the forecast calls for rain later in the week.

That's me way down by his bottom claw

Calgary weekend rest - June 8 to 10

Sunday, June 10^th

I met up with Kathleen Flemming in the morning for coffee and a lovely long chat.  Kathleen is an old CG College buddy who works at JRCC Halifax.  It was such a great coincidence that she was in Calgary at the same time as I and that FB and the blog got us connected way out here.  We chatted a lot about the CG since we had worked together when I was at the College in Sydney, but were sensible and made sure to update each other on our kids and friends and life in general.

My sister Teri and her husband Dan, from Red Deer, picked us up in the afternoon enroute to their grandson Enoch’s 4^th birthday party in the SE end of the city.  What a treat to see Ramona and Tim and Enoch, their two little girls and extended family and friends. Wayne and I lucked out with taking care of Esther, the newest addition to the family. Teri and Dad took us out for a lovely dinner and along the way we took a quick look at a camper-van for sale.  It was too small and old, and I’m wondering why there isn’t much on the market halfway in size between that and what we have.

Saturday, June  9^th (Day 13 on cycle)

Distance and Time: 45.5 km at 2:41

Route:  SW to NE Calgary via bike paths, overpasses and railroad tracks

We cycled together to the SW to visit my uncle Angus and Aunts Sue and Pat.  We traded stories about cycling and mountain hiking folklore and learned much from Angus about my grandmother’s family, the Bell-Irvings.  Sue is from Yarmouth so she and Wayne had a good chat as east-coasters always do.  We left with bags of homemade cookies and tentative plans to visit Cochrane with Angus next weekend to see the old gravesites of some of my grandmother’s family.

I then cycled to the NE end of city to another Walmart parking lot at the Deerfoot Mall.  The weather was wet and windy, and the bike path signage was not too clear.  Most of the pathway followed a river and there were lots of detours due to flooding.  I found it  necessary to ask for lots of directions, but I finally made it to join Wayne and the RV.  My old friend from high school, Lorraine (Mercer) Miller, lives nearby.  Luckily she had a free evening and waited patiently for my call, then picked us up and treated us to a great Vietnamese supper.  It was so good to get caught up with her, and I hope to see her again next weekend too.

Friday, June 8^th

We parked in a Walmart parking lot at Westgate Mall. It was like spending a day ashore after a voyage.  We scrambled around replenishing food, propane, and updating the blog.  We then waited out thunder, hail and rain before cycling downtown to MEC to stock up on inner tubes and other bike supplies (thanks to all of you who contributed to my retirement MEC gift certificates). I managed to get a bike map of Calgary with some difficulty.  It is not carried in stores or tourist info centres, and we were told it was only available from the City of Calgary. Luckily we arrived at a recreation centre just before it closed and they had one copy left in stock.

Leg 2 - Armstrong, BC to Calgary, AB - June 2 to 7

Leg 2 total 557.2 km
Grand total 1106 km

Armstrong to Calgary

June 7^th – Day 12 (on bike)

Distance and Time:  105.2 km at 4:19

Route: - Canmore to SW Calgary via the TCH and bike trails in the city

Starting out in Canmore

We awoke to a few patches of blue sky and by the time I got going there was brilliant sunshine all around.  I decided to go via the TCH since there had been reports of flooding the day before on the 1A which is the preferred bike route.  That route was open now but we were told there was still a lot of water and debris on the road.  Speaking of floods, my Dad sent me a message this morning that 142 km of the TCH near Golden was closed yesterday due to a massive mud slide.  Mud and debris covered 400 metres of the TCH and was about three metres deep.  One vehicle was caught in the slide but the driver escaped and made it to dry ground unharmed. Holy cow – we just missed it.  Gulp! Wouldn’t that have been something to write about?

Taking the TCH was a good decision since traffic was light and the shoulders were the best so far – wide and clean.  Wayne came with me for the first 20 km then turned around into the wind and hills.  There is something to be said about the joy of going in one direction!

Wayne cycling back

Leaving those beautiful but hairy mountains behind was a little sad.  They were gorgeous and challenging and certainly took my cycle "cockiness" down a notch or two. I sure would have liked to spend more time in them if the weather had been favourable. Anyway, I fairly flew into Calgary with the gradual decline and a brisk breeze at my back.  It was strange how quickly they became the horizon instead of the surroundings.

Looking back

When I passed the Morley Flats area, I took a long keen look to the north. I’ve just learned that somewhere up there is an abandoned pioneer ranchland graveyard where the body of Williamina McBean Bell-Irving lies. She is my great, great grandmother.

