Two More Border Crossings - Regina, SK to Kenora, ON

Today was another amazing rest day - this time in Kenora - and I would say that it was very well deserved after the past 6 days.  We left Regina to finish crossing Saskatchewan, rode across Manitoba, and just started into the Canadian Shield, all the while battling sweltering heat, some headwinds, dodgy roads, and a few less-than-friendly drivers across Manitoba.  It feels incredibly satisfying to look at a map and see how far we've come, and it's also amazing to see some trees, hills, and water in Northern Ontario.  After a couple weeks in the Prairies - as nice as they are - all of the fields start to blend together a bit!

Look guys, more canola!!

Our first day of the six was my first real century ride (100 miles), and I was looking forward to successfully completing this after my last and only century ride attempt ended in despair.  Last year, I went to do the "One Helluva Ride" in Michigan, and while the first 150 km went swimmingly, I ended up learning my tire was worn out and getting three consecutive flats by 154 km, sadly necessitating a ride in the Sag wagon a mere 8 km from the finish (Alex and Bryon, this may sound familiar to you guys!).  Anyway, this year had a much happier finish!  It was actually a fairly easy day; rode quickly in the morning with a bit of a tailwind on a not-so-nice road with not-so-nice drivers.  Oh well... the terrain was mostly flat and fieldy, but we did go through the Fort Qu'Appelle Valley briefly, which was gorgeous, and the afternoon was lovely with a much less busy road and sunshine.  Rode in at a very leisurely pace, took a stop in the tiny village of Neudorf (where we were asked to sign the guestbook at the local grocery store) and easily reached Grayson to make the century.  Had an awesome dinner of local sausages and apple pie, and went to watch one of the famous Saskatchewan sunsets (apparently Saskatchewan is the "Land of the Living Skies").  It was alright, though some more clouds would have made it even more impressive!  The full moon at night was pretty sweet, though.

Fort Qu'Appelle Valley

Sunset outside of Grayson

Next day was scorching hot but fortunately we were scheduled for a much shorter ride this time - only 109 km (I still can't believe that I'm saying only 109 km!).  More of the same terrain to finish Saskatchewan and we crossed into Manitoba which, coincidentally, has much the same terrain as Saskatchewan at the start.  Not a super-exciting day, but we did stop at a local BBQ in the town of Esterhazy for lunch.  The road in the afternoon was in pretty poor condition with lots of loose gravel, so not-so-good for my bike, although on the upside, one of the construction workers was an incredibly good-looking girl.  After crossing Manitoba, traveled briefly into and back out of a valley and then onward to Binscarth to camp.  Cooked in the evening and then continued my ridiculously long winning streak in Hearts.

We're in Manitoba!!

Valley near the end of the day

Next day was more of the same - fields, flat.  Manitoba became increasingly flatter but also greener than Manitoba.  Rode really lazily in the morning and really quickly in the afternoon (35-37 km/h for most of the ride).  Met a couple of Albertan girls who are also biking across Canada, and then we stayed in a wicked campsite on a lake at night.  The swimming was definitely a treat after yet another scorching day!

More canola!! More flooded fields!!

Awesome waterfront campsite in Minnedosa.

Next day I rode really easily with the sweep crew (meaning we stayed at the back of the pack), another 140 km day in boiling heat.  We rode through the hometown of Margaret Lawrence in the morning, then continued along to Portage la Prairie (which none of the locals pronounce in a French fashion, as the name suggests).  Again, we rode over flat land, seeing lots of fields, more green, and battling a bit of a wind.  Had a bit of riding on the TransCanada Highway at the end which unfortunately had to be on an unpaved shoulder, since the road was quite busy.

More flatness, but awesome clouds on the day! (click for larger panorama)

Unfortunately with the wear and tear with all of the gravel of the past few days, my rear tire was toast after this day of riding.  I replaced it with the spare I packed, but while doing so, I noticed that my rear wheel-frame was pretty much done as well.  It had a ton of cracks and holes, but I was lucky enough to make it to Winnipeg the next day without it breaking down.

One of many cuts in my tire.

