Day9 - holding on...

Today I was back to riding solo.  Joe, Lu and Linda took off for Vancouver at around 08:30 and my plan was to give my phone a quick charge while I packed up.  Instead I discovered internet access and got distracted, not leaving until after 11.  By the time I rolled into Sparwood proper, had breakfast and hit the road it was nearly noon.  Oh well. 

The last push to get out of BC was BRUTAL.  Nasty headwinds, no legs, no energy, and low motivation.  Funny how quickly I got used to riding with company.  I was a little worried about the last pass as my maps didn't show an actual pass, but there is a marking called "Crowsnest Pass".  Was it one of those "unofficial" passes that all the locals know about but cartographers refuse to acknowlege?  How bad was it?  Apparently there's a municipality called "Crowsnest Pass" that encompasses several small towns - the actual road does rise a few times, but there wasn't any sort of a "pass" per se.  I fought the road, the wind, my bike, the heat, my body and my demons pretty much from the get-go right to the Alberta border.  I swore I was going to text everyone as soon as I crossed: "I made it to AB - can I come home now?".

The change in scenery when you cross over is remarkable.  It's as marked as the boundary between the different regions in BC, which makes me wonder if this is how they decided where to draw the lines on the map.  The pictures below do NOT do justice to the amazing colour of Crowsnest Lake.  It has an amazing azure quality to it and it just glows.  The winds were strong but the way the road winds it's never constantly in one direction.  The road snakes along following the river, which changes the wind direction (relative to you) from headwind to side to tail.  AB is also a lot "rollier" than I had anticipated.  I knew it wasn't going to be pancake flat, but barring one descent before Elko, it was hillier than the route from Creston to Sparwood. 

I took advantage of the strong tailwind in sections, pushing the pace as much as possible.  This may have proven to be a tactical mistake as my ankle had been bothering me initially during the day but somewhere before Pincher Creek my right knee started to hurt.  A lot.  I wondered if I was compensating for my ankle in some manner that made my knee hurt?  I limped into Pincher Creek and stopped for lunch and ibuprofen.  Normally I don't like to medicate during a ride as if something doesn't feel right, I want to know - but I did know, and knew that I wasn't going to be able to continue riding on one leg.  Not without screwing up my body. 

My knee felt a little better after lunch, and I made the decision to spin more and "crush" less.  Normally I like to mix it up a bit - spinning at times and pushing a bigger gear seated at others, standing often and at different cadences.  After lunch it was all about being light on the pedals.  Of course, this means heavier on my butt.  Well, you can't have it all.  :p 

I pushed on into Fort McLeod, with my knee starting to bother me again about 15k out.  I'd have liked to keep rolling, but I needed to get some ice on it.  Both of them, actually.  And my ankle.  And some other maintenance.  There weren't any decent camping options nearby so I settled for another night in a motel.  Not what I wanted, but it's what I've got.  :p

Hoping for an early-ish start tomorrow, decent joints, and good winds.  The good news is that I've heard that Hwy1 is open now - at least one lane.  I probably won't quite make Medicine Hat tomorrow unless something special happens for my physically, which gives them another day to work on the washed out road. 



Stats:

Total Ride Time: 6:30
Actual Ride Time: 5:44
Total Distance: 140.55km
Avg Speed: 24.5kph
Max Speed: 63.3kph


Breakfast

The main attraction in Sparwood - mine tours

Finally made the border...

Crowsnest Lake

Amazing views in Western AB...

Albertans know how to make a road friendly to cyclists... (that shoulder is almost a full lane wide and perfectly maintained - and the drivers STILL move over as they pass - AWESOME!!!)

Want to talk about WIND?

Wind farms, wind farms, wind farms...

I remember learning about this place in grade school...