G.A.S.P. Part One

G.A.S.P. the Great Annual Saskatchewan Pedal is an event that has been underway since 2005. It is a supported cycling tour that spends a week exploring different parts of Saskatchewan on roads less travelled. Sandy discovered this ride in 2015.  That year, the Border to Border tour went through the middle of the province from the Alberta border to the Manitoba border. Sandy had a blast. Nice people, flat roads, great weather, and prevailing tailwinds. This year, she signed us both up to the do the Blazing Saddles tour that took us on a seven day loop through the south west corner of the province.

Boxy and Bikes

This tour had a support van that transported everyone’s tents and bags to each day’s destination and provided a nutrition stop, or two, along the day’s route. We took Boxy, the RV, along as we have officially ended our tenting days. The plan was that one of us would ride the day’s route while the other would drive Boxy to the day’s destination, cycle back to meet up about half way, then ride in together.

Support Van

Fellow riders’ accommodations

Day 1:  Gull Lake to Cabri.  We met everyone at Gull Lake, the one in Saskatchewan, not Alberta, that is, the night before the ride began. Day one started off with a breakfast meeting at a local restaurant, Lilly’s, that put out a really nice spread for us. The day’s ride was a 61km jaunt to Cabri. Fun fact:  This was the home town of Bobby Gimby, who wrote the song, Ca-na-da.  Those of us around at the time will remember that song being on the radio almost constantly during Canada’s centennial year in 1967.

Sandy rode with the group from Gull Lake while I drove Boxy to Cabri. I noted some fairly substantial hills along this route that I was sure Sandy would be cursing and a patch of gravel about 6km in length that all the riders would curse. After I parked Boxy, I hopped on my bike and started pedaling to find Sandy. Just me and the wide open spaces of Saskatchewan. I sure hoped I didn’t run into any problems as I encountered very few vehicles and the farmsteads were few and far between. 

Wide open spaces

All went well, and I managed to ride through 5 of the 6kms of gravel before meeting Sandy and turning back to Cabri. As much as everyone else complained about the gravel, at least they didn’t have to ride 10 km in it!!!

 Gravel road, tricky pedaling 

Cabri, pronounced kay-bree, is the Cree word for antelope. The area was so named for its large population of the creatures.  At the end of our ride, Sandy and I snuck off to get in a few extra kilometers. As we were riding back, there were two antelope in the ditch about a hundred meters ahead of us. They would run ahead, stop and watch us, then run ahead again, never letting us get any closer. After a couple of kms of this little chase game, they ran off into a grassy field and with their camouflage, disappeared in just a few seconds.  Total distance for the day was 78km.

Cabri town park

Day 2:  Cabri to Leader.  The route travelled north west this day. The weather called for winds of 20-40km in the morning, building to 60km by noon from…the north west. Headwind all day. This was Sandy’s turn to drive Boxy and I quickly took her up on her offer to have me ride in Boxy to Leader then cycle back to the group with her. 

We left Leader with a tail wind out of the northwest which, as promised, was getting getting stronger as we made our way to the half way point. That first part was fun, but when we turned around to head back to Leader, the wind was brutal and kept building in strength.  It took us two hours to ride only 25 km to our snack break and shelter from the wind at Sceptre.  

Headwind battle

The final 20km included a 6km hill up to a radio tower where we had met a local pharmacist on the way out.  She insisted on leaving us two bottles of water by a sign post to pick up on the way back, which we did. 

 Water gift

The wind got even stronger and the crosswinds tossed us around like dolls as the sky darkened and threatened rain. We were more than happy to get off our bikes when we arrived in Leader. That last 20 km took almost another 2 hours! Total distance for the day was 91km.

Day 2 wind

Leader is known for its wildlife statues. One was of Ord’s kanagroo rats, elusive little creatures that are rarely seen.  They live in southeast Alberta and southwest Sakatchewan, with Leader being the furthest north point of their range. These are endangered little good guys; non-destructive and not disease carrying, hence they are not hunted by Alberta’s rat patrol.   

Ord's Kangaroo Rats statue

Links for more information:  

Kangaroo Rat

Alberta Rat Patrol

Close to Leader are the Great Sandhills, the largest active sand dunes in Canada.  In the evening, some of the riders took a van ride to the check out the dunes, but considering we had had enough of being out in the wind, we gave this side trip a miss.

Link for more information:  Great Sandhills

Day 3:  Leader to Maple Creek.  We made the executive decision to drive Boxy to the next destination together and ride back to the day’s midpoint for the rest of the trip. It was just safer not to be alone out on the roads in the middle of nowhere. 

So, we drove to Maple Creek then rode up lots of hills until we met our ride buddies, Heather and Louise, at the entrance of a big Hutterite colony … at the top of a long hill. It was sunny and hot at 29C; we had some head wind until our turnaround point, they had a nice tailwind all day. But we all had lots of rolling hills to deal with that at least provided some spectacular views.  Our distance for the day was 104km.

 Girls of the Lantern Rouge

Maple Creek is a nice town nestled in a very pretty setting. We were greeted by a town councillor upon arrival who thanked us for visiting their town. It is pretty laid back, but has lots happening.  Here are some signs to give you a bit of a feel for the place. They speak for themselves.

Day 4:  Maple Creek to Fort Walsh to Maple Creek.  Many of us elected to take the van ride to the Fort so we would have time to explore this national historic site. “Fort Walsh would quickly become the most important, largest and most heavily armed fort the North West Mounted Police garrisoned during their early years in the West." - Fort Walsh National Historic Site website.

