Day 12- Now Arriving at: The Sun

I was packed up and ready to go quite early this morning, knowing that I would have a reasonable long day ahead of me. I stopped in at the Chain Reaction RV to say goodbye and thanked them for their kindness. I reay hope I encounter them again somewhere down the road. It was really cool to encounger other people having the same adventurw as me, even if under different circumstances. They were fellow travellers to share the experience with. I estimate we might collide again in Northern Ontario.

I made my way out of Canmore and down the highway eastward. I was making great time as I cruised down the road, watching the mighty rockies subside into ever smaller foothills, the forests thin out into sparse patches, and then, nothing. All along the horizon in front of me I saw nothing. I could see small rises, lakes, farms, and buildings in the distance, but the horizon seemed so noticibly bare all of a sudden. Like something was missing. When I looked behind me I could watch the Rockies slowly retreat over the ever expanding open fields of grass and farmland. And man is it getting hot out.

I hit an area of exceptionally flat road with little wind resistance, and I flew along in my top gear, feeling like a cruise missle. If thos is how the prairies are going to be, I can handle that. This doesnt last long however. I hit a long series of hills thay carry me to the out skirts of Calgary. I stopped for lunch in a field on the side of a road, shirtless and sprawled out in the hot afternoon sun with all my gear, like some kind of gypsy wanderer.

I eventually fought my way over all the hills through the heat and increasing headwind, and arrived in Calgary. I though I was almost there, not realizing until a while later that I had 40 KM of city to traverse.

I progressed my way through the the beginning of the city on the hwy 1, but there was no sign of the turn off I was looking for, and the sun was really starting to get to me. I have been biking in the cold mountaim air for the last week, so I am not ready for a sudden heat spike to 25°C. The sun feels downright oppressive; I imagine this is how the sun in North Korea feels. Finally I lose my patience and bring out the car GPS tucked away in my bag and tapped it to my handle bars. It took me on a long series of busy 6+ lane roads, and much to my frustration, I had to do a lot of backtracking. An eternity of blaring heat and angry and rude drivers later I finally found my way to Brittany and Ashley's house where I will be resting until Tuesday morning. They made me an awesome meal, and it is now finally time for a rest. Today ended up being a lot more frustrating than I expected.

Despite my complaints, it is great to have reached Calgary. In my brain, Calgary stands out as the first big milestone of my journey, so there is a certain sense of closure of the first chapter by having made it this far. It feels pretty cool. Now I must rest and prepare for the next chapter.