Yesterday was a day of torturous headwinds as we made to trek from Brandon to Portage la Prairie.  We rode 135km, but with the wind it felt like 235km.  We left the campground in Brandon late as we had anticipated an easy day.  After some coffee, pastry, Subway, and a stop at the grocery store for road food we were on our way to Portage.  To add to the challenge of the wind the shoulder of the road became non-existent.  Mr White lost anh hope of companionship with Mr. G.  With no shoulder and lots of traffic the trucks were forced to give us minimal space to ride.  Adventure adventure adventure! :)  We arrived in Portage around 9pm and had massive appetites.  In this state of hunger our stop at the local Co-op for grilling food was not very cheap, however, after arriving at the campsite, starting our fire and setting up camp we managed to eat nearly everything.  It was a late night and the hot shower felt really good. 

Today was our second day of stiff headwind and it again took almost as much energy to ride 75km today as it took to ride 213km three days ago.  It wasn't without adventure though.  We started the day by checking out an antique shop up the road from our campground just east of Portage la Prairie.  A lot of stuff!  Then a pretty uneventful ride until I came upon Takashita walking his shopping cart across the continent.  He's out there tonight on the side of the road waiting for the sun to rise.  Upon arriving in Winnipeg, I was joined by Scott who was riding home from his "office" (Starbucks) and after a short conversation about my ride invited me for a cold drink at his house around the corner from where he caught up to me on the #1 Hwy.  We talked for a bit and then one of the neighbor kids (David) came over to see what was happening and shortly after another neigbor (Richard I think) came over and gave me 10 bucks.  It was a good stop.  Then I was off to REI to pick up some supplies and potentially meet my new TCBCs.  Meeting up with my TCBCs didn't happen - my guess is that we were all whipped from riding in the  wind all day and needed our rest.

Now, I'm falling asleep and thinking I will finish this story in the morning.

Boa noite!

June 27th - WIND! ... and it's blowing eastward!  My average speed this morning was 40km/hr.  Rode over 100km before lunch :)  I've been dreaming about this day.  It's completely awesome!  Brandon is our destination today - about 110 km from here.  I'm breaking 200km today baby!

I saw a storm cloud about 40km to the north of me and rode with it for most of the day as it slowly converged on my track.  Then it gave me a double rainbow to enjoy at the end of my ride.

Met two more TCBCs today.  Shawn and Cody who are riding for breast cancer.  Check out the bottom right corner of www.bcsc.ca.

And my new buddy Tim - who has us in stitches laughing every 2 minutes.  He's riding for Doctors Without Borders - check his site out at www.transcanadatim.wordpress.com

We ate lunch in Elkhorn just across the border in Manitoba.  Woohoo!  New province and new time zone.

Arrived in Brandon now and warming up / drying off after hitting a storm cloud a few km from Brandon.  Got rescued from the rain by a wonderful woman named Morag who had a small pick up and felt sorry for the water logged bloke on the a bike at the side of the road.  Thanks Morag!

Now I'm warming up with a hot chocolate at McDonald's waiting for my other biking colleagues to arrive.  It's cold and wet out now so I might find a more substantial shelter tonight.... like a hotel :)

The picture comments tell most of the story.

June 26th - I've made my way through Regina now but not before meeting some really cool people.  This morning I met with Evan Robbins (Regina Huntington Society Chapter President), his family (Lorraine, Jennifer, Heather, Shirley, and Angela), and Deanna and Mike of the Regina Huntington Society Chapter.  They bought me breakfast and sent me off with money for lunch, dinner, and a campsite.  A great group of people.

