Late start this morning due to the time change, and it being very cool. We had our usual breakfast, supplemented by fried potatoes and coffee from the hotel lobby. Once under way we progressed very well averaging well over 25kph for the first 50km. It was pretty flat and we had a very helpful tailwind. Our only stop was when Ron had to cover his pretty little toes due them freezing off.
The road had a good shoulder but was quite busy with plenty of trucks, and these things are so aerodynamic now that there is only a little bow wave as they pass but they can add 3kph to our speed. We had this dilemma, be sucked along, or deafened.
The blahs of yesterday disappeared as the sun melted the mist and the temperature became more comfortable. we were treated to some beautiful vistas of cloud and mountain, which Marge tried valiantly to capture with the camera. We stopped at 60km and ate lunch sitting on a grassy bank listening to invisible trains squealing through switches, and waving at folks in cars as they passed.
We stopped for a coffee in Elko and met up with Gracie and Matt who are doing the Great Divide on unicycles. (20+ miles a day.) The café there has a shredded truck tire which was attacked by an upset Grizzly. Mmmm.
The vista closed in quickly as we rode slightly down hill through a gorge by the side of the railway and the Elk River, then shot through a tunnel at full power with eyes on the mirror. Once again there was no problem as the road was empty in both directions.
The legs were now starting to get a little heavy, but we were soon in Fernie’s suburbs looking for a Timmy H’s. The town has changed unbelievably since we were last here, and so we asked for help from a passing young lady with two beautiful dogs and a 8month old baby. Her name is Cat, and helped us get our bearings and did a great job of being an ambassador for the town.
Cutting things short, the RV park in town is a little ratty, the weather forecast was for unsettled, we had two days here, so booked into the Raging Elk, a HI where we got a double room with private bath for 60$/night, reserved for Andrew and John coming in from Calgary tomorrow, and had a chat with the very helpful Sadie.
Later we met up with Bron, Darren, Hannah and Gracie, a very nice family from Melbourne AU. Spent the evening yakking, and retired at about 11:00 pm. That’s all the news that’s fit to print. Nigh,night.
Greta to hear you`ve passed the 3000km mark and will be crossing the continental divide very shortly. Happy birthday Ron for the 15th. We gather it`s all downhill from now. All the best...Dave & Sandra
ReplyDeleteWow ! There were 'fried potatoes' in the hotel lobby ? Keep the pedals turnin' and the miles burnin' :)
ReplyDeleteGreat to see you guys safely in Cardston we`ve checked the photos on Picasa and await the blog update. Sad you didn`t get to spend your birthday at Waterton Lakes Ron, but solving your technical problems was a we`re sure a big boost. We`re into murky weather again and hope for the odd break tomorrow both here and in florida so we can get to see the Shuttle go up at the CSA in St Hubert. I went swimming this am only to wimp out when it started raining. I was afraid I`d get wet.
ReplyDeleteAll the best for the trip along 501 to saskatchewan.
Love from Davey, Susie and Sandra in St-Bruno