Day 16, 17 & 18 - Landis and Saskatoon

Day 16

I decided to try camping on the side of the road again near the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. No storms were on the horizon when I found a suitable place on the other side of a hill that wasn't visible from the road. There wasn't a forest like last time so I thought animals wouldn't be an issue.

In the middle of the night the inevitable storm moved in. Four nights in a row I had thundershowers and this final night was the crown jewel of prairie storms. First the wind almost blew my tent over. I was right beside a barbwire fence so I decided to collapse the tent rather than risk it getting torn up. Being shorter is also good for avoiding lightning strikes, I thought. A collapsed tent doesn't shed much water though so I was quickly soaked.

As the heart of the storm approached I began to worry about being up on a grassy hillside. I couldn't get any wetter so I grabbed my bag of important things and rolled down the hill into the ditch beside of the road. I didn't feel much safer as the sky lit up as if under siege. It was absolutely beautiful when I briefly forgot about how terrified I was. I laid down flat and regretted leaving my shoes in the tent.

The storm passed but I had no idea how much time had gone with it. I had left my phone in a tent pocket. It was probably done for. I walked back up the hill and tried to set the tent up. There had been casualties in the night: two out of three tent poles where bent. I reassured them that the winds had mangled them but I secretly worried I had done the damage when I collapsed the tent while in it. I got into my sleeping bag and tried to fall asleep.

Day 17

My phone's alarm went off at 5 am and it took me a while to decide that I was happy that it had survived its bath. Cold and shivering I packed my newly-aquatic gear away while eating an energy bar. I got on the bike and warmed up on the first little hill down the road. It was amazing how little a mark the trials of the night before had left.

I made it over the border and all the way to Wilkie where Miles, a relative of mine on my Dad's side of the family, picked me up in his truck. It was a quick ride to his farm outside of Landis so I recounted the most exciting parts of the night before. Miles' wife Chandra greeted me with big smiles, big hugs, and homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Maybe lightning did strike me down and the afterlife is all baked goods and warm smiles. I could live with that.

I had just enough time to shower before the Sunday night CFL game started. The undefeated Saskatchewan Roughriders were playing the Hamilton Tiger Cats. I was an instant Riders fan; the enemy of my enemy is my friend and boy do I hate the Ticats. Neither could they score points nor stop the Riders. More proof of the afterlife!

Day 18
I took two days off to rest and see all of my Archdekin family in the area. And it was a great time! I haven't been out here for 15 years or so so there was lots to catch up on. The best part was a crash course in farming (thanks Miles!).

Now I've made the final leg of my cycling journey to Saskatoon. This doesn't mean my adventures are over though! Stayed tuned and I'll have more stories soon.

Day 14 & 15 - Wild Camping and Dinosaurs

Day 14
I decided to shave my mountain beard since I was in a civilized hotel. Glorious before and after pictures below!

Every night of this trip I've stayed at a campsite or at someone's house but putting the tent down in some wild place has been my goal the whole time. I almost did it in BC a couple times but I always lost my nerve. One evening outside of Cranbrook I was scoping out spots on the side of the road when a young black bear ambled across the road. I stayed in a Provincial Park with lots of people that night.

Willing falling asleep alone in the wilderness, even close to a major road way, is difficult. Almost every night of my life I've gone to sleep feeling secure. That feeling might simply come from knowing that if I'm going to be mauled by a wild animal then at least we'll be mauled with someone else. The security of having others around crops up so frequently on a trip like this. I'm not worried about huge trucks running me off the road. I know other people are in those trucks so I feel great. I am worried about things that go bump in the night. I'm way more likely to be killed by the trucker than an animal but my mind doesn't see it that way at all.

Last night I worked up the nerve to do it. Alberta feels much more tamed than BC; everywhere you look the landscape is altered and wide open. Distances between towns or parks are larger too. It was evening and I was simply too tired to make it to the next town (I had planned it this way, kind of). There was also a storm ahead of me and after Wednesday I thought it would be good to bunker down early. I found a sheltered area by the road and set up shop. I read until the sun set, then went to bed. It was just like being at a provincial park without any neighbours.

At midnight there was a rustling on the edge of my tent. This was it. Sabertooth tigers have come back from extinction and they're hungry. Maybe my tire pump could be a weapon?

I tensed up as the noises circled around my tent. To the north the storm was still rumbling and occasionally lightning cast shadows on the walls of the tent. Predator shadows? Tree shadows? The noise happened again, right on top of me this time. It was a slick kind of sound. Fur on man-made fabrics.

Lightning struck and a small shadow was displayed on the top of the tent. The slick sound happened again as the rodent slid all the way down the side of the tent to the ground.

Day 15
Drumheller, home of the Royal Tyrell Museum. I'm stoked to see some fossils!

Day 13 - Storm!

Conditions today were gorgeous. I left Lundbreck Falls early and went straight north through the foothills of the Rockies. It was a bit sunny, some clouds, a nice breeze from the southeast.

In the afternoon I made it to a town called Black Diamond where I turned east towards Okotoks. That's when I noticed the gigantic storm behind me. Lightning shot down from black masses as funnel clouds slowly swirled in between. It didn't look good.

I wasn't too worried though; Okotoks was only 21 km away. I could outrun a storm, I thought. They don't move as fast as my well-trained legs can move my bike. And I tried my hardest. It was definitely the fastest bit of cycling I've done yet. I was 4 km short of the turn-off when the rain started flying horizontally. A van pulled over and offered me shelter.