Yesterday I arrived in Regina and met up with Donna and Mike who are friends of my most excellent neighbors in Minneapolis, Roger and Burnie.  The keys for the condo I was borrowing for the night (courtesy of Rob who is a friend of my bodacious friend Cassandra) had been sent to Donna who came to deliver the goods.  They gave me a small tour of Regina, we took some pictures of the geese, and we went out for lunch.  Then they gave me a ride to the condo where I chilled out for a few hours (and had a way over due nap before reconnecting with them for a home cooked meal at their house a few blocks away.  Roast beef, carrots and baby potatoes.  It was good!  We had chocolate chip cookies with whipped cream for desert.   And they have this really cool glider/chair thing - check out the pictures.

The day before, I made it to Moose Jaw with three of my new TCBCs (Trans-Canada Bicycling Colleagues).  We met at a small pub and had the happy hour chicken wings and of course some cold beer and then watched the Moose Jaw parade complete with Shriner cars, mini motorcycles, and Belgian horses pulling a big wagon.  It was a really hot day and the 80km ride from Chaplin took some extra energy given the rolling hills and stiff headwind.

Prior to arriving in Moose Jaw we stopped at a little town called Mortlach for lunch.  Here we met Lois and Clayton who owned a small natural food store called The HollyHock Market (www.hollyhockmarket.com).   They fed us panini sandwiches, bison stew, and watermelon on their cool little patio.  They were waiting for their new house to arrive on a truck - check out the picture of its arrival in KGs Blog.  We had a long lunch to allow the hottest part of the day to pass.  Then, before leaving town we took a couple of pictures in their Saskatoonberry sign and made funny faces.  I shot off ahead and had planned on making it to Regina, but the heat and the fact that I didn't drink enough water slowed my progress to Regina.  Good thing too - there were strong storms and hail in Regina and when I called Donna she suggested stopping in Moose Jaw for the night.  It was a good plan because I got to spend some more time with my new friends, Tim, Megan, and her dad Laure (spelling?) experiencing the parade and avoiding getting rained on.

The night before we all spent the evening at a small town called Champlin.  They had everything in this little town of about 200 people.  It was close to the second largest saline lake in the world where they collect the salt that forms when the water evaporates.  Its then used for things like bath salts.  We went to their library to use their internet, bought some food at their grocery store, and then had a pasta with hamburg and tomato sauce feast.  Shortly after our dinner was complete there was a big thunderstorm.  Luckily we all stayed dry in our tents.

Before Chaplin, I was riding with Tim on our adventure out of Medicine Hat to Gull Lake (detailed in an earlier blog entry).  It was a long day of riding (170km) and we were happy to finally break the bonds of Alberta - nothing against Alberta - it was just particularly hard to get out of during the few days we were there.  At Gull Lake we met Megan and her dad Laure.  It was a pretty early night for me given the mileage that day.

And the adventure continues today.  At the moment I am sitting at a picnic table at the gas station just outside the lovely town of Wolesley.  I stopped to get some lunch and noticed that they had free WiFi - so I jumped on the opportunity to take a break and make some update. 

102km so far today - at least 50 more to go.

Manitoba is getting close and apparently there are storms on the way so I better get back on the road!

We made it out of Alberta! But not without some additional off road shenannigans.  The Alberta road crew let us on to the Trans-Canada highway - Awesome we thought - we've made it!  Then we got the to the Saskatchewan border and the Saskatchewan crew wasn't going to let us on.  They even called their crew chief and had him speak to me and explain that we couldn't pass and would have to go back about 60 km to the start of the traffic detour...  what to do?...  we (myself and Tim, another TCBC) stood around for a bit chatting with the road crew and finally one of them said - "when I'm not looking - just go" :)  Great! But what lies ahead and will we be able to get around it?  It was really cool to have the whole highway to ourselves - for nearly 30 km there was nothing but the occasional dump truck delivering new dirt or stones to the washed out road.  When we got to the site there was yet another check point who told us we couldn't go through.  This still didn't stop us.  We could now see the other side and going through a field and over some barbed wire was a small effort compared to what we put ourselves through the day before.  Haha! Victory!  We made it to Saskatchewan! and now we are about 150 km from Regina in a tiny town called Champlin.  The adventures continue and every day is a completely new adventure.  I love it!

