I’m sitting here in Radium after being on the road for eleven and a half hours, and I feel as if it lasted an hour or two.  I have all of the physical effects of riding that long- face is burned from the sun and covered in a film of sweat and dirt, legs and back are stiff, and my shoulders are sore.  Mentally, however, it’s like I went numb and shut it out.

Robotic.  That’s the word.  Riding across the flat prairie to get to the Rockies is seven hours of repetitive scenery no matter which route I take.  I got up early, packed Midnight, and was on the highway by 8:30.  I think I just put my head down and rode like hell…just get through it and then you’ll be in the mountains…just keep going and don’t think about it…just get the job done.  

This isn’t a negative thing either.  It just means that I was in the moment.  I even listened to the same playlist on my iPod over and over.  It’s like the music wasn’t even on.  I can’t even tell you what I was thinking about.  It wasn’t anything of substance.  It was all about the moment and how to keep pushing. I didn’t even stop to eat- I packed some snacks in my bag before I left.  My only stops were for fuel.

And then suddenly it was 8:00pm and I was in Radium.  It was over.  So here I sit and I’m a little shell shocked by the whole thing.  Disbelief.  It’s hard for me to accept that I’m finally on my annual bike tour.

The day itself started pleasant enough.  After a weekend of cold and rainy weather at home the sun had come out.  It was nice and sunny the entire way across the prairie.  It wasn’t until I reached Rocky Mountain House at 2:00 that I started to see clouds to the west.  I keep trying to get here for noon, but it’s just not possible unless I leave at 7:00am.  My route through Wainwright and Wetaskewin is the most direct route so there’s no opportunity for playing with routes to see if another one is faster.

The ride from Rocky Mountain House into the Rockies is called the David Thompson Highway, and it is currently my favourite route into the mountains.  You cruise through the foothills following the North Saskatchewan River until you reach its source at the Icefields.

It was thrilling to finally be in the mountains after starting at flat prairie all day.  I stopped for fuel at The Crossing Resort and reapplied sunscreen in the parking lot.  I started up at the glaciers towering over me and breathed in the fresh mountain air.  There were clouds to the south.

For about sixty kilometres south of the Crossing I was able to enjoy some of the most amazing scenery in the world- towering mountains, turquoise coloured lakes, glaciers, and carpets of forest.  I stopped at a few spots for some pictures, but for the most part I just kept riding.  North of Lake Louise some nasty clouds appeared, and I knew there was no avoiding it.  I stopped to put on my rain gear and headed right into it.

It rained past Lake Louise and continued up the Kootenay Pass until I was about 50km from Radium.  The mountain rain is refreshing, and I was prepared so I avoided getting all of my gear wet, but the clouds robbed me of scenery.  I was ok with that.  I was getting tired from a long day on the road and for the last stretch over the Kootenay Pass I was just focused on reaching my destination.

After reaching the motel I immediately went to the pool to let my body relax.  Few things are as refreshing as a swim after a long day of riding- it’s like you get instantly cleansed of the ‘road’ feeling, including the exhaustion.  I followed the swim with a hot shower and a walk down the street to the Old Salzburg for some schnitzel and sauerkraut.

Then I went back to my room and wrote this and made a video.  Robotic.  The whole thing.  This is good, though.  Radium is a great place to start a day, and tomorrow was going to be far more relaxed and I’ll definitely be taking my time as I ride to one of my favourite town in the whole world- Kaslo.