Day 27

6/18/09: Off segment/Off day; Stayed in Vegreville, Alberta today.

         When I signed off last night, a storm was very slowly moving in from the west. And it finally hit us around 3 in the morning. That pitter patter of rain was more of a comfort than a hindrance, and I pretty much welcomed it as a nice little lullaby to the on and off sleep pattern I’ve developed during this trip. But once 5am, 6am, and then 7am, a nice, steady rain. And according the those who live here in Central Alberta, it’s a much needed rain, almost a “too late” kind of rain, a “where has it been for the last month” kind of rain.

         So at 7am a shout out from my hotel Hilly to Ryan’s hotel Hilly, “what do you think?” “Not into it dude, how about you?” Yup, we were on the same page for sure. For those of you not accustomed to riding a bike in the rain, there’s two different ways to do it, one, which I’m ok with, is to get caught in the rain and then to continue to finish the ride in the rain. The other, the worst choice for me, is to start in the rain. Starting in the rain for us means packing tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, everything – in the rain. And for us, with all our gear that we pack each day, breaking down the tent city in the back of the church here will take about 1.5-2 hrs – in the rain. Then you have this sloppy dry bag filled with wet camping equipment. The wet tent and semi-wet sleeping bag is the worst though.

         So I shout out, “let’s wait until 9 or so, and we can still get a good day in.” And Ryan’s good with that. So I fire up the computer, and begin working on client workouts, for an hour, two hours, three hours, and still it’s a steady rain. Now I get a lot done here so I turn on CBC radio, shut down the computer and take a nap for an hour. Ryan wakes me at 11am and it’s still raining. He says that the people in the church have invited us in for some lunch. They just happen to be having a Suicide Prevention Conference going on for the past several days, and have all sorts of extra home-made goodies for their lunch break.

         We go in and meet round about 8-10 very nice people (I do apologize to most of you whose names I’ve already forgotten, but whose kindness I will not). Pastor Dallas makes us feel very welcome. And the food – beyond description, we had a yellow curry soup that was amazing. You know me, with my appetite I could have had the whole darned bowl. It was fabulous. And then there were the sandwiches, the home-made desserts  - Wow! What a great surprise and wonderful lunch.

         We talked about our trip for a bit, and talked a bit about our lives, our professions etc. Then the group had to get back to work so we were invited to stay in the foyer area instead of hanging in the tents during the rain. So I brought my computer in to charge, and to continue to do my training work. Dallas was kind enough to figure out their wifi code so that we could do our internet work also. Took him a couple tries, but he cracked it and we were on. So I work for a while as Ryan falls asleep on the couch and saws some logs of about an hour. Then, looking outside Dallas and I notice that the blue sky and cotton ball clouds are very slowly beginning to appear in the western horizon. By 2pm the rain had stopped, and we were left with the decision: do we pack gear and ride for a couple of hrs, or sit tight, relax and shoot for an early rise tomorrow and a 150K day to the Alberta border.

         We’ll take the second door please! So here we are, in our wonderful church campground in the back, enjoying a very nice late afternoon of blue sky and cotton ball clouds. Everyone has gone home from the conference, and the church is closed for the remainder of the day. The temps have cooled down considerably, and it’s a very enjoyable late afternoon. We really want to thank those of you from the Vegreville Pentecostal Church for making our extended stay here so enjoyable, and your hospitality has been incredible.

         Ryan went off to Mickey D’s for din din, and to read the paper for an hour or two while I hold down the fort and do some blogging. My big dilemma is whether to go to get some good old fashioned grease in my diet with Mickey’s, or do our standby – Subway. Now that’s a tough choice for a garbage gut like me……….three quarter pounders with cheese, fries, and a shake, or 24 inches of sub? Well, we’ll keep you posted as the night is young.

         Hope to be riding again tomorrow for sure, with a long ride to the border, and then we have 200K to Saskatoon. Then comes a decision, go back on course once we figure where we should be at that time, or continue on Rt 16. I know once thing, I’d really like to get off 16 in Manitoba for sure and experience some of the lake district the Pastor Dallas was telling me about. Sounds very unique and beautiful. We’ll get some more feedback on the roads out there as we get closer and talk to people familiar them. Adios………..Pete        PS – we’ll get the week’s blog shots up over the weekend.