June 13th - 14th
After I finished writing my last update from the Banff Centre I went downtown Banff for some food and walked past the Saltlik as our waitress from the night before, Meghan, was walking out for a couple hour break.  She said 'hey Kevin!' and then we decided to go get food and a smoothie and eat/drink it in the park by the river.  It was a really nice sunny day and we shared a nice conversation before she had to go back to work. 

Then I called Luke (Calgary Commissioner of Film, TV, and Creative Industries) who I had met the night before with my buddy Tim and who had offered to set me up with a place to stay.  He got me a room at the Banff Centre for one more night and it was another comfortable night.  I also got word from my other TCBC (Trans-Canada-Biking-Colleagues) who had arrived in Banff and we arranged to meet for coffee before I headed out of Banff for Calgary.

The next morning on my way down from the Banff Centre I ran in to Luke and had an opportunity to thank him for the room and get a picture in front of the Banff Springs Hotel.  I made my way to the Wildflour coffee shop to meet up with Chantel and Tamar before heading out on the journey to Calgary.  It started off with some light showers and despite the downhill nature of the road toward Calgary the wind was blowing back toward Banff.  Just past Canmore I saw four helicopters parked on the tarmac from the road and decided to go in and take a look and a picture.  They would have taken me for a ride but they were grounded due to the weather - I was nearly grounded on my bike because of the weather too :)

Heading on from Canmore I caught the 1A toward Cockrane.  Shortly after turning on to this road I had my first flat tire of the trip.  Ironic that my tire went flat as the terrain started to get flat.  So, I pulled off the side of the road to repair my leaking tire.  Upon replacing the tube and starting to pump up it up the tire exploded like a gun and I was set on my butt pretty hard.   Ears ringing I started over with my second spare tube.  All the while the rain was coming down harder and harder.  What a day....  finally, I was on my way again and I came upon some mountain goats grazing up the hill away from the road.  Took some pictures and had a bite to eat.  While I was doing this another cyclist rode up to say hi.  He was riding from California in a loop up one side of the mountains and down the other.  He wasn't in a great mood because he had had bad weather for the majority of his trip - and apparently dogs had been chasing him the whole way.... he had a sharpened stick that he was using to fend off the dogs.  So far I haven't had that problem. 

Now, moving on and out of the mountains the terrain really started to flatten out.  It's amazing how fast the mountains turn to plains.  Still raining and determined to arrive in Airdrie at my friend Greg's place I pressed on.  I gave Greg a call to let him know my status and then stopped at a gas station to replenish my water bottles and get some quick carbs and glucose.  The woman at this store was really nice and told me about how she had nearly electrocuted herself just before I came in - that would have been a wonderful discovery!

Onward - I arrive in the vicinity of Greg's house and he comes out with his car to help direct me to his house and shoot a little video of me riding in.   A good day of riding in some wet conditions.  137km.

June 15th - a planned day off
After a comfortable sleep in Greg's guest room I got up and enjoyed a bowl of Holy CRAP with milk and raspberry yogurt and then a bowl of frosted mini wheats - forgot how good those are.  Then Greg had a meeting on the south end of Calgary so he gave me a ride to the MEC (Mountain Equipment Coop) where I had some supplies to pick up including a couple of new inner tubes, some travel food, chain cleaner and lube, and a wind barrier for my ears.  Prior to leaving for MEC I called Dee who is the chapter president for the Calgary Huntington's Society.  The timing worked out perfectly and she picked me up at MEC when my shopping was done and we went to Joe's Pub for lunch and to meet some of the other Huntington's society club members.  In addition to Dee, I met Jacob, Joe, and Susan.  All very nice people committed to finding a cure and supporting the Huntington's society cause.  Once lunch was done Dee and I hung out at the restaraunt for a couple more drinks before heading out to meet Greg and his girlfriend Tia a the mall to see the A-Team movie.  We met in the food court and of course, the availabiliy of food meant that I had to eat - got some sushi and when that wasn't enough I got a big roast beef sandwich.  Greg joked with me that when this whole thing is over if I continue to eat like this we could open a sumo wrestling shop.  The movie was way more than any of us expected.  Some nostalgic moments and some really funny lines.  Overall good entertainment.  After the movie we bid Dee fairwell, took Tia to her home, and then went back to Greg's house to clean up my bike, re-pack my bags, and get some photos taken in Greg's fancy photo lab.  By the time that was all done it was 2am and time to sleep.