Coming into the city sent my wonderful average down the tubes.  Hills and winding bike paths coupled with only a vague sense of where I was meeting Wayne really slowed me down.

As I mentioned, we are going to hunker down in Calgary for a few days, during which I will cycle somewhere to the NE end of the city for a good eastern getaway position.  Unfortunately it looks like the sun was with us only this one day, as the forecast calls for more cloud and rain throughout the weekend and subsequent days.  It will be good weather for visiting RV dealers and looking for a smaller model.  I just haven’t been able to get used to the style, space and drive-ability of this rig.  We’ve come to the conclusion that a camper-van would suit our needs much better than a motor-home.  I’ve struggled with this and I know many of you would say just to go with the flow and enjoy it but you know me :). Will keep you posted..

June 6^th – Day 11 
Route: Banff to Canmore via the Legacy bike trail and TCH 
Distance and time: 24.1 km at 1:07

We spent a leisurely morning in the rain, and met Meghan for coffee at the Wild Flour Cafe.  Meghan is a daughter of my dear friend Meredith back home in Kanata, and she and her husband Paul have lived in Banff for several years. It was a such delight to catch up on her news and adventures and learn more about the town from her. Check out Meghan's magazine at: http://highlineonline.ca/ and Paul's photography at: http://zizka.ca/

It looks like we'll be hanging out in Banff for the afternoon as well, since the heavy rainfall continues.  Apparently the rain and thunderstorms are quite rare at this time of year! The plan is to cycle to Canmore along the Legacy trail later today if the weather clears, and then head to Calgary tomorrow.  We'll park near town for the weekend and cycle in to do errands and visiting.

Update: We prepared to depart Banff during a lull in the rain about mid-afternoon, but by the time I was ready at 4:00 p.m., it had started raining again.  I left despite the downpour and got pretty soaked on the way to Canmore, mostly because I didn't wear what Wayne suggested.  It was still a pleasant ride, though, along a wide paved bike trail which was fenced for wildlife (meaning bears).  I was the only one on the trail and it ended abruptly at the Banff National Park boundary, spilling out directly onto the shoulder of the TCH.  I arrived at the Canmore Visitor's Centre to a round of applause from the two ladies working there, which was much appreciated although not really warranted for a mere hour on the bike.  Wayne had had lots of time to chat and explain what we were doing. 

Stocked up on beer and wine and groceries this afternoon and heading off to bed for a good rest without rain pattering on the roof.  Tomorrow's route to Calgary is over 100 km.  Reports are that the best cycling route, highway 1A, is flooded and closed in parts.  Our fingers are crossed that it has receded a bit.  We'll check with the Alberta highway folks first thing in the morning.  The good news is a forecast of sun with a high of 19 degrees :).

June 5^th – Day 10

Distance and Time:  81.1 km at 4:05

Routes:  Kicking Horse pass to Lake Louise via part of the Great Divide Rd (until closed due to a bear), then to Lake Louise from the other end of the closure; and onto Banff via the Bow River Parkway and Vermillion trail.

It poured all night and well into the morning.  Off to a late start at noon at the top of Kicking Horse Pass, I started on the Great Divide old highway which is closed to traffic.  I was a bit nervous by the isolation, and a roadside porcupine with his hind end raised.  Then I got spooked about 9 km into the wilderness by a flashy red tape blocking the road with a bear warning sign (again too nervous to take a picture).  Didn't I say earlier that it was wise to err on the side of caution?  I took this advice and turned around, despite being close to the end of the road.  Luckily I didn't come across the porcupine again, although I worried about him incessantly. I called Wayne and he hauled the RV back up to the pass and we drove down into Lake Louise (again).  I've just consulted the fellow in the visitor's centre and I think I did the right thing.  The mother bear and two cubs were only spotted yesterday and the road is closed at the town end as well.

At Lake Louise end of closed off section

 

The rain has subsided but it is still misty and wet.  I had great visions of canoeing on Lake Louise and doing some hiking around the area, but those may have to wait for another time. We are about to launch off to Banff, but I might just head up to the town end of the Great Divide Rd to say I did as much as I could.  At least I've put more than enough mileage in with the backtracking! 

 

One province down and only eight to go.  Good-bye BC.  You've provided a beautiful start to the trip, lots of adventure, and some absolutely wonderful people welcoming and helping us along.

