Rest Day, Nanaimo

Still in Nanaimo with Craig and Hailey Morgan. Didn't get on the bike at all today. Went out to two restaurants. I feel rather gluttonous. Tonight will also be the first repeat sleeping accommodations.

"I'm sailing, I'm a sailor. I just let the boat do all the work, that was my secret."

Dinner at Dinghy Dock Pub, a floating restaurant off of Protection Island.

Dinghey Dock Pub, Protection Island off of Nanaimo, BC.

I'm sailing.

I'm a sailor.  It makes my lips numb just thinking about it, but if your friend is a good sailor, and the craft is seaworthy. Then yes, I'll go sailing.

Comox - Nanaimo 110km

The wind and the rain.

This is Elizabeth updating the blog today.

Yesterday we left Comox and I was in good spirits. It was a little overcast but good weather. We first had to head north to turn south. As soon as we turned south there was a drastic change- the wind. Clayton and I discussed how wind can be your best friend or worst enemy. And we had a nasty strong headwind. So I guess each day presents its challenges: yesterday was a headwind and the day before was hills. I drafted behind Clayton for a bit which helped and then we headed up to the inland highway to see if the wind was less severe. Nope. After a few miles or so I told Clayton to go ahead and I'd meet him at the next food stop for lunch. This stretch was the hardest part of my day. I felt that even on the downhills I was barely moving. Not to mention my right knee pain was escalating. By the time I caught up to Clayton I was feeling pretty broken and exhausted and we still had about 55 k to go. We ate rolls and bananas on nutella with trail mix on the side of the road.

I told Clayton to go ahead to Nanaimo and if I couldn't make it I'd turn on my phone and call him. As I started going I noticed the wind had calmed down- hallelujah! I was able to finally enjoy the beautiful scenery and touristy towns along the coast. Then about 90 minutes later the rain started- and not just a drizzle but a downpour. However I decided I would choose rain over a headwind any day and I kept cruising along. At 25k from Nanaimo I had to merge back on the highway. Whenever a semi truck would pass I would get slathered with water. I was soaked to the bone and do not like biking on major highways. My back was not feeling so hot either. So I finally pulled over and gave Clayton a call to get me.

Clayton and Craig picked me up and we went to Craig's place in Nanaimo. Clayton and Katy met Craig and his sister Hailey while trekking through Nepal a few summers back. Craig moved back home because their dad was diagnosed with brain cancer and he was needed to help around the house and with their dad.

They are a great welcoming family and treated us to a steak dinner with corn, potatoes, beans, and ice cream and strawberries for dessert. Yummy!

The tentative plan is to stay here for a few days before heading to Victoria.

A few thoughts I have that I'd like to mention:

Although yesterday was really hard for me I'm having a great time. The scenery is incredible and I actually love the weather when it's not pouring rain.

I'm so amazed at how incredibly nice some people are to strangers. I have stayed with strangers five days in a row now and each is just as kind as the next. It really warms my heart knowing there are so many kind, good-hearted people. I feel we get tainted from the news and all the bad stories we hear.

Clayton is incredibly strong. He's thinner then I've seen him in a long time, and his legs are very toned. Not only has he carried much of my stuff the last two days, but he often pushes me up the big climbs. On Tuesday we were nearing the end of the day and got off our last ferry to discover we had to climb 600 ft or so immediately. It looked so daunting when you're tired and carrying touring gear but Clayton put his hand behind my back and pushed me up. It feels like I'm on a much lighter bike and helps a lot.
Clayton also eats a lot! And his hair is getting a bit out of control!

That's all for now folks.

Dinner with Craig and Hailey Morgan in Nanaimo, BC. I would say I've been eating pretty well.

My friends from Nepal.  Wishing I was still on the Annapurna Circuit.