Fort Walsh

Lots of room for cyclists
and their bikes!

  Links:  

Fort Walsh  

NWMP 

While touring the fort, with its period actors, didn’t our Sandy get arrested by the NWMP officer on duty?  Two other riders, Louise and Bernie, were also deemed to be unsavory characters and hauled away to the court house.  Sandy was put on trial for illegally selling whiskey. When she couldn’t pay the $200 fine, she was sentenced to six months hard labour! Lousie was found guilty of hitting Bernie with a frying pan while she was under the influence of whiskey she had purchased from Sandy. Bernie got off as he was found to be an innocent witness/victim to the crimes.

Hasn't yet heard her sentence!

Witnessing the court proceedings 

We rode our bikes back to Maple Creek, but the start of the ride from the fort was the most brutal so far. The road went straight up from the parking lot.  We gained over 1900 feet elevation in 6kms of continuous climbing, much of it between 8 and 12%. The photo doesn’t show all the climb, but trust me, there was lots more than what would fit into this frame!

Partway up from Fort Walsh

After that climb, we descended through a series of crazy switch backs then enjoyed the rest of the ride to Maple Creek through more spectacular scenery and and more rolling hills. There were a couple of long descents where we reached speeds of over 50km which is pretty quick on our touring bikes.  Our distance this day was 55km.

Returning to Maple Creek

As always, Sandy happy to crest another hill

More beautiful scenery

We spent two nights in Maple Creek. The second night we had a lovely catered bbq at the old Jasper Hotel Bar and Event Centre.  

Jasper Hotel
Shouldn't this be in Alberta?

After the bbq, we were entertained by an excellent band, a member of which is a cyclist who has completed many GASP rides. They were great and it was a very nice evening.

Well, that's the end of part one. The next issue of our blog will conclude this adventure and then we are off on another!

Adventures in Alberta Weather

Well, haven’t we just been having adventures with the weather lately, or what? Although the wind has settled down and most days are now relatively calm, we have still had a few days of blasted strong winds. The good news is, though, that July lived up to its reputation of bringing us nice summer weather. Sandy may suggest that some days have been too nice, in that we have seen a number of days of temperatures in the high 20’s to low 30s C. Now, even I have to agree that is getting on the hot side! 

Heat warning!

The dogs enjoy going to the off leash park at the Edmonton Humane Society. It is in part of the city that is quite open and when the wind blows, it is crazy windy there. So crazy, that one day I could lean into the wind and not fall over!

Windy day at the dog park.

Poor Benny hates the wind and did his best to hide from it under the picnic table at the park. Unfortunately for him, there was no escaping the wind’s antics.

Help, I can’t control my ears!

We have had a reasonable amount of rain so far. Some days nice showers, some days torrential downpours. The air always smells so refreshing once the rain eases that I love to get out and take it in.

Ready for a walk in the rain

Overall, our rainfall has been not too much, not too little, although we haven’t consulted any local farmers for their opinions on the matter. If our gardens are any indication, however, we think the amount has been just right.

Our flower garden

Part of our veggie patch

While waiting out some of our wild weather, Sandy came up with a project for us. She prefers the style of cycling jersey with a loose, rather than elastic, fit around the waist.  So, rather than buy a bunch of new jerseys, she set out to convert some existing ones.  She ripped out the hems to free the elastic and commandeered me to re-hem them.  Here is proof that we are real domestic goddesses! 

Sandy pinning, Kate sewing

Now, with modified kit successfully completed, and the weather much improved, we have been spending more time out on our bikes. With the freedom from schedules that retirement brings, we have enjoyed many long rides during the week, avoiding the weekend traffic on the nearby roads outside the city. East of the city, the roads go over rolling hills and along small ponds created by the receding glaciers of the ice age. The riding is fun and the scenery quite interesting. 

Strathcona Country farm

The farmers's markets are bursting with local produce. We came across this lovely table of produce while stopped for a snack break. Unfortunately, as we were on our bikes, we couldn't take any home with us.

Farm fresh local veg

West of the city, the land is flatter, and home to many large field crops. Of course, wheat, oats, and barley are the staple grains grown here.  In our opinion, the show stopper has to be the massive fields of canola in bloom. On one recent ride, we spent lots of time trying to take the perfect canola photo. It is hard to capture the immensity of the fields, and of course, the aroma of the blossoms escapes the camera.  If you don’t live in Alberta, you must plan a visit in mid to late July to take in the stunning beauty of blooming canola.

Posing with canola

July brought with it some pretty spectacular weather with lots of beautiful, sunny, warm days. Okay, maybe some of them were a little too warm, but getting out on the bikes is a pretty good way to enjoy the sun, heat, and scenery.

Canola everywhere!

While we are out on our bikes, the dogs stay home and look after the house for us. When we get home, Rockie loves to get outside and lay in the hot sun.  To cool off, she just wanders into her pool for a nice refreshing break.

Rockie having a drink in her pool

Benny prefers to stay indoors when it is hot.  Well, to be honest, he prefers to stay indoors pretty much all the time so he can keep close watch over his bed! He doesn’t care much for the heat, so we helped him cope with the latest heat wave by giving him a shower and a haircut.  He is the world's most patient dog!

Benny gets a makeover

Now that summer is well underway, we have some trips planned that we have been looking forward to. So, stay tuned as we keep you updated. Some might even involve cycling … 

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.