To Pincher Creek, AB

June 21, 2024

Heart

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Give Jacinto and inch and he’ll take a mile. For years, my mantra has been to be on the road near first light to beat the heat, wind, and RV’s. Oren and I got along just fine, out the door by 7 AM at the latest. Without Oren to reinforce my early riding habit, I have slid into the easy life. Part of it is waiting for the temperatures to warm up. Jacinto has been complaining about my 7 AM alarm, and 9 AM departure. He prefers an 8-9 AM alarm, and to leave when they kick him out of the room. Nightly he protests when I set the alarm. Nightly I remind him that 7 AM used to be my depart time, not wake up time. It’s almost a laughable routine by now. This morning I set the alarm for 7:30, a compromise because we have a short mileage day, and the wind looks calm.

It’s interesting what works when touring that totally won’t fly at home. I ate a banana this morning, followed by granola. The twist that wouldn’t happen in a civilized world is the fried chicken that followed! I got my protein in for the morning.

I wasn’t out the door until almost 10 AM! I had made arrangements with Dee at the Stardust Inn for a 2 PM check in. Four hours should be plenty of riding time.

I stayed on the road instead of the bike path out of town. I felt slightly guilty about the few cars that needed to go around me. At this hour, there were a few walkers, and one E bike rider who zipped right up the incline in front of us. I appreciated that the incline on the paved road was gentler than the path.

Five miles later, I made my one turn for the day, onto Highway 6. This was a smooth pavement road with a spacious shoulder. Traffic was light the entire day. We have had light traffic almost the entire trip. I think that might change tomorrow with Highway 3.

I kept looking in my rearview mirror, at the mountain scenes behind me. I saw wind fences a number of places along the way. Each time I gave thanks that I wasn’t battling the wind today. I saw a few herds of cattle. There was one lone llama (alpaca?). He didn’t appear to have any friends. His ears were laid back and he turned his head to follow me as I progressed past.

I had one longer climb at the beginning of the day, and then a bunch of pointless small ups and downs. I’ve tried to be more sanguine about the ups and downs. I think I managed well today. It’s easy to distract myself from the climbing with the grand scenery in this area.

The last I heard, Jacinto was going to ride to Hill Springs, adding an extra 20 miles to the day. I think he got some extra wind, and possibly rain for his effort.

I eventually swung out onto rolling green plains. This is beautiful. What wasn’t beautiful, and was a little scary, was all of the wind turbines ringing the valley. Only a few of them were moving, lazily. Whew.

We thought Pincher Creek to be a larger town, as they have a Walmart, and a number of the fast food places. As I topped the rise before town, it appeared fairly small to me. I passed on by the motel, and took a left onto Main Street to head for the Subway. It was right across from the indoor swimming pool. Perhaps lessons were starting. I saw a big sister bicycle up with not so small sister on the top tube of the bike. The younger sister had a back pack and went inside. As I was leaving a man was dropping off his young daughter, dressed only in a swim suit. I remember the days of going to the pool only in a swim suit but I think today is too cold for that! Note that my phone says 65 degrees. I have on tights, long sleeves, and a Buff, and am not too warm. Ah, to be five years old again.

At Subway I bought a full size sandwich, ate half, and packed the other half on top of my rack
for Jacinto. I also bought him his post ride soda pop. I coasted back down to the motel to check in. It was 1:55. Dee is a busy, efficient lady. It appears she does it all. She was replacing a toilet, but had gotten our room clean, early. She walked me outside to show me the room, and asked me if I’d brought lunch with me. I was a little confused about the question, until I saw the Subway strewn across the pavement. Two crows had made quick work of Jacinto’s sandwich! There was very little left. Dee said I didn’t seem too upset, that I must not be hangry. I told her I had eaten my half, my husband might be disappointed, but I was okay.

Bikes go in the laundry room, which is around the corner. Dee gave me the door code to get the bikes out whenever we want.

Jacinto just pulled in. He did ride the back route and had a few sprinkles for his troubles. His bike is very dirty. Jacinto said that once he rejoined highway 6, it appeared that the rain had moved through in front of him, as the road was really wet and caused back splashing on his bike. Jacinto was happy that he wasn’t cold. We are so, so thankful for the warm weather. The rest of the country is in a heat wave, and we’re happy when it’s above freezing!

Later - We walked .6 miles to the Bright Pearl Chinese restaurant. Friday night is buffet night. It is a very small buffet. There were signs everywhere to eat all of the food on your plate, or they would charge for an extra meal. I got a second plate and had to force the last few bites down. I did not feel well at all on the walk back to the room. Happily, the walk must have started my digestion going, as I feel fine now. We stopped at the convenience store for milk and bananas for breakfast. Jacinto bought bagels last night to go with his jar of peanut butter. He's pleased with his carb/fat/protein combo. Who knew bagels were the key to happiness? We could have been doing that years ago.

It is so nice here, we have the door to the room wide open. Warmth is not overrated.