Sechelt - Comox 95km

Good long ride today, felt longer because I don't think we were on a flat road for longer than a kilometer. It was a continual day of up and down and up and down and up and down. Which I enjoyed because I got to do some sprinting in the hills. However, it was a much more difficult first or second day for Elizabeth than I had. My first couple days were very flat and mild. Our ride also had two ferries today. One from Earls Cove to Saltery Bay and the other from Powell River to Comox. You know every time you get off a ferry you are going to be climbing for a while. By the time we got to our last couple hours of hills, I pulled out the old 'Mt. St. Helens' trick, and that seemed to work out nicely (you can ask Katy what that is).

Changed up our plans a little bit today. We were supposed to stop south of Powell River with a WS host, but they could only offer camping on their lawn, and the forecast called for rain. Not cool. However, on the ferry we met a nice guy named Nils who gave us his phone number and told us to call if we needed anything. So we decided we would skip the WS place and try to cash in on a warm home. But, as we got riding we decided to advance our schedule, go to the next WS host, which was only an hour or so more so we could get to Nanaimo early to see some long lost friends. We got on the ferry and then the rain came. When we got off the ferry our new WS folks luckily met us at the terminal so we didn't have to ride in the rain. Very kind of them. And this morning I just woke up to a blueberry strawberry smoothie. Some people are so kind to complete strangers.

Which brings me to something I've been thinking about:

Suppose you meet a guy who is walking around the world. He asks for a place to stay and breakfast. What would you do?

Now let's say you meet someone who is walking to his friends house that is 5 hours away. He asks for the same hospitality. Would you do the same?

From my experience, these two folks would be received very differently. People seem inclined to help out when someone is tackling a grandiose obstacle, but indifferent in offering a helping hand when someone needs help in a routine or commonplace activity. For me, when I tell people that I am between Calgary and San Francisco they are quick to help out, as was my friend Nils that I met yesterday. But, if I just tell people my next destination I get no such help. Why such a difference? People like contributing to a grand scale adventure, because in contributing they feel they are apart of it. And everyone likes adventures, even if they don't like going on adventures. Moral of the story: if you are ever in need of help make sure to play up your story and make it sound much more incredible than it really is.

On another note, I invented a new snack item. BNTM Shake and Bake. It stands for banana Nutella trail mix. It's pretty difficult to make. Let's see if I can't guide you through the process.

1. You place some trail mix in a separate bag from the original bag. Preferably ziplock.

2. Peel a banana.

3. Smother as much Nutella on a banana as possible.

4. Place the banana in the trail mix-filled bag.

5. Shake. (No baking necessary).

6. Eat. Carefully.

Mind blowing isn't it.

From here on my trip officially heads south, down Vancouver Island a couple nights stay in Nanaimo, jumping into the states to see my parents and Charlie. And then to Portland, OR by the 9th. Can't wait to see my wife.

The Sunshine Coast, minus the Sunshine.

A new destination to be heading towards the next couple days.

A good nap before the ferry between Earl's Cove and Saltery Bay.

The makings for a serious snack, and what I've been living on for the past couple days.

Banana-Nutella-Trail Mix Shake n Bake. Yeah, it was pretty tasty. Lunch in Madeira Park, BC.

North Vancouver - Sechelt 73km

Having a riding partner is a bit different than going solo. I do intervals on the hills in preparation for my 400 mile ride in September. More details on that later.

I slept in the tent last night and Elizabeth slept inside last night. We stayed with a wonderfully kind family, had Honey Bunches of Oats for breakfast and it was delish. Elizabeth also showed up with a bag of trail mix, but somehow this thing is about 80% M&Ms. I guess I didn't really notice, but Elizabeth has informed me that I am eating it all the time. She says I remind her of the fat little Dalmatian from 101 Dalmatians. If you happen to recall from your childhood his name is Rolly, his only contribution to the movie are the words, "I'm hungry mom, I'm hungry. I'm hungry mom, I really am" and that is just about how I feel. I feel like I could eat indefinitely. Usually after I eat, the food creates some sort of feeling in my stomach, like at the very most basic level my body recognizes food has entered it. But not now. Somewhere in the esophagus it seems as though the food disappears and my hunger remains. I think I am going to hit up and all you can eat pizza place in a couple days and see of if I can't bury 20 slices are so.

