All I Need is my Bicycle, Part 2: The Prairies

After staying 4 nights in Calgary to catch up with friends I continued on my cycle touring adventure into the Prairies.

The road ahead transitioned into a brand new challenge. The mountains of British Columbia and Alberta offered an abundance of mountain scenery, forest shade, natural water for hydration and baths, and towns with amenities and rich culture. The Prairies of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba offered vast stretches of no scenery, full exposure to unrelenting wind and sun with no shade and almost no natural water bodies, and few towns, most of which have if anything just a gas station.

Cycling through Calgary where I lived from 2008-2014 and worked as an engineer

One of my last projects was related to building this bridge, which I saw here for the first time

But from my experience there's a lot of kindness in rural towns where there's not a lot of amenities because you have to help eachother to get what you need and to survive. I was able to tap into that on this leg of my adventure.

Day 10 (... continued from Part 1, Day 1-9) - Bassano, 153 km

Fresh off a nice rest in Calgary I blasted forth into Prairie wind and sun. Pretty soon I learned that this wasn't going to be easy - the wind was against me and it seemed to never let up, and the sun was blazing hot. The highway was practically straight with nothing but farmland for hours. There was nowhere to stop for shade or a comfortable rest. The emotional and physical fatigue started to result in physical pain where I held my weight - my bum, shoulders, arms and hands started feeling sore.

I started thinking, "This is not a driver's experience at all. They can drive this same distance in an hour in an air conditioned space with company or music, without moving a single muscle. I have to go the same distance in a full day, sweating and suffering the whole way. Why am I doing this?"

By evening I rode into a town called Bassano with a dusty quiet main street, most of the shops boarded up - a common sight in Prairie rural towns. I went into the only open establishment for dinner. I spoke with the friendly bar man and was surprised to learn that he was from Ontario!

Imagine seeing nothing but this for hours, perhaps a whole day

A grain elevator, a common sight in the Prairies

Cows ignore cars and trucks but always stop and stare at me when I pass by

In the land of the big sky the sunsets can be quite beautiful

Day 11-14 - Suffield, 115 km; Walsh, 94; Tompkins, 93; Swift Current, 85

Everything about yesterday, the wind, sun, pain, suffering and frustration just kept getting worse over the next several days. It was one of the most difficult stretches of days I've faced in my entire life - I feel very privileged to say this because I know others who experience greater suffering on a regular basis.

The wind I learned is easily the most important aspect of the cycle touring experience. It was with me in the mountains and I literally and metaphorically breezed through. It was against me so far in the Prairies and it felt like I was cycling uphill all day. I never had a chance to ease up and just coast. Even on downhills I had to pedal because the wind would cancel out the effects of gravity! The only blessing a headwind brings is it negates the heat of the sun, keeping me cool and not too sweaty.

I managed to limp into a hamlet at the end of each day, more tired and in pain than the previous day, and started off the next morning with less reserve energy in the tank. Thankfully I received a lot of kindness from locals who understand how desolate and harsh the Prairies can be.

Small town folks who were not my typical crowd, but really friendly and helpful

I phoned a closed store, and the lady came out and made me a packed plate of nachos!

In Bassano, AB I learned the bar man was from Ontario

Day 15, 16 - Moose Jaw, 180 km! Regina, 79 km

Finally, I got a full day of the Prairie wind at my back! As I predicted it completely changed my experience - the strong wind allowed me to coast for almost half the entire distance, even up hills. And when I actually had to cycle I felt a lot less resistance. The pain and discomfort that was causing so much suffering and frustration was almost non-existent.

I rode the wind as long as I could, going 180 km into the town of Moose Jaw, where I had just enough time to river dip and cook dinner in the park before finding a wildcamping spot. Then I had a relatively easy day ahead of me to arrive at my friend's place in Regina where I could rest for 3 nights.

In the Prairies I was limited to highway river crossings for my baths

Camp cooking meal in a park - onion, carrots, tomato, tuna, spices, quinoa and dessert

Dax approached me as I was riding in to Regina and we had a great conversation

Aidan has hosted me four times! Every time I pass through Regina

Day 17-19 - Whitewood, 179 km; Carberry, 246 km! Winnipeg, 181 km

My friend in Regina showed me excellent Prairie hospitality, hooking me up with free bike maintenance, beer and food, and good company. I hit the road in high spirits, well rested and with the wind still at my back, but stronger than ever! I rode 606 km in three days, including one day of 246 km! The wind was not only at my back, at times it was pushing me so I was coasting on level asphalt. I probably coasted up to half the entire ride!

Along the way I found a wallet and keys on the side of the highway. I managed to contact the wallet's owner and returned it to him in Winnipeg. I asked for a medium pizza. He bought me a large pizza and, after listening to my story, gifted me an extra $70 cash! I also mailed the keys to the car dealership identified on the set.

I rode into Winnipeg, like a hero returning from battle, to stay with good friends, rest and enjoy the town.

I returned Sukhdev's wallet and he gave me a pizza and $70 cash!