It only lasted 5 minutes. 10 minutes, tops. The lady with the van was nice enough to drive me into town and I grabbed a hotel room. The weather cleared up nicely so the hotel was probably overkill. There's a John Hughes marathon on AMC though so everything turned out swell.

Day 10, 11 & 12

Getting through the rest of the Kootenays was the best cycling I've done so far. The weather was beautiful, the roads were mostly well-paved, and the scenery shifted frequently from semi-arid plains to temperate forest. I managed to make it from Nelson to Fernie over days 10 and 11 which is the best I've done for distance so far-315 km or so. I definitely felt every climb and bump this morning though. The 50 km up the Crowsnest pass to the Alberta border was a tough slog, especially with a headwind. After crossing the border the winds just got worse too. According to the info booth worker this isn't even that bad. Once a week they get winds up to 100 km/h apparently. Hopefully the wind turns and pushes me all the way to Calgary.

Day 8 & 9 - The Kootenays

Day 8
I set off early from Grand Forks to get through Christina Lake and over Mt. Paulson before the day got too hot. Part way up the mountain the beer I had the night before with my campsite neighbours seemed like a pretty bad idea. My legs were fine but my head didn't want to have anything to do with cycling. Even without a hangover this is becoming the theme of my days though. Now that I've been cycling for a couple weeks (including the warmup on Vancouver Island) physically I could go all day but mentally I totally get bored. I start dreaming about sitting around the house and relaxing or something else similar. So I focus on the clouds, or the trees, or my front wheel until my thoughts quiet down.

I ended up getting to Nelson though, where I'm staying at my friend Mike's place. I took today off to see the town and rest up before the big push to Calgary. I can see why everyone I've met said to stop here. The beaches are great, the town is picturesque, and the Saturday market is tons of fun.

Next stop: Creston.

Day 6 & 7 - Over more mountains through Osoyoos and Midway

Day 6
As I've moved southeast from Merritt the land scape has gotten progressively more arid. Dusty scrub brush pops where tall trees used to be, shade disappears, and the breeze dries your throat. To get to Osoyoos you hit the real extreme of British Columbia desert. There's a huge climb to conquer before you ride down into the valley where the town cradles a narrow lake.

I left early though and the ground was just heating up as I rolled in. After resting at the beach I decided I should do another stretch of cycling to camp at a provincial park near Rock Creek. I had been warned twice that there was a big climb going east on highway 3 but I thought it wouldn't be too bad. Big mistake. It turns out "big" can also mean endless. I kept going up and up but at least some clouds obscured the sun. Switchback after switchback passed behind me; I started taking more and more breaks as the ride went on. Finally I made it over the summit but the sun was setting and I was 15 km away from the site, feeling miserable.

I would have been sitting in a hotel bed, eating local fruit, if I was a smarter person. I finally made it to Johnstone Creek at 10-something exhausted and with little water. A family also staying the night informed me the pump was broken. Awesome.

Day 7
The big ride up the night before meant a big ride down in the morning. I filled up on water and Okanagan cherries and it felt like last night was just a bad dream. After a stop lunch in Midway, which is adorable, I'm off to Grand Forks. I'm pretty sure there isn't a mountain in the way.

Day 3,4 & 5- The Coquihalla, Merritt, and Princeton

Day 3 - Up the Coquihalla

The first stretch of the Yellowhead highway leaving Hope goes up the side of Coquihalla mountain and I was bit nervous for my first mountain pass. I also needed to make it to the meditation centre by 5 pm at the latest. My plan was to stuff myself at dinner so I'd have lots of energy for the ride. Cycling is great for gluttons.

I set off at 5:30 am and the climb started immediately. Only a slight grade but enough to notice it's not flat. 50 km on the real mountain pass starts and the grade keeps increasing up 8.5% for the final 5 km section. I went up and up, waiting for the horrendous part to start. I imagined  my leg muscles screaming, my knees being ripped to shreds. Instead I came around a bend and the road leveled out. There was a big sign beside the highway: "Coquihalla Summit - 1244 m". My first climb was no problem at all. The last 30 km I serenely coasted down.

I heard later that the long, gradual climb was designed for transport trucks and that some other mountain passes will be more of a challenge.

Day 4 - Merritt

Continuing up the Yellowhead highway to Merritt was an easy ride. Perfect for a Sunday morning.

After Merritt I got my first flat when a piece of metal wire found its way into my front tube. The sunny day didn't seem quite so nice while I was changing  the tube with trucks cruising by. At this point I was on the 97c going to Kelowna. But as the road started going up into the next set of mountains there was a sign prohibiting any vehicles that couldn't go at least 60 km/h from continuing. I thought long and hard about how I would convince a cop I had missed a sign posted at eye level 2 ft from the road if one happen to stop me. I decided I couldn't pull it off and headed off to Princeton down the 5a.

Kelowna probably sucks anyway.

Day 5 - Princeton

Heading towards Princeton turned out to be a great idea. The ride was mostly downhill, including a 3 km stretch of 7% grade that made my eyes water it was so exhilarating, and the weather got sunnier the further south I went. The guy at the cafe said that they didn't even get the storm that drenched me last night (Silver lining: the bike is clean again). The ranchlands and rivers made it the prettiest part of the interior I've seen so far.

Princeton is a nice, little town. The highlight was definitely meeting a couple of fellow cyclists doing the exact route I am but the other way. Apparently the whole ride on highway 3 into Alberta is just grand.

Next stop: the desert.