Got on the ferry at Horseshoe Bay and sailed to Langdale. Gelato in Gibsons at Mike's Place. Now in Sechelt at McDs wifi.

In Gibson there was a short 21% grade that I decided to go for (there was also the recommended side road) but I wanted to try it because 2 days ago in the Giro they had a long 11% climb with a max of 22% in the middle. I have no idea how the pros ride with the power they do.

Later in the day update:
Got to a WSesque home.  It is the home of a guy named Peter who I met riding a couple days east of here.  He generously offered his home, and his wife made a delicious meal.  Salmon, healthy rice (not the white stuff I am usually content with), some red peppers and etc.  Luckily Valerie is the wife of a cyclist, so after dinner we went for a little drive/walk down to the beach, and then when we got back to the house she got out all of the snacks that people who are always hungry like.  Popcorn, hot chocolate, trail mix, granola bars, raisin bread, Nutella, bananas, cereal.  The basics.

It's beautiful here. Interesting to see such different places.

A little secret of mine: I love vaccuming.  Katy and I have our fair share of arguments concerning the house, chores etc. We are any basic couple, we like things different ways.  However, one thing that we have never argued about is vaccuming.  I thoroughly enjoy it. It might be because we have a Dyson, the best wedding gift we got.  It has advanced cyclone technology, so it never loses suction.  The best part is that the container that holds the grunge is see through.  I like this because it lets you see the progress you are making.  Not only is the floor clean, but you have the dirt to prove it. The reason I mention this is because we are staying in a beautiful home up on a hill overlooking the sea, but it was in need of vaccuming.  It was a bit odd asking a host for a vacuum, but I went for it.  I would have asked for a rake (that's the type of vacuming we are talking about), but I thought that would have been over the top. To make a long story short, I went to town.  Bedroom, TV room, downstairs kitchen, the stairs. If I scrubbed really hard all the hair from the dog would come out of the carpet. Katy will probably laugh.  I haven't washed my clothes in who knows how long (hate laundry) but I'll happily volunteer to vaccum someone else's home.

Off to have a late night snack. I think I'm going to put Elizabeth on "blog duty" for the next couple days.

I found a riding partner.  My twin?

Gelato.  I think that instead of Mike's Place is should be called Mike's Groove: Mike's Song > I am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove.

There is only one beautiful person that I think of when I hear/eat Gelato.

Found the ocean, at Gibsons, BC.

That beautiful green sign on the bottom: Trans Canada Highway.  It will be missed.

Vancouver - North Vancouver 10km

Today was a rest day.  Woke up on the 16th floor of Burrard and Nelson in downtown Vancouver.  Breakfast with my WS host, we had granola, a microwaved egg (which was much better than anticipated) and I continued to snack on my trail mix.  I've had the serious munchies lately, last night after dinner I had 4 apricots, 2 bananas, half a dozen strawberries with Nutella, a couple hand fulls of trail mix and a bowl of granola.

As a rest day, I decided to take advantage of it.  However, before that I took a stroll off to MEC, which is Canadian for REI.  It seemed pretty much the same, except for more of a warehouse feel.

After that it was off to the movies, something very unlike me.  I saw The Avengers, it was recommended my Shalay and John P, so I took them up on it.  It was great.  I don't know if I have ever gone to the movies alone, but I did today and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Elizabeth showed up around 4pm, we ate at Japadog (how's that for borderline racy), and hot dog stands never really compare to J-Dawgs, as far as quality, price and dragon-tear filled special sauce goes.  A nice ride over the bridge and we were at our next WS host in North Vancouver.  A very nice couple, we saw slideshows of a ride he recently took down the Pacific Coast and I got excited about the adventure that lies ahead.