At night in Portage, me and another rider continued our search for an old Risk board.  We've been looking for a board to play on rest days, although unfortunately the new boards are totally updated and not the same as the Risk I grew up with.  Our search has included thrift stores, and since they were all closed in Portage on this Sunday, we inquired at a video store where we may look.  The owner was very helpful and called home to see if he could give us his personal copy of the game... sadly, it was missing pieces and the search continues... Instead, we spent the evening playing "Bohnanza" - a ridiculous yet fun German game about planting and harvesting beans. 

BOHNANZA!!!

Day 5 of 6, rode to Beausejour, Manitoba via Winnipeg.  Again, it was blazing hot and the heat was even more pronounced going through the big city... the traffic and frequent stops/starts definitely did nothing to help keep me cool!  After riding quickly to Winnipeg (the TransCanada had a beautifully paved, wide shoulder all the way), spent a couple hours in the bike shop getting a new wheel (phew!), drank a ton of Gatorade, then continued to our destination.  Unfortunately in Winnipeg, I lost the other seven riders I had come with, due to a combination of getting stopped at stop lights and poor direction-taking on my part.  Of course we all met up again at camp, so no biggie.  Fortunately, I ran into another rider who was riding in an even more wrong direction than I was, and just as we were about to take off in a different wrong direction, a third rider rolled by and pointed us the right way.  It was very lucky to have a big city nearby to get my repairs, but I do much prefer the days of riding long country roads with only 2-3 turns total!!  Anyway, had a good afternoon, and the camp was on an amazing river for swimming.  Finished the night with a great spaghetti dinner and yet another loss at chess.

Finally, the sixth day of the series was the longest of the trip so far (and the second longest of the trip overall) - 177 km and mid-thirties at least temperature-wise.  To add to that, we battled a pretty wicked head/cross-wind for a good part of the day, and had an interesting run-in with an a-hole driver.  Anyway, despite this, I still really enjoyed the day!  We rode hard for a lot of the morning until we made a stop at a wonderful small bakery.  After gorging on cinnamon buns and monster cookies, our group decided to ride at a slightly easier pace to prevent burning out as the day went on.  We got almost halfway by lunchtime, when we stopped in the town of Rennie (with yet another sweet claim to fame -- see photo below) for a bit of respite from the heat in an air-conditioned diner.

Bakery in Whitemouth

Best claim to fame yet.

As we got closer to Ontario, we saw the terrain changing from the flat, green Prairie fields to becoming more hilly, rocky, treed terrain with more and more lakes along the way.  We continued for about 45 km after lunch before stopping to fill our water bottles and realizing that, where we decided to stop, there was an amazing lake for swimming!

Reaching the end of Manitoba...

Caddy Lake - best rest stop yet!

Much refreshed by the swim-break, we continued on until the end.  The heat was unrelenting, and at times the blacktop-road was literally melting underneath us.  While pedaling, one of my fellow riders nearly fell when his tire started sinking into freshly-paved road.  We persevered, though, and finally made it to the Ontario border!!

The road that melts...

Finding some respite from the sun

 

 

 

Ontario!!

Welcome to Ontario, pt 2

The rest of the ride was rolling hills, trees, and more beautiful lakes until we reached Kenora.  Kenora is located along Lake of the Woods and it seems like we turned one final corner along the TransCanada Highway and - BOOM - massive lake.  Probably the most beautiful sight that I've seen throughout this trip (although it might just be because I'm comparing mostly to the couple weeks in the Prairies...). 

Lake of the Woods

Kenora

Instead of going to camp for dinner, a number of us stopped at a pub and I feel I fully earned that milkshake, poutine, and burger! (and of course, a couple more liters of water!).  From our campsite, we have quick access to the lake, so we swam after getting back.  I re-discovered that I could back dive, which I hadn't actually done since I was maybe 9 or 10 years old... Early to bed in the evening, and then spent the rest day doing the usual routine... internet, food, laundry.  We FINALLY found a Risk board!!  And in the evening, went to see Harry Potter in town and wrapped up the evening with more ice cream and more swimming.

Over the next four days, we're heading to Thunder Bay, and I'm pretty pumped for a) the slightly-shorter days that we're riding, and b) more of the awesome Northern Ontario scenery.

Take care!

