Alberta


Day 10, Thursday, July 23rd
Lake Louise (8:15)--- Banff (12:30)
60 km + 22.6 km extra ride in Banff, total 1002.1 km


Got up at 6 o'clock. The Rockies was fantastic. When I rode my bike to get some water, I noticed something--- My wheel is bent! I tried to fix it by myself, but it was out of my hand. So I changed my plan to go to Calgary and decided to go to Banff, where I'll take my bike to a bike shop. We took some pictures before I leave. One of two cyclists were staying there so I biked with the other. (Mr. Shiraishi)
Trans Canada had such a wide a shoulder we could bike in a row. The traffic was pretty heavy though, besides the road was bumpy. I was really worried about my front wheel.
When we went for a while, we got to Castle Junction, where we got into highway 1A. It didn't have shoulder, but the traffic was less heavy and the landscape was wonderful. (I'm running out of expression to describe the Rockies!) I met an old cyclist from Australia at Johnstoke castle. His baggage was a lot smaller than mine, which I couldn't believe. The terrain was mainly flat for a while, but later I met some hills. Sometimes I had to put my gear into the inner, but it was nothing to me. Mr. Shiraishi (28 years old) seemed to have trouble climbing up the hill, though. We met lots of cyclists on the way, but most of them didn't have any baggage. I wished it was me.
The old highway joined Trans Canada about 6 km before Banff. We got to Banff around 12, and headed for a campground. I had been looking forward to seeing the town for a long time, but Banff was rather disappointing. It was just too touristic to me, too many people, too many cars etc. There was a long uphill to the campground, but when we finished climbing up the hill, Mr. Shiraishi suggested we stay at a youth hostel. I was rather against the plan, but he was eager. Eventually I agreed to him, and we checked out the hostel. Unfortunately it was already full, but we met some nice Japanese girls in front of it. We decided to cook dinner later.
Just when left for the campground, someone called my name. Turning around, I found it was Dee and Miwako! What a coincidence! I never thought I would never see them again. They said they arrived here on the day I went over Rogers Pass.
Campground was pretty expensive. (16 dollars) In the national parks everything is expensive. We pitched our tents, and promised to meet up in the downtown again. I took my bike to a bike shop to have my wheel fixed. One of the salesclerks said it was gone, but they managed to fix it. They were a little bit unfriendly. I don't know if it's because I'm not a Canadian or because I'm a tourist.
At night the Japanese girls and we had dinner together. It was really nice to speak my mother language in person again. They were cute and nice too, but I forgot to ask their phone number and address! Shoot, I should have!
We left for the campground around 10. We sang songs as we walked, which reminded me of boyhood, when I went camping. I hit the sack around 12:30. (I fell asleep while writing this, and I woke up again 30 minutes later to finish it)

Day 11, Friday, July 24th
Banff (7:50)---Calgary (2:30)
125.5 km, total 1127.6 km


It was the luckiest day ever. I'll never forget today!
I woke up at 6. I was really sleepy as I hit the sack pretty late. I went to sleep again. I saw some elks devouring grass in the campground. Very surprising. I woke up Mr. Shiraisshi just before I left, and we took a picture. I was not quite happy when I left.
I didn't get into the town of Banff, but went directly to Trans Canada. Unlike yesterday, the road condition was excellent, and the terrain was mainly flat. I was able to keep even 35 km/h.
It didn't take me an hour to get to Canmore. Not like Banff, it was calm, and not very touristic. I imagine Banff used to be just like that. I thought about taking some brake there, but I didn't.
Just after leaving there, I met the junction of highway 1A (the old highway) so I took it. For the first 5 km there was as much as traffic as in Trans Canada, and road condition was a lot worse than it. But after a while, what waited for me was prairie I had dreamed of for a long time. The terrain was not as flat as I expected, and there were even lots of hills.
Around 11:30 I met two German cyclists. They said I was the first cyclist they met from Edmonton. I felt honored. An hour later I got to Cochrane, where I took lunch. Just before getting there, shoulder appeared at last, but traffic got heavier too.
As soon as I left there, there was a long, steep hill. A woman cyclist on the other lane waved at me when I was climbing. My energy didn't last till the top, and I got off the bike and pushed it. I took a break in the middle of the hill, where I met the woman cyclist who waved at me just before. Her name was Suzanne, and she said she often bikes between her home in Calgary and Cochrane. Also she said she could put me up if her husband said ok. I couldn't believe that! I've heard some people would invite cyclists when you bike across the continent, but I never thought that would happen to me
After climbing the hill, the terrain was pretty flat, and after a while downtown Calgary got into my sight. It didn't take me long to get to her place.
She was just nice! She gave me everything I wanted --- shower, laundry, dinner, and KINDNESS! Her husband, Douglas, was nice too, and they took me to Mountain Equipment Co-op, when I said I wanted to go there. I can't imagine how hard it would be if I bike into the downtown and looked for the youth hostel. Again, I believed in the presence of the God.

