August 21, 2024
Day 3: Two Canucks cross the border.
Today we started the day with the goal of getting about 10 km shy of the US border. We woke up at our usual 6 AM, happy to find our food hanging off a branch untouched. It was overcast at night and not quite as cold it meant that it was still not quite light when we packed up our gear. We enjoyed a bagel and cheese and a granola bar and packed up our bikes. Ahead of this trip we both decided to cut our coffee consumption. We didn’t wan the hassle of having to brew it each morning. I know, I know sacrilege! But, you have to make some sacrifices.
We started riding about 7:10 and knew we’d be in Fernie quickly. The riding was mostly hard packed dirt and a bit of highway. Approaching Fernie it’s very scenic. The town is surrounded by mountains and it appears touristy straightaway with a very nice sign.
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We had a plan for what to accomplish in Fernie. Grab a coffee and treat, resupply groceries, hit a bike shop for some miscellaneous bike maintenance stuff, and find a store selling flip flops. Peter forgot his and mine already snapped sliding into a creek.
Our first stop was a really nice bagel shop. There we enjoyed good coffee in a ceramic mug, chatted with other bike packers and interested people, and had a second breakfast bagel. This stop was ideal in many ways. We could park our bikes right in front of the window and charge our devices while enjoying the food.
On this trip I’m struggling between pure enjoyment mode and race mode. I am a very goal oriented person so when we mapped it to 42 days I feel motivated to achieve our goal. It’s really an arbitrary number but it does have some importance. We want to get through the high elevations of Colorado before the first snow falls. And from other cyclists reports this can randomly happen even in September, although it’s more likely to start mid-October.. if we hit 42 we will be through in the third week of September and into New Mexico.
After the bagel shop we hit a dollar store and I found slides for $13.5 in our sizes. Bingo. While there I grabbed some candy and treats.
For groceries we are trying to strike a balance of nutrition and reality. At home I normally cook vegan and generally from whole foods. I very little that’s prepackaged or prepared already. On this trip though convenience is important so we are buying salad in a bag and trying to find meals that heat up fast for dinner.
Today I decided on cheese buns, carrots, hummus and chips for lunch and Indian food for dinner (Butter tofu). It turned out that both choices were great because the lunch was quick and delicious and dinner was also quick and delicious.
We ended up spending 2 hours in Fernie which was longer than planned but also necessary. I want to go back! Especially after seeing their ski hill is just 5 minutes out of town and it’s looks fantastic.
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Out of Fernie we had nice hard packed gravel for a long time. The weather was strange. We started the day with cold hands and modest clothes (pants, long sleeve merino, bike vest). But there were dark clouds mixed with blue sky so we had several rain showers so we broke out the rain coats for the first time on the trip. I think we took them on and off 3 times between showers.
The scenery around Fernie is very nice. Now I have another place to look a real estate in my free time. Nelson and Squamish are on my frequently searched locations.
The riding today was easier than past days. The elevation profile had us losing elevation all the way to the border so that meant we had some nice easy descents on hard packed gravel.
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I’m learning again that there are huge speed differences between surfaces. Paved roads provide little resistance, although you can encounter more wind than in the forest. Hard packed gravel is much easier than loose gravel and soft surfaces are generally the slowest. Today we had a lot of gravel which I’m enjoying and most of the pavement was away from cars.
We were making great time and then at 85 km we hit a giant paved hill. It must have been a bit of a steeper grade than normal, and long. That seemed to take 20 minutes to summit but with the headphones on it wasn’t so bad.
Speaking of headphones, 10 hours on a bike is a long time. I started listening to a great podcast series on the D-day invasion. My dad would be proud because his career was teaching history. It’s fascinating and it makes time fly by, not that the riding and sensory aren’t enough!
We were getting close to our goal for the day at 3:30 so we decided to power on and get over the border. The border was a sleepy outpost with a friendly officer so we zipped right through. We got into Eureka, Montana just after 5:30 and set up in their public park that allows camping. This is a nice little town with all the amenities. Our tents are set up right by a slow moving river and hopefully we sleep well with the road not too far away.
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3 months ago
2 months ago
Highlights:
-Fernie, it’s a very nice town and scenic
-Our meals were really good
-Finding a campground with zero hassle and no concerns of bears
-Changing scenery from the mountains of Fernie to the grassy farmlands of Montana
-No mechanical issues yet on the trip
Distance - 136 km/970 m elevation gain
Today's ride: 136 km (84 miles)
Total: 374 km (232 miles)
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3 months ago