To Sparwood, BC

June 22, 2024

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I was a little too happy at the beginning of the trip, wasn't I? We had too many good days in a row. Now we are headed west, right into the prevailing wind. Dee, from the motel, said this is nothing. It's just a gentle breeze to keep the bugs down! With all of the wind turbines around town, I do believe that the wind blows even stronger than today. Right now my phone says wind 8 mph with gusts to 17 mph. Jacinto and I are both very sure that those numbers are wrong.

Looking at the elevation profile, today should have been a typical cruising day. Instead it was an exercise in patience. We used a lot more energy today than expected. I also ate almost all of my snacks! I was feeling sad about not having Fig Newtons. Isn't that a laugh?

Scenery wise, the day was interesting. We went from the plains, back into the mountains. There was an imaginary line drawn at Lundbrek. On one side was sweeping fields of grass, on the other were foothills with pine trees. It seemed abrupt to me, in an engaging way.

We've been warned by several people about horrible highway 3. Today wasn't so bad. Road conditions were smooth the entire distance. The shoulder was wide (6 foot), without rumble strips, to the providence line. Then a rumble strip appeared, the shoulder shrunk about half the size, and it wasn't clean. There was all sorts of sand, and small pebbles/rocks. Skirting around the drifting piles of sand/rocks was a little trickier on the smaller shoulder.

As for traffic. I didn't think it was bad. Everyone gave us room. I did see what I felt was an unusual number of vehicles with bicycles. Almost all were mountain bikes. The common method of carrying bikes here appears to be the style where you have the pick up tail gate protector, with the front wheel/handlebars of the bike hanging over the tail gate. So many trucks with this set up passed me that I speculate there might be an organized event this weekend.

I will qualify my opinion about the quantity of traffic with the statement that I am accustomed to riding mountain roads in Colorado. There's often only one road going where everyone wants to go. Sometimes traffic is busy. I didn't feel today was overly busy. There was almost always a passing lane, which is helpful for everyone.

My day progressed slowly. I gave up looking at my computer early on. The numbers just weren't turning around. It was better to watch the view instead. It should have been a cruising day. Instead we struggled with the wind. I reminded myself a number of times that at least it wasn't raining and I was warm. Those are both things to appreciate. Snow is in our recent memory!

We had gradual climbs and descents until 12 miles from town. That was the top of the last climb, and also the line between Alberta and British Columbia. I felt as if the wind died down after we crested the climb. Jacinto says it was still there, riding just felt easier because we were going downhill.

My plan was to stop again at Subway before going to the motel. It worked for me that the motel, the grocery, Subway, and the big green truck for photo opportunities were all within one block. As I took the turn for the green truck, I could see a party of seven bike packers pulling away. There was one man remaining. I waited my turn for photos, and then walked my bike over to the loaded cyclist. Tristan and I talked for a half hour while he ate his lunch of a bagel with peanut butter, and banana slices. Tristan needed to ride 100 km a day to keep his schedule and arrive in Montreal in time. He was hoping to make up some time on the plains. I told him today would be the perfect day for him to make miles, with the tailwind. He told me tomorrow would be an excellent day for me, as it's all downhill to Fernie (his starting point). The bike packers were a self organized group. He wasn't sure where they started, but they were heading to Glacier.

Jacinto and I both felt the wind today was a real issue. But, the forecast doesn't agree. Tomorrow it says the wind is bad. We are heading straight south into the wind tomorrow. What fun. We have a cabin in the middle of nowhere. We have to carry food. We are going to dinner now, at the restaurant here in the motel. Then we are walking over to the store. Jacinto says if the day is going to be as hard as today, he doesn't want to carry more than he has to. It was just a couple of days ago that he bought a jar of peanut butter because food supplies were low.

I'm ready to go to bed right now. It's not even 6 PM - dark isn't for another four hours!

Later - dinner in the attached restaurant was good. We shared a big salad, a seafood chowder, and a hamburger/fries. Then we spent far too long wandering around the grocery deciding what to carry. I wanted to make something a little homemade. Laugh with me - my idea was tortellini with a jar of pasta sauce and precooked chicken slices. Jacinto wanted frozen broccoli beef. That's what he bought. I got an Amy's frozen meal. We carefully debated how many bananas we would eat.

If you are a single woman in Sparwood, Saturday night is the night to meet young men at the grocery store. I saw a notable number of young men dressed in working guy clothes at the store, carrying a basket, buying just a few prepared food items. I'm sure any of them would appreciate a homemade meal. Dee had said yesterday that traffic on Highway 3 is high at certain times because people commute to the six mines in the area. I suppose these men are mine workers.

I checked the weather once again after we returned to the room. The wind still wasn't friendly. I decided waking up early was less painful than riding in the wind. I aimed for a 7 AM depart. Jacinto doesn't like the wind, but he likes waking up even less. He strongly suggested I keep to the regular 7 AM wake up.

In the meanwhile, food is a concern for tonight. I was really hoping for eggs/protein. Jacinto said if we carry eggs from here, we probably wouldn't have scrambled eggs when we arrive, we would have to throw them away! I called the gas station at Elko (eight miles from our destination). The man said they had milk, eggs, and sandwiches. I'm in charge of buying milk and eggs. Jacinto found a burger place close to there. He's planning to buy a burger to go, and is going to eat his broccoli beef for breakfast.

Tristan's opinion was that we would have a good riding day, because it's all downhill going our direction. I hope he is correct!

There were all sorts of bikes parked outside this morning. Motors and no motors.

Jacinto took Road 507 at the beginning of the day. He said it was a recommended ride except for the wind. It did add significant extra climbing. My average was higher than Jacinto’s. That never happens.

This is a cut out of an Indian, a buffalo, and a tepee that’s not in the photo. Please observe a moment of silence in thought of the necessity of all of those wind turbines in the background.

Suddenly at Lundbrek, we were back in the mountains.

some of the Frank slide. It covered both sides of the road for a distance.

Yes, definitely mountains. I tried to look around and distract myself from the wind. I was occasionally successful.

Jacinto met this Reed Brown. He is going to Nova Scotia. Today he rode 126 miles at 16 mph. Tell me that wasn’t a strong wind today! At least it was in someone’s favor.

The road went right through the middle of Island Lake.

There were warning signs all over for Rocky Mountain sheep. Jacinto saw these. I didn’t see any.

I think bicyclists trigger these warning lights, just like deer. Jacinto thinks they are flashing all of the time.

This former mining truck holds two buses and two pick up trucks. My eight foot long bicycle is small in comparison.

Tristan is riding from Victoria to Montreal.

His silverware is wrapped up so it doesn’t rattle.

These were the flowers of the day. We are finally seeing flowers. Bill identifies as dame's rocket. That's an interesting name.

Today's ride: 55 miles (89 km)
Total: 720 miles (1,159 km)

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Amber StarfireSorry for the wind. Otherwise, it looks like a great day.
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2 months ago

Jacquie GaudetWind is better than wildfire smoke. We drove through here in 2003 (109th anniversary of the Frank Slide) and it was so smoky we were worried the road would be closed. No view.
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2 months ago

Kelly IniguezTo Jacquie GaudetThat sounds like us and the Icefields Parkway. We knew there were great views behind those clouds, if we could only see!
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2 months ago