Regina, SK to Kenora, ON Riding Stats
6 Riding Days
879 km

Overall Riding Stats
24 Riding Days
2988 km

Peanut Butter Sandwiches consumed, to date: 47

Into the Prairies - Drumheller, AB to Regina, SK

Today, I'm enjoying a rest day in Regina after a long five days of riding across the Prairies.  I'm still feeling a bit of withdrawal after leaving the mountains, although the Prairies - and the winds that come with it - feel quite like home.  To be honest, though, Chatham-Kent is flatter than what I've seen in the Prairies so far!

Of the last five days of riding, we've had three good days and two fairly arduous days, all owing to the wind we've had on those days.  Since leaving Drumheller, the first three days we were lucky enough to have the wind at our back, which made for some pretty easy riding.  In the last couple days, we've fought very strong headwinds and have led me (very quickly) to the conclusion that climbing mountains is way more fun - and scenic - than fighting the winds!

As for the days with wind at our back -- AMAZING!  In those three days, we rode from Drumheller, Alberta to Outlook, Saskatchewan.  Each day was 130-160 km long and I was able to cruise through them with incredibly little effort.  During the ride from Youngstown to Kindersley, me and a friend started the day crusing at about 40 km/h, then realized we could actually travel at over 20 km/h without even pedaling.  We ended up riding about 7 km without pedaling, a clip of which can be seen in this video:

Despite the lack of mountains, the Prairies are actually quite beautiful and we had a number of highlights from Drumheller through to Outlook.  Leaving Drumheller, we enjoyed the amazing rock formations, then through the Prairies, we had beautiful weather (just a bit of rain) and saw endless fields of canola and other crops.  We even passed through and ate lunch in Hanna, the home of Nickelback!!!

Just outside Drumheller

More Drumheller

Pretty fields once the prairies begin

Home of Nickelback, eh??

We spent a night in Youngstown, a town of 170 people (as of 2006...).  Tiny, but the people living there are phenomenal!  For over 20 years, the Tour du Canada has been traveling through this town and joining the members of the community for a massive potluck dinner.  The meal was incredible - TONS of food - and as a double benefit, it was my galley team's turn to cook so, aside from making a massive pasta salad, we had the night off of cooking for the team (though we did help clean up the meal and still did breakfast the next morning).  It was also nice to have indoor facilities available to play cards, chill out and escape the mosquitoes for one evening!

Youngstown

FOOD!!

During the next two days, with the glorious tailwinds, we cruised across the Alberta-Saskatchewan border, saw a lot of fields (pretty, but the scenery gets to be quite the same as you go along!) and of course puttered along with lots of stops along the way.  Stopped for lunch in tiny Rosetown one day, and while chatting with the locals, I gathered that they're not too used to seeing cyclists on the road when one kind old lady told me, "When I see a bunch of of bikers on the road, I don't know whether to hit them or go by them!"  Luckily, the drivers have been much more respectful than that!

We're in Saskatchewan!

Bought the friendship of this little guy with some bread pieces

Rest stop!!

More pictures from the days of beautiful tailwinds:

The road ahead...

More fields.

Panorama as rain loomed above (click for bigger version)

The last two days of this little stretch were pretty tough, cycling-wise.  We were pummeled by headwinds, with the exception of about a one-hour stretch before the town of Craik.  With much of the scenery looking the same, these were days that I really just kept my head down, tried to make myself aerodynamic (ha!), and just kept on pedaling through the wind.  Yesterday, it took 7 hours of riding time to travel the 130 km from Craik to Regina... with no winds, I could make that ride in just over 4 hours!  Oh well... the winds gave us the incentive to make plenty of stops along the way, and I've been finding that people in Saskatchewan are incredibly friendly and welcoming.  Outside of a small, rural restaurant yesterday, I chatted with a local farmer for a while about our trip.  I was wearing my sleeveless UWO Triathlon jersey and, as the conversation died down, the gentleman asked me, "So, are you an Olympic athlete as well?  You have the build for it!"  Well - that's the first and, I'm sure, the last time that I'll ever be mistaken for an Olympic athlete, but it was very nice of him anyway!

One thing I've found along the way is that many of these small towns have some sort of "claim to fame."  In just the last five days, we have stayed in the site of the longest pedestrian bridge in the world (Outlook), the "friendliest place near a dam site" (Craik), and we rode through the blizzard capital of Saskatchewan (Kenaston).  The bridge was actually really nice, and Kenaston had a cheesy giant-snowman statue, though I didn't meet any locals in Craik to hold up their claim.  I guess you have to believe the sign, no matter how ridiculous the statement is!

