The one where it rained ...



A perfect start: The best Eggs Benedict ever and Moose Deer by the side of the road as we left Jasper.  We overtook a charming couple from Venice riding a bike they bought in Costa Rica who are three months into an exploration of the US and Canada. They are camping. Two up on a 250, with full camping gear, dressed in jeans and trainers for 6 months. Now that's a proper adventure! We were suitably humbled as they described our bikes as "Rolls Royces".

The plan is to run north on the fast roads through the Rocky Mountain foothills and across the Praire to Dawson Creek. All was going well until Grand Cache when the rain started. A tactical lunch while the worst went over worked well but the rain was intermittent for a few hours. To add insult to injury, a road crew had planed the surface off the road for 10km in preparation for new tarmac. Now I like a bit of roadwork as well as the next man (see Silk Road blogs passim) but the grooves the planers leave behind are horrid on a bike.

Then as we got into the foothills we came across the Alberta oil industry. As well as the oil sands they have recently discovered, these hills are dotted with gas wells and the odd coal mine. The resulting traffic (UTEs with welding gear and pumps plus massive HGVs hauling god knows what plus log lorries) spreads dirt across the road at each intersection. Add the rain down gusty winds and wasn't a good day on the bike.

Arriving in Dawson Creek every hotel we tried was booked solid by the oil work crews.

A challenging day to say the least.

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