In the middle of the night I was awakened by a howling wind. After laying there for a while and determining that my tent wasn’t going to blow away I fell back to sleep. Despite the Severe Thunderstorm Watch in our area, Tornado warnings in central Alberta, and hail at home in St. Albert, we only got the wind with no rain.

We (Michel, Elaine and me) had another early start. The first 30 km was fairly easy with a NW wind giving us a bit of a tailwind, then we turned north towards Acme into a headwind. The next 20 km or so were a tough grind. In Acme we stopped at a bakery where I thoroughly enjoyed a cinnamon bun and a coffee.

Canola fields

As we rode along the scent of canola blossoms was in the air. The yellow fields of canola against the blue sky is a beautiful panorama that I never tire of.

As we got to the bottom of the hill down into the Red Deer Valley we took the turn to the Bleriot Ferry. We rode through the Badlands for a bit we rode back up out of the valley. The hill was about 1.5 km long and up to a 12% grade. At the top we were back riding through farmland again. Looking around you couldn’t see any evidence of the Badlands we had been riding through a few minutes earlier.

Bleriot Ferry

Several kilometres further we again descended into the valley to the ferry. After a short wait we were on the ferry crossing the Red Deer River. On the other side we were again faced with a steep hill. This one was a bit shorter but was pretty much a 12% grade all the way up. It was a pretty tough grind but soon enough we were at the top.

Wildflowers at Horse Thief Canyon

Our last stop of the day was at Horse Thief Canyon: a pretty spectacular sight. By the time we arrived at the campground we had logged 151 km.