The alarm went off at 4:30am, not that I needed it as I’d been awake for ten minutes already, getting riding gear ready for a 5am start. We started by riding to the nearest Tim Horton’s to get some breakfast in us before the ride. They were amazingly busy at this time in the morning – I think I’ve found out the secret to living in these stupid temperatures. Everyone just does everything incredibly early in the morning. It’s the only possible way they can survive.
We were well on our way to Clearwater by 7am, despite a couple of punctures in the group, and made really good progress. Though it really wasn’t long until the sun began to warm things up and the temperature was easily 26 degrees at about 9am. A quick stop off in Barriere to get some much-needed chocolate milk (and to see the Great Barriere Reef restaurant – geddit?) and then we headed out to finish the last half of the ride. Soon enough I glimpsed the Rocky Mountains poking up in the distance. A very, very welcome sight.
By now the temperature had climbed from hot to stupid, so the last few miles were a tough grid, though mostly flat. A burst of adrenaline was delivered at about 72 miles when some very unfriendly looking dogs tore out of a driveway as we rode past and gave good chase down the road. They eventually gave up, which I was very, very thankful for. They looked like they wanted to eat my face.
After a handful of miles I pulled into where we were staying and was met with the most incredible sight – our own lake to swim in. Nice and cool, clear and only a few hundred metres from the tents. And we can also get WiFi in the tents. The most awesome campsite in the world, I reckon.
Think I’ll go for another swim in the lake.
GPS stats: 79 miles, 1980 ft ascent