Tomorrow begins Leg 2 of the trip: Elizabeth is with me, we are riding north up the Sunshine Coast to Powell River then back down Vancouver Island through Nanaimo to Victoria (which by the way, a native of Victoria, Ryder Hesjedal just won the Giro d'Italia, being the first Canadian to win a Grand Tour).  I am excited, the pace will slow down for the next couple days and I'm just hoping for the best of weather.  It's interesting what a little bit of sunshine can do for your soul.

Bienvenue. I've been heading toward this city for a while now.

Beautiful Vancouver, seen from the bridge heading north to North Vancouver.

Good to see a familiar car again.  SAG made it.

Kilby Provincial Park - Vancouver 105km

Well, the first leg is over.

Got out of that place ASAP this morning and stormed off to Tim Hortons for breakfast. The ride was beautiful at first, but then just turned into red light after red light after red light.

Sent out some last minute emails for some WS hosts, and got a yes from a guy named Ray who lives right in downtown Vancouver. 16th floor apartment. We had dinner and watched the 2nd to last stage of the Giro for an hour or two. Those guys are something serious. Ray is an engineer, so he likes the science and math behind cycling, which I enjoy because I'm a bit of a science and numbers guy myself.

After dinner a walk down Robson Street, and then watching the sunset. Vancouver is really nice. Very manageable compared to some other big cities.

Tomorrow is a relative off day, I only have to ride 15km or so north, and Elizabeth is meeting me. It will be nice to have some company, but I will miss the long 7 hour days of as fast and as long as I can.

Talked to some long lost friends today: Craig and Haley, and plan on seeing them over in Nanaimo next week. That should be fun.

A great trip thus far.

Not a shabby place for a WS host.

Looking north as I ride east into Vancouver.

Sunset as seen from the West End of Downtown Vancouver.

My WS stay on the 16th floor of Burrard and Nelson.

Not too shabby for a free stay, eh?

Princeton - Kilby Provincial Park 183km

Sitting in McDonald's in Mission, on this sunny Saturday morning, about 66 clicks outside of Vancouver. I've ridden a bit faster than planned the last couple days and am going to reach Vancouver a day earlier than planned, before Elizabeth shows up and we ride the Sunshine Coast and over to Vancouver Island.

It's possible that yesterday will be my longest day before I get to Portland and depending on what I decide afterwards, maybe of my entire trip. It was a long day, about 9:30 - 7. With a good deal of climbing to get from the Crowsnest Highway to Lougheed Highway. I've been a bit surprised at how well my body has handled the riding. Usually back to back centuries would kill me, but at a slightly slower pace my body is doing great and I am cruising. My neck pains from last week are gone, my lower back doesnt feel tight and my seat is comfy. My Brooks B-17 was possibly the best decision I made for this trip. Yesterday my only food during the ride was a cheeseburger and fries with a chocolate brownie for lunch and a Gatorade. That's not much eating for 183km. I feel that whatever physiological system responsible for turning fat into energy is on overdrive right now, cause last night I felt that I could ride forever (until I hit the 11% climb).

Rode through Hope, BC yesterday, the filming location for Rambo, First Blood.

The place I stayed with WS yesterday was gross. Very nice lady but her house was disgusting, I am afraid to write about it because I'm not sure that it is something I want to remember. Here is a text I sent last night:
Birds cats dogs. She told me not to eat off the table in the middle of the kitchen. That's for the cats. And don't use the tap water: arsenic. And the two cats are both female, but they're kind of a couple. And you can cook whatever you want for dinner (open the fridge to a gallon of milk that looks, and moves like yogurt). Only time I've ever wanted my asthma to get bad real fast, so I could politely excuse myself.

But I made it out this morning with minimal casualties, a free place to sleep, a shower and a bowl of rice for dinner and I saved $25 to spend today on donuts. Canadian Maple and Timbits. That was enough to get me to Mission for breakfast at Tim Hortons's. Katy has asked me if I have seen anywhere I would like to live on my ride, my answer would be in Canada, because they have Tim Hortons and killer donuts. And do y'all know what Timbits are? Fill your cycling jersey with those and it's off to the races.