The rain held off until late this evening and it is now pouring again, along with some thunder and lightning.  I wonder if this is normal in the mountains.  Yet the weather was dry for the remainder of the cycle today, and the Bow River Valley Parkway was perfect although there are times when it would be better to have more traffic. I was still spooked from this morning so felt kind of vulnerable on this empty road with a car passing only every ten minutes or so.  My odometer seemed to crawl between numbers. About 20 km into a 55 km stretch I came across a very large black bear in the middle of the road ahead.  Luckily it was near the only junction on the stretch so there were a couple of cars, and when I backtracked (quickly) down the junction I came across a store and a couple of cyclists stopped for a snack.  My fortune was even better because they were going my way and didn’t mind if I tagged along.  We saw moose, elk and deer but no more bears, and the miles flew by. 

Cody and Dan are from Nebraska and are totally self-sufficient cyclists, cycling the continental Great Divide Trail from Banff to New Mexico, a total of 2800 miles.

Cody and Dan

Wayne had driven into Banff and cycled back to meet me. We didn’t count on there being a divided part of the highway, however, so he ended up past us and had to turn around to catch up.  From the Bow River Parkway we hooked onto the Vermillion trail directly into Banff.  Our new cycling buddies joined us for a beer and munchies and then carried on to the Y in downtown Banff.  Even though it was almost 9:00 I convinced Wayne we needed to go to the hot springs before supper. It was a bit of heaven for sore aching muscles!

Observations:  rain falling on the RV all night is REALLY loud.

June 4^th – Day 9 
Route: West of Golden to top of Kicking Horse Pass (just west of Lake Louise) 
Distance and time: 107 km at 5:40

We parked the RV just off the highway last night, tucked nicely into the side of the woods, instead of at the Rest Area down the road with all the trucks.  Morning dawned and look what Wayne saw! We have since discussed under what circumstances he is supposed to wake me up.

What’s this guy doing in our exclusive off-road site?

 Launching

I had a clear sail into Golden first thing in the morning, mostly downhill with good shoulders and lighter traffic. A few km from the town my Blackberry started making noises in my back pocket so I knew we had coverage again for a few km at least.  I wish the rest of the day had been the same as the leg to Golden.  There was one dooz-er of a hill coming up out of town, then pretty steady but easy ups and downs to Field.  I saw a small herd of young big-horned sheep but was going too fast downhill to stop and take a photo. We stopped at the visitor centre in Field and got some excellent local route advice all the way to Calgary.  We will be on bike trails and quiet secondary highways after today.  Good-bye TCH….I don’t think I will miss you. 

 The RV at Field

I braced myself for another killer hill coming out of Field (sometimes it is best not to know these things ahead of time) and my tank was pretty well empty at the top.  Wayne graciously cycled halfway down the hill and joined me to go back up…what a trooper. We then drove the RV across the border and into Lake Louise and are now parked at an RV site (without internet but with a train close by).  I will start from the top of the hill tomorrow on the old great divide highway (now a cycle path and closed to traffic), cross the border and high tail it back to Lake Louise and the internet café to post this latest.

Observations: great roads and nice clean, wide shoulders for the most part today. The mountain scenery has been awesome, but I won’t be sorry to head down to the prairies in a couple of days.  Unfortunately, our only sunshine since Revelstoke occurred for a few minutes at the end of today.  I am gradually getting the art of dressing for cycling in varying conditions in the mountains down-pat, just as we are leaving them.

June 3^rd – Day 8 
Route: Revelstoke to 40 km west of Golden, on the Trans-Canada

Distance and time: 112.7km at 6:03

Tunnels, bad decisions, a banged up bike, chasing water bottles, traffic, cold, wet…..a challenging day to say the least.  I was spooked by the first avalanche tunnel on the west side of Rogers Pass with the apparent lack of wiggle room inside for a shoulder, so after consultation with Wayne, decided to walk my  bike on a narrow muddy path between the tunnel wall and the drop-off to a valley on my right. 

