The Summer Adventures Begin

As mentioned in our last post, May and June were rather quiet months, cycling wise. With all the windy days, we only managed to get out on our bikes once or twice a week. Initially, that wasn’t too bad, as we needed to adjust to the altitude change. After spending the winter at 40 feet below sea level, we found ourselves a little winded and with no power in our legs during our first rides back home at 2200 feet above sea level. 

We spent some of the resulting time on our hands out kicking tires as we decided it was time to replace our Honda Odyssey van. Back to Toyota we went, and settled on a nice new Highlander. The colour, you ask?  Ooh la la rouge mica; ooh la la for short. 

Introducing Scotty, the Highlander

Since we weren’t riding every day, I had lots of time to get some books read. My sister couldn’t believe that I read this book … but then, after giving it some thought, she wondered if there was a role for the sister!

Of course, we took some time to watch the Royal Wedding. At least Rockie and I did. I love pomp and ceremony and no one does it like the Brits! One year, Sandy came with me on one of my work trips to England. We spent a week of holidays after my work commitments were finished, during which we spent a day at Windsor. It made watching the wedding that much more interesting when we had been to explore both the castle and St. George’s Chapel.

 Rockie watches the Royal Wedding

We planned our first bicycle adventure of this summer to be a trip to Kananaskis Country, about an hour west of Calgary, to ride to the Highwood Pass. In preparation, we got out for some rides in the country side around Edmonton. The scenery is lovely here in cattle country, and there is always something interesting to see.  We highly recommend a visit if you have never been here before.

Old farm building

Cattle being fed

We thought this veterinary group had a pretty good sense of humour, although all the young bulls about to become steers probably don’t think so!

We hope the veterinarians are a lot more skilled at their work then this sign composer is at theirs!

Proffessional?

Finally, with a few rides under our belts, we headed south to Kananaskis Country the second week of June to take on the Highwood Pass. With Boxy loaded up and the dogs at the kennel, we checked into the Mount Kidd Provincial Campground. On the way in, we saw one grizzly bear that was being tracked by a conservation officer; sorry no photo.  

Entering Kananaskis Country

Seeing the bear was a pretty good reminder to keep all our food and garbage properly stored.  The campground was beautiful and the setting, at the foot of Mount Kidd, was spectacular. 

Our bear-proofed campsite

The highway up to the pass is closed through the winter until June 15th each year.  Once the snow is melted off the highway, cyclists can access it and make the journey to the pass without having to worry about vehicular traffic. At an elevation over 7000 feet, we were very concerned that this would be quite a challenging ride for us as we had really let our fitness level decline since we left California. 

Mount Kidd, in the eastern slopes of the Rockies

The day we arrived in Kananaskis was perfect, calm and warm. Of course, the day of our ride, the wind had to pick up. From our campsite, it was 23km to the gate where the highway was closed to vehicles.  Uphill all the way. With wind. And wildlife. We saw a few white tail deer and had to stop while some Big Horn sheep ewes crossed the road in front of us. Sorry, again, no wildlife photos.

Mountain stream along the way

Once through the gate (well, actually, we had to lift our bikes over the barrier) the pitch increased and it was a further 17km to the pass. Oh, and the wind just kept getting stronger.  Always, it seemed, the wind would pick up even more when the gradient increased, or just before the top of a hill. Sandy said she could tell when the gusts were coming as she could see my windbreaker billow out when they hit me, or she would watch as my bike and I got pushed around by the wind. Uphill and wind. If that doesn’t make your lungs and legs burn, nothing will!  Total distance from our campsite to the pass was 41km. And did I mention that it was all uphill? Total elevation gain was 3,080 feet.

Sandy crests the pass

So, there it is. We have conquered the Highwood Pass, up the steeper side, I might add. We were even pleasantly surprised that we didn’t find it as difficult as we thought it would be. Well, until we started the trip down. 

A long downhill, now that should be fun, shouldn’t it? Nope. The cross winds barreling down through the avalanche runs would slam into us like someone was trying to push us off our bikes. We had to keep our wits about us and constantly scrub off some speed in order to be able to keep our bikes under control when the next gust of wind attacked. To make matters worse, Sandy suffered a number of very painful muscle cramps in her legs on the way down. 

Highwood Pass achieved!

When all was said and done, we felt a real sense of accomplishment that we were able to tick this ride off of our bucket list. Now, onto the next adventure!

Columbian ground squirrel 

Well, Yes, We Are Still Alive!

Sorry for the long pause between posts. We hope that just makes you that much happier to read this installment.

After a very pleasant and enjoyable winter, we left our home in the California desert in early April. As you may recall from previous entries, we had a good winter with lots of cycling, hiking, visiting, and get-togethers of all types. The dogs, too, had a good season. Benny was busy doing what he does best:  making sure his bed was safe.

Benny the Bed Hog

Rocket completed three levels of classes in Nose Work, which she absolutely loved. Ben would even get out of his bed to help her with her homework … anything if a treat would be involved.  

