Journal - Sea to Sea
Part Two

Sally, our accommodations coordinator writes the following:

The Steps

It was supposed to be an easy day from Mosquito Creek to Banff. Marilyn and I missed the coffee truck, but dropped into Baker Lodge on the Bow River Parkway and were treated to the remains of a breakfast smorgasbord of muffins, croissants, orange juice and fruit "on the house". Lunch was pleasant sitting in the sunshine at Moose Meadows.

Then the day changed. Dark clouds followed with rain as we approached Banff. Marilyn's first experience of a "Texas Gate" was very acrobatic. We ignored the large map on the roadside and sailed into unknown waters. We were aiming for the Tunnel Mountain Youth Hostel and everyone we asked pointed another way. Finally a young man at the info centre said "twenty minutes down Banff Avenue, right on Antelope Street, up a few steps and you are there - it is a short cut!" Banff Street took five minutes. Antelope Street went straight up to the sky, followed by three sets of metal steps with landings. It took Marilyn and I both to carry each bike to each landing and run back to get the other one. I remember thinking "I don't believe I am doing this". At the top of the steps was a dirt trail also going steeply up. Around the corner there loomed another set of steps. By the time we reached Tunnel Mountain Road, it seemed almost level. We had saved 3kms, but spent twice as many calories.

We reached the Hostel like drowned rats, but had a very quick recovery as the showers beckoned - our first in three nights!

Sally.

Friday, June 9th - Banff to Calgary - 127kms

After another energy packed bowl of porridge and raisins (no constipation in our group), we packed up the truck and as always did our warm-up exercises. Noreen is our leader and we always start with neck massages, continuing on with leg ups, body twists and stretch all our muscles. Ernie, our Directions Coordinator makes sure we turn the correct way when exiting our camp. Very important job as apparently on another tour a group rode 30kms in the wrong direction before realizing their mistake. We like to call this a "Seniors Moment". He also tells us of any interesting places to see on our travels. The weather was lovely, cool but sunny and we all decided to stop at Tim Hortons in Canmore for our coffee break, 25kms from Banff. Lovely wide shoulders and mostly downhill with the wind at our backs for 75kms. This was cycling and we were feeling pretty good about ourselves as it was only 12:15. We stopped and had our lunch and layed in the sun feeling very smug about everything. Did we get a wake up call! Back on our bikes for the next 50kms we had a real strong head wind, but through determination we all made it. The CCCTS Calgary members arranged to host dinner at Josie's home for all the 30 riders. Josie, Vicky, Joan, Myrna, Shirley and husbands arranged transportation to and from our campsite to the banquet. We were spoiled with appetizers, drinks, turkey and trimmings, cabbage rolls, potatoes, cooked veggies and salad. To top it all off a big piece of pumpkin cheese cake. To all of you, THANKS FOR THE BIG CALGARY WELCOME!!

Calgary - Saturday June 10th - Rest Day

Rest day, cause we all ate too much yesterday. Time to send e-mail, laundry, bike maintenance, sight seeing, or just whatever you wanted to do. A lot of people went to MEC. Once again transportation was provided by Calgary members. Another big THANKS.

Pizza and lots of laughs for dinner. Ron Eade from Canmore joined us today and will be riding with us for the next 18 days.

Horst and Gordon did the grocery shopping, giving Yvonne the day off. Yvonne is our driver and a very important part of our team. We would be lost without her. Our sincere thanks Yvonne!

Sunday June 11th - Calgary to Gleichan - 110kms

Out of bed at 5:45 ready to start the day and boy was it cold. Sally was so sleepy that she was observed by Ken trying to fill her coffee cup with porridge. We had a thunder and lightening and a hail storm during the night. They say Banff and Jasper had snow. We are sure glad we made it through that area before all this happened. The Calgary members Josie, Dave, Myrna, Brian, Bill and Audrey showed us the way out of town along the Bow River. A spectacular ride. They showed us Hwy1 East and away we went with the wind at our backs. What a great way to bike. Cycling was so great today that Sonie was observed at a speed of 45kms per hour, with Gordon trying to keep up but failing miserably. Most of us arrived at camp at 2:30pm. We finished the day with a few cocktails before sitting down to a huge meal of stirfry Chinese food prepared by our cooking team under the supervision of Bosco. Some of us don't eat this well at home.

Revenge of the Tarpaulin

Usually inanimate objects, such as tarps, function as we think they should. They have their purpose - we are complacent and satisfied when they do what they are designed to do. There are moments, like the following, when in fulfilling their purpose they have the last word.

The setting was the bald treeless prairie, east of Gleichen, Alberta. The cyclists were arriving at the rest break, chatting and laughing. A few men were standing at the fence, backs to the group, in a feigned non-chalant pose.

One of the fairer sex was seeking an opportunity to be equally non-chalant. Nature was pressing but alas, no bush or tree was to be seen. Being the creative person she is, S.S. got a tarp from the truck and had two friends hold it for her as a screen.

