I went to Drumheller this week-end with 37 other enthusiastic cycling friends. The Weather Network kept changing its forecast from OK to worse to great. NEVER believe TWN. Fortunately, we had great weather.
Day 1 - Saturday morning, we were up and at 'em at 7:30 am to start riding at 9:30. I met my new best Australian friend, Ben Johnson. The joke all week-end is that he isn't black and he isn't on the steroids anymore. He said he hadn't heard that much about Ben Johnson until he arrived in Canada. We had alot to talk about all week-end - things to do and see in Sydney. He was alot of fun. Maan, I'm looking forward to going to Australia.
Day 1 - Saturday morning, we were up and at 'em at 7:30 am to start riding at 9:30. I met my new best Australian friend, Ben Johnson. The joke all week-end is that he isn't black and he isn't on the steroids anymore. He said he hadn't heard that much about Ben Johnson until he arrived in Canada. We had alot to talk about all week-end - things to do and see in Sydney. He was alot of fun. Maan, I'm looking forward to going to Australia.
Breakfast was served in the breakfast area - cereals, waffles, muffins, fruit and oatmeal. It was a full breakfast. Our stomachs were full and we were ready for 101 km of 
cycling. It ended up being glorious cycling weather at 23 degrees celcius. We finished our day back at the hotel at about 3 pm. We sat around enjoying the weather until we all car pooled to the ghost town of Wayne for dinner, where we barbequed our own steaks. It was a fun evening. Petra and I noticed a sign that said "Wayne Community Cemetery", but it wasn't recommended that anyone go to the cemetery because it hadn't been maintained for years. We decided we wanted to see why it wasn't recommended, so we headed up the hill looking for who knows what. We didn't find anything. As we got further up the hill we still didn't find anything. "Who would bring a dead body up this far", we asked each other. We finally gave up and went back to the bottom. The group got together for some photo ops and then we went back to the bustling town of Drumheller.
Day 2 - Same routine as yesterday - up at 7:30 am to leave at 9:30. The weather was supposed to be even nicer at 26 degrees. Sunscreen was a must both days. Our journey today will take us to the Bleriot Ferry and on to other destinations. The ride down into the valley was great. It was steep and fast, but the ferry ride was only a 5 minute ride, if that. The ride up the hill on the other side was very steep and slow. It was a long grind to the lunch stop with strong winds, but it was a welcome sight to see the support vans waiting there for me. It was my turn to drive one of the support vans after lunch and I was the sweep van so had to stay behind to ensure the last riders were OK. I didn't read the instructions so I went the wrong way and 4 km down the road I realized I had made a wrong turn when I hadn't seen any riders for awhile. I made a quick U-turn and quickly caught up with the riders. None of them knew I did such a stupid thing. I finally met up with Jack, the next driver. He took over and I had a sweet ride into town after that. It was a tail wind all the way into Drumheller. There's no better sound that having a tail wind and hearing nothing but your tires roll on the pavement.
cycling. It ended up being glorious cycling weather at 23 degrees celcius. We finished our day back at the hotel at about 3 pm. We sat around enjoying the weather until we all car pooled to the ghost town of Wayne for dinner, where we barbequed our own steaks. It was a fun evening. Petra and I noticed a sign that said "Wayne Community Cemetery", but it wasn't recommended that anyone go to the cemetery because it hadn't been maintained for years. We decided we wanted to see why it wasn't recommended, so we headed up the hill looking for who knows what. We didn't find anything. As we got further up the hill we still didn't find anything. "Who would bring a dead body up this far", we asked each other. We finally gave up and went back to the bottom. The group got together for some photo ops and then we went back to the bustling town of Drumheller.Day 2 - Same routine as yesterday - up at 7:30 am to leave at 9:30. The weather was supposed to be even nicer at 26 degrees. Sunscreen was a must both days. Our journey today will take us to the Bleriot Ferry and on to other destinations. The ride down into the valley was great. It was steep and fast, but the ferry ride was only a 5 minute ride, if that. The ride up the hill on the other side was very steep and slow. It was a long grind to the lunch stop with strong winds, but it was a welcome sight to see the support vans waiting there for me. It was my turn to drive one of the support vans after lunch and I was the sweep van so had to stay behind to ensure the last riders were OK. I didn't read the instructions so I went the wrong way and 4 km down the road I realized I had made a wrong turn when I hadn't seen any riders for awhile. I made a quick U-turn and quickly caught up with the riders. None of them knew I did such a stupid thing. I finally met up with Jack, the next driver. He took over and I had a sweet ride into town after that. It was a tail wind all the way into Drumheller. There's no better sound that having a tail wind and hearing nothing but your tires roll on the pavement.
Tonight we went to Boston Pizza for dinner, and a few of us went to the bar after dinner. We all had martinis and Susan got the giggles. After awhile I was ready to go to bed and catch up on the sleep I hadn't got on Friday and Saturday, but a few party goers (Susan, Phil, Dan, Gord, Kevin) wanted to go for ice cream - what in this weather????? - and they pulled me out of my room to go find ice cream, so we were on a mission to find ice cream. We ended up at a 7-Eleven, where we walked in and promptly walked out a minute later, without buying anything, let alone ice cream. Our next destination - a 24-hour IGA. Sobey's hasn't reached the small town of Drumheller yet. Dan bought ice cream, but nobody else did. I was ready to hit the hay by now, but they wanted more. Off to the local bar we went. Since the next day was only supposed to be a high of 6 degrees and windy, we knew we wouldn't have to get to bed early to get up the next day for cycling. Welcome to Alberta. Susan got the giggles again, and couldn't stop.
Day 3 - Ahhhh, we got to sleep in and take our leisurely time to pack and get ready for our journey home. Susan - my car buddy - and me stopped in the new local coffee shop for a latte. We discovered 2 massage chairs that we took advantage of to get the kinks out after our week-end of riding. It was a relaxing morning. The week-end had to come to an end at some point though and we got up from our relaxing chairs and headed home.
Day 3 - Ahhhh, we got to sleep in and take our leisurely time to pack and get ready for our journey home. Susan - my car buddy - and me stopped in the new local coffee shop for a latte. We discovered 2 massage chairs that we took advantage of to get the kinks out after our week-end of riding. It was a relaxing morning. The week-end had to come to an end at some point though and we got up from our relaxing chairs and headed home.
All in all the week-end was a smashing success.
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