Day 12, Saturday, July 25th
Calgary (7:45)---Bassano (3:30)
157.7 km, total 1285.3 km


Woke up at 6, but bed was so comfortable that eventually I stayed in bed till 6:15. It took me only half an hour to get ready. Douglas fed me with some serials and fruits. I wanted to say thank you to Suzanne, but she didn't get up.
I left their place at 7:45. Douglas was kind enough to bike with me to the city limit. Otherwise I would've had to fight with the heavy traffic in downtown Calgary.
Traffic was very busy on Trans Canada for a while. There wasn't shoulder on the right-hand side, so I biked on the left-hand side. Felt like I was biking in Japan. I asked Douglas what the terrain is like and he answered it's PRETTY flat. Now I know what he meant. It was just like I was biking on a huge washboard. And it seemed like they built the highway never to be flat. Only good thing was ascent was not serious. I didn't have to use the inner gear a lot.
After a while, it was the real prairie--- the world of nothing. I was touched to see that at first, but 10 minutes was enough to make me bored. I tried every way to get away this boredom. At first I tried to communicate with cows, just like they tried to to aliens in Close Encounters of The Third World. I mimicked their sound as the means to communicate to them. I succeeded in attracting their attention, but it didn't work further. They looked as if I was some stupid human being --- Yes I am! (To readers, I'm not a crazy person to do that seriously, just in case)
Then I took my radio out of my pannier. It worked for a while. But as I went away from Calgary, no FM station became available, so I tuned in AM station. Some stations were available, but they play only country music? That drove me really crazy, as I'm not a big fan of that kind of music. Eventually I found a station that doesn't play country music, and I studied English as I heard news.
I stopped in Strathmore around 10:45. I couldn't believe I arrived there so fast. It was too fast for lunch but I went to Dairy Queen to have lunch. I bought some food and water at co-op. (I used the water bottle for the rest of my trip as my fourth bottle.)
I stopped at a gas station near Crowfoot again, where I got water. I used to buy mineral water, but it turned out they cost me a lot. Mr. Shiraishi said he gets water at gas stand, and I tried his way. The waitress in the restaurant kindly gave me a refrigerated water. It stunk, though.
When I pedaled for a couple of minutes, the chain got stuck between the end and gear. It didn't take me long to fix it, but my hands got completely black. My handlebar got back too.
There were not many towns along Trans Canada. There were some, but they were a little bit out of the highway.
I arrived in Bassano around 3:30. I wondered if I should go to Brooks, but decided to stay here. The campground was pretty cheap (8 dollars) compared to ones in BC, but the town looked a little bit obsolete. There was a school or something in front of the campground, and something was going on there. I found later there was a wedding. Oh well, when could I meet a woman?

Day 13, Sunday, July 26th
Bassano (7:20) --- Medicine Hat (4:10)
159.1 km, total 1444.4 km


One of the hottest day ever.
I woke up at 5:30, but went to sleep again, as usual. I finally got out of the tent at 5:50, and then found my muffins for breakfast had been eaten by dog or something. Fortunately 3 of 6 managed to survive. A couple in Volkswagen talked to me. They said they were from Coquitlam too, and that they came here only in 2 days. I don't know even how many days I rode my bike.
I had a nice morning. Though the prairie is always boring, it's really beautiful in the morning. I didn't turn on my radio, and tried to listen to the sound of the nature. Traffic was very little for Trans Canada, and sometimes I didn't see any car or truck.
The terrain was flat to Tilley. It was the first long flat terrain since Highway 7. It didn't take me 2 hours to Brooks. I bought sandwiches for my lunch, and went to toilet. In the prairies, it's sometimes hard to pee without being seen by anybody, because there is nowhere to hide.
It was a long way to get to the next town, Suffield. My butt got sore on the way. At the same time, I got bored of pedaling itself.
Around 11:30, I took lunch beside the road. Then I started pedaling.
It's been really monotonous since I left the Rockies . My day is spent on pedaling, taking a break, pedaling, taking break, blah, blah, blah. There is nothing that inspires me. And to make matters worse, all I hear on the radio is country music. As a guitarist, I try to learn how they play the guitar, but then I get bored. Before I came here, I thought the hardest part would be the Rockies and Ontario and the prairies would be a piece of cake, but I was wrong. I'd say it's as hard as the Rockies, or it might be harder!
It was past 1 when I finally got to Suffield. I got in "Kingo Store" and as you might be able to guess, the manager seemed to be Japanese Canadian. I bought Powerade and got some water.
When I left there, it got outrageously hot. It might have been as hot as Kamloops. I tried to take a break in some shade, but all found there was just meadow. There was no tree. It was the real Steppe I learned at high school. Also my right knee started to hurt. It was better than when I was in BC, though. To make matters worse, paving got poor. It was as if I went on gravel.
Fortunately that situation didn't last long. Around 3:30, I arrived in Medicine Hat. It was as hilly as Kamloops. I think Medicine Hat and Kamloops should be sister cities --- They have lots in common, e.g. heat and hill. I was so tired I didn't feel like cooking, so I went to McDonald's. Campground was not expensive today either, but there were too many bugs. As I write this, I'm in A&W to avoid them. I started this trip to get away from civilization, but my behavior is getting contradictory.