When in Winnipeg go to the Human Rights Museum - one of the best museums in Canada

I've been pumping a lot of blood, so decided to give some - my 28th donation!

I stayed with my Winnipeg friends in January 2019. Now in Aug 2020 there are new additions

I have driven my cycle touring route six times in my life by car, either to go east to Toronto or west to Calgary or Vancouver. Almost every trip I pass through the Prairies as quickly as I can, usually two days, stopping only for an extra night at friends' places. I now have a much different appreciation of the Prairies and its part in Canada's identity and beauty, and of the people that inhabit its tiny hamlets. I hope I can take even more time to explore the Prairies next time I pass through.

While the Prairies severely tested me, overall I feel like I was gifted with an overall easy breezy time through the middle part of my cycle touring adventure. I feel very fortunate and it really helps to have friends along the way who spoil me and provide me an oasis of replenishment and connection. They have all hosted me several times and it seems to get better every visit.

Mileage

From Calgary to Winnipeg, which I will use here as the limits of the Prairies, I rode 1400 km over 10 days of riding, averaging 140 km per day. On top of the 960 km I rode through the mountains I now sit at a grand total of 2360 km over 19 days of riding! I've nearly covered 4 out of 5 provinces and yet am just past the halfway point of my journey... I still have 2040 km to go. But I'm ready...

I'm ready to level up from the Prairies and on to the next stage, the Canadian Shield of Northern Ontario, which promises new challenges same same but different to the mountains in Part 1 - forests, lakes, rolling hills... and not much else.

All I Need is my Bicycle, Part 1: Mountains

July 9, 2020

 

Upon taking an early ferry from Vancouver Island to the mainland just outside of Vancouver I was supposed to start my grand cycle touring adventure. However, my friend in Squamish decided to come pick me up to maximize our time together! Then he offered to drive me to my friend in Whistler the day after so I wouldn't have to start my trip going uphill.

I stayed in Whistler for several days as my friend helped me in her own multitude of ways to heal my back, which I tweaked a few weeks before, and was causing me anxiety about my ability to do this trip. She even sold me a discounted pass to the Scandinave Spa where I was spoiled with alternating sauna and cold dips.

Day 1 - Duffey Lake, 86 km

It felt so good to finally get going, especially after all the anxiety about whether I could do it or not. Day 1 actually threw at me the most brutal challenge of the whole trip, a very steep series of switchbacks termed The Duffey. I didn't have my legs yet, so I walked my bike most of the way up, about 4 hours out of the 5 total it took me to reach the top of the pass! It was... brutal and seemed never ending. But from there it was mostly downhill, and I was pleasantly surprised that I went 86 km that day, ending up at Duffey Lake where I dipped in to cool off the muscles, then camped by the water.

Day 2 - Marble Canyon, 98 km

There were no brutal uphills on this day and I managed to go even further. Few people know that Canada actually has an arid climate, the Okanagan. Today's ride transitioned from alpine to arid and barren. I ended up at a beautiful lakeside campground for another lake dip.

The more barren landscape of the Okanagan - Lillooet, BC

Day 3 - Kamloops, 120 km

Two days on a narrow but quiet mountain highway felt like paradise before getting on to the TransCanada Highway today, a non-stop assault of truck traffic blazing wind and noise. I made it in to my first major urban centre. Fortunately, I was hosted by a friend of a friend who has an amazing riverside home! I spent two nights here, receiving a much needed massage from my RMT friend.

Taking a well deserved break in the Okanagan

I got offered a boat ride from my friend's neighbour

Day 4 - Salmon Arm, 120 km

By now I have really found my legs and was feeling confident. I felt like I finally got that monkey off my back! I used Warmshowers for the first time, a website which connects cycle tourers to hosts, and stayed with an amazing couple who had done extensive cycle touring themselves, serving me homemade pizza and sharing deep intimate conversations.

My first Warmshowers (WS) host Coleen

 

Day 5 - Revelstoke, 105 km

I cycled in to my second Warmshowers host, an amazing family that is into cycle touring and traveling with their kids, is active in their community, and has a thriving garden and backyard chickens. The family let me keep my bicycle with them and lent me a backpack so I could hitchhike down to the Slocan Valley and Nelson for 5 days to visit friends.

My WS hosts with their garden - Revelstoke, BC

Performing poi for my hosts in their kitchen

This trip was full of synchronicity - I hitchhiked 14 cars plus 3 with friends totaling 17 rides in all. One driver made plans to hang out another day. One driver graduated from the same little massage school. I hitched a ride with the same driver on two different days! If that wasn't enough she turned out to be a good friend of the friend I originally came down to the valley to visit. Finally, I hitched a ride with a driver going to the same little farm community.

My side trip offered proof that the pandemic hysteria did not exist everywhere.

Free Hugs teams up with Harm Reduction by carpooling to Greensong Sanctuary!

