Day 18 – Regina

Day 18 – Regina, SK (May 19, 2015)

This morning I was slow to get going. Some of the food that I had eaten yesterday wasn’t sitting so well. I forced myself to eat two slices of pizza from last night’s dinner. If didn’t I’d be hungry at 10am.

Not much happened today. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the was only a mild head wind.

I made Moose Jaw at little after noon. Had a long easy break. Started out again before 2pm and arrived in Regina a bit before 5pm for the daily distance of 155km.

Tomorrow I will change course. Rather than heading north of Winnepeg I have decided to take “BigCalves” advise and travel south of Superior. Planning this route will be a bit of a challenge since I can’t download to my GPS without my computer. I heard that they have paper maps somewhere. Pretty novel, eh?

A beautiful house in Parkbeg, SK. 9:05 am 2015/05/19

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Day 16 – Gull Lake

Day 16 – Gull Lake, SK (May 17, 2015)

I got up and cleaned up camp while it was snowing lightly. Nature couldn’t really decide whether to rain or snow so I ended up with a bit of both. It was miserable!

I was on my bike by about 6:20am and worked my way through the drizzle to the restaurant and the gas station on the Transcanada. I was disappointed to discover that it didn’t open until 7am so I found refuge in the lobby of an old run down motel.

When the restaurant eventually opened I struck up a conversation with a talkative Korean waiter. He was an electrical engineer who quit his job to work in a restaurant in the middle of nowhere. He explained but I couldn’t quite figure it out! He mentioned that he had traveled across Korea and back on his bicycle and complained about chaffing. (luckily I’m probably too skinny to have his problems)

It was a miserable day; cold, windy and wet. The forecast called for a low of -3 which would put my sleeping bag to the test. I decided, given the wind it would too risky to count on making my destination at Swift Current. Instead I initially decided to stop a Tompkins. Tompkins resembles a town out of a western movie. I had lunch at a diner that appeared to be the “respectable” town hangout. Then at 3pm made my way down to the hotel. The hotel had better days. In any respectable city it would have been torn down. There was an old pub down stairs and a sorry looking bar maid that also looked after the hotel. Her kids apparently had been sleeping in rooms 1, 2 and 3 so she was forced to give me the suite.

I settled in, took a shower, and was taking precautions from bed bugs when the electricity went out and I decided that the next town may be a better bet.

So I thanked the lady, packed up my things and took off for Gull Lake 24km East. As it turned out the electricity had gone out in a large area of Saskatchewan and Gull Lake didn’t have power either. The town was only marginally better but I was happier in a small motel room. Because there was no electricity the restaurants were closed and I had mixed nuts and beef jerky in my cold room before hitting the hay.

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Day 14 – Medicine Hat

Day 14 – Medicine Hat, AB (May 16, 2015)

I left Brooks with almost no wind and for the first hour or so made relatively good time. After that the wind picked up but I managed to make the most of it with a good rhythm that kept me from getting too frustrated with the lack of speed; stand-up, sit down with my hand on the bars, sit down upright with the hands on the risers, and repeat every 15 minutes or so.

I decided I’d stop at Suffield. I think it was the only stop between Brooks and Medicine Hat so it was a no-brainer. I almost missed it. I have to remember that if there is a clump of trees with a number of buildings that’s likely the town.

I had the worst burger for years in Suffield. As I was leaving the cook who was taking a smoke break asked me how the burger was. I lied and he smirked. I can say with some surprise that it didn’t make me sick.

The wind abated as I approached Medicine Hat. I think it may have reversed. It was as if Medicine Hat sucked me in to a vortex. In the last hour I made very good time.

I stayed at Best Western in Medicine Hat. It was more than I wanted to pay but the campground looked a bit sketchy. The receptionists were nice. Not knowing whether the bike would fit in a normal room they gave me a suite for the same price. I don’t fully appreciate a suite but I appreciated the place to shower and sleep. I would be happy with a place to

Ralph the bike ready for a bath in the suite. 4:04 pm 2015/05/15

Some Pronghorn. They were much closer to the road when I first saw them but something spooked them. Perhaps I looked like a hunter in my orange raid coat. 11:07 am 2015/05/15

Prairies and the bike. 12:01 pm 2015/05/15

Prairies and the bike. 12:05 pm 2015/05/15

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Day 11 – Calgary

Day 11 – Calgary, AB (May 12, 2015)

It’s 105km from Canmore to Calgary. Because the forecasted wind direction was from the NE I new it was going to be harder than I had planned. I was up at 6:15am. Later than I had wanted.

I had decided to have breakfast 14km down the road in Eshaw. The morning was about the coldest yet. My thin gloves were insufficient. As it turns out it appears all that exists in Eshaw were a number of Lafarge Cement Plants and, praise the Lord, one truck stop that served breakfast! The place was run by a couple of tough looking Filipino guys who didn’t say much but served a good breakfast.

