Time: 7 hours, 45 minutes (including numerous stops)
Kilometres: 459.9
Weather:
Swift Current: Overcast and foggy, 12 C at 10 AM
Fort MacLeod: Overcast, periods of rain, 11 C at 5:30 PM
Last night was a Hotel California night. You know, “You can check out any time but you can never leave.” It was a bit creepy. I check in just after 5 PM and I was the only guest. The pool was closed, the restaurant was closed and the place looked like it was ready for a wrecking ball. Someone should put this Howard Johnsons hotel out of its misery. It was the second worst hotel I’ve ever stayed in. The only reason I didn’t get on my bike and go to anther hotel is because I was too tired, too wet, and too fed up with being on the bike. Enough was enough and I needed to relax.
The place wound up having about a dozen guests … many of them watching the Saskatchewan Roughrider take on some other team. These people are really into their football. They are probably as fanatic as Canadiens fans.
Anyway, I got up the morning and just wanted to hit the road and get the hell out of Dodge. I packed everything up and was ready to throw my bags on the bike. But then I looked outside and knew that today’s weather was going to scrap more of my tourist plans. It was rainy and foggy and I couldn’t see more than 5 kilometres in front of me.
At my first gas stop, I met the German guy from yesterday’s storm. He’d also stopped in Swift Current. He gave me his pen (most people have business cards) and invited me for a coffee when I go through Lilloot. He says he has the only radiator repair shop in town.
The fog didn’t lift. In fact, it sunk even closer to the ground as I rode westward. The plan was to loop south and ride through the Cypress Hills and then meet up with T’Can near the Alberta border. When I got to the turn off, visibility was only about 3 kilometres. There wasn’t any point in going south if I couldn’t see anything, so I continued westward. (On the following map, my route would have been to head south on hwy 37 then west on 13 (not on the map) and then north on hwy 21.)
By the time I hit the Alberta border the fog was lifting, but it was raining and the wind was picking up. I didn’t even stop at the “Welcome to Alberta” sign because I was in no mood to prolong the ride.
The further west I went, the worse the weather. Just before Medicine Hat, the sky opened up with a good soaking. I kept riding as I could see the road. It was a heavy concentration day, but even so, my mind wandered. I just haven’t been eating properly since I started the trip. It seems that everywhere I go the most convenient places to eat are Subway and Tim Hortons. I began to crave real food. Fruit, vegetables, good protein that isn’t stuffed between two pieces of bread. My list grew to salmon on a plank with a salad, cheese quiche with broccoli and corn on the side. I hadn’t had a banana or grapes in over a week. I pulled into Medicine Hat for lunch, found a Kelsey’s and they coincidentally have salmon served with a salad for lunch.
Some of the smaller storms, I contended with, but when I saw a big one, I knew to pull on the throttle and get into the next town. The next pull over was in Tabar. I pulled into a Tim Hortons, ordered a coffee and a muffin and watched while two storms flew over me.I quickly got back on the road, but as my hands were cold, I wore both my insulated waterproof gloves and the rain-off gloves. That helped a bit. I didn’t get very far before the skies started to look menacing again. At least it didn’t look as bad as what I’d gone through yesterday, but the wind was wicked. I was fighting with the bike all the time. At one point I thought I should pull over, but the next town was only a kilometre away and I could still see.
I pulled into Bow Spring, got gas and waited for another storm to pass. They were sweeping down from the north. I could see them coming and it was a bit of a game to judge whether I could make it to the next town before the next storm hit.
While in Taber, I saw what I fist thought was a family of Mennonites, simply because the way they were dressed. They were clearly farmers, but I didn’t think Mennonites were in Alberta and I know they don’t frequent Tim Hortons. When the family talk amongst themselves, I didn’t recognize the language. Perhaps they are Dukeabours (sp?)
The ride from Taber to Lethbridge wa pretty much the same: strong wind and quick, messy storms rolling through. I kept my eye open for downbursts, but thankfully, didn’t see any.
To give you an idea of how strong the wind was, I had to constantly lean the bike to the right to keep it upright. When I passed a stand of trees (not that often) or a train on the tracks that run parallel to the highway (more often than trees) or grain elevator ( every few kilometres) the wind would cease for a second, and then whip around and blow from my left., or sometimes, I’d just be sheltered and it was like normal riding. It was one of the best upper body workouts I’ve had in a long time.
Just outside of Lethbridge, I rode over a butte and saw the foothills of the Rockies. At first I wasn’t sure if I was looking at the foothills or storm clouds, but the closer I got, the clearer the outline became. I was almost at the end of my prairie journey.
I pulled into Fort MacLeod, check into the motel, unpacked my bags and had a quick shower. I needed to warm up (what else is new?) and feel clean after such a rotten day on the road.
The weather started to clear up a bit. It was still cold and windy, but at least it wasn’t raining. I walked down main street and found that one the street behind me is the actual fort. I hope to have time in the morning to quickly visit it.
I am so looking forward to tomorrow’s planned activities. The four things I’ve planned have been on my “to do” list for several years. See the Hillcrest mine site, go down the Bellevue coal mine, see the town (or what’s left of the town) of Frank, and then ride through the Crow's Nest Pass.