Two nights ago I slept at a campground with some folks off on the trans Canada ride. One of them was carrying 100 pounds of gear, the other 20 pounds. It is interesting to see the differences of people doing the exact same thing. I saw a bunch of older middle aged people on the road yesterday. Seems like a tough trek for the elderly, but I think most tourers move at very slow paces.

On the descent yesterday I cruised past 2 more bears, which puts the total count to ten. I guess Rob (biologist in Revelstoke) was right when he said that black bears are like dogs.

Well I'm off to Vancouver. It's strange that I'm here. I guess one pedal at a time and you can move long distances.

According to some of my basic calculations (1 lb. of fat = 3500 calories, cycle 1 mile = 40 calories) some of these people at McDonalds are carrying around enough energy to ride across Canada without eating. Yikes.

Good signs, bad signs, a scenic shot and a good business strategy.

A scenic shot.

The valley between Hope and Mission.

Good sign.

Good business model.

Beautiful.

Also a good sign.

Bad sign.

West Kelowna - Princeton 163km

I'm lying in my sleeping bag, inside my tent, with all my crap/stuff/gear everywhere. It seems like I brought so much stuff, and haven't used some of it, but other items are used everyday. Haven't touched bike maintenance items, but Rob helped me get my front derailleur figured out this morning. It turns out that the fender was preventing the derailleur from engaging the smallest ring. So this should make tomorrow's pass a little easier.

Breakfast was oatmeal with blueberries and Greek yogurt, then a healthy muffin of some sorts and an orange. A good solid breakfast, but I was hungry all day. First stop was for 3 apricots, 1 plum and a bag of taffy. An hour later my first Tim Horton's stop in Penticton. Had 4 donuts. Usually 4 donuts would register some sort of full feeling, but this just made me hungrier. In Keremeos I had a samosa, sausage roll, vegetarian wrap (which I found nicely wrapped inside a garbage can, but on top of all the rubbish), 2 mini pecan tart pie things and dinner was 3 bananas, Nutella, 2 roast beef sandwiches and a bunch of trail mix.

All that food has likely been put to use already in helping me through the 163km of the day. Ride was good, a bit of a prevailing tail wind, but then got drenched from about 5km outside of Princeton. Pulled into a gas station to get out of the rain and the lady came over the loudspeaker offering me some free hot chocolate to warm up.

Camping just east of town with 3 other folks I ran into in town. They are all doing the typical west to east trans Canada. I'll be in Vancouver in 3 days and I've got WS hosts lined up for all of next week, which will cut down costs and provide solid meals instead of continual snacking.

Off to bed, hope it doesn't rain.

Mid morning snack, getting closer, chuga chuga chuga chuga choo choo.

Tim Horton's is my friend.  4 donuts helped fuel the engine.

Climbing outside of Vernon on my way to Kelowna.  Climbing with all this weight makes me think twice about gaining weight in the future.

Vancouver here I come.

Enderby - West Kelowna 99km

Another good day in the saddle.  Got started off a bit late at noon.  That's because I had such a killer night sleep in my lovely sleeping bag, sleeping under the stars.  A bit of rain rolled in around 6am or so, so I moved under the pavillion.

Old age, it happens to everyone, unless tragedy strikes.  Today I've come across some elderly people who seem to have it figured out, and others who are still struggling.  The struggling: this morning at the RV park a lady was going for her morning walk along the river in a very scenic little town.  Although she wasn't walking, she was on her motorized scooter you would see at the grocery store.  She was also trying to walk her dog, which was running.  I'm sure you can see her, almost getting pulled out of her chair, unable to enjoy the beautiful walking path, river and mountains.  I would say still struggling.

Then in Vernon, in the middle of a beautiful town park, a Lawn Bowling league.  A couple of dozen retired couples laying their afternoon lawn bowling.  I'd like to see myself there in 50 years.  And later on at my warmshowers host family.  Jaqui and Rob have two kids across the river working, they cycle regularly, have done a bit of traveling and spend the winters down in Arizona and up in the beautiful Okanagan Valley in the summers.  I could do that.

