Pre-Day 00
7/25/2006
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Before Leaving Home
Today is the day I have been waiting for. I am
feeling very nervous and anxious as I am about
to leave home and start my journey. I have planned and
equipped myself the best I could for not having done
anything like this before.
I know this ride will push me further than I have ever
pushed myself physically and mentally. For the next
60 days I will live outside my comfort zone, be fully
self supported, and will carry all my necessities in one
little bag on the back of my bicycle. This ride will be
a testament to my determination and commitment. I feel
confident that I can finish, because I thrive on
challenge. The bigger the challenge the more determined I am to
prevail. But this is bigger than anything I have done
before and I have no touring experience to leverage from. Statistically, most people who start
this trip do only small sections at a time. Most who
attempt the whole route at once do not finish, and most
people do not start 220 miles north of the US starting
point.
Day 00
7/25/2006
San Diego to Calgary
Leaving on a
Jet Plane
At the airport, I gave my wife a big hug and kiss when she dropped
me off, and I made darn sure that kiss was going to last.
It will be two months before I get to see her again.
Well, I failed to make the kiss last, because as she
drove off, I got that funny feeling lump in my throat,
and I missed her already. I hate saying goodbye!
I flew from San Diego to San Francisco and then to Calgary, Alberta Canada via
Air Canada. Once in Calgary I took a shuttle from the
airport to Banff via the Airporter for $50 which
included transporting my bike.
Banff is a beautiful basin town nestled in the
Canadian Rockies. The town itself is very small and quite the
tourist trap. It almost felt like I was in Yosemite
during the Memorial Day weekend. People were everywhere. The hotels
in Banff
are super expensive. The Banff Springs Lodge starts at
$400/night, although there are cheaper places to
stay, you will not find a Motel 6 here! The local
hostels are very cheap, but offer no privacy and they
are co-ed. I stayed
at the local hostel for $25 USD. Banff has a
great selection of reasonably priced restaurants, a full
service Safeway grocery store, a bike shop, and a small hardware
store. NOTE: The hardware store stocked Denatured
Alcohol for my stove.
Day 01 - Section 0A - Alberta Canada
7/26/06
Banff 0m to Spray Lakes Reservoir 17m= 17
miles
Leaving the Rat Race Behind
 After breakfast, I unpacked
my gear and assembled my
bike and trailer. I finished my bike by mid afternoon
and trotted off to the grocery store. I had a late lunch at the
Spaghetti Factory, a double portion of spaghetti. By 4:20pm I was at the trail head
ready to start my adventure.
The trail was absolutely beautiful. The first
mile was
packed with tourists, but after that I was
 by
myself for the rest of the day. I could hardly believe
my eyes how beautiful everything was. I rode through an
airy forested valley alongside a small river. On either
side of me where jagged rocky peaks towering thousands
of feet into the air. I was finally in the middle of the
Canadian Rockies!
It started getting dark around 10pm. I was exhausted and I decided to pick the first camp site I
came to. I was so tired that all cared about was finding
a nice flat spot with a water source. The first spot I
found was the over flow camp site of the Spray Lakes Reservoir. I
had camp set up in about 5 minutes, made dinner, and
tanked up on water. The camp host arrived an hour later and they let
me stay there for free because I took the worst looking
camp site, which I thought was ok. I can’t complain, it
saved me $20 and all I am going to do is sleep. It is
now 11pm and it is still light out. Good night!
Day 02 - Section 0A - Alberta Canada
7/27/06
Spray Lakes Reservoir, AB 17m to Bolton
Creek, AB 64m = 47 miles
Amazing Country
 My leg muscles felt a little sore but not bad. I
acclimated fairly quickly to the elevation. It was not hard to
breathe unless I pushed really hard. I had a slight
headache from either caffeine withdrawals or altitude
sickness.
Spray Lakes Reservoir is amazingly beautiful. The
lake is a deep sapphire blue, the forest a deep green,
and the ground was full of white granite rock mixed with
long pine needles and nutrient rich dirt.
Today’s ride felt like I was riding mostly up hill and the trail conditions
were very strenuous. Parts of the trail were on dirt
roads made of crushed rocks and
the single track was very rough.
 My back tire was constantly slipping over the rocky
terrain causing mini burnouts. Rear traction was
becoming a big problem. Every time my rear tire slipped it
caused the
cranks to jerk forward and that energy transferred to my
knees. The loose gravel also made the front tire slide
from side to side making it difficult to steer. My
weighted down trailer exacerbated the problem and
increased the difficulty. This is my first time using a
trailer and I think 65 pounds with food and water is too
much weight for it.
I started to feel sharp pains in my left knee, so
I took 800mg of Ibuprofen. By early afternoon my body was
beginning to wear down. Towing a trailer full of gear is
hard work. I know the first week was going to be hard,
but this is only day two and I am feeling beat.
I arrived at the Bolton Creek campsite by 10pm. My
body wanted to stop ten miles back, but there was no
place to camp. After setting up camp I showered and had
dinner.
Reflecting on today’s ride, I wonder
what I got myself into! Am I up to this kind of long distance riding
with a trailer? I feel like I am towing Santa’s sleigh
with all his reindeer piled on top! My average speed
with the trailer is less than half of normal. Well, I
only have some 2,700 miles left to go.
Day 03 - Section 0A - British Canada
7/28/06
Bolton Creek, AB 64m to Elkford, BC 109m =
45 miles
Knee Problems
This morning my knee really bothered me so I took 800mg Ibuprofen. The pain felt like someone stuck me with a
needle on the in-side, side, of my knee, right on the
bone.
After breaking camp I rode up a very steep trail that
traversed through an amazing green rain forest of giant
conifers. The trail was very steep, soft, and
moist, but not muddy. It was a nice break from the rocky
terrain of yesterday. Once I reached the top of my
ascent I saw bear scat and tracks everywhere. I stopped
for lunch and had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
During lunch, I nervously watched the bushes for any
sign of movement. Last week a biker had his arm chewed
off by a Grizzly.
After lunch I started a very long decent. The trail
was rough and rocky and I got beat to pieces! It was
very easy to lose traction so I took it slow.
This trail would have been much more enjoyable if I
was with a friend. The remoteness, loneliness, and
unfamiliarity of the area stretched me mentally.
I was, and still am, feeling very much out of my comfort
zone.
After a long day of hard riding I finally made it to Elko,
British Columbia by 11pm. I don’t like riding on dirt roads
when it is pitch black out. My CATEYE
HL-500 LED light gives off very poor light and is not bright enough to
isolate the obstacles on the path.
Tonight I am staying in a hotel. How nice it is to
sleep in a bed again!
Day 04 - Section 0B - British Canada
7/29/06
Elkford, BC 0m to Elko, BC 76 = 76 miles
Uneventful Day
This morning I ate at the Elkford Golf Country Club and
the food was ok. It also happens to be the only
restaurant in town.
Today’s ride was on mostly paved roads. Most of the
time there was a nice shoulder to ride on. The traffic was light and people drove
safe and slowly.
I stopped in Fernie at a nice full service
grocery store and stock up on groceries.
I arrived at an RV campsite next to the Elk Ridge
Motel around 10pm. Only 4 days ago it was still light at
10pm and now it is dark by 9pm. After setting up camp I took a
shower, had dinner, and went to bed.
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