Sunchild Road to Cline River, Alberta

This weekend I went down to Nordegg and joined my parents, who were camped at Goldeye Lake.  It was my fourth weekend working on my Red Deer-Saskatchewan River Crossing route and on Saturday, Mom and I cycled together from Nordegg to Cline River (just under 50 kilometres).  It was a hot day, but other than a lot of British Columbia forest fire-smoke in the air, nearly perfect for a nice ride, much of it along Lake Abraham.

From Cline River we cycled back about 5 kilometres to meet Dad, so in the end our ride was just over 53 km.

Early Sunday morning I drove east to Sunchild Road, where I had left off on July 15.  From there I biked west to Nordegg, a trip that was just over 55 kilometres.

After the hot afternoon on Saturday, it was surprisingly cold on Sunday morning, just 6 degrees!  Within about 15 minutes though I warmed up and enjoyed the ride.

I reached Nordegg just before 10:30.  

So in both days this weekend I cycled:

and after seven, mostly-half-or-so days of cycling, I have finally finished Red Deer-Saskatchewan River Crossing:

Rocky Mountain House to Sunchild Road, Alberta

Yesterday I took another chunk out of my "across Alberta" route, this time picking up in Rocky Mountain House where I left off in May, and doing 35 kilometres (70 total, with the there-and-back) to where Highway 11 meets Sunchild Road.  

It was a hot day, but not terribly so, and mostly it was a really nice, flat, fast ride.  For maybe ten or so kilometres the shoulder along Highway 11 is awful, with lots of rough patches and gravel, but otherwise it is pretty ideal.

Since I was driving to and from Rocky (4.5+ hours of driving), I didn't have a full day to cycle, so 70 km was a good amount for the afternoon, and it leaves me with exactly a metric century left between Sunchild Road and Cline River to finish off Red Deer to Saskatchewan River Crossing.  

Cline River to Saskatchewan River Crossing, Alberta

Between today and yesterday, while enjoying the Canada Day weekend in the Nordegg area, I cycled a bit more of the route I am putting together across Alberta.  This short stretch brought me from Cline River (beside Lake Abraham) to Saskatchewan River Crossing.

The weather was perfect; despite the long weekend, the traffic was reasonable; and, of course, the scenery spectacular.

I broke it into two very relaxed rides, so the average speed was low, but I almost broke 70 kmph on Sunday coming down a pretty good hill!

What remains to finish this route now is from Macklin, Saskatchewan to Red Deer, and then Rocky Mountain House to Cline River, all of which I am hoping to get done before summer is out.

Red Deer to Rocky Mountain House, Alberta

As of September of last year, I have now pieced together cycle trips from Winnipeg to the Pacific:

But, because I cycled the southern route across Alberta back in 2006, the routes have a gap between them that I want to rectify.  To do this, my plan is to cycle from the AB/SK border at roughly Macklin, where I ended off in 2012, to Saskatchewan Crossing at roughly the middle of the Icefields Parkway in Banff National Park.  Once I complete that stretch, my route from Winnipeg to the Pacific will be seamless:

• Winnipeg, MB to Yorkton, SK
• Saskatoon to Yorkton
• Saskatoon to AB/SK border (at Macklin)
• Macklin, SK to Saskatchewan Crossing, AB
• Saskatchewan Crossing to Lake Louise
• Lake Louise to Kelowna, BC
• Kelowna to Vancouver
• (ferry to Naniamo)
• Naniamo to Pacific Ocean (at Ucluelet)

The nice thing about cycling across Alberta is the logistics are a little easier than for out of province trips.  This meant that on Friday I could decide to begin this weekend.  I have never ridden "self-supported" before (i.e., driving myself), but I decided to try it out.

Yesterday, Saturday, I drove down to Sylvan Lake, which is more or less the closest point to Edmonton that lies on the route I want to complete.

I parked there in the Wal-Mart parking lot, and rode out.

Originally I was going to ride east to Red Deer first, then loop back and carry on to Rocky Mountain House, and then back to Sylvan.  In total that would have been about 170 kilometres.  But immediately out of the parking lot I realized the northwest wind was stronger than I thought it was, so I decided I would do the bigger piece first (Sylvan to RMH), and leave the smaller piece for later in the day, or else Sunday.  Part of my problem was that it was already almost noon, so I was getting a very late start.

The first five or so kilometres took me through Sylvan Lake Provincial Park, along the lake and through the town.  I have never been to the lake here before, and I was surprised how pleasant the setting was.

I think Sylvan Lake has a bit of a bad reputation, but it was certainly nice to cycle through.

I continued out of Sylvan on Highway 11A, and was disappointed how hard it was.  The route was nearly entirely flat, but against the wind I was struggling.

Ten or so kilometres out of Sylvan Highway 11A joins Highway 11, the David Thompson Highway.  From this intersection it was mostly due west and then a little north for about 50 kilometers to reach RMH.

Because my original plan was just for 45 or so kilometres, I had not packed much food or water, and was beginning to realize I was going to be VERY hungry and possibly thirsty by the time I arrived in RMH.  Luckily there is a gas station at the turn off to Alhambra, where I was able to buy more water and some sticks of pepperoni and cheddar.  I stopped down the road to eat.

Despite my frustration with the wind, the ride along Highway 11 was quite nice, and the weather (again, other than the wind) nearly perfect at around 23 degrees.

I cycled by countless cows and horses, and a herd of sheep, and lots of Canada geese and red-wing blackbirds, ubiquitously perched on reeds.

It was sometime shortly before 15:00 by the time I rolled into RMH.

I went to A&W for lunch of a big burger and onion rings; I was stuffed, but it took only a few minutes more on the bike for that to wear off!  I bought some more water before turning around and heading back to Sylvan.

Immediately out of RMH the highway runs southeast, so with the northwest wind behind me I was comfortably riding in the high 30 kmphs.  I was disappointed when I turned due east about five or so kilometres later and found myself fighting the crosswind again.  Thankfully I was able to average about five kilometres more per hour heading east than I had west, but by now I knew there was no way I would be getting in the Red Deer-Sylvan portion today.

I limped into Sylvan just after 18:00.  By the time I was back at the car my speedometer read 127 km exactly, but my body felt as if it had ridden 227!  I was disappointed to be so tired and sore.

I drove home to Edmonton, resolving to return today.

Mid-morning today I headed south again, driving to Red Deer this time instead of Sylvan.  

I rode this route, deciding a loop would be more interesting than a "there and back."

There was a little bit of wind today, but fairly light, and mostly northeasterly, and it proved to be a really pleasant ride, especially on the way out to Sylvan.

I made one stop once I was just outside of Sylvan on a range road, and then another outside of Sylvan coming back towards Red Deer.

Mostly though I just rode, trying to keep up a good pace.  The wind did become a factor on the way back into Red Deer, but I was still pretty happy to finish with a time well under two hours.

So with both days together, I covered the Red Deer to Rocky Mountain House piece, or maybe 1/6 of the total "across Alberta" route I want to do.