So tired from yesterday that we decided to sleep in but not a great idea since today even when it was only 86Km it was almost as tough as yesterday. Left around 10am and we splitted into 2 groups, me and Jenny and Mel and Kevin. The first uphill was a killer and it was the first 30 minutes after leaving the hostel, however I managed to make it without warming up or dismounting the bike. To my surprise Jenny started gaining distance and leaving me behind. It was close to noon and I was sweating buckets, she probably got 10 minutes ahead of me and no granny ring (now I am embarrased) and I thought I was getting in shape.
What came after was what I could have called the best riding day since I started and it was because Jenny's company. So much stuff to talk about while riding on flats and then working my ass off to catch up with her on the hills, then on the downhills we'd take turns to go first and see who was doing better time. I managed to keep the downhill title with 70.7Km/h but she came close second with 70Km sharp. We stopped at the top of the hill for lunch (pizza leftovers) and wait for the others. We couldn't believe we were having lunch while watching the Rockies. Mel caught up about 40 minutes after but no signs of Kevin. We waited for another 20 minutes but we were getting sleepy and behind schedule so we decided to continue before getting too cold. 20 minutes into riding and Jenny and I were leading again and got to a rest stop where I saw glacier waters for the first time. So Blue and cold! But I still went on them and got my head wet just before our last hill of the day....Kicking Horse Pass.
We stopped to refill out water bottles and see if we could get in touch with Kevin but his phone was off. So last hill and the competition bug bit me, I made a bet with Jenny that the last one to the top buys the ice cream (Ice Cream was her motivation apparently).
I started sprinting on the flats to gain momentum, big ring to gain some distance on her since she's much better on the hills, I was making 35Km/h and then the hill started and tried my best to stay in medium ring. I take a look on my mirror and there she is, right behind me. I start using lower gears as the hill turns more steep and using every single trick I have learned and just about 10 more minutes before reaching the top she just passes me with a smile and says "I'm sorry" and off she goes....I can't go any faster or stronger and there she is just putting some distance between us.
Lost that bet but came up with what would be her nickname from now on: Jenny "Mountain Goat" Harmer.
Hands down, she's the queen of the hills.
When I (finally) caught up with her, she was talking with this 70 something years old guy on the side of the road whos pulling a carrier. It turns out that Abraham (from Holland) is WALKING across Canada and divided his journey on 4 legs and he was in the middle of his last one from Calgary to Vancouver. He said it'd take him 8 months and that he was staying only at farms along the road and only packed what he could carry. We talked for about 15 minutes and took pictures with him. Amazing dude!
I started sprinting on the flats to gain momentum, big ring to gain some distance on her since she's much better on the hills, I was making 35Km/h and then the hill started and tried my best to stay in medium ring. I take a look on my mirror and there she is, right behind me. I start using lower gears as the hill turns more steep and using every single trick I have learned and just about 10 more minutes before reaching the top she just passes me with a smile and says "I'm sorry" and off she goes....I can't go any faster or stronger and there she is just putting some distance between us.
Lost that bet but came up with what would be her nickname from now on: Jenny "Mountain Goat" Harmer.
Hands down, she's the queen of the hills.
When I (finally) caught up with her, she was talking with this 70 something years old guy on the side of the road whos pulling a carrier. It turns out that Abraham (from Holland) is WALKING across Canada and divided his journey on 4 legs and he was in the middle of his last one from Calgary to Vancouver. He said it'd take him 8 months and that he was staying only at farms along the road and only packed what he could carry. We talked for about 15 minutes and took pictures with him. Amazing dude!
After that Jenny and I felt like wimps for doing the trip on bikes!
More hills and more riding but we were so eager of taking a picture with the "Welcome to Alberta" sign. We would be crossing provinces today and that made us so excited. Bye-bye British Columbia, hello Alberta but no sign, just constructionroad ahead. After anther fun downhill I stopped to ask one of the construction workers on the side of the road how far was the sign. "There's no sign!" she said.
We both looked at each other in disappointment but laughed immediately since we had been riding in Alberta for the past 5 minutes not knowing it. That became the subject of conversation until we got to Lake Louise and took pictures at that sign. Then headed straight to Lake Louise Mall for me to pay my debt and get some Ice cream. We got two huge ice creams while waiting for melanie and Kevin.
More hills and more riding but we were so eager of taking a picture with the "Welcome to Alberta" sign. We would be crossing provinces today and that made us so excited. Bye-bye British Columbia, hello Alberta but no sign, just constructionroad ahead. After anther fun downhill I stopped to ask one of the construction workers on the side of the road how far was the sign. "There's no sign!" she said.
We both looked at each other in disappointment but laughed immediately since we had been riding in Alberta for the past 5 minutes not knowing it. That became the subject of conversation until we got to Lake Louise and took pictures at that sign. Then headed straight to Lake Louise Mall for me to pay my debt and get some Ice cream. We got two huge ice creams while waiting for melanie and Kevin.
Melanie arrived 40 minutes later and she then got a text from Kevin. That first hill coming out of Golden was too hard for him and he had turned around after one hour pedalling, got back to the hostel, took a bus to Calgary and booked a flight home for the next day. He was done with the trip.
Melanie was heartbroken and scared not knowing what to do next but at the same time I understood Kevin. He had been not enjoying the past 2 days and started hating the trip so no point on continuing any further if its not making you happy. We decided right there a day off in Lake Louise was in much need. We went to check in the Hostel and we found it a bit pricey ($40/night) but we had no option, tired and trapped in a tourist town. We left the stuff in the room and gave Melanie some alone time to figure stuff out and call her family and friends. We went out to explore town and find dinner. Everything closed early except for a pub/restaurant from the hotel next door. Trying to save some money we ordered some nachos (the worst I've ever had) but the good news is that being in Alberta I'd be in the land of my favourite beer "Big Rock Grasshopper" so I had 2 of those. Went back to the room and Melanie was in tears. We tried to comfort her but at 12:30am after a long day the best call was just to go to bed and figure it out in the morning. Tough day indeed!
Melanie was heartbroken and scared not knowing what to do next but at the same time I understood Kevin. He had been not enjoying the past 2 days and started hating the trip so no point on continuing any further if its not making you happy. We decided right there a day off in Lake Louise was in much need. We went to check in the Hostel and we found it a bit pricey ($40/night) but we had no option, tired and trapped in a tourist town. We left the stuff in the room and gave Melanie some alone time to figure stuff out and call her family and friends. We went out to explore town and find dinner. Everything closed early except for a pub/restaurant from the hotel next door. Trying to save some money we ordered some nachos (the worst I've ever had) but the good news is that being in Alberta I'd be in the land of my favourite beer "Big Rock Grasshopper" so I had 2 of those. Went back to the room and Melanie was in tears. We tried to comfort her but at 12:30am after a long day the best call was just to go to bed and figure it out in the morning. Tough day indeed!
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