Day 14, Monday, July 27th
Medicine Hat (7:10) --- Gull Lake, Saskatchewan (6:00)
174.1 km, total 1618.5 km


I woke up at 5, but went to sleep till 5:50. I'm tired of starting my journal like this!
This morning I didn't fix myself breakfast, and instead I went to a restaurant. I saw "Breakfast Special 3.99" yesterday, and figured it would be cheaper to buy food for breakfast. It was really nice. It was my first time to eat hot stuff in the morning.
It took me some time to get out of Medicine Hat. Well, it was a real city. The traffic was pretty heavy in the city center. There were some hills there, and shoulder was full of gravel. Things got better once I went out of the city.
I got to Irvine in an hour or so. I bought some snack, and left soon. I got my saddle 1 cm higher. I hope it will work well for my knee.
Road condition was pretty good around there, and I was able to keep 28 to 30 km/h. I used my aero bar a lot, and it was very comfortable. Shortly before 10, I got to the last town in Alberta, Walsh. I bought chocolate milk (It was the beginning of chocolate milk addiction) and ice cream. It was my first time to eat ice cream on my trip, but it was really good. I found a visitor center in the town, where I went to toilet. I met a couple there and they said their acquaintance biked from Vancouver to Ottawa, and he said the prairies were the hardest part. I think he is right.
The border was only 5 minutes away. I met a motorcyclist, and had him take a picture of me. He said he used to be a cyclist like me too and biked from Los Angeles to Vancouver. Someday when I go across Canada, I want to go on motorcycle like him.
Saskatchewan was not a easy place to go. There were lots of up and down, and the wind turned its direction --- not east, but west! (It was the beginning of the hard days in Saskatchewan) It slowed me down a lot. Who the heck said the wind always blows from east to west???
I found a campground called Eagle Creek Campground, where I took my lunch. I was already really tired then. Soon I found the information center of Saskatchewan, and I got a book about campground. The guy there was really nice, and I talked with him for a while. I got some water there too.
In addition to the wind, the paving got poor too. It was a lot worse than yesterday. The wind and poor pavement --- who the heck wants to me slow down? It was as if I used up all of my luck in Kamloops and Calgary.
When I went 24 km, I found a small restaurant in a small village called Piapot. The guidebook says there are only 26 people. It's unthinkable in Japan. I drank 2 cans of coke there. I don't know how they run the restaurant.
Then I started pedaling again, and stopped in Thompkins. Unconsciously I started to stop every village along the way. A black man asked me curiously what I am doing, like...
"Where are you biking to?"
"Montreal"
"Holy shit!"
"I'm going to Gull Lake today, though"
"Holy shit! How long did it take you here?"
"About 2 weeks"
"Holy shit!"
Every time I answered to his question, he exclaimed, "Holy shit!" It was really funny.
Around Thompkins there were more up and down. I took many short break along the way. Around 6, I finally got to Gull Lake.
The campground was pretty nice and cost me only 8 dollars with shower (and free meal!). One of good things in the prairies is campground is cheap. Just when I thought about going to restaurant for dinner, I met 2 nice guys, David and Hemish (?). They kindly shared dinner with me and I had a great time. They live in Winnipeg, and David said he could put me up when I'm in Winnipeg. I set another goal tonight --- Going to Winnipeg! Biking to Montreal is still too big to me, but biking to Winnipeg is a lot easier.


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