SkyTrail in Outlook

Atop the bridge in Outlook

(Underwhelming) giant snowman!!

Dam straight!

Also, here are a couple pictures from the Royal Tyrrell Dinosaur Museum in Drumheller.  The place was as cool as I remember it being when I was 9!

After our rest day today, our next stretch will take us across Manitoba and into Ontario.  This will be our longest stretch yet - 6 days and almost 1000 km - but with all of the riding so far, my muscles, butt, and mind are ready for it.

Hope you're all enjoying the summer! Take care!

Drumheller, AB to Regina, SK Riding Stats
5 Riding Days
717 km

Overall Riding Stats
18 Riding Days
2109 km

Peanut Butter Sandwiches consumed, to date: 36

Third Leg - Golden, BC to Drumheller, AB

Just finished another four-day stretch of riding with the most beautiful scenery, to date, and a drastic change in landscape from mountains to prairies.  We rode through the Rockies for the first couple days, going through Lake Louise and Banff, and sadly watched the mountains fade away behind us as we descended into Calgary-area and now Drumheller.  It'll be tough to match the beauty of the mountains, but I am sure Canada will have lots more to impress me! 

This leg started with some crappy weather, with rain and cold as we left Golden, as well as a long climb over the Kicking Horse Pass (1627 m elevation).  Rain for most of the morning and we stopped for a coffee/dessert break in beautiful Field, BC, before climbing to the summit and as we got close to the top, the rain stopped and the sun came out.  There were some amazing views of the mountains along the way, and the afternoon has been the highlight of my trip so far.  We rode on the TransCanada for most of the day, but were able to veer off onto an old abandoned highway to ride for the afternoon.  Along this route, we crossed the continental divide from BC into Alberta, and enjoyed nice, easy pedaling until we got to Lake Louise.  It was really serene, with trees lining both sides of the road, mountains to the front and behind, and absolutely no traffic rolling along.  Apparently people saw numerous bears along the way... I did see bear poop on the road, but it seems I have perma-bear repellent on me and I did not see any actual bears...

Here are a bunch of pics from the Golden to Lake Louise ride:

On our way to Field

Lovely Field, BC

Great scenery on our way to Kicking Horse summit.

Crossing from BC to Alberta.

The amazing highway 1a to Lake Louise.

Quick rest before Lake Louise.

The ride to Lake Louise ended with a beautiful 4 km downhill that I cruised at over 60 km/h!! The evening was amazing - took a trip up the hill to Lake Louise, and it was as stunning as I recalled it from when I was 9.  Had a quick drink at the swanky Fairmont (while still unshowered and dressed in my lovely sweatpants), and a freezing cold sleep overnight (I think it dropped to just around freezing). AND -- saw a family of grizzlies at camp!!  They were a mother and two cubs and located behind a large fence, which I think made the situation a bit more bearable (pun intended).  Was bear-y exciting to finally see some!! (okay, enough with the puns!).

Lake Louise

More Lake Louise

Sweet shot courtesy of Katie!

BEARS!! (click photo to see a larger version)

Next day was overall my favourite day of the trip so far.  We went from Lake Louise to Banff, and the route was only about 60 km in total.  Probably could have finished the ride in 3 hours, but with stops to see the scenery, we stretched it into about an 8 hour day!  Most of our riding was along a very quiet road, with tons of scenic stops along the way in Banff National Park.  Pictures can't do justice to what my eyes saw, so here are a few shots from the day:

Unfortunately, my camera crapped out after these pictures and I was not able to get any shots from the rest of the day or the next couple days. 

That afternoon, we stopped along the way for a quick hike in the Johnston Canyon Waterfalls, which were really cool and then we made our way to Banff.  Did a bit of shopping for a new bedroll, and after dinner, went back into town for Cow's ice cream (completing my hat trick of ice creams for that day) and a drink at a rooftop pub.  Banff was absolutely teeming with tourists but a beautiful spot.  Hard to believe we were about to leave the mountains after that!

