Drumheller

Drumheller, Alberta

After spending a week enjoying the most gracious hospitality at my sister Holly and her husband Jim’s place in Calgary I felt I had recovered enough to get back on the bike and head off into uncharted territory.   Up to now all the area was known to us and it was really a matter of remembering rather than discovering.  Now I was going to ride in an area of Canada I did not know.   To discover strange new worlds and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before!  

How geeky is that!

I started off in mild drizzle and cool temperatures dressed in all my winter riding gear.   I thought this was July!  However, since this was the prairies I could see clear skies coming.  That is the nice thing about prairies – you don’t need weather forecasts- you can see the whole next week’s worth of weather as it approaches.  

After about 50k or so I started riding eastward and the sky cleared and the wind turned up and started blowing from the southeast.   This is the prairies and you can expect wind.  Not like this you can’t!  It kept increasing exponentially until I was down to 18 kph and struggling to keep it there.  Being as the wind was coming from the southeast it also wanted me to turn into the traffic.  Wobble, wobble, curse, curse.  Then to make matters worse as I was coming down the long winding road into Drumheller the wind got funneled by the hills into a furious crosswind that nearly dumped me.   So I got off the bike and walked until I was out of the wind tunnel.  Now that was embarrassing!   Now, I apologized to Mother Nature many times for my earlier slights and, if necessary, I will apologize further.   But really, enough is enough! 

Up until now the worst pests have been a few mosquitoes, a bear or two and possibly some Albertans with their hats on backwards.  In Drumheller they have dinosaurs.   And they don’t look well fed, either.  I expect to leave here tomorrow with an Albertasaurus or some other large carnivore doing the Jurassic Park thingy behind me.   I keep a glass of water on the table at all times and watch it regularly for unexplained ripples.

Telen has been trying to fill me up with all kinds of great meals.   I am hoping that I will not gain weight rather than losing it on this trip.   Nothing like finishing a grueling day of riding to a wonderfully prepared meal.   I feel like a professional cyclist!   Except for the 18 kph ride, of course.

Telen writes:

The prairies certainly have a beauty of its own.  The mornings tend to be calm, the wind then picks up by noon.  We had a 1 hour tour on the Seven Wonders of the Badlands today at the Royal Tyrell Museum.  The wind was really gusty.  Sand kept being blown into my eyes.  I then appreciated the struggle that Rand had with the wind yesterday riding the last 40 km into Drumheller.  The sunny weather now means pleasant camping and lots of great outdoors cooking.  Rand is still not 100% and I have been putting on the team doctor’s hat to ensure that he does not over doing things.  The Royal Tyrell museum certainly is worth the trip though.  Highly recommended!