6/15/09: Bottom of segment 19/top of segment 20; Hinton, Alberta, to Niton Junction, Alberta; 85 miles
We celebrated Ryan’s Lakers win last eve with a nice chocolate cake and a dozen chocolate chip cookies……..and a few beers……for me. Yum.
Today started out ominous with the weather as the western horizon was nearly black, out across the area we had just ridden from yesterday. I guess we got out of the mountains just in time because they were really socked in this morn. So we get on the bikes and continue east on Rt 16, another of the Trans Can highways. The berm is a lane wide and awesome to ride on. Even with the semis, it’s great, and just to tell you a little secret…..I’m getting to love those dog gone semis! THE DRAFT. I mean when they fly by, and you’re over about 5-6 feet on the berm, whooooooosh, and you get this monster pull, taking you about 1-2 mph faster than you were going. So we have this going for us. And then there’s the west to east tailwind that everybody talks about – well, we got that baby to.
And now I’m looking down at my cyclocomputer and it’s reading like 17-27 mph. No bloody kidding……at times 27 mph! It was a thing of beauty for sure. The roads were flat to undulating, but we still had that last pass we were told about back in Jasper. So we just kept it plugging away, breezing down the road like a couple of Harley Hogs. It was pure heaven compared to the laborious ride we had pretty much gotten used to in the three weeks of mountain riding.
The weather to the east with clearing very nicely as we finally got to the point in the ride where if we looked behind us to the west, the mountains were completely gone, disappeared, vanished, completely and utterly behind us. Now there was nothing but evergreens and stands of softwood forest blanketing the horizon. It was a bittersweet feeling. In three weeks I’d grown to love those challenging, demanding mountain climbs, almost relishing the challenge in a sick sort of way. And it had become our lives for those three short weeks to wake up, get on the bikes, and know that we had long climbs to do for the day’s ride. There were beautiful vistas, intimidating peaks, snow, mad, rushing rivers, and the sound of your own deep breathing as you inched your way up each and every pass, with nothing but the rush of wind whistling across your face. GONE.
Now we were flatlanders, and I suppose it will take a little getting used to, just as we had acclimated to the mountains, so must we acclimate to the flats. So we’re clipping along and in the distance the road starts to spiral up into the foothills, and we know that this is the pass for the day, and probably the largest climb we’ll do for a week. So we hit it in the middle ring, stair step up the first tier, the second tier, and then the third tier, and it probably took soom 30 min to surmount. But it was a breeze for sure. No bending over the bars, out of the saddle, cranking so hard you’re worried about snapping a chain. Not here. This was comparable to the first few climbs we encountered on Vancouver Island, just long and gentle.
We were both pretty stoked about how mellow that pass was, and then it was really just a good, steady bit of riding with a great tailwind, and very minor ups, and a whole lot of straights. And that’s one of the things we must get used to is the long, never-ending straights, where you can look down the road at the next half hour’s worth of riding. Couple that with the fact that now we’re using our sit bones differently, in an almost continuously seated position, down on the bars, and just putting the meat to the pedals in the big ring. I mean even the bike handles a bit different with this type of riding.
So we end up getting out of the saddle every once in a while, clicking down a gear, and just firing up the pace to stretch the legs out and to give the old butt a break. Again, got to get used to this type of riding now, just when I though my butt was pretty broken in. Well, we do 55 miles in about 3:30 hours, and end up in the city of Edson. To me this was a break point. To Ryan, this was an end point. So once Ryan caught up to me as I waited for him inside of the city, I was shocked to find that he was cashed. He told me he was gassed. So I suggested that we get some food, and then make a decision after getting some nutrition. He just looked like he had bonked. Funny, because he was riding super strong for the whole time I was with him. It’s only when he took a bathroom break, and I road ahead, that he must have hit a wall.
So I exchange some currency in Edson first, and then Ryan is like nearly asleep, leaning up against a trash bin by the bank. Dude needs food fast, and just around the corner from the bank is a Chinese place with a lunch buffet. WE’RE THERE! Heck, for 9 bucks, all you can eat. We normally spend two thirds that much on just a coke and a few candy bars. We each do about 2 giant plates apiece, and he’s feeling much better, and willing to keep it going so we get back on schedule. So we exit, jump on bikes and all of a sudden notice that our wonderful tailwind is now a maligning headwind. A 180-degree switch in direction as we were feeding our faces full of noodles and rice.
Gotta love it. So we just plug away, looking to put on another 30 miles for the day so we can make up 20 or so on the schedule. At this point we just have to do 80-100/day to get back on track for the smaller days we did in the mts, and the off days we had to take when Ryan had his bike issues. Now I really wanted to go 100+ today, but I’d totally settle for 85. So we’re both on the same page, and we just try to work the pace into the headwind, and keep it steady. But something else had changed – we were not on a long, continuous false flat, that just went and went and went. Ok, let’s make it work.
So we’d hammer, go out of the saddle to keep the speed up, rest our sore butts, and then go seated and hammer for another 10 min. Like clockwork, we just kept at it into the headwind and up the false flat. K after K this way, with me occasionally trying to catch the draft of a big double semi trailer to relieve the doldrums of our pace. And we were doing ok, still in the big ring, with just a very rare bit of time in the middle ring on a steeper little pitch, but mostly big ring. And we really only lost 1 mph over those 30 miles with respect to our average, so we were actually doing pretty good.
We get into Niton Junction at about 3:30 pm. Pull into the gas station and slam two cokes. Another day at the office. We talk with a fellow filling his truck with gas, and ask about camping. He motions to us that there’s a rest area behind the other gas station, just 100 yrds to the east. So we go there looking for a place to set up camp. I mean there’s really not a lot here, and map quest told us this morning that this town had a population of 190 people. So there you are – two gas stations, both of which are also restaurants. A sign at the RV area/rest area said to check in the saloon next door. So Ryan goes in and talks to a lady inside. Then they come out and go into the Shell station, and Ryan comes back saying we can camp under a tree in the rest area. The owner was good with that as long as we understood he was not responsible for our gear. DONE.
So we have a nice little spot in back of the saloon and Shell station, a flat, grassy area, with several picnic tables to boot. I buy two pints of Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge icecream and we’re in heaven. And then I get my computer out and here is even a wifi signal for gosh sakes! So I do my work on client’s workouts, answer emails, and do some skyping at a little pavilion at the rest area.
We talked about the gameplan for the next several days. We’re likely going to deviate off of the planned course, and stay on Rt. 16 through Edmonton, this because we have that amazingly wide and safe berm to ride all the way through Alberta. So instead of taking the smaller, bermless provincial roads around Edmonton, we’ll hang with 16 and make up some more time. If 16 is the same in Saskatchewan, then we’ll do the same there. We should be able to gain back some time with this strategy.
Well, I’m in my tent right now, it’s drizzling out, and Ryan and I both have bikes, yaks, gear and all in our tents. Nothing is outside in the weather. These Hilleburgs are crazy. I’ll upload this blog right now, then mozzy into the Shell restaurant for a burger or something for din din. Still feeling pretty satiated from the buffet. Isn’t that amazing?
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