The next day, we rode from Banff to Airdrie and the first 100 km were lovely.  We cruised for the first 50 km at between 35-40 km/h and then slowed down a bit but kept up a good pace until lunch at the 80 km mark.  We stopped at a little park at Ghost Lake Dam and chilled (well, sizzled) on the beach for an hour or so before continuing on.  Stopped in Cochrane for some of the famous Mackay's ice cream (raspberry cheesecake and blueberry flavours were incredible!) and then took off for the last 50 km to Airdrie, close to Calgary.  We were out of the mountains, which kept fading further and further behind us, but we were warned that we would be riding through the "foothills" in the afternoon.  Foothills, my ass!  We had some long climbs in the afternoon - including one that I'd say was more difficult than the last couple mountain passes - and also a headwind against us, but we pedaled away and finally got to camp.  Hard to believe the change in scenery over the course of the day, from the rugged mountains to the more "rolling" fields.

Finally, the last day of riding was from Airdrie to Drumheller, and was scheduled for another long day.  This ride felt a LOT like riding in Southwestern Ontario - fields stretching seemingly forever in all directions, fairly flat for riding though with a few more rolling hills than at home.  It was a lovely sunny day, turning pretty hot in the afternoon -- I drank about 6 liters of water and Gatorade through the course of the day without having to pee, just to give you an idea of the degree of heat and perspiration!  We stopped for lunch in the town of Acme, where we were joined by a curious 12-year-old from the town who told us that there was not much to do there.  The scenery became really neat as we got close to the "badlands" and into Drumheller -- again, sorry for the lack of pictures but now that I have a new camera, I'm hoping to get some in the near future!  Was totally exhausted by the time I got to camp but was rejuvenated by a massive dinner of fettuccine alfredo.  Had a beautiful view from camp of some of the cool rock formations, and was absolutely blown away at night with how clear the sky was.

View from my tent of rock formations in Drumheller.

Currently I'm enjoying another beautiful rest day, and as usual, doing nothing ambitious at camp.  Spending the afternoon at the Royal Tyrrell Dinosaur Museum - pictures will follow!  After the rest day, we're riding into a couple weeks of flatness and wind in the Prairies!

Hope you're all doing well!

Golden, BC to Drumheller, AB Riding Stats
4 Riding Days
443 km


Overall Riding Stats
13 Riding Days
1392 km

Peanut Butter Sandwiches consumed, to date: 27

Second Leg - Merritt to Golden, BC

Woke up this morning to beautiful weather alongside the Kicking Horse River and surrounded by the mountains in beautiful Golden, BC.  We're on our second rest day which I'd say is well-deserved, since the past 4 days of riding have been terrific but definitely tiresome.  The average distance each day has gone up, and we've done quite a bit of climbing as well.  I'm very happy with the training I've done but unfortunately the flat terrain of Southwestern Ontario did not quite prepare me for the mountains out West!  Although the hills do get easier and easier with each ride.

 

 

 

 

View from the campground in Merritt.

Following the rest day, we left Merritt to ride to Pritchard, bypassing Kamloops.  It was one of those days that felt like it could rain at any time, but never did.  First leg of the ride was amazing, possibly the riding highlight of my trip so far.  Rode with Alastair and Zach and rode along at a pretty quick pace, and the road was just fantastic.  We probably only saw 10-15 cars in the first couple hours of riding, the wind was non-existent, and the scenery was great.  Some rolling hills and a very Old-Western feel to the countryside... I kept expecting to see tumbleweed and saloons along the way, but it was not to be.  We did, however, see two bald eagles, which, to date, has been the only interesting wildlife I have seen (all I want is to see a bear - at a distance - during this trip!).

Beautiful Nicola Lake outside of Merritt.

En route to Pritchard.

Had a couple of interesting detours that afternoon taking us through about 10 km of unpaved road in farmland, then another 3 km path of loose gravel that went downhill at about a 20% grade at times.  That 3 km portion is and will be the only part of the trip I will ride my bike!  The last 20 km we rode directly into a headwind, which was brutal.  But with a couple breaks in between and a strawberry milk to fuel the last 6 km, we made it to the campground for a chill night of food, cards and relaxing.

Detour through the farmland.

