Green Energy

Day 26: Brooks to Medicine Hat. 75 miles. 650 feet elevation. Weather: wonderful tailwind.

I will likely just use the picture above for the next 10 or so days, as the scenery is unlikely to change significantly as I cross a bit of what’s left of Alberta and then tackle Saskatchewan. Although the scenery may not be gorgeous, I am enjoying cruising.

My morning started quite early as I was mildly anxious about the winds. The weather suggested I would probably have a tailwind, but I trust it about as much as I trust Google Maps. Google Maps did take me down a decent dirt road for quite a while. Once again, I was shocked by Canadian, and maybe even more Albertan, kindness as vehicles would almost stop when passing me so as not to kick up any dust. I’m not sure what to do when they’re so kind. Blow them kisses?

Eventually, Google Maps tried to direct me onto a road labeled ‘unmaintained’. Obviously, I’m not opposed to riding on unmaintained roads. However, when you don’t really believe the directions, and you go down a road like that, you can end up in a farmer’s field or a dead end, which is no fun on a 70-plus-mile day. Accordingly, I diverted over to the Trans-Canadian Highway. As you can tell, it doesn’t really matter where you join the Trans-Canada Highway because everything looks the same for hundreds, if not thousands, of kilometers.

This is where the green power was really enjoyable. Ultimately, my bike moves mostly because of a two-cylinder engine: my left and right thighs. These two cylinders are essentially green-powered as the hamburgers at A&W are from beef that is grass-fed, hormone-free, and antibiotic-free. I don’t know if the root beer is green, but it tastes amazingly good on a hot day, especially in a frosty mug. Today, I had the added benefit of a marvelous green energy tailwind. It wasn’t particularly strong, but it pleasantly pushed me along. I made great time, and even the huge trucks passing by stopped bothering me as I smoothly sailed towards Medicine Hat.

For some reason, I had an image of medicine as being a dusty, barren wasteland on the prairie. I was pleasantly surprised to find it quite green, with beautiful riverside trails and many large trees along the side streets. Unfortunately, Google Maps failed me once again and dragged me through about 5 extra kilometers of the city, eventually dumping me onto his street, which was a busy, uphill road with no shoulder. That was fun. I finally made it to a bike shop, where I’m planning to do some repairs. Thankfully, the bike, other than some broken spokes, got me to this point. We’ll see if fixing the bike is more cost-effective than buying a new one :-).