Volunteering in my friend's garden at Greensong Sanctuary in the Slocan Valley

Day 6 - Glacier National Park, 94 km

Back on the bike! On this day I cycled through Glacier National Park, home to over 100 glaciers, getting my first significant glimpse of icy peaks. I ascended the famous Rogers Pass (1330 m elev) in good time, and blazed down the other side reaching a max speed of 86 km/h! One of my fears was allayed, which was losing control on this hill and not being able to stop!

Day 7 - Yoho National Park, 100 km

In the morning in a cafe in Golden, BC, I made someone's day! Gia was absolutely blown away at my journey. Later on I watched a herd of mountain sheep stop highway traffic. The rest of the day I got to stop multiple times and admire the scenery along this beautiful stretch of highway that I have so often driven, but couldn't stop.

A lovely meeting and conversation in a cafe with Gia and Mia

Day 8 - Moraine Lake Lodge, 38 km

A very short riding day but filled with very steep climbs, totaling 730 m elevation gain, took me to the highest point I would reach by bicycle for my adventure, Moraine Lake Rd at 1930 m elevation. Here I got to stay a few nights with a friend working at the lodge, getting in an amazing hike during my day off.

The view from the Tower of Babel summit overlooking Moraine Lake

Moraine Lake could be my favourite lake in the world

Day 9 - Calgary, 193 km!

This day will go down as one of the best of my life! I sipped the Electric Kool Aid and soared through Banff National Park. I cruised down the just freshly paved and smooth Bow Valley Parkway, closed to cars but full of cyclists. I threw on the earbuds and danced down the road on my fully loaded touring bike with a monster grin on my face at passing cyclists.

I rolled in to Canmore for an epic vegan lunch. By now it was not yet 5 pm and, still on an energetic high, I decided to try for Calgary. I rolled up to my friend's door at half an hour past midnight after cruising 193 km on the day! It helps that I started the day at 1900 m elevation and finished at under 1100 m.

It took me 9 riding days (plus 9 days rest and leisure) to go 950 km through the mountains from Whistler to Calgary. These 9 days were filled with some of the most memorable days of my life, overcoming mountains both physically and spiritually, as well as glimpsing the infinite beauty in both.

I truly believe that each of us are meant to overcome adversity in our destiny or life journey to activate that inner strength that is in each one of us. I'm proving this within myself in my own adventure, but I'm merely my own guinea pig for everyone else - every abled body is capable of completing such an adventure! Society and our minds place limits on our own bodies, but they are just waiting for those limits to be removed.

 

Elated at my progress, but sad that I'm past the mountains, time for a well earned rest! Then it's on to the next challenge: the flat, vast and open Prairies.

You can follow my adventures on IG @my2barefeet or add me on Facebook

All I Need is my Bicycle, Part 0: Prequel

Sorry I'm a bit late with my blog! By the time you're reading this I've already left on a great adventure, riding a bicycle from Whistler, just north of Vancouver, to my hometown of Toronto, a 4400 km distance across the TransCanada Highway.

The Okanagan Valley, BC

I decided to go on a cycle touring adventure at this time for several reasons. The seed was planted years ago through traveling and meeting amazing humans combining cycle touring and traveling to exotic countries. One such human travels with a drone and laptop and makes amazing videos through Ratbag Nomads. Another memorable human did it to raise money for cancer research through Cycling 4 Cancer.

The cascade of events this year that led me to my own adventure kicked off with the pandemic. The pandemic turned a one-month layover in a friend's rural community into a three month stay there in a tiny camper van.

A beautiful rural community I got to be a part of - Vancouver Island, BC

 

This rural community is filled with, in my opinion, the most amazing collection of humans in this part of the world, filling me with so much love and connection. But there's no long term space for me, so in considering my own future, I felt now was the time for adventure before I committed long term to such a community in the future.

Besides, I was out of work due to the pandemic, I couldn't leave the country, and I hadn't seen my family since early 2019. So why not cycle halfway across the country to see them, right? If I needed any more validation, a friend of the community's really wanted in. I offered him my space and he offered me his touring bike - it was a perfect swap!

This is my entire life right now

 

The way this adventure fell into place also fell snugly into the narrative of my life of the past several years - being open hearted, following my intuition and finding synchronicity. Besides the cascade of events that led me here, the internal motivation for my adventure is to spread love, hope and inspiration in a time the world needs it the most.

On an individual level the pandemic has been a good news story. Over the past several years I have called in an abundance of love and connection, and it culminated in landing in the rural community, allowing that love and connection to blossom even more.

This adventure is not powered by thunder thighs or a focus on cardio. Yes, I do tons of hiking and so my fitness was already in a good place. But I truly feel that this adventure is powered by love. Everything I do is powered by the love I've cultivated in myself and in connection with others, and the purpose of it is to spread that love to those who need it, parlaying that into hope and inspiration.

Having a good time in Banff National Park, AB

 

With that I hope you stay tuned in, and receive love, hope and inspiration from my journey. More blogs and photos to come! In the meantime you can follow me on IG @my2barefeet or add me on FB (profile here)