June 16th
The day started out pretty good with blueberry pancakes and bacon from chef Greg.  The rain looked like it would hold off but a couple of hours in to the ride the rain started to pour.  I thought it would only be a few drops but by the time I could have gotten my rain pants and shoe covers on I was already soaked.  Luckily the raind waited to really come down until after I was past a 4km section of road that was all torn up and made up of simply dirt, clay, and gravel.  That would have been a real mess.  The wind didn't really cooperate this day either so it became a tough ride.  My plan was to get about 30 km to the south of Drumheller but that wasn't in the cards.  I got to Drumheller, set up camp and called it a night.

Earlier in the day before the downpour Vern and Janice Groszko caught up to meet me on the road.  I got connected to Vern and Janice through their son Wayne who rode his bike across Canada a few years ago for the Huntington's cause.  Wayne's mom Janice is in the final stages of the disease, is in a wheel chair and has difficulty speaking.  Wayne has been giving me some pointers about what to expect as I make the solo trek across the country.  Vern had called me earlier in the day to say that he wasn't going to be able to make it out to meet me and wished me the best of luck.  Then he and Janice surprised me by tracking me down on the road out of Airdrie.  We took some pictures and Vern provided his support by giving me some cash for my expenses and then bought me lunch at the little town of Irricana.  That was a really nice break and a wonderful gesture.  Thanks Vern and Janice! 

June 17th - an unplanned day off
I was planning to get a early start on the day and a good shot a 150km but the rain didn't let up until almost 3pm.  Instead, I regenerated some energy by bundling up in my tent and sleeping with some good tunes.  The weatherman was calling for 4 inches of rain and 90km/hr winds to the south where I was planning to go, so I decided that another rest day would be more productive than fighting the elements.  I'm finally mobile again and getting some laundry and writing done before I head over to the museum to learn about dinosaurs - Drumheller is the dinosaur capital of the world - largest model of a dinosaur and the origin of many dinosaur fossils and bones.  Guess I should eat some more too... my appetite hasn't taken a break :)

So after writing what I wrote above, I met Sebastian (Seb) and James who are also riding their bikes across Canada.  They arrived at the campsite in Drumheller while I was talking to another couple (Jim and his wife) who were testing out the new camper that their kids had them buy.  While Seb and James were setting up their tents Jim and his wife came over and offered us a ride with his truck (and our unloaded bikes in the back) up to the Tyrell dinosaur museum (about 7km).  The museum was really great - $10 to get in and $3.50 for a bottle of orange juice :)  No really, the museum was excellent.  I had no idea some of them were so big.  I'm glad they aren't still out there roaming on the plains waiting for me and my bicycle :)

After the museum we rode back to the campsite and bought some out of date hot dogs, a loaf of bread, some ketchup and mustard, and some firewood.  The hot dogs were great and we got a good shot of the three of us in front of the fire.

June 18th
Got what looked like an early start - packed up and ready to go by 7:30 - and had arranged to meet with Seb and James at the McDonald's for breakfast prior to leaving Drumheller for a short detour to the Hoo Doos (interesting rock formations).  We then hit the road from McDonald's by about 10:00 and reached the Hoo Doos by about 10:45 (after a short stop at Walmart for a memory card for the little video camera my friend Tim had brought for me).  When we got to the Hoo Doos it wasn't super evident where they were but we found them, had some pictures taken and walked up the pathway around the rocks.  They look pretty precarious sitting on top of the dirt that hasn't been eroded away.  Annie and her parents were visiting the rocks too and said that they had seen me earlier that week at Lake Louise.  She took some pictures for me.  Thanks Annie!

