May 26th I flew out to Abbotsford with my bike. I travel wearing disposable clothes, meaning I change into my cycling gear upon arrival, and leave what I was wearing in the garbage container in the washroom. Since I shrink-wrap my bike "road ready", it takes me less than 30 min after landing, and I am on my way home. When I do these training rides, I have no support, thus I carry a bit more stuff and have to look after all my needs. That is when I realize that being a support crew is actually not that glamorous. Some of the "support tasks" are not really fun. I avoid riding in the dark, so I usually get about 10 hours in a motel of sorts. (more on that later).
My ride through the Rockies was as expected. The passes seem to get higher each year. The road is in decent condition, and construction out of Golden going east is still in full swing. They have been working on that stretch every year since 1999, when I did my first bike trip home from the west coast. It must be nice to have that construction contract.
The weather channel is my favorite channel on these trips. It very quickly became obvious, that I was in for a wet and cold ride. Canmore and Calgary received up to 10 cm of snow, with temperatures dipping well below zero. I delayed crossing the last mountain ridge into Banff, simply hoping to avoid the brunt of the storm. The day I got to Canmore, the daytime high was about 1 degree and it was snowing/raining. I must say, the covers of the motel bed felt good, so good in fact that I had my pizza delivered, instead of venturing out again.
I usually take whatever sleeping accommodations I find. Low budget is my goal. Sometimes that is by choice, other times that is the only motel in a small town in Saskatchewan like Balgonie, just east of Regina. Balgonie was this year's "bad" choice. The outside of the motel was cluttered with antiques. the motel had about five rooms. I asked to see a room first. The storm door was made from a sheet of plywood, painted about 20 years ago. To my surprise, the inside looked clean, decorated in 1960, and still the same. The bed had a homemade quilt, red and white large polka dot pillow cases and sheet. The cupboards were full of antique china, instant coffee and some left over teabags. (they looked as old as the china) The bathtub tap had hot water, but NO knob for the cold side to regulate the temperature. I used the 4-cup coffee maker carafe to add cold water from the sink to the tub. The room had a 12 inch color TV, which worked, but when I asked about the remote, the grouch, I mean owner, said I could stay in Regina for a $100.00 instead. Point well taken.
When I wanted to register (pay), he would only except cash. Go figure. I carried a debit card, visa card and about $40.00 cash in a ziploc bag in my cycling shirt. He told me the town store had an ATM machine, where I could get more cash. Being tired and a little ticked, I must have left the plastic bag on the counter, as I went to get my bike to go for cash. I had the debit card in my hand, but when I realized I was missing the bag with my visa card, driver's license, cash and all receipts, I went back to the motel counter. He promptly denied ever having seen it. There was nothing I could do. I got ripped off.
A Saskatchewan highlight is usually playing "chicken" with the roadside rodents. I call them "roadies" These guys sit in the middle of the shoulder and stare you down, as if to say: "I dare you, try and get me. Then the last split second they make a dash for their hole. Unfortunately, many try the same thing with cars, but the outcome is not pretty.
After freezing and shivering a lot, 8 days after I landed in Abbotsford, I was back home. It was all good.
Arvid