Nice sunny day.  Sometimes I think I could ride my bike forever.  9 days on the road: 618 km, 15,450 calories burned, 148,320 pedal strokes, 12 PBJ's, 15 bananas,  8 bears, 2 Provinces 0 flat tires, 0 Wendy's and 0 Tim Horton's.  I'm guessing that these zero's are going to change.

Lunch in the park,Vernon,BC.

Okanagan Lake

Kalamalka Lake

Dessert, with my WS host after a delicious dinner.  Strawberries and Cappucino Frozen Yogurt.

The new breakfast of champions.

Revelstoke - Enderby 111km

Woke up this morning, peered out the window and saw what appeared to be a blue sky.  I was happy, so I rolled over and went back to bed.  As I lay rolling from side to side on my inflatable mattress, compliments of Rob and Sylvia, I began to hear noises coming from the back room.  This meant that Ruby and Carlos would soon be awake and surely coming in to see how the stranger was doing sleeping on their floor.  I was awoken to Ruby sneaking up behind some chairs trying to spy on me.  She's a very cute girl with some killer hair, we should have taken a side-by-side picture.

The weather slowly got better until I decided to head out around 11am.  I didn't really have an exact destination, just somewhere towards Kelowna where I have a WS host for tomorrow night.  I expected all the weather possibilities on my ride today.  Cool in the morning, rain, headwind tailwind and then some beautiful sunshine that I was ready to see.

In Sicamous I bought a killer spread of food, because I planned on camping tonight, so I figure if the sleeping is potentially subpar then the food better be killer.  Roast beef, swiss cheese, tomatoes, mustard, whole wheat roll, some pre-prepared pasta, bananas and Nutella.  It doesn't seem like I eat that much each day, but when I add it up it seems like a lot: 3 bowls of cereal, 2 PBJs, a Klondike bar, 4 bananas, 2 roast beef sandwiches, a pizza pretzel, Nutella, multiple handfuls of trail mix and a gatorade.  I wonder what shows up for a bedtime snack.

In a small town of Grindrod I stopped at a convenience store to fill up two water bottles.  Lady said they don't do that.  Makes me wonder about some people.  It's water.

I intended on camping tonight.  Rolled into Enderby at about 5pm and found the local campsite.  Lady in the office said $23, wasn't feeling like forking out the dough.  I rode a couple kilometers east of town, found some woods and walked far enough into them to be unseen.  Figured all was well.  Sat down, had dinner, and then the mosquitoes showed up.  Decided to look somewhere else.  About 3 minutes down the road I see a nice little open space on the right, and a bear is standing in the middle of it.  It's the eighth bear I've seen this week.  Not in the mood to share my Nutella with blacky, I head back to the campsite.  This time a guy at the office gives me a discount since it's just me and my bike, opens up some locked room and shows me where a computer, fridge, oven and sink are, in case I want to do some camping.  Pretty cool fellow this Denny guy is.  And what's better, he has family in Mississippi.  We both agreed that MS and this town are the two most opposite places in North America.

Sleeping in my sleeping bag.  Love the cozy feeling of tents and sleeping bags.  Mmm.

Mara Lake, at the very top of the Okanagan Valley.

Dinner. Delicious.  I can make a mean sandwich.

Revelstoke in the morning.  Overcast most of the day.

Good day sunshine, good day sunshine, good day sunshine.

Ruby spying on me this morning. Wonder what type of hair my kids will get?

Golden - Revelstoke 149km

Long day of riding today.  My first day where it has actually dawned on me that San Francisco is a long ways away.  Usually I just think about the next town, but with a long ride today I started to realize that I have a lot of long days ahead.

