The sprinkling of water was inconsistent as the sun rose over our polyester dwelling. The rain that had put us to bed was now waking us up. Although now it was coming in waves, and from the ground?! No, it was the sprinkler system that we thought we’d avoided by pitching our tent on the gravel patch as instructed.
With a wet tent in tow, we backtracked 4km to get a decent breakfast at Tim’s. We left Coaldale with the wind at our backs and an optimistic outlook about our end destination.
Around 35kms from Taber Gerald’s front tire got a puncture. We parked ourselves at an intersection and Gerald pulled out his supply of spare tubes. His new tire was very tight and the sensitive tubes didn’t seem to appreciate being prodded by the tire lever. Three tubes later, we were calling CAA. While Gerald was on the phone, a kind woman named Lena pulled up in her truck and asked if we needed help. Just minutes later another truck also stopped. The driver, a gentleman named Joe, offered to help Gerald with the tire. The kindness of these strangers helped us on our way and made our day. It also saved us from paying $300 to CAA to tow us to the nearest bike shop in Medicine Hat, because after the first 5km you have to pay.
Oranges and water breaks helped us make it to Bow Island over the next 2.5 hours. We ended the day with Chinese food and after 99.4km, we found a camp ground with a reasonable rate for a tenting site and FREE showers!
Adventures on a bicycle 