So we were finally off toward Brooks AB and the climb out of Drumheller was quite long and initially steep.  The wind was blowing from the south and, given we were on a south heading, this didn't aid the climb.  The peak of the climb was 3150 ft from about 2100 ft.  I was riding faster than Seb and James so we decided to catch up later.  I was trying to get back on my schedule after loosing everything I had gained from my marathon to Banff.  Brooks was my goal and I ultimately made it after adding an extra 19km to the ride to find a campsite.  It was a 170km day.  Prior to that I stopped at the gas station in Bassano to get some food and Pascal, a former Olympic skeleton athlete now RCMP stopped to talk to me and gave me $20 for my cause.  Thanks Pascal!  Also saw the biggest pickup truck I have ever seen at this stop - wish I'd snapped a picture. 

Well, the rain held off for most of this day until I arrived at the campsite about 15km south of Brooks.  The site was completely waterlogged but I managed to stay dry. 

Didn't hear from Seb and James this night.  Slept hard.

June 19th
Got a late start this morning - 11am - and a text from Seb saying they were on their way to Brooks from Bassano.  Turns out James had a flat that prevented them from going further than Bassano.  We met at the McDonald's (James likes McDonald's) in Brooks just off the Trans-Canada highway.  They had met two more guys riding their bikes across the country and they also showed up at McDonald's so we had 5 fully loaded bikes in one place.  That was cool.  After two Big Mac's, some fries, and two apple pies we were off for Medicine Hat.  I arrived in Medicine Hat about 40 minutes ahead of the rest of the group and got set up at the campsite.  Then Seb and James arrived and we picked up yet another TCBC - Tim who also shared the campsite with us.  More campfire and hot dogs.

It seems I'm not suppose to catch up to my schedule since the Trans-Canada highway between Medicine Hat and Saskatchewan is closed due to the flooding and the detour will add at least 200km.  The sun is shining so maybe I'll go explore Medicine Hat today.

With lots of time to ponder thoughts here are two things I've written down:

"I've been complaining about the weight of my pannier bags and I realized the trouble isn't with the weight, it's with the complaining"

and

"When I get to the end of every day I say "wow, that was awesome, I wonder if I can do it again tomorrow?" .and then I do.

 Well, it's been a few days since I've had a good internet connection and the extra energy after my days of riding to make a significant update to my adventure.  Last night, June 12th, I arrived in Banff and met up with my high-school friend, Tim Dashwood, from Dunnville.  He was in Banff teaching a course at the Banff Centre on 3D film techniques and technology.  I caught up with him at a restaurant - Saltlik Steak House - downtown where he was chillin out with a bunch of his film and TV colleagues.  It was a really great group of people and I got a very warm welcome when I pulled up.  The waitress, Dani, even came out and offered me anything from the menu as acknowledgment of my journey and support for my cause.  Go to the Saltlik restaurant if you ever come through Banff.  It was really a great welcome.

