Day 49: Glimpse of the Rockies

Last night I met Dave in a pub and ended up being offered a free tent pitch in his garden. I stayed up chatting with him and his wife until it got dark, then I went to bed and skyped my Dave as a thunder storm rolled over town. This morning I got a shower, laundry, delicious breakfast of steak and eggs and a nice cup of tea!

On my way out of town, I took a cycle path through a beautiful river valley full of prairie grass and trees. I soared down into the valley, remembering the trails in Quebec and Ontario with fondness. Then I got into the bottom by the river and the lovely paved trail had been flooded with silty mud that had started to dry out. The crust gave way easily under the weight of my bike and by the time I'd pushed my way through and got back to the road, I had clogged cleats, a lot of new mosquito bites and mud guards filled with silty clay scraping against the tyres. I remember that the highway has its benefits too.

After de-mudding my bike I finally managed to get myself up the steep hill out the other side of the valley. By the time I got to the highway, I'd done 10km, it was midday and I was already sweaty and bug bitten. Only 95km to go...

Then I saw them - the Rocky Mountains. Huge blue peaks on the horizon! It looked like I might reach them today, but I knew that was an illusion. Ahead, a pickup with camper in tow was pulled over, the driver checking something on the vehicle. "Are you alright?" Jody didn't need a hand but we did stop for a chat. He's had an interesting career, having been in a few b-movie horrors, worked a job refuelling planes and now runs his own auto parts business. He's on his way to BC to meet some siblings he never knew he had!

I made it to my half way stop in Fort Macleod and pulled over for wifi at a Tim Hortons. Three girls were there on racing bikes riding from Austin Texas to Alaska! It sounded like a cool trip so we had a bit of chat. I tried to like them, I really did - they were riding for a cancer charity and everything. But they seemed so fake nice and self absorbed and I can't say we hit it off. I wished them luck and they gave me courteous waves as I rode off.

After a late lunch I hauled myself back on the bike, ready for another 50km in the intense afternoon heat. It was stupidly hot, even at 7pm when I finally got to the end of the ride. And the mosquitos were ridiculous. All day I was slapping myself to try and squash the little shits. How are they keeping up with me?! I got distracted a few times and found myself on the rumble strip on in the grass.

The views of the mountains in the distance dominated the landscape all day, calling me to them. I rode up and down the rolling prairies to around 1,100m elevation - and I'm not even in the mountains yet! There were wind turbines everywhere but thankfully all still today.

When I got into Pincher Creek, my legs were exhausted, I was hot and burned and itchy and tired. I almost got myself run over crossing the road without looking properly because in my tiredness I forgot that I've been driving on the right for three months. My back, thighs, arms and arse are totally covered in bites everywhere they could get me. I look diseased! And my right knee is starting to complain.

Still, it's a lovely evening, the waxing moon pale against the pink blue sky, the dark blue mountains looming even from so far away. I can't wait to get up close and personal with the mountains! I should try to get an early night and an early start tomorrow.