We are resting here today and will cycle through Kicking Horse pass and into Alberta tomorrow. The weather reports indicated snow flurries and minus temperatures for today in the high ground - it is cold in Fernie - with clearing skies tonight, so after near record heat and sun for our first 1,000 km, some 'shoulder season' reality is upon us.(Our second and third motel nights are the result.) But not to worry, we are both healthy, in excellent spirits, and continue to marvel at the friendliness and hospitality of those we meet.
An example was yesterday. A slow leak in my back tire (remedied by a pump up the previous two mornings), combined with a particularly rough stretch of 'pavement' in the Fernie approach produced a flat just outside the town limits. We carry extra tubes and tires, but such work on the side of a busy road is not ideal, so Gary rode on ahead to find a bike shop, and I walked along the road side. A young couple shopping at the first bike store (there are three in Fernie we come to find) Gary came upon suggested a rescue of me with the aid of their truck. Meanwhile I had been 'rescued' by another guy and his half-ton and was taken to the same store! So by the time Gary + 2 found that I had disappeared from the road into town, and returned to the shop, I had had my tire and tube replaced and gears adjusted.
Some point form observations:
The routine: Camping mostly, early up, warm clothes, stop for a full breakfast, switch to shorts and apply sun block (no bugs yet).
The roads: Well marked, cycle friendly, usually with a rumble strip dividing the car lane from the biking lane, sometimes gravel strune, good over all. The most challenging circumstances have arisen on steep down hills (and steep up hills into the wind) where our brake assisted decents still result in 45-60 km speeds, rumble strip on our left, a cement barrier or open drops of several hundred feet on our right, trucks on our further left, and loose gravel on 'our' lane. I wondered why my arms and shoulders were aching a bit - one tends to grip the handle bars with authority!
The traffic: Quiet by times (we look for secondary road alternatives where available), unavoidably busy at other times. Truckers are supportive (usually pulling away from 'our' side into the middle of the road to reduce 'wind wash').We have had NO traffic incidents to date.
The birds and animals: Black bears (2), mule and white-tailed deer, small animals, even a turtle; lots of birds, some new to me, and bird song begins at about 4:00 AM! (One notices this when camping.)
The people: Friendly, dozens of conversations, usually initiated by the sight of heavily loaded bicycles, in camp grounds, coffee shops, information centers, just anywhere really.We have NS and Acadia flags flying as pennants from our rear panniers and a number of times cars (or, out here, trucks) have honked and sometimes reversed direction on the highway then pulled over to chat. Usually they are transplanted Maritimers. And other neat things keep happening - in Grand Forks at a banking machine I fell into conversation with a Mary Lou King, Paula Cook MacKinnon's aunt; Sandy Carmichel's niece was our server at the restaurant last evening; Mike Kelly, a '00 Acadia grad in Recreation was in the coffee shop with us this morning, and so it goes.
Maurice/Tug/Papa
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