WARNING: content of this post stinks, read at your own risk!

Sometimes things stink when riding a bicycle. Last night we had a wonderful camping spot, but no running water. No showers to help clean our sweaty bodies, same thing for tonight. Hinton is our destination for Sunday, a warm shower will just have to wait

In keeping with the theme of this post being smelly and stinky. One often sees road kill while cycling. But this one broke our hearts. It was a dog, and it seemed fairly recent. The manner in which this dog died and how it now looked should not be described. His memory will be stored in our heads for a while.

Now the final thought on being smelly and stinky. The next picture is a screenshot of the message we got from the Airbnb place in Cochrane. A little shocking to read.

Yes we did see pictures, there is no context in those pictures. Close up shots of I don’t know what. I refused to pay the $280. She did appeal to Airbnb, but they shut the case a minute later. She has written a review for our stay, we have yet to write one back. I have no desire to do a revenge review, but just state the facts.

That’s enough of a stinky mess we need to talk about for now. Can’t wait for that shower.

Weary traveler

Beat down the storms you have weathered.

Feels like this road might go on forever.

Carry on.

Although these lyrics weren’t written with a cyclist in mind. It sure seems fitting to have this song sung by Jordan St. Cyr as our theme song.

Morning started with a debate to cycle back 6 km’s or to go forward for 40 km’s before getting food. Back tracking won out.

I had the big boy breakfast. 3 eggs, 2 sausage, bacon, ham, French toast and regular toast. Now that’s fueling up.

All totalled for the day we did 94.5 km’s. Tomorrow the plan is to have an easier day. Although wind could have a say in how easy it will be.

This is Alberta licence plate number 6AC7-89 signing off. Sweet dreams.

My years of cycling experience have taught me not to enjoy the wind too much. Wind can change direction at any time, and quickly become something you hate. Today the wind was a big help to the 123 km’s of cycling.

With a stop at A and W and to Coop for groceries we left at 9:30.

Our lunch break was right beside the road. We needed to dry out the tent as there is a lot of dew in the morning.

Cycling today reminded me of cycling to Thompson in bush country. Not much to see but a lot of trees.

Everything is very green here. Hay crops and pastures look very good.

Drayton Valley seems to be built on a hill. Climbed two km’s just before getting to town. We were just wasted and needed supper.

It’s time to relax and gather strength for another day.

A and W serves the best breakfast. Look at that mug full of orange juice. It’s also where all the locals hang out in the morning.

That sums up the day with all its different speeds. Not as many hills today. In total we traveled 94.6 km’s today.

Rocky Mountain House is our resting place for the night. Unfortunately when the camp site got booked we didn’t realize it was 8 km’s out of the town. We will have to back track in the morning to get our breakfast at A and W. Tomorrow will be our longest day at 117 km’s, now add another 8 to it.

Our campsite is near a River.

We have finally come up with a theme song for our trip. It is called “Weary Traveler” by Jordan St. Cyr. It seems so fitting for our cycling trip. We will continue to revisit this song as the trip goes on.

Finally our little side drama of our Airbnb stay in Cochrane. She wanted to charge us an extra $280 cleaning fee for the “terrible mess” we left. We declined the charge based on how we usually leave a place when we leave. Today she left a review on us, now it’s up to us to leave a review for her before we can see what she wrote about us. This one is going to sit on the shelf for a while. How does one respond to what happened? In a later blog post we will write what she said about us. You will need to hold your noses when you read it.

Good night from Rocky Mountain House.

With butterflies in our stomach and bikes attached to our vehicle we headed out to Alberta.

Stopped in Moosomin for night where we met the mayor who was pulling weeds in the public gardens. On behalf of town council he welcomed us to town.

On Monday we made it to Cochrane where we got welcomed with a thunderous ovation and a lightning show.

We stayed in what we thought was a wonderful Airbnb in Cochrane. Today we find out she wants to charge us $280. for an extra cleaning fee. I gracefully declined the charge. See where this goes. A little drama added to our cycling trip.

We are parking our vehicle at Allan and Pat Fuller’s place. We have not seen them for maybe 30 years. Allan went to high school in Winnipegosis. He is truly an inspiration in the ways he works at staying in shape.

Cycling went very well for our first day, of clear skies, comfortable temperatures and favourable winds. Had a clear view of the Rockies in the distance.

Cycled 86.5 km’s and will be sleeping at a campground in Sundre.

