Hills and Headwinds

After being placed on the McTaggart carb loading programme for two days, I bid farewell to my newly-met relatives and pedalled away from Revelstoke laden with a plentiful supply of homemade cookies (big thanks to Dorothy!!).

The tardis says goodbye to the cousins

I was set for a long day in the saddle, as the next town was a hefty 92 miles away, with nothing but a healthy mountain climb in the way. The rest day and carbs clearly worked wonders, as somehow I managed to reach the summit by 1130, so I thought I would enjoy an early lunch break in the sunshine outside the closed discovery centre, surrounded by a few remaining snow banks.

At the summit of Rogers Pass

And then for the hair raising descent, using my brakes to hold a comfortable 30mph, so as not to overdo it going round the tight bends in the road.

When I reached my warmshowers stay for the night in Golden (the Kicking Horse Hostel), I was delighted to find the wonderfully Scottish Tanya greeting me, and introducing me to an almost entirely British-occupied hostel - definitely another home from home! It was great to chat to other people so far about their travels so far, and to share my own experiences of British Columbia.

The road East I'd been told was a difficult one, and sure enough, the climbing once again prevailed as I cut through the mountains on Highway 1. I took a lunch break at Field, and popped into the visitor centre to get some information on the icefields parkway. They gave me a map which I feel could be one of the best tourist maps I've EVER received...almost tempted to frame it I love it so much...anyway, I digress...

Lunch break at Field

The lady strongly suggested that despite it only being 27km to lake Louise, she strongly recommended I stop there for the night, due the length and gradient of the hill ahead. Well that immediately turned into a challenge for me: could I make it and further???

The answer was an emphatic YES! I laughed in the face of my doubting friend, and happily spun my way over the border into Alberta, across the continental divide, right to the start of the Icefields parkway. This was something I had been looking forward to before I got to Canada, and I set off from the permit office with high expectations of difficult but rewarding cycling.

Bye bye British Columbia!

I had a final uphill 25km to the hostel I had fixed on for the night, and made it in good time to meet the manager François and get myself sorted with a bed for the night.

First few km of the Icefields parkway

Mosquito Creek wilderness hostel, complete with snow!

It turned out that I was lucky I hadn't arrived any earlier, as the hostel had only just opened for the season that weekend. And being so early in the season, although the private dorms were taken by two families, I had the wonderful luxury of choosing which of the 12 bed dormitories I would prefer, being the only other guest that night! Although there were no showers (being a wilderness hostel it had neither electricity nor showers, you took a 'refreshing dip in the creek!') I was lucky to have such a comfortable sleep and some brilliant chats with François over dinner and breakfast: he had just started this new job after ten years of working in IT in Quebec, had uprooted from his stable career in search of something that was more meaningful for him: what a wonderful inspiration!

Anyone fancy a quick dip?!

There were a number of books in the communal area in the hostel, and I found myself doing something I never thought would ever happen beyond the realms of my degree: I flicked, almost subconsciously, to the section on geology, and began swatting up on the Rockies! I can't remember much, but it was definitely interesting at the time!!

Mini geology nerd out!

My next day on the parkway proved eventful, full of glorious scenery, the weather crisp to begin with but the sun shone ever brightly throughout the day. The real climbing began after lunch, the road cutting steeply skyward. My legs screamed in dismay, as ever questioning my judgement, but no motivational speeches were made on this climb, the most that left my mouth were gasps and grunts as I inched closer to the summit. Just short of the top the gradient eased, and I was cheered on by a jolly group of hikers who had stopped walking and were clearly getting ready to catch should I go any slower and stop moving altogether.

Reaching the top was breathtaking, I was surrounded by the tips of mountains, glaciers spilling towards the road and the Icefields centre, where I took a much needed breather. I was instantly the curious spectacle for whole groups of asian tourists, an extra attraction for the mildly interested. Always intrigued as to why I travel alone, and how far I'd cycled that day.

The skies were becoming ominous as I raced down the other side of the mountain, a rare tailwind picked up my pace and had me cruising to my final destination on a high. My hopes of a warm shower and a cosy bed however were instantly dampened by the large 'closed' sign on the hostel door. With no camping available (the deep scratches in the trees made sure that I would not be wild camping that night!) I pedalled on into the fading light.

Fortunately, a camper van pulled over at the side of the highway, and after I asked them about nearby hostels, they simply said they would give me a lift the final 50km to Jasper! A lovely newly-wed couple, Genevieve and Evan were taking an extended honeymoon, travelling for three months in South America, and now Canada. On our way to Jasper, we were all mourning the lack of wildlife we'd seen, when suddenly Evan spots a black bear grazing at the side of the road!! Perfect timing!!! We saw two more further down the road, all of them completely uninterested in the csrs piling up on the side of the highway, tourists frantically taking photos.

We celebrated our good luck with a pint, and bid each other safe travels as we went our separate ways.

So after a spontaneous rest day involving a lot of snoozing and ice cream, I knuckled down to a couple of longs days in a bid to reach Edmonton.

The first was another chilly start, a beautifully still and peaceful morning that had me pedalling through the northern part of Jasper national park. Two wolves hopped across the road, and watched me keenly from a distance as I drifted past them into the growing sunshine. My climbing days were over, and I turned East away from the Rockies.

A few elk wandering through Jasper

Last few moments in the Rockies

I had managed to organise a couchsurfing stay at last minute about 25km west of Edson. I was relieved to get out of the growing headwind, and hopped over the railway line onto a dirt track which led to Gary and Judy's house. And what a stay, I was welcomed into their beautiful home, offered a comfortable bed and a hot shower with the promise of venison stew and more company in the form of a Dutch trumpet-playing hitch hiker called Lars (he even travels with a pocket trumpet!) who had just arrived in Canada for a work and travel year. A fantastic evening was had with talk of previous travels and wildlife, and I left the next day with homemade banana muffins and big hugs from everyone.

And what a final day to round off my second week of cycling. This was one of those days that nearly broke me, the headwinds of the day before had returned with a vengeance, and I could nothing more than grind away on the straight, never-ending road, screaming expletives, pleading with the wind to take a break. It simply replied with stronger gusts, the trees frantically waving at me to go faster.

Hmmm maybe another time...

I had always known it was going to be a big day of cycling, even without the wind to factor into the equation, but as I paused for lunch I did genuinely wonder if I would make it to my organised meeting point that evening.

Turning back into the wind with some motivational music blasting in my ears, I battled on and, about half an hour in, felt like I'd overcome a massive hurdle, and my doubting thoughts slowly abated with every passing mile. The final 10 miles were beyond euphoric as the road peaked and troughed like waves on the open ocean, giving me glimpses of Edmonton's suburbs glittering in the distance. Such an incredible feeling of achievement, both physically and mentally, made me feel capable of anything!

So, it's safe to say that it has been a tough week for me. There have been extreme highs and lows, euphoria and despair, but I feel all the stronger for it. Definitely a memorable week!

200km: BOOM!!!!!!