Its coming up on 6pm and I’m throwing in the towel for even getting started for the day. It’s been non stop rain in the town of Jasper, Alberta nestled in the Rocky Mountains, with temperatures hovering at 4 degrees today. My tent is soaked, my sleeping bag is moist, and mattress pad is making some squishing noises – so rather than pack it all up to get all gross, I’m going to spend one more night in someones backyard where the weather will be much better come morning. So help me god.
I suppose its safe to say I’m done all the difficult climbs of the Cross Canada tour so far, BC and western Alberta have treacherous climbs involving 1000 metres of ascent over short distances, grades of 14% not uncommon. I’m ecstatic that I made it through these areas, and not in the typical straight line fashion. Sure, it’s worn me out, but I’ve seen some amazing sights, managed to meet a whole group of solid people along the way, and the weather has been cooperative almost the whole time. That is until yesterday, when I descending from the Columbia Icefields when it started SNOWING. I’d heard that the weather could be unpredictable but never thought in my wildest dreams I’d get caught in a blizzard in July. It went over about as well as one would think it would go, clouding the past few days for me mentally.
Leaving Banff after a 3 day rest however was a wonderful experience, not only to get away from the droves of las-vegas-esque tourists, but to see what the Canadian Rockies had to offer. I took Highway 1A – a side road with many windy climbs and very minimal traffic before making it to Lake Louise, 52km away. The Lake Louise Village if we were to compare Banff to Las Vegas, would be something similar to Detroit. I didn’t stay long before heading north to Jasper. It was cloudy, and I had good stores of energy left from relaxing the days prior to and I started making my way up to one of the highest passes of the tour so far, The Bow Summit. With a daily goal of 100km, I stopped 4km from the top and found a wonderful place to camp in a not so camp friendly picnic area before it got dark, as I was getting cold from the 2000 metre elevation. I’ve been stressing about these climbs for about 3 months, and they actually turned out to be not bad. Certainly manageable, and I can remember worse climbs in the start of the tour heading to Port Renfrew.
Minutes before, I ran into a fellow from Jasper who had some tunes going in a backpack and was riding a road bike with no other gear. He mentioned he had started at Jasper at 7am and was looking forward to a hot shower in Lake Louse. I called him a madman, putting himself through huge climbs over a 233km daily distance, and was off on my way, eventually running into him later a few days later comparing stories, soreness over a few beers.
I ran into many cyclists (pedal and motor) along the way, stopping to chat, and share some laughs obviously needing some human interaction. I haven’t seen so many cyclists since I rode the Pacific Coast down to Mexico in 2009. I’ve ridden with a cowboy hat to draw some attention and absurdity to the situation, with mixed results from passer-by’s. At least they are noticing, as I’m always a bit leery riding on a busy route with RV’s and trailers, considering you do not need any additional driving training or classes to operate a big motor vehicle like some of the mobile palaces I am encountering.
The Icefields parkway from Jasper to Lake Louise is set up for tourists, and money – lots of it. Lodges along the way every 70-80km overcharge for refreshments (coffee 2.95, can of pop = $3.50), lodging (starting at the low price of $220), and meals well into the double digits. It’s only like this because people are paying for it, and I felt pretty disgusted along the ride, while I attempt to meet my $30 a day budget. I think I fared pretty good, caving when I needed a warm coffee at a lodge, soaked, covered in traces of snow and ice, unable to form sentences. I did hear a good acronym for Jasper, Just another Special Place Exploiting Revenue. However not nearly as much as Banff.
Road wise, I was disappointed. Every 10 – 15 feet was a break in the concrete due to freezing, poor road construction, and a disregard for repairs making it for a very bumpy ride, causing some soreness in my body trying to stay rigid. The bumps sometimes were so bad that the bike caught air, and panniers went a flyin’. I can understand how the cold weather would cause some issues, but I found that the roads could have been kept in much better condition, or at the very least, advising us of what to expect. As a matter of fact, when I took a side road about 32km from Jasper – (93a) it clearly said I would be riding through rough conditions, and I had a great time, knowing that it was coming, seeing some of the sights off the beaten track, not crowded by endless tourists. The one thing however was the surprise 100metre climb at the end. Out of it all, there are some truly beautiful areas to stop off and rest, camp, and sight see. The roads, the traffic and the weather dampened my experience, and I’m not sure if it was worth the added cost, and time to head north, when I could have easily cut east into Red Deer, taking a lesser traveled route, and reported back to cyclists reading this web page on the conditions. I’ll need a few days to sleep on it. More than likely I’m just pissy from the rain.
I’m about ready to swap out the back Koga tire I recently put on. 2 Flats in 2 days is about enough, however I’ll have to wait until Edmonton, and hope that the roads will be in better condition. I knew this tire wouldn’t last and keep up to the constant heavy weight, and crappy conditions, so it’s no surprise it is falling apart at 1200km in. I’m looking forward as well to stopping in Edmonton to repair a derailleur issue, and fix my front rack. Oh, I should probably mention my front brakes need adjusting to – They’ve been giving me issues since I went into Kootenay National Park, so stopping has been a bit of a crapshoot.
I’m also at the point in time where I need to continue figuring out the wet/rain issue with my gear. I still remain cold during the storms, and this can be solved by more layers. My fingers are still cold, yet I haven’t had the opportunityto measure my hand in order to buy some Sealskinz Waterproof Cycling Gloves. A neoprene face mask also will assist when the rain pelts against my face at 20+ km/h. Clear goggles also hold appeal.. Most of all however is I need to sort out some issues with my tent. I’m noticing moisture problems, raining or not impacting how the tent gets stored during the day. It can’t be good for the seals, yet I have no solution to dry out the fly/inner tent before packing. Sometimes the sun just isn’t there, and it creates a very soggy sleeping environment for me. I have been only setting up the tent with 4 pegs, instead of the 10 pegs they recommend, so will try this out in the future to see if it actually is the problem, of inside tent touching outside. Time will tell. I do love the tent, but will look elsewhere if this continues.
Clothing is starting to rip, I stuck my thumb through one of my Icebreaker merino wool sweaters and creates a huge hole, and I’m too poor to go about replacing them, so will have to deal with a sew up job.I’ve almost worn the shirts for an entire year, but still want to get as much usage as I can before putting them aside. I’ll be posting a merino wool entry in the near future, as I firmly believe its a wonder fabric.
When I leave Jasper, it will signal the end of the mountainous territories I’ve been so accustomed to over the past 2-3 months, and put me into countrysides, traveling through the small towns of Hinton, Edison, Stony Creek. I have no idea what to expect, and I still struggle with seeing Alberta license plates having to remind myself that I am here. I have a deadline to be 375km away from here by Friday, July 16th, and it will be easily attainable should the weather cooperate. I sort of feel bad for not toughing it out today, but I guess I’m too much of a whiner 
Here’s to good weather for the remaining few days before my next rest stop.
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