Today we were riding to Youngstown, AB and the town folks
have been hosting TDC riders for a long time and they also arrange for a
potluck dinner.
After waking up at 6.20am I took a hot shower (1$) and had
breakfast (pancake, oatmeal, yoghurt) and made sandwiches (PBJ) for lunch. We
left camp at 8.40 am and I was riding with Keith, Michael and Ron for most of
the morning. We had lots of chatting and joking around; bald prairies require
some entertainment for getting across them. We stopped for regular breaks and
went to a canola field for a few pictures.
Keith had a few bike troubles along the way and it ended up
taking around 1.5 hours as his flat repeated just 50 ft after the first one. The
people in sweep duty and they waited with us while we fixed the issue in rim
tape. That time we noticed that Byron, the youngest TDC rider (16), was wearing
Pyjama outfit that he bought in Drumheller as part of a bet. After that we had
a lunch stop in a small town and the restaurant was very eccentric; more like a
restaurant in owner’s living room. I had a chocolate milk and brought along my
PBJ and ate it.
After lunch, the wind turned into a headwind and it wasn’t a
pleasant trip thereafter; we had to grind all the way. I rode with Meeryn until
the town of Hanna and then I stayed back to reunite with Keith, Ron, Byron,
Michael and others. I waited for a while and had a banana and a sandwich in the
meantime, however they didn’t get there in time and I kept on going on my own.
The road was relatively busy and the sun was playing hide and seek with clouds.
I got in to Youngstown around 6.20 pm and within next 20 minutes rest showed up
as well. We were all tired and had a long day on the road battling prairie sun
and constant headwinds.
We were hosted by people of Youngstown and they served us a
potluck dinner and the highlight was the variety of dessert. The community
centre was left open for riders and most chose to just use their sleeping bags
and camp inside. There was also a mobile bike mechanic that was on site from
another town, which everyone used his services.
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| Alberta is oil |
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| Canola fields |
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| Nope, not flat at all |
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| Keith getting a Push up the hill after his bike got fixed |
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| Delia Museum |
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| Delia, AB |
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| The road today required great attention. Rumble strips to left and a ditch to the right. Eyes on road please |
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