Better to Have Just Stayed In Bed / Sunshine! / Gatta Love the Sun / A New Lap Top / Just Another Day in Grande Prairie

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Friday July 15, 2011
Better to Have Just Stayed In Bed

Woke up to rainy, wet and cold. The sky did not look like it wanted to improve. It did not look like a good riding day. Decided to stay in Grande Cache 1 more day. The day did improve weather wise later in the afternoon. But I felt staying in town was the better move as the weather stayed cold and windy. Kind of frustrating; I finally dry out the tent and wake up another wet day. Also some days I feel I am rushed or rushing this trip so maybe chillin is okay.

Later in the afternoon I had huge grief. I think my lap top has crashed. Even had a guy come to the camp to look at the computer. He was unable to help. I must remain hopeful that my files (pictures) are still accessible. But I will remain anxious until I know my trip pictures are safe. This means I have 182 km's of riding till Grande Prairie (or piece of mind).


Saturday July 16, 2011
Sunshine!

It is so nice to wake up to summertime sunshine! Leaving Grande Cache I almost thought the ride was going to be a lot easier than anticipated. After a steep descent into the valley the road was "basically" flat for almost 15 km's. I thought that was not too hard to handle. Then came the climbing and more climbing and more climbing. When you think you are the top of the highest mountain and can't climb any higher the road only goes higher.

Coming onto evening (9:30pm) I pulled into a gravel road that turned into a mud road. There was a clearing and mid-way through the clearing all 3 tires were seized with mud (2 bike and 1 trailer tire). I had to off load my bike of all my gear just so I could drag my bike through the rest of the mud. There was really only one place to set my tent. That space was right on a very well used wild game trail. There was also some kind of well on the site. Sure enough at the well site there was H2S poisonous gas warnings.

It was not until my tent out of my bike bag did I decide to move on and look for a new camp site. While I thought the H2S danger was minimal. There was no breeze to blow any gas away. I also knew that it couldn't be too smart to put my tent up on an active game trail. My gut said move on; maybe it was the mud; but move on I did. Needless to say my bike, my boots and pants were now covered in mud and now it is 10:30 and basically dark.
Twenty minutes down the road I found a more suitable site. Maybe and probably I would have been fine at the other site but I felt much more comfortable at this site.

At the end of the day I rode about 115 km's. One hundred of those kilometers was up and down in the mountains so I am rather pleased with my progress for today.


Sunday July 17, 2011
Gatta Love the Sun

Woke up to sunshine this morning again! I had about 65 km's left to Grande Prairie; 50 km's from Grande Prairie (or 15 km into my ride) I got the pleasant surprise of riding down the mountains to fairly flat terrain. That being said I thought I was making such good time I thought I was about enter Grande Prairie only to come to a sign that said "Grande Prairie 12 km" and then ended up having to climb the longest and biggest (not tallest) hill I had ever climbed this trip without taking any breaks.

I rode straight to Future Shop to find out that my computer and all its content are FUBR. I am not going to spell out FUBR. While 98% of my computer is backed up on external drives back in PEI; I have lost all my photos from this trip. That being said, the highway to Banff and Jasper has not seen the last of me and it will be easy enough to swing by Drumheller someday to replace those pics as well. Fortunately the mountains don't change that much (in a few years) and there are always bears, elk and sheep to take pictures of.

After my trip to Future Shop I went to Information for some direction in this town. I had been unable to get a hold of an uncle who said that he would be able to help with accommodation in Grande Prairie. At Information they said that there was no campgrounds within city limits that allowed tents, only RV's. My day is not getting better.
The girl recommended a hostel in town; only $10 a night. As I rode towards this "hostel" I began to think $10 was a little too cheap and I started to wonder if this hostel was more of a homeless shelter. And sure enough it was a homeless shelter. How does a city of only 50,000 people in the riches province in the country need a homeless shelter? This day is really starting to end bad. In a last ditch effort I got through to my uncle and a long story short he ended up putting me in the Grande Prairie Inn for the night on his corporate account. Saved again!

I also for the first time was able to catch up on some national news only to discover all you guys in Ontario are in the middle of heat wave. I had no idea.
It was so nice to have a private room with a private shower; but do you think I could sleep? I think I fell asleep at about 4 am. Put me in the middle of the wilderness, no shower with all the wild animals and I am asleep in minutes. Put me in a hostel or hotel (with a bed) and I can't sleep. I wish I knew where the sense in all of this.


Monday July 18, 2011
A New Lap Top

Woke up wanting a lot more sleep. Spent a good part of the day trying to see if there was any possibility of salvaging my old computer only to have it confirmed that my pictures etc. were definitely gone. I bought a little mini lap top for $200; regular $300 for the road. It will take at least 2 weeks for the hard drive to get repaired and who knows where I will be then. So I got a mini that was lighter and easier to drag across the country. Just think if I had does this before I left? The grief I would have saved. I am spending the next two days with friends of that great uncle that put me up for the night at the Inn. I need to try to download a little entertainment to this lap top for the remainder of the trip. It could be a while until I can download stuff as I go further and further north.


Tuesday July 19, 2011
Just Another Day in Grande Prairie

A mostly uneventful day. Most of the day was taken up by my new lap top downloading upgrades and I was able to download a little entertainment. Went to a local bike shop and had the bike tuned for basically next to free. A bunch of great guys that showed me a bunch of tips on maintaining my bike during my trip. Tomorrow I plan to move on.

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Photos

A Lone Bear Crossed the Road Ahead of Me
The first bear I had seen outside a park. He insisted on moving on fairly quickly.