Brutal Head Wind

The plan today was to was to make it to Taber, Alberta 155k to the East on the Crowsnest Highway. After completing the first 50k into Fort Macleod from Pincher Creek in just two hours we thought reaching Taber wouldn't be a problem. As we were leaving the outskirts of Fort Macleod, a very strong headwind had started and to top it off I got my first flat in years. I removed the wheel and took the tire off the rim and found that a piece of wire from the steel belt of a shredded truck tire about a centimeter long sticking through the center of the tread. With all the shredded truck tires littering the side of the road I don't think this will be my last. I pulled the offending wire out of the tread and put a new tube in. Pumped it up and back on the bike in no time only to be pummeled by a huge gusty headwind. My speed went down to an average of about 15k/hr from 25-30k/hr. I find when I have a headwind I try to keep the same speed as without one so you quickly wear yourself down. So after about 55k of this we made Lethbridge our new destination.

Here's some information about the previous post. The woman I had my picture taken with is the Mayor of Sparwood, Lois Halko. When I road my bike to where the "Largest dumping truck" in the worldwide, a large congregation of official looking people were also there so I asked what the occasion was. Apparently Teck, the company who has mines all over the globe and five operating coal mines in the Sparwood area, donated the money to have tourist information boards describing the mining history of the area installed and just missed the ribbon cutting ceremony. After asking them a few questions about the coal mines and there future in the area, they started to ask what I was up to. I told them I was crossing Canada through all ten provinces on my touring bike and most thought that it is a great way to do it. After that they plied me with coffee, sandwiches and baked goods.

As you can see from the pictures, (didn't take very many, had my head down pushing hard) we are definitely out of the mountains. You look to either side and you see rolling plains. And when you look ahead you see one dang long road.