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Monday August 5         Cycling Day 27

  Swan Lake (Alb) to south of Grande Prairie (Alb)

Distance:  (Km) 124

Time: 5:03

Average Speed: (Km/ hr). 24.5

Ascent:  (m). 618

Heart Rate: (beats / min). 110

Cumulative Distance:   (km). 3060

Cumulative Ascent :  (m). 25,060

Punctures so far : 0

Not a great night’s sleep last night despite the lovely location, all surroundings quiet and a book to read. Just one of those things! But felt rested and refreshed by rising time at 6:30.

First item this morning was to retrace the 10 km, partly on gravel, back to Highway 43. Not too busy on this BC holiday but still cycling on a very narrow shoulder.After 17 km I came to the border proper with Alberta, Wild Rose Country. But to me it’s the home province of Mike Hennessy, my deceased cycling buddy on Silk Route 2016. Although many times bigger than Ireland, it has roughly the same population. We’ll be cycling down the western edge of the province, not coming near Edmonton (the capital) or Calgary.

Immediately inside Alberta, it was so noticeable that the cycling shoulder now was almost the width of a traffic lane. Felt much safer. And it remained like that for the rest of the day.

Came across the Alberta version of Road 101 but no sign that imagination was being applied to the situation.

We are still in agricultural country and will remain so for a few more days this week. Again plenty of meadows, many cut and baled but bales left in the fields with the fresh grass beginning to enclose them. Again plenty of grain and the yellow fields of granola providing a contrast to the darkening sky. 

I dropped down to a field of peas. Very strong stalks and all the plants enmeshed. I shook one of them and a whole 3 metre X1 metre  area shook also. And healthy looking pods coming on.

Lunch today was at a barn on the far side of Beaverlodge. While I was there, Nicole, a reporter with the Town and Country News, a newspaper in Beaverlodge dropped in, met a few cyclists and interviewed me for an article. Among other things she asked me where I was from and when I told her ‘From a place in Ireland called Tipperary’ she commented ‘Oh, that’s famous’. Spent about 10 minutes with her as she jotted furiously in her note pad.

After lunch dark clouds moved in and it started to rain. A chance to test the jacket — I was so pleased to see raindrops running about on the surface of the fabric. The rain wasn’t too heavy but it made the stretch of construction on that part of the highway very messy. My white socks looked a sorry state and the bike picked up its fair share of grime and grit. Both have been rectified this evening.

As the rain stopped, a nice strong tailwind followed. When I stopped to remove the jacket I couldn’t but notice the grass being blown flat down on the direction I was going in. Lovely.

That tailwind and a flat road (now a 4 lane highway) resulted in me flying along into Grand Prairie tipping 30 km/hr most of the time.

Grand Prairie, pop 68,000, is by far the largest city we have encountered so far. It is a young vibrant city with all the expected outlets along 100th Street. So many new businesses in various stages of development on the way in and on the way out.

Dean caught up to me as I was checking the map and we resorted to McDonalds for a coffee and to use their wi-fi to upload yesterday’s post to the blog. We continued right into the centre and then swung right onto Highway 40, whereas TDA  skipped around the centre.

Only another 20 km to go but it contained the bulk of today’s ascent. Generally it was a flat day with only half of the usual 1000+ metres. There was a steep drop down to the bridge over the Wapiti River and then a 150 metre lift over 2.5 km at the end of the day. We have met worse.

Our campsite tonight is in Nitehawks Adventure Park in the group camping area. We have the section to ourselves and I’ve set up tent on the nice grassy patch by the kids playground. In at 2pm as some raindrops began to fall but by 3 it was brilliant sunshine and the solar panels are out topping up the Garmin and the IPad. And plenty of time to do it as dinner isn’t till 7pm.

Immediately after the rains.

New position.

But at 6pm, black stormy clouds put an end to sunshine. Thunder rumbled in the distance. Heavy drops began to fall and I scrambled to get the drying in, and the solar panel etc. No sooner was all safely in the tent than the lightning and thunder started. Everyone huddled in their tent. The ripping thunder sounded as if it was just feet from the tent. It went on and on. Torrential rain poured down and started to flood those hollow spots. It all lasted for 30 mins. Then there was a necessary movement of those tents in water. Mine wasn’t in water but so close that another shower and I’d float away. I upped the pegs and moved all further back into the grassy area and here’s hoping for a rain-free night.

So today I passed the 3000 km mark, halfway through the expedition distance.

Thank God for the health and thank God for the energy.