What a lovely Outlook

Distance: 175km
Time: 6hr 30min

The boys had a good morning of biking from Kindersley and met up with the girls in Rosetown for lunch. The afternoon ride was fairly uneventful and the boys were able to make up the extra distance they need to get back on track.

While Juliet and Heather opted not to see the Museum in Outlook that features a large collection of Salt and Pepper Shakers, they did enjoy spending some time reading books by the river (after their daily tasks of setting up camp was done of course!) After dinner everyone went into town and got slurpies and chips and then we had fun walking on SkyTrail, "the longest pedestrian bridge in Canada."

Even cooler than the converted railway bridge was the beaver we watched swim right across the South Saskatchewan River, climb up on the shore with some food, and then slip back into the river and continue on his way.

Another gem from our stay in this small town was the church called the Gospel Lighthouse and whose sign reads, "A beacon of light for a world that's on the rocks"

Getting Better?

Distance: 180 km
Time: 6hr 45min

Today started off looking pretty good as the sun was out and we were all pleased with our decision to call it quits the day before. The wind was slightly behind us and so in the first 3 hours and 15 minutes we made 100km and were excited to try and double it in the afternoon. However, after stopping with the girls for lunch the wind seemed to change and when we started again the going was slow. We were soon all frustrated at 150 km and wanting to end our day but Adam was determined to try and reach at least 175 km and so the day dragged on. The weather did not improve but we stuck it out and completed our goal, calling the girls and getting picked up just as the wind got worse. Needless to say, we were all worn out and wondering what the next day would hold in store for us.

The Best Part of Drumheller

Distance: 55km
Time: 2hr 45min

We all went to the Royal Tyrell Museum in Drumheller this morning and really enjoyed it. It has an awesome collection of dinosaurs bones!
The boys ran into really bad weather with strong head winds. They were wet, cold, and tired by the time lunch came around and decided to call it a day and wait for better weather. We drove to Hanna and camped there. The boys will make up the extra distance from today over the next few days.

Drum Roll for our most Hellish Day Yet!

Distance: 152 km
Time: 6 hr 45min

So, our rest day was a nice change of pace and aside from the view short rain showers it was a nice sunny day. Us boys cleaned and tunned up our bikes and we all enjoyed a night out to see the new Indiana Jones movie.

However, the ride from Calgary area to Drumheller was not so nice. We started the day off in rain, wind and cold temperatures hovering around 6 degrees for most of the morning. In the afternoon we ran into some road constructions and a patch of unpaved muddy road that had us boys and our bikes dirty from head to toe. Adam made the comment that he would almost like for there to be more rain to wash us off and God decided to honor this request as we soon found ourselves in rain again and later even went through a brief downpour. The three of us decided that this was officially our worst days ride yet and to end our perfectly bad day of riding AJ had his tire blow within 5km of Drumheller. Ironically we had been waiting all day for a nice downhill section and the best one of the day was right after where AJ got his flat so we ended up walking down most of the hill to Drumheller. The perfect ending to a perfectly hellish day! The best part of the day was by far the warm showers at the Hoo Doos camp ground and going to see the Hoo Doos themselves that evening.

Cow Town & Betty's Run

Distance: 65 km
Time: 2 hr 30min

The boys biked hard in order to get to Calgary in time for Betty's Run for ALS. We made it there by 11am and were really impressed by the number of people who were there in support and amazed at how much money they were able to raise. We met Karen Caughey, the Executive Director of ALS Alberta.
We are staying at the Buchan's house in Calgary and Juliet was happy to see her friend Lyndsey. We are enjoying our visit with them. A highlight was playing an intense game of apples to apples after dinner. Tomorrow is a day off and everyone is looking forward to it!

Alberta Bound!

Distance: 150km
Time: 6 hr

Today was a long day as we finished our time in British Columbia. After coming through Rogers Pass and being a little surprised by the uphill climbs just past Golden, we thought the trek from Golden to Banff would be all downhill. I kept telling AJ and Adam that we would soon hit some big downhill sections as we made our way into Alberta.

Apparently coming out of the Rockies on the Alberta side is a more gradual decline then in BC, which AJ and Adam reminded me of with every uphill section.

Today we got an up close look at some elk but AJ and I are in a debate as to whether they were all elk or if some were deer. If anyone has a definitive answer maybe you can help us end our debate.
The girls meet us at Lake Louise for lunch and then we decided to pedal hard throughout the afternoon to make the next day's ride into Calgary as short as possible. This meant the longest ride so far at 150 km! We will be saying goodbye to the mountains soon.

Astonishing Find...

Distance: 140 km
Time: 5 hours 30 min

The day from Revelstoke started out quiet but it didn't take long before excitement found us once again. We were making our way up a hill when we were passed by two young cyclists. This wasn't the first time we had been passed by other bikers but it was the first time that it was on a hill and they were both carrying 40-50 lb packs on their bikes too! Needless to say, we were a little embarrassed but struck up a conversation and found out that they had a schedule similar to ours but were making better time. It was at that point that I think we started biking a little harder...and our light bikes finally paid off as we left them behind us and didn't see them again that day.

We made our way up to Roger's Pass, which we were told would be a difficult climb, but were pleasantly surprised and even a little disappointed to discover that it wasn't all it was made out to be. Our disappointment didn't last long though as we headed down the other side and made excellent time heading toward Golden.

In fact, we made good enough time that we rode through Golden to make the next day's ride shorter. Unfortunately, the majority of our 'extra' kilometers were uphill but we did get to see an interesting sight. Mike was in the lead when all of a sudden Adam started yelling "Ram! Deer! Caribou!" Mike stopped to see what Adam was yelling about and somehow missed seeing that there was a wild animal 15 feet ahead of him on the road. It didn't seem to mind us at first and so Adam and AJ argued over whether it was a deer or a ram while it sat there looking at us. From behind it looked like a deer and even bounded like one and since it did not have any antlers or horns Adam labeled it a deer. However, after it started bounding up the side of a cliff AJ claimed victory but Adam did not let up, labeling it a Ramdeer and claiming that he discovered a new species. Unfortunately we were not able to get a picture of this particular animal (to Adam's disappointment) but we did see other mountain sheep close by. So if you are ever traveling through the Golden area, keep an eye out for the Ramdeer...and take a picture for Adam.