Alongside the first tunnel

It was a piece of cake, so I thought I would do the same with the second tunnel.  Big mistake, and also short sighted of me not to ask Wayne to wait for me on the other side.  I ended up in an avalanche area climbing over uprooted trees and boulders.  That was manageable, but then I came to the first cement culvert which was over a metre wide and channelling a fast moving mountain stream.  I tried to toss my bike over it, but it landed in the culvert and almost got swept away.  Luckily I was able to grab onto the front tire and haul it out.  Then I tossed it using a little more grunt work and when it landed safely on the other side I hopped across myself.  I didn’t notice the missing water bottles.  At the second and steeper culvert I tried to call Wayne to come back and give me a hand, but there was no cell phone coverage in the area.  I had a little “I can do this” talk with myself and managed to toss the bike over and get across again.  I didn’t notice that the bike had landed on a rock and ended up a little dented.  Unfortunately I was too nervous during the whole escapade and forgot to take any pictures! Then when I got around to the end of the tunnel, what did I see, but three elite cyclists entering the tunnel without hesitation, followed by their SUV support vehicle.  We waved but I’m glad they didn’t stop to ask me about the tunnel.  Having seen them, I braved the third tunnel and timed it well without any traffic converging while I was inside (I had visions of me on an 18 inch shoulder with two tractor trailers passing at the same time). At the end of the tunnel I ran into Wayne parked by the side and we noticed my missing bottles.  He offered to go back and have a look for them, which I unwisely agreed to.

Since the third tunnel was a piece of cake and I was feeling cocky, I went into the fourth tunnel…OMG!  It was pitch black, I couldn’t see any pavement in front of me, I didn’t know if I was in the middle of the lane or over on the side, and the noise of opposing traffic was deafening.  It seemed to last forever, and I was praying that any traffic coming behind me would have their headlights on and pick up the reflective stripes on my jacket.  It was a frightening experience, and luckily only one pickup truck passed me in the tunnel.  On my exit I let out an expletive yelp of gratitude.  I checked the subsequent four or five tunnels carefully for length and lighting and timed the traffic to go through all smoothly.

By this time a good hour had passed and I was starting to wonder what had become of Wayne.  As visions of him falling over the bank or twisting his knee and lying in pain raced through my head, I started to get really worried, and was seriously thinking I was a retard to agree to him going out there for the sake of two stupid water bottles.  He eventually passed me and stopped to tell of his adventure crawling down over the side of the culvert embankment and snagging the errant bottles with a long stick.  What one does for love!

I’ve learned that some days will obviously be more challenging than others, of course, and the journey will have some ups and downs.  This day has taught me that tunnels are not good on a bike, and that it is wise to err on the side of caution and carefully consider every decision, however small.

Observations:  we both noticed on many inclines today that our eyes and legs were not registering the same reality.  Looking ahead, the terrain appeared to go downhill, yet our legs were working hard and we couldn’t up the speed.  What gives?

We crossed into the Mountain time zone late today.  Only three more to go!!

June 2nd - Day 7 (cycling)
Route: Armstrong to Revelstoke, mostly on 97A and Trans-Canada
Distance and time: 127.1km at 5:33


I started the day with a mini crisis of confidence, wondering why am I doing this and thinking of all the things that could go wrong.  I think it had something to do with a fitful sleep and dreams of being stalked by a cougar on lonely stretches of highway.  And that, no doubt, was directly related to the talk at dinner last night with Mable's family of coyotes, killer racoons, and bad dogs frothing at the mouth.  Mabel also thought it had something to do with the impending full moon! Anyway, I soldiered on and am happy to report I saw nothing of that nature. We had a frustrating start, though, because I couldn't find the key to the bike lock.  Luckily Dad's neighbour had a grinder which cut through the heavy duty wire quite nicely.

launching off from Dad and Mabel's

I took a quiet little country road between Enderby and Grinrod (thanks to Mabel's brood for the local knowledge) where Wayne parked the RV and joined me.  Six km past Grindrod he ended up with a flat tire and struggled for quite awhile to fix it with a tube that was slightly too big before heading back to the rig.  It was mid-afternoon before I saw him again, this time on the Trans-Canada heading east to Revelstoke.

mountain scenes on route

interesting cloud formation

Now we are at McDonald's in Revelstoke eating sundaes and plugged into their free wifi (A&W closed at 9:00).  I just sent my Dad a message saying that I found the key to the bike lock, and requesting he send it along to us :)

May 31st and June 1st - Rest Days

We spent a relaxing couple of days with Dad and Mabel in Armstrong with lots of time to catch up on eating, sharing jokes and seeing other family member.  Wayne also managed to finish up some of his contract work so can take a breather for a couple of weeks.  Hopefully that will translate into more saddle time for him.  Thankfully my e-mail account is back up and running.

A rather tight fit

 

Hanging out with my aunts

 We'll be off tomorrow towards Sicamous and Revelstoke and more mountains!