Like I said, in the morning we were treated to a young adult grizzly chomping on berries at our campsite. He didn’t seem intimidated by our presence but we took a lot of photos from a respectable distance. On the prior evening, we saw a coyote who didn’t seem to pay us much heed either as he trotted by a group of 5 cyclists and a pedestrian trying to help with directions. She spoke both Italian and English which was good because two the riders were Italian.

This day started the same as the prior day with yours truly not being ready to ride when everyone else one. I also have Garmin issues and I have trouble seeing the route and the unit keeps acting up so I try to ride with other riders. Also I am an unusually fast sprinter  and the bear will most likely get one of them before me.

We had some REALLY hard climbs to start the day I many of us walked our bikes. They were not only steep by rutted with rocks. Then we were on some difficult (for me trails). I had to take the downhills slow and the uphills were slow as well. This turned into a route that followed the access road for some power lines that was basically two ruts. Many were filled with water from the rains and I had my second crash (the first was on a training ride) in a mud puddle. Nothing major but my wrist started to bother me later in the day.

We actually crossed from Alberta to British Columbia so a mile stone of sorts and well as crossing the Continental Divide (which I missed). I rode with Brad from Edmonton most of the day and we stopped often for refreshments and to take photos. I will probably di a photo only blog covering the first couple of days and think there might be a few dandies.

After the first hard p[art of the ride, the road changed to rolling  and had a much smoother surface, We  were able to increase our speed substantially. It was still bumpy but I think I hit 25 mph a few times. It was nice ti ride with Brad and get to know him better. I did some riding the day before with Luca (Italy), Patric (Switzerland) David (USA – Steamboat) and Bill (New Zealand). They are all better riders than I am, but I can still hammer when the terrain is easy.

After we got into camp, my wrist really started to bother me. Rob suggested that I ride n easier route tomorrow and I may do that. I was feeling some what low before dinner but one of the English guys gave me some ointment for my wrist and it seems a lot better.

I want to say a lot more about the riders and crew and camp procedures but time is limited and I will post these when I have better internet access. There was some up by the showers (yeah) but it is now dark and I don’t do well typing in the dark. I make enough mistakes when I can see.

Tomorrow is only 30 something miles but the day after is 85. This is like cycling in paradise but it is exceptionally hard. Taking it one day at a time. I should note that Ray from Australia is 68 and is a sponsored off-road racer. He has been really sick and couldn’t ride the first few days. I had a nice chat with him after dinner. Turns out he was a Financial Advisor in Australia. He was dealing with some of ther same issues there that our advisors deal with here- small world.

Tailwinds

Chuck