Day 42: Jasper, AB to McBride, BC

Woke up in the morning to breakfast and once again hopped out of bed and quickly packed my things. It’s just about the only way to gauruntee that you get all of the breakfast items at the same time instead of waiting for things since items run out faster than the cooks can make them.

We headed back out to Jasper and it wasn’t long before the rain started to come down. It was so windy and cold that the rain really was miserable. But on the other hand it was just about the only rain the team had seen all trip of any lasting length so we can’t complain too much.

All day long we fought the rain. At one point we found a little cafe. Pulled over, but I had trouble opening my fingers they were so cold and wet. We ordered hot chocolate and cinammon rolls and soup and just sat around in the warmth waiting for the weather to improve.

But it didn’t so eventually we had to get back on the bikes. Brrrrrrrrrrr. So cold and wet. Apparently the largest mountain in the Canadian Rockies was right in front of us, but the clouds were so low and thick that we couldn’t see it. Or much else either.

At one point, I was biking by myself. Construction was going on and cars were splashing me with muddy water in my face so, even though it was gray, I was wearing my sunglasses. I saw a large black rock near the road, but with all the mud and rain on my sunglasses I could barely see it. I was wondering to myself why on earth the engineers would leave such a large rock so close to the highway when I rode up to it and saw that it was eating grass. Hmm. Well it was too late to do anything except to ride past the largest black bear I’ve ever seen and hope for the best. We clearly startled each other and I was so close that I could have spit on it, and I can’t spit that far. I could smell his rotten breath. It was a close call and afterward I took off the glasses so that I could see better, although now it meant I was getting sprayed in the eyes with the mist and mud.

The day just kept stretching on and the rain kept coming down. It was about 100 miles for the day so it was a long time to spend on the road. Fortunately, Nick Weaver was an awesome driver and he made sure that we were taken care of. And the best part is that at the end of the day we had a church to stay at. What a difference it makes on such a day!

In town, we found all sorts of hospitality. There was plenty of food and great showers. The town knew we were coming and, being a small community, they really pulled together to treat us very well. The laundromat stayed open late just for us and then the restuaraunt next door brought us over roast beef and vegetables and dessert. It was so much fun to just sit around the laundromat with the team eating great food and laughing and having a grand time. Mario provided some root beer and really it was a great ending to what was a hard ride.

We all got back to the church and it wasn’t long before we passed out. Up here in Canada, we don’t have too many more hosts so the team really appreciates even more (if that’s possible) when we do have a roof and food at the end of the day.