At the end of the season, Rocket took a set of classes to brush up on her obedience skills. I am thrilled to report that in addition to the Canine Good Neighbour certificate she earned in Edmonton last fall, she was successful on her test for the America Kennel Club’s Canine Good Citizen award. Wow, she is now recognized internationally for her good manners (or maybe it’s more a reflection of her skill at showing off for the examiners!).  When she wasn’t busy at school, doing homework, or patrolling the yard for lizards, she kept busy guarding the house from her perch in the study (just don’t let her know that is a c-a-t perch).

Rockie on Duty

Once the calendar flipped over to April, the mercury in the thermometer really started to climb. For us snow birds, the temperature was just getting too hot.

Too hot

When these kinds of temperatures come to stay, it signals that it is time for us to prepare for our spring migration. We wrapped up our winter activities, got end of season visits in before everyone began to make their way home, and started shutting down the house and packing up the van. As Sandy was getting the deck umbrellas prepped for winter storage, a small bat flew out of one of them. We were sorry to disturb its daytime nap, but appreciated that it stuck around just long enough to pose for a photo.

Bat

April 10th saw us pull away from our winter home and start the three day drive back to Edmonton.  We followed the same route out of the greater Palm Springs area as last year. And at about the same place, amidst a series of small rolling hills, Benny erupted again. He has only ever gotten car sick twice, and both times were pretty much in exactly the same place.  After I got his bed cleaned up, he determined he had had enough of the riding arrangements we had made for him and decided to spend the entire three day trip contentedly laying on top of Rockie’s crate.

Double Decker Dogs

That first travel day was an eventful one. First Ben’s performance, then the van's oil light came on just as we approached Las Vegas. We made our way to a large Honda dealership that, fortunately, was able to get the van in right away.  Considering the heat outside, we were very happy that they let us bring the dogs into the building after we took them for a bit of a walk about. Perhaps the dealership had heard about Rockie’s certified good manners!

Waiting for the Van's Oil Change 

After staying over night in Utah, Day 2 saw us make our way through Idaho and into Montana. Along the way, we discovered two rest areas that catered to our canine travel mates.  One with a nice on-leash walking area in Idaho, and one in Montana with a nice fenced in off-leash park. The dogs appreciated both areas and we were already beginning to wonder why we had left the desert warmth as it was chilly enough we had to get out our jackets and long pants!!

Travelers’ Dog Park

With Benny once again riding high atop Rockie’s crate, we hit the road on Day 3 for the final leg of our journey. The further we progressed, the more snow there was on the ground. Really? And it was cold, to boot! Not exactly what we were looking to find on April 12. Usually, by then our tulips are starting up, the snow is all but gone, our neighborhood pond is ice free, and the geese are nesting. Well, guess what? None of that was the case this year!

First Day Home

Fortunately, the sun came out the day after we got home and the remaining snow melted quite quickly over the next week.  It was still about two weeks before ice was off our pond, but in the mean time, the sun was started to get warm.

Rockie finds some sun

Two days after we got home, I had to fly to Ottawa for a meeting at the Medical Council of Canada. This meeting was my final professional activity and I have now bidden farewell to my medical career. 

It was with mixed emotions that I attended this meeting.  I wasn’t looking forward to my last meeting of a committee doing very interesting work.  I will  miss the wonderful colleagues and fabulous people I had the honour to work with the passed number of years. But, I thought at least spring will be pleasant in Ottawa.  Some lovely walks along the Rideau Canal and Byward Market would help take the sting out of my farewell. Well, I was wrong. It seems the entire country was locked in the never ending winter of 2018. The whole time I was there, if it wasn’t snowing, it rained until it began snowing again. 

In the Deep Freeze all the way to Ottawa.

When I returned to Edmonton, it was still too cold for us part time desert rats to get out on our bikes. We had set a goal for 2018 to get some kilometers cycled every week of the year. Well, the third week of April we watched that goal go unfulfilled. Cold temperatures and daily winds of 20-40 kph, with gusts of 50-60 kph made us think we would be warmer and safer at home.  When we finally got out for our first ride back home, there was still snow to be found on the protected side of hills and ditches.

Bundled up for our First Ride at Home

Springtime weather in Alberta can be a challenge for cyclists, especially if they have just spent a winter in the desert warmth.  The weather will either be like an early summer, or winter revisited, or bounce back and forth between the two.  As mentioned, we were teased with about a week of mild weather in late April, during which we got out for a few early rides.  Unfortunately, however, the weather deteriorated as this spring served up day after chilly, windy day. We pretty much went into hibernation mode during May and June while we waited for the warm temperatures to return and the blasted wind to settle down. With the calendar changing over to July, the weather has finally improved and warm, even hot, days are getting us motivated to get moving.

So, now that the weather is finally decent, and we have mobilized from our spring hibernation, we have places to go, people to see, routes to ride, and camping to be done!! 

Bikes and Boxy Ready for Adventure

Keep watching this space as we have some adventures planned to tell you about that we hope you will find interesting.