Day 14- Bad News Travels Fast. Like, Email Fast.

I set my alarm for 6 AM this morning so that I could capitalize on the amount of cool morning riding I could get in before the afternoon heat hits. I just barely managed to fit all my fresh supplies into my bags. *Phew*. I loaded up my bike, said my goodbyes, and was on my way into the cool morning air, feeling reasonably well rested.

The first few hours of riding were pretty great. The temperature was pleasantly cool, the winds low, and I was making amazing progress. I flew down the flat roads out of Calgary. After a while I stopped for a snack, and checked my phone and saw I had an email from the university I had applied to. I opened it, expecting good news, only to be surprised to find out I had been rejected outright. It took a little while to sink in, but I was suitingly frustrated and dissapointed, and I had many hours of riding to reflect upon it.

It once again opened up countless possibilities for the future, but I have trouble being truely excited. I have come to the realization that I have a large fear making major decisions in life. When things are undecided, there is so much possibilty open. Once you have chosen a path, these possibilities begin to be pruned off, leaving a more defined future. I seem to be afraid of making these decisions, lest I make the wrong ones and lose important oportunities and adventures. But without making these decisions, you never really explore the depth and complexity of a certain route, and stay in an undefined limbo, which is no place to be. This trip has been one instance where I actually made a big decision regardless of the consequences and it has made all the difference. I would do well to bring this decisive thinking home with me.

Many KM of open road later, I joined back onto the Trans Can HWY. The terrain has reached the point where in each direction there stretchs out before me endless fields; the mountains a distant memory. There is a certain peacefulness to it all, but after many hours of riding, it become quite uninteresting. I passed countless grain silos and farmers hard at work on their tractors.

It begins to get very hot once more, and the unrefreshing headwind begins again. My progress slows as I tire, and I crawl my way through the hot afternoon sun to Bassano. The last 40 KM feel just as long as the first 110. Getting up at  6 was a good tactic, but I still had a lot of afternoon riding to do. I think I will get up at 5 tomorrow and see how that feels.

I pulled into the first campsite I could find and set up shop. It is closed, but it is hot and I dont want to look for another. I found a shady spot and cooked supper. Tomorrow promises to be another long 150 KM day to Medicine Hat.