Day 51: Cyclist party

The sky was a cloudless star-filled expanse last night, the moon shining bright and the peaks silhouetted against the bright sky. The morning was delightfully chilly as it took the sun longer than usual to rise from behind the mountains. I skyped Mum and Faye and set off to the next town for highly recommended pancakes before starting the ride proper in a cheery mood.

After a few ups and downs and seriously beautiful scenery, I crossed the watershed, the highest point of the road on the crowsnest pass at 1400m, and entered British Columbia! From there it was downhill all the way to Sparwood, 16km with almost no effort. I did notice all the trees growing at an angle and thanked my lucky stars it wasn't windy.

In Sparwood I was at the visitor centre when I spotted two touring bikes. John and John were doing a two week trip together on mountain bikes. We were all heading to Fernie so we set off together, into a crazy headwind! It was still downhill all the way but the wind was strong and now had us struggling to stay above 20kmh.

On the outskirts of Fernie we spotted a brewery! Two delicious beers and a few hours later we were on the road into town and to the hostel, where I planned to meet Bettina. After I parted ways with Simon and Bettina just before Winnipeg, we stayed in touch and now I was going to meet Bettina again but we're going in opposite directions! She has been in the northern rockies and is now heading east then south to the US and Mexico. 

It was great to see a familiar face on this trip of one-time friendships! We discussed our journeys since we parted and our plans for what's next. Then two cyclists that the Johns had met before turned up and all six of us went for a delicious Thai dinner then into town to a little live music event. What a brilliant evening! I'm exhausted now and not looking forward to another late night / early start combo, but happy with my experiences the last few days. And the hostel has inclusive pancake breakfast, woohoo!