The next day, we left Pritchard to ride through Salmon Arm and into Mara, BC.  Lots of rolling hills along the way and a couple decent climbs before Salmon Arm, but again the scenery was lovely as we rode along the water.  Salmon Arm is decently sized, which I was not expecting based on the name, and we stopped for a long lunch at a local cafe and a trip to the bike shop.  There was a massive, steep hill coming out of town which was do-able, but just at a bad time considering I'd just stuffed myself with baked goods.  Had some sweet downhills afterward (hitting ~60 km/h for a couple minutes -- I have this on my helmet cam and will upload sometime soon!), and pretty easy riding the rest of the way to Mara.  We were coming in quite early, so a few of us stopped in the hilariously-named Grindrod to see the famous hubcap-house (ha!) and enjoy a pint at the local bar before cruising through the last 10 km into camp.

Picturesque view on the way to Salmon Arm.

The hubcap house!!!

The next morning, woke up to rain for the first time in a few days and was very glad to have bought a half-decent tent to keep me dry!  Felt fairly tired after the last couple days, so I left camp alone and planned to have a nice day at my own pace and lots of stops along the way.  Caught up with another rider, Katie, who had the exact same mindset and we rode along together to Albert Canyon.  The first 70 km were quite flat but started to feel more alpine/mountainesque compared to the day leaving Merritt.  Stopped mid-morning for some local beer at an interesting-looking restaurant called the Burner that was absolutely beautiful inside!  Rode along to the place where the last spike was driven into the trans-continental railway, and again at a waterfall/suspension bridge.  We met another rider, Frosty, who was repairing a flat and then stopped again at Three Valley Gap, which was incredibly scenic and impressive.  Finally, we rode the last 60 km straight into camp, with a couple breaks for pictures and chatting along the way.  We passed by Revelstoke, where the scenery was very impressive, and following that, much of the last stretch was uphill until we got to camp.  It seemed like perfect terrain for bears, but yet again, was not able to see one.  Had a great night in camp -- surrounded by the mountains, it was absolutely gorgeous AND it had pools heated by hot springs, which was the perfect way to wind down the evening.

Being a total tourist at the Last Spike

Three Valley Gap

Finally, we had one last day of riding before this beautiful rest day, and this one was worrisome to many riders.  We were taking Roger's Pass over the Selkirk Mountains (elevation 1330 metres), which meant that we would be climbing for about the first 35 km of the day.  This climb was not nearly as difficult as climbing over the Coquihalla last week!  It was long, but not super-steep and just required patience and pedaling (and I guess a decent amount of energy!).  Again, no bear-sightings along the way despite warnings of grizzly bears in the area.  I was blown away by the temperature change by the time we got to the top of the mountain -- it was freezing!! I started the ride in shorts and a short sleeve shirt, and by the time I got to the top, needed gloves, a jacket, and running tights - and I still was shivering!  The view of the mountains at the top was excellent, and we stopped for a well-deserved coffee and break to warm up.

Happy riders on the way to the summit!

Made it!!

The descent was just amazing!  I barely pedaled for the next 20 minutes, yet still traveled about 15 km in that time!  I just wish the wind wasn't quite so strong -- I reached a top speed of about 65 km/h, but felt like the wind was blowing my bike around a bit, so decided to play it safe and not go quite so fast.  The rest of the day had a time zone change, a few more climbs and lots of wonderful views of the mountains (but no bears!) and I made it to camp in lots of time for dinner.

Zach taking a quick siesta after some of the post-Rogers pass climbs.

Getting into camp, it was my first night on galley duty.  The campers are responsible for doing the cooking, so we're split into six crews of 6-7 people and we take turns doing dinner one night, then breakfast the next.  So really, you only have to cook one day a week, which is pretty nice!  We made spaghetti, and I contributed by making some Jello Pudding like a pro!  The rest of the night was spent celebrating Canada Day around the fire.  I was blown away with how late it stays light here (wasn't until about 11 pm that it was dark)!  Enjoyed some fireworks along the river, and a few drinks around the fire with the other riders.  Now on my rest day, I've been doing what I typically do on rest days - eating, laundry, eating, relaxing, and eating a bit more. 

Happy Canada Day!

Massages by the fireside...

Hope everyone had a happy Canada Day!

Merritt to Golden, BC Riding Stats
4 Riding Days
478 km

Peanut Butter Sandwiches consumed, to date: 18