After breakfast it was earlier enough that the SE wind hadn’t yet picked up and I made good time. I noticed that the roads away from the TransCanada were more protected from the wind. At about 10am when I merged onto the Transcanada the wind had picked up and it was hard slugging.

I arrived in Calgary about 2:30pm. It was pleasant to see that Calgary had excellent bicycle trails and bike lanes. Perhaps the best bicycle aware city yet.

On the way I passed by BowCycles which is the biggest bicycle shop that I have seen. I thought I would stop and take the opportunity to have my front derailer fixed. They immediately took me in and bumped me to the front of the repair line. They switched the front and rear brake, switcher combinations and all the cabling.

While I was waiting I had a long conversation with an employee (who could have been the owner). He did all the talking. I guess he was in his 50s who was a former engineer, a graduate of Carlton, who had worked in the oil business. He told me a bit about his time in Saudi Arabia and how his wife wanted to come back to Canada. It was mixed in his comment about the “no alcohol” policy. Then he smiled and said everyone made their own anyway “the grapes were there right beside the sugar. All you needed is some yeast which somehow almost everyone had.”. He has since retired to work in a bicycle shop. Hmmmm – interesting thought. He had done bicycle touring in Europe including the eastern block before it was opened and kicked himself for not paying more attention. “East and west was like night and day back then. Now you hardly tell the difference.”

It was 6pm before the bike was ready. The fellow who did the work treated it with a lot of respect and care. All the cables had been carefully rerouted around my lamp. Everything worked now just like it was new.

The bike trails in Calgary are just about the best I have seen anywhere so far in Canada. Generally they are all paved, well marked, have center dividing lines and even have speed limited. As I was riding I was overtaken by another man on his road bike. He was a big man in his 50s with calves at least the size of my thighs. He rode with ease on his light bike as I laboured. I will call him “BigCalves”; I may refer to him later. He talked to me about his trips across Canada. (By the look of him it would be like a short Sunday ride.) He confirmed for me that biking in Ontario and specifically north of Lake Superior are the worst in Canada. He recommend a route south of Superior through the states. “Better roads and more towns”.

It took me to 7:30pm to find the HI Calgary. By that time it was too late to meet up with the Hunkas as I had planned. Apparently the USB adapter that Ann had sent had not yet arrived.

When I arrived at the Hostel there were only two beds left. The HI Calgary was just as well maintained as HI Canmore but much busier full of interesting people either transient or serious travelers. The girl ahead of at the reception counter was a smart, German girl, with a pack that looked as big as my four panniers together. I gather she was doing some sort of traveling article or something. There were others too. Mostly young people still in their twenties; an Australian, someone who was caring for their sick friend and older man who seemed in another world.

Tomorrow is another long day. Because of the wind I am thinking of breaking it up. We’ll see tomorrow.

Bike heaven! BowCycles in Calgary. (I believe the “Bow” is the name of the river and large valley running from Canmore to Calgary.) 4:37 pm 2015/05/12

A panorama of picture scanning the mountains in the west to the prairies in the east.

The last picture of my bike with the last view of the Rockies in the distant background. 10:27 am 2015/05/12

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Day 10 – Canmore

Day 10 – Canmore, AB (May 11, 2015)

From Lake Louise to Canmore is only 88km. I thought this trip would be easy; the distance is shorter and there is a considerable descent. But nothing is ever easy. There was a considerable 20km headwind, stronger gusts, and it was too cold for shorts. The wind made what should have been an easy day much tougher. I hate wind! Panniers catch the wind like a sail.

On the positive side; it was sunny and not hot.

I had my lunch and Banff at about 12:30pm with only 25km remaining to Canmore. Banff was filled with tourists from all over the world.

Downtown Banff has tasteful architecture that fits the surrounding mountains. I still didn’t like the town. It was full of people visiting from somewhere with nowhere to go.

I had so many choices for lunch I ended up going somewhere really boring – Subway. It was the only place I could keep my eye on my bike.

I arrived at the Hostel International in Canmore at 3pm. Early enough to relax, enjoy the view and a cider. I’ve never stayed at a HI before. Hey – for $25/night you can’t go wrong. It appears that tonight at least I will have a room to myself. What a beautiful, well maintained place.

A plaque commemorating the interment camp of non combatants at Mount Castle during the first world war. 9:31 am 2015/05/11

An elk thinking he is king. He eventually walked slowly across the road without a care in the world unafraid of any cars that may pass. 11:39 am 2015/05/11

Rocky Mountains 11:50 am 2015/05/11

My feet up with cider on the table, taken from the Hostel International in Canmore. 4:12 pm 2015/05/11

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