What this person had not counted on was the fickleness of the prairie wind. With her bottom exposed to the elements, she suddenly discovered that, compliments of the wind, her bottom was exposed to fellow cyclists, passing truckers, and a road maintenance crew.
Who said that a tarpaulin cannot had the last word

Monday June 12th - Gleichan to Tillebrook - 110 kms

We had the use of the community centre's kitchen so there isn't as much packing up. On the road at 8:15am and to start the day with a headwind. It stayed with us for the first 30kms. For those who don't know, it is almost like riding up hill for the same distance. But to our benefit, thie wind changed to our back which made things much easier. Strange things happen on the bald, treeless prairies when the wind blows as you can tell with the Revenge of the Tarp story. Arrived in Tilleybrook about 3:30pm. Again, wonderful campsite with cooking facilities. All quite tired from a hard day.

Tuesday, June 13th - Tillebrook to Medicine Hat - 100 kms

Away at 8am to another sunny day8 with white fluffy clouds and a wind at our back. Today Arnie had another good idea to cut down on the amount of energy he expends to ride his bike. He found two pieces of wood approx. 1" x 4" x 3 1/2 ft long and tied them into a cross. He found an old shirt with snap fasterners which he wrapped around the centre of the cross, leaving enough to go over his head. Covering the cross with a rain poncho, he made a sail. Of course having limited funds for his new project, he had to trial test himself. Quite a sight, seeing Arnie going down #1 Hwy with this orange sail. After 30kms he gave up and went back to the drawing board. Arrived at camp at 1pm - a real good day. Another great campsite with a kitchen.

Wednesday, June 14th - Medicine Hat to Maple Creek - 110 kms

This is the day we passed from Alberta to Saskatchewan. We had a great day. Weather no too hot and no rain. Arrived in Maple Creek, an old town that has not changed with time. Some real interesting buildings and stores to explore. We had a large covered cooking area in the camp site and we all celibrated Gordon's 58th birthday. The meal that night was lots of Alberta beef for 30+, supplied by Noreen and her brother-in-law, Clifford Leachman of Medicine Hat. What a dinner, topped off by the birthday cake and a special cow paddy of fudge for Gordon. A great time was had by all. The night was topped off by a natures light and thunder show. It was so wild that we all thought the thunder and lightening was 2" above our tents. It was a real wild night. But as usual up at 6am for breakfast and away at 8:15am. I forgot to say that in a little place like Maple Creek, they sent out two news paper reports to interview us for two different newspapers, pictures and all. A very nice town!

Thursday, June 15th - Maple Creek to Swift Current - 145kms.

We had to ride 10kms back to Hwy 1 with a cross wind blowing from left to right. It was so strong, we had a hard time to keep bikes on the road. When I went to clear my throat and spat out, I am sure it hit a fence post 30 ft away. Anyways, turning the corner the wind was at our backs and we just sailed along. Sounds great, but the weather was awful. Very cold, strong cross winds, rain, hail all day and it was a very long , long day. The temperature is cold, max of 12 degrees with a wind factor probably of 8. Lots of flat tires and just one of those days you want to forget. At one time, the thunder, lightening and hail got so bad, that most people had to get off their bikes cause they could not see the road anymore. When Gordon and Rachelle jumped off their bikes, they lied down in a ditch and hid under an umbrella, just to stay out of the hail!! Arrived in camp late to a beautiful cooked dinner and wine. The wine was supplied by Dan McGuire, Len Smith and Chris Siggurs. They have just cycled 4,000 kms from Halifax going east to wst. All members of CCCTS. It was real nice to see them and chat about both our trips. Some of our riders decided to motel it for the night rather than set up their tents. The evening was spent fixing flats and tuning up bikes.

Friday, June 16th - Swift Current to Besant - 142 kms

Prepared for the worst, as we experienced the previous day, off we went. This was going to be another long day. Most riders were able to duck the rain and hail storms bu9t some were not so lucky. Another cold day but we were determined nothing was going to stop us. We all arrived in camp between 5-6pm and to welcome us shortly after was a hail storm. But one of our riders, director of photograph, Bosco was still 20kms from camp at 5:30pm. Now Bosco is one that doesn't like to be late for our 6pm dinner, so he stopped riding, stuck out his thumb and caught a ride from the first pickup that came by. He may not get his certificate unless he rides an extra 20kms at the end. Bosco had a nice conversation with the gentleman who has been farming in the area for 45 years.

Saturday, June 17th - Beasant to Milestone - 117kms

Nice day to travel with a tail wind for 100kms. The side of the roadj not very good. Like a patch work quilt and thie last 17kms absolutely terrible. The water was good enough to get our tents dry and a few other things. They have had a lot of rain in this area for the past two weeks. The camp ground at Milestone wasn't the best as the facilities were still being renovated, but after eight days of riding 100-150kms each day, you don't care where you lay your head. A couple of local children were surprised that old people, like their grandmas and grandpas were riding bicycles and couldn't comprend the distance of the ride.

Sunday, June 18th - Milestone to Weyburn - 60kms

An easy day but with a head wind. At ourcoffe break we stopped at a lovely town called Yellow Grass. Another nice prairie town, clean tidy and very friendly. Oni to Weyburn and an ice cream cone at McDonald's. Weyburn is thie home of Tommy Douglas, father of the Canadian Medical System. We camped at the local municipal campgrounds, very nice and dried some more things out. Weyburn is a rest stop with an extra day off, normally set aside for washing, bike repairs and anything else you can fit in. Rejeanne, Marthe and Louise sang songs in French for Father's Day and then we got the CCCTS sonig books out and sang to 9pm. We forgot all about doing the dishes!

go to - Part Three
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