Let me go back now to day six - wow, that seems like so long ago now.  I was riding from Salmon Arm to Revelstoke and it rained the whole way.   Amazingly everything except my head and my feet stayed dry.  The trucks would drive by dragging a tornado of spray and grime and each time they did I said "yee haw!" -  it was fun :)  My knees started to complain about half way through and I was struggling to understand why the pain would move from one spot on my knee to another and then to the opposite knee and back again (the solution came on day 7).  About 30 km outside of Revelstoke I stopped to take a break - the combination of the rain and my knees was getting to be a lot.  I stopped at the "Enchanted Forest" amusement park and stood under their awning for a few minutes before deciding to go in to their tiny store to see what they had.  It kind of reminded me of Hansel and Gretel entering the witch's house.  There were little knickknacks all over the place for sale and a girl (Naomi) who was vacuuming the floor.  She didn't hear me when I entered but I said hello and she stopped, gave me a stool to sit on and we had a nice conversation about a bunch of different things including my bike ride, the park, about her, about me.  Getting on my way, I wasn't sure I would make it to Revelstoke given my mental and physical condition, but I pushed on and eventually, after some more beautiful sights and pictures, arrived at the Lamplighter Campsite in Revelstoke.  It was still raining pretty good and I managed to set my tent up without getting anything wet.  I must say, my rain gear and waterproof paniers are doing a marvelous job.  The funny thing about where I camped is that the guy beside me was also riding his bike across Canada.  His name was Art, he was 68, and riding for Haiti relief.  He gave me his card (www.bikingforhaiti.com) and we spoke a little about how our rides were going.  The bike he had didn't look very "cross-country" to me, but he was making it work.  

Day 7 - Roger's Pass

The next morning, I got a late start.  It rained all night and continued raining until about  11am.  I had originally planned to take the day off, but since Tim was only going to be in Banff until Sunday morning I needed to step up my pedaling efforts to arrive in Banff by Saturday evening.  I packed up my gear and said farewell to my TCBC (trans-Canada biking colleague) and headed out for one final stop - the Revelstoke Times.  They were putting together a story of people who ride across the country and will be following up with me later in September to see how it went.  Next, I realized that it was lunch time and that I was quite hungry so I went to a small restaurant at the wrong end of town for a chicken sandwich and a big bowl of poutine.  Mmmmm, French fries, gravy, cheese curds, and ketchup.  So, finally the marathon to Banff commenced and I was off to my next stop Roger's Pass where I had been warned of the long up hill climb.  Half way through the ride on a flat strip of road I met Chantel and Tamar who were also riding their bikes across Canada.  Tamar was on her way to Dalhousie to study music - and she was carrying her trumpet on her bike.  Chantel was riding with her and was the inspiration for their ride.  They were stopped along the side of the road sitting on the concrete barrier eating some lunch.  I rode up, said hi, and Chantel said "hi, want some food?" as she handed me a piece of red pepper with cream cheese and green olive... it was really good.  We chatted a bit and the three of us agreed to share the cost of a room at the Glacier Park Lodge at the top of Roger's pass.  The climb to the top of Roger's Pass was not as big of a deal as it was made out to be - even with cranky knees it was nothing compared to the climb out of Pemberton.  Chantel had a background in massage therapy and gave me some really great advice on stretching and some Therapain muscle ointment that worked really well too.

Day 8 - Roger's Pass through Golden to Field

We started the day with the breakfast buffet at the Glacier Park Lodge - everything in this hotel seemed to be broken or out of service and the milk was literally watered down.  We had a good laugh about the hotel and then I went back to get organized for my day's ride.  Leaving Roger's pass was all down hill for a good 30km.  I made good time on this part.  The weather continued to improve and by lunch time I was able to start using my solar panel to charge my phone/GPS.  This day I crossed my first time zone and only noticed because my phone automatically updated itself to the correct time.  As I neared Golden I called Chris, the treasurer of the Golden Rotary Club and Carrie at the Golden Star newspaper.  We arranged to meet a the Tim Horton's at the entrance to Golden.  When I arrived (at 15:15) Chris was waiting for me with a Rotary banner, some pins from the city of Golden, and a message of good wishes from the Mayor.  Carrie arrived shortly after, took our picture and some information about my ride and Rotary.  Then I got a donut and yogurt parfait to aid my climb out of Golden.  This was probably the second most challenging hill.  Traffic and trucks were thick and the road was narrow, winding, steep and under construction.  On one side were big trucks, on the other a 500 ft drop to the river below.   Talk about cool!  The road for the descent was in much better shape and wider.  I hit my top speed of the day here clocking out at 71km/hr. :)  Then I had another long climb after which the road became more rolling.  I was slowing down by the end of the day and I didn't arrive in Field until about 8:30pm.  I decided to get a room this night too - I rode 137km this day and I ended up at the Fireweed hostel in Field.  The hostel was very nice.  I checked in and then went over to the other hotel where there was a restaurant.  I met a woman, Katherine, from Ontario who told me about her nephew who had been killed on his bike riding out of Banff by a drunk driver.  There were also some Dutch, French and English customers in the restaurant watching the World Cup soccer game.   After my salad, burger, fries, and blueberry pie I went back to the hostel and attempted to upload some pictures, but quickly fell asleep... didn't even turn the light out or change out of my clothes.