Woke up at the Dreamcatcher's Hostel this morning.  I had the top bunk.  The guy below me was a grizzly bear last night.  Snoring up a storm, a storm that fortunately woke himself up occasionally, giving me a window of opportunity to fall asleep before the thunder of his nasal cavitities returned. Breakfast of oatmeal with PBJ.  Yum.  One of my favorites.  There really are so many things you can add to oatmeal.

Rolled out of Golden around 10am, after visiting the grocery store and buying 2 bananas and a giant bag of trail mix.  The ride went well, a slow and then somewhat punctuated climb to Roger's Pass at the 75km halfway point, and then a pretty quick downhill (the first 40km) but the last 35km were grueling.  It was obvious that my body was zapped of readily avialable energy and that fat metabolism (a slow process) was allowing me to continue along, but my legs felt like lead.  Hopefully that lead turns into steel sometime soon.  Lower back pain went away almost entirely with my minor seat adjustment but my neck is getting sore.  Need to do some sort of stretching.

Roll into Revy and head to the McDonald's (free WiFi) and just my luck - a friend of a WS host has offered to let me stay the night.  Which is great because it rained for the last 3 hours, I'm wet, relatively cold and although I had planned on camping I just know that it isn't going to happen.  Very friendly family, Rob, Sylvia, Carlos and Ruby.  Chicken Pot Pie for dinner, salad and then a popsicle.

Tomorrow is another longer day to Salmon Arm.  It feels good to be exhausted and know that as soon as my head hits the pillow, game over.

You know you're in for a long haul when you see this sign.  Unfortunately no other pictures cause I was riding in the rain all day.  I'm sure you all know what clouds look like.

Jasper - Lake Louise - Golden 87 km

Very well, where do I begin?

My day was typical. Hitch hiking the Icelands Parkway, casual chit chat, in the afternoon a bike ride.

Hitch hiking: much better luck than yesterday. Got picked up by 3 folks to piece together my return to Lake Louise. The second guy, a colorful Canadian named Joey. He is a mid 30s mountain guide with a daughter and wide back at home on "the island", although I'm not quite sure what that means. He was off to some training with two buddies, and shared with us all his recent endeavors on writing a satirical (he used this word a lot) book on parenting: "What they never told me, The cold hard truth about parenting". The gist of the conversation was, everyone says parenting is great, but sometimes you just wan to put your hands on that little *^*#er. It was a very different change from the Europeans I have stayed with previously.

My bike ride. It was good to be back on my bike. A day off felt strange, so I've planned some serious 80-100 mile days to get me in the groove. Today I climbed to Kicking Horse Pass, the border of Alberta and British Columbia aka the Great Divide (cause its the ocean flowing in our veins, and it's the salt that's in our tears, cause I could have come so very far, in at least as many years, take the highway, to the GREAT DIVIDE. ) Then a lovely descent to the town of Golden. I would also like to add that I was in 3 national parks today: Jasper, Banff and Yoho.

One man's trash is another man's treasure. Or, someone's leftovers are Clayton's dinners. Made probably the largest bowl of (free) pasta today, in anticipation for 100ish miles to Revelstoke tomorrow (my first long day). Hostels are a bit more expensive than campsites, but campsites, to the best of my recollection, don't come with Free Food Shelves. I think the bears and chipmunks run that department. Speaking of bears, saw a grizzly today. It was about 40 feet away. Serious animal.

Lastly, just got an email from Grandma Ann. I have the best Grandma (on both sides). She mentioned Grandpa Dick's adventurous spirit, which I think exists in me. I love seeing and exploring new places, not knowing where I will be the next day, what's for dinner, who I will meet and talk to at the next hostel, what lies ahead. The unpredictability about this trip is its best quality, everyday brings something new, and I experience it all on my bike. I think this is what you call wanderlust.

Pasta, morning hair, Columbia Icefield, the Great Divide.

Free meal. I can justify paying to stay in a hostel if I'm going to get a free dinner.

Morning Hair.

Water from the Columbia Icefield flows in the Arctic, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.  Pretty sweet.

Back on my bike, the Alberta/BC border, Kicking Horse Pass, the Great Divide.