It’s pouring rain so I may as well start on today’s post. Fortunately I am under cover at the shelter next to the truck. The rain is making a lot of noise on the tin roof.
Our group has been together for over a week now and nobody has killed anyone yet! Seriously I am so lucky to be riding with such a wonderful group of people. Everyone just seemed to bond instantly and we are having so much fun together. We have riders from Great Britain, Australia, California, and all across Canada. Our group is very diverse with University grads, engineers (the most populous group), a semi-retired psychiatrist (could be employed full time by our group by the end of the tour), software engineer, retired teacher, tattoo artist, and rowing coach just to name a few. The one common interest obviously is the love of cycling.
This morning was a sleep-in day. On riding mornings I’ve generally been up by 5:30, some mornings as early as 5:00. This morning I slept in until a little after 7:00 but lay in bed until nearly 8:00. The first item on the agenda was to get my laundry in the washing machine. While waiting for it to finish washing I had a bowl of cereal and finished up yesterday’s post. The morning was warm with blue skies. The dryer wasn’t working but it was a perfect day to string up my clothesline.
Around mid-morning I set off with Eric, Mike, and Rob in search of breakfast and a bike shop. Walking into town we happened upon the Island Restaurant. My omelet was excellent!
After breakfast we continued our walk into town to the Farmer’s Market. A lemon cupcake had my name on it so what choice did I have but to buy it. On our way back to camp we stopped at a bike shop. I purchased some degreaser and a third water bottle cage to mount on my bike on the underside of the down tube. I certainly could have used the third bottle yesterday.
Our route back to camp just happened to take us past the Mad Trapper’s Pub so we had to stop in for a little refreshment. Thankfully Karaoke night was over!
Back at camp it was bike cleaning/maintenance time. After riding in the rain a couple of days this week the chain needed a good cleaning and lubrication. I used the opportunity to mount my new water bottle cage. Just as I was finishing up the wind picked up and it looked like rain was imminent. I raced back to the tent and got my laundry off the line just before the first few drops of rain started to fall. And now I find myself under cover as the rain pelts down, the lightning flashes and the thunder roars. Hopefully the downpour will not last too long. In any event it will be a good test of my tent’s waterproofing.
It’s now evening. The storm passed and the sun came out. My tent was nice and dry.
A large group of us headed into town this evening for dinner at The Turning Point Restaurant. It was a great choice as the food was excellent. Back at camp Gee (Gerald) and his father Larry were serving up ice cream in waffle cones that they had bought on the way back from the restaurant. It was a perfect ending to another day. Tomorrow it’s back in the saddle for four more days until our next rest day in Drumheller.
To date we have ridden 756 km and I have consumed 14 PBJ sandwiches for lunch.
Wind At Your Back 
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