Day 9 - Banff and Lake Louise

Woke up at about 6:30 thinking about what I was going to do for food... went across the street to the tiny little grocery-restaurant-gift shop to see what they had - given Field is in the middle of nowhere and there are only about 90 inhabitants, the food choice for the road was pretty limited.  I had Juevos Rancheiros for breakfast and bought a few small packages of trail mix and peanuts for the road.  By 10:30 I was on the road - but first, I decided to take a 28km detour to see the Takakkaw falls - one of the tallest waterfalls in Canada at 350m.  It was 14km in and 14km out and totally worth the trip.  It added 2.5 hours to my day - up hill with switchbacks in and downhill out.  I was doing switchbacks on the switchbacks to get in so it was pretty slow going to get to the falls.    Check out the pictures.  Then it was on with the show and the next climb - Kickinghorse Pass.   This was another long climb, but still nothing like the climb out of Pemberton.  On the way up I stopped to get a shot of the spiral tunnels that the trains use to climb the mountains.  These are long tunnels that are carved out of the mountain to reduce the incline of the climb.  At the top of the Pass I  found something familiar - the West Louise Lodge where I lived during my season as a ski instructor at Lake Louise.  It was a beautiful sight and I suddenly found myself with twice as much energy for the ride to Banff.  It was primarily downhill from here and a very enjoyable ride - it's all been enjoyable....  So, I arrive in Lake Louise and am compelled to make the 4km climb up to the Chateau.  It's a steep hill and I stop at the bottom to clean my sunglasses as three bikers in their fancy gear and light carbon bikes pass me.  About half way up I pass them with my 90lb of bike and gear - that must have made them feel good.... it made me feel good :)  Arriving at the top I went to the lake and there were many tourists who were curious about my bike and what I was doing.  The sign on the back catches people's attention.  I spoke to a few people got my picture taken and then went to the left side of the viewing area.  As I was looking out over the lake a group of tourists set up behind me to sneak a picture.  I turned around because I thought I was in their way and they said - no -we want to take your picture.  I told them about what I what I was up to and after the picture they gave me $50 to help me on my way.  Very cool.  Then I flew down the hill - literally - did I say I like to go fast?  Arriving at the bottom I realized again that I hadn't eaten for a while so I stopped to get some food.  Here, I met a group of bikers who were on their way out for a weekend trip.  Erin was the one I spoke to most.  They work for Pembina (www.pembina.org) which works on sustainable energy solutions.  They were fun to talk to.

Now on to Banff and the beginning of this blog entry...  So, after a reeeeeeealy good cold beer (holy cow that was good!) some good conversation with Tim's colleagues and the waitresses/managers, and a big club sandwich and scalloped potatoes at the Saltlik restaurant Tim and I went up to the Banff Center where he was staying - and offering me a place to stay for the night.  I got cleaned up and we went back to the Saltlik for another cold beer and more food.  Our waitress, Meagan, did a great job of looking after us.  It was a wonderful day.  

Now, after getting all repacked and organized I´m making some updates to my website and figuring out what my next step is going to be - where will I stay tonight?  Will I make it to Calgary tomorrow?  Time to go and make some more friends.

I'll have a day off tomorrow to get this all updated...  Banff here I come!

Story to come - It rained again today but only here and there.

Hotel room tonight :)