Sunday, 1 June 2007

Originally I had envisioned an early departure to head west this day. Too much sun the day before. Too much time in the hot tub. Too much scotch.

Woke up at noon with a headache. I’d be lying if I told you this was an unfamiliar feeling.

Nothing makes me feel more like a kid than riding into the mountains- and today was no exception. As I left Calgary headed south down Hwy 22, I was within view of the mountains all the way until I hit Hwy 3 near Crowsnest Pass. For an hour and a half I was teased with the allure and majesty of these Canadian wonders- but I would have to wait to actually ride among them.

When I got to Crowsnest Pass and crossed the Continental Divide and continued on to Sparwood, I started to feel like I was in an entire different world. That’s what the mountains do to you man….when you grow up on the Canadian Prairie and crawl into the Canadian Rockies you can’t help but be in awe of how huge and diverse our country is.

I could think of no better way to celebrate the anniversary of our country’s birth than to be doing exactly what I was.

I continued on through a bit of a loop passed Fernie and eventually reached Cranbrook. I had booked a room at a nice little motel that morning and had found it with no problem. It was still quite early…8 o’clock…and I heard this town had a casino…….

The Casino of the Rockies is several kilometres outside of town. It’s fairly small by Saskatchewan Casino standards and most of the people there were obvious tourists. I stayed for about an hour and a half and headed home. I was damn tired from two days of long rides.

Had to get a good night’s sleep…tomorrow I’m headed to Creston and then south to ride the 450 km Selkirk loop.