An early morning text from Cheryl was my wake up call. My wife was going to bring our daughter Kimberly to cycle with me on the last day of the trip. The text was my notice that I now had one and half hours to pack up and await their arrival.

Cheryl provided vehicle support. She took all of the baggage and drove up from 12 to 20 km’s to wait for us and to provide refreshments. What a treat that was after cycling alone for three days. Kimberly and I were able to have some good conversations as we cycled.

This completed 14 days of cycling that was done over a period of 15 days. A total of 1,572 km’s were cycled to do this trip. It was very special to do parts of this trip with all of my three daughters. Amelia cycled for 8 days, Chantel for two days and Kimberly joined me for the last day.

Truly a test of endurance and some patience and hard work. This trip was not done without some difficult struggles along the way. There were times we needed to reach out for help. On the other hand there were many times where people reached out to ask if we needed help. Isn’t that what life is all about in helping each other out. Raising money as part of this trip for MCC is a very good example of reaching out to help those in need.

Today we rest only to dream of our next adventure.

Gerald,Amelia,Kimberly, and Chantel (cyclists). With much support from Cheryl to help make this happen.

Day starts at 6, breakfast at 7 and on the road by 8. Travelled from Winkler to Vita in mostly sunny skies, a distance of 118 km’s. I will let the pictures do the talking today as there is not much to write about.

I have yet to find a place to set up the tent in Vita. I may just set it up at the park on the main road. If I have the energy I may bike around town to find a better place. Too tired to care very much

Cheryl will bring Kimberly Sunday morning so she can bike the final 100 km’s with me to Buffalo Point. Cheryl will provide vehicle support so I don’t have to lug around 50 pounds of gear.

This will be the last night in the tent.

Dreaming of better sleeps ahead,

Gerald

Motivation was totally lacking once I saw the smoke outside the tent in the morning. Air quality alerts were out throughout the province. Slowly I packed everything up and went on my way.

Stopped in Pilot Mount for breakfast. Played the Mennonite game with the waitress. She knew some people from Winnipegosis, where I grew up.

Cycling today was uneventful. At one point it felt like I found a cruising speed of over 25 kmh. I completed 85 km’s to get to Winkler in time for supper.

The part between Morden and Winkler felt like I was biking on the 401 in Toronto. Very busy, perhaps Friday afternoon was partly the reason.

Interesting fact, I had supper in the place I worked at in Winkler during the winter of 83-84. I was a short order cook at was than the Winkler Motor Inn. I was saving money that winter for my cross Canada cycling trip which I did in the summer of 84. I made something like $4 an hour.

I have many relatives in Winkler, but I don’t know them all that well. I feel most comfortable staying at the campground. This way I can try to get an early start in the morning.

Two more sleeps in the tent till I get home, sleep well body I need the rest.

Gerald

Waking up to the sound and smells of breakfast being made. Conversation continued on till late morning. Packed and ready to go cycling by 11 am.

This is the first time I would be cycling by myself. There was a lot of silence in the day. The sound of frogs, birds, cows and goats helped pass the day away.

Some John Dever music helped push me at the end of the day.

Country road take me home…….

Gerald (daughter less)

Day got off to a slow start as the alarm failed to go off. Packed up and headed to the only restaurant in town for breakfast. Only to discover they are not open on Wednesday. Were these signs of what this day would be like as rain clouds appeared in the distance. Time would tell as we headed down the road 30 km’s to find a restaurant for breakfast.

The restaurant in Melita was like walking into someone’s kitchen in a home. Even witnessed a fire on the stove that she calmly put out with salt.

Stopped in Medora to send an email only to hear thunder in the distance. We found shelter in the local post office to wait out the coming storm.

During our stay at the post office we had 5 customers. Two we scared, one was our boss (worked for the post office). Our boss apologized for interrupting us. One was just in and out. One person asked about our travels and if we were raising money for any cause. He ended up leaving us $20 for MCC.

A couple of hours later we headed out as it was still drizzling. Winds were a real struggle to bike into. As we headed towards Deloraine a miracle on highway 3 happened. Winds totally shifted as we struggled to go 12 kmh, we now coasted easily over 20 kmh.

We arrived in Boissevain just before nightfall. Tired and wet after cycling 114 km’s. We arrived at my cousins place to rest our tired bodies.

This ends Chantel’s ride. She completed 246 km’s in two days. She was a total joy to ride with despite the wind and rain. If you ever need to know a postal code you know who to ask.

Resting our rain soaked bodies in a dry warm bed.

Gerald and Chantel