Well with only a steel wire to hold my rack in place, we set off again making a beeline for the nearest town large enough to have a bike shop. Lethbridge was a two day ride away straight North on the otherside of the Canadian border. We repacked to take as much weight off my rack as possible, putting a lot of gear in Wei's panniers and carrying some on my back.
It was midday by the time we were on the road and the sun was baking straight down on us. The only shade in 100 km was a grain silo and the border crossing terminal.
We were in an every changing state of conundrum; We were riding through stunning landscape but a broken luggage rack, fantastically quiet roads but could see the mountains disappearing, super smooth tarmac for 10 miles but bone shaking gravel road the next 10 miles, the wind on our backs but the sun beat down on us relentlessly.
After we crossed the border we crossed the top of the ridge we'd been climbing for the last few hours and we started to drop quickly with the help of a strong tailwind. In this area you can see a long long way. Shrubs and trees appear on the horizon and stay there, teasing you into thinking you're almost there and withdrawing again as you look down at the road running wildly away into sky. As we reached the bottom of the valley Wei's bike protested under the added weight and he came to a stop with a broken spoke on his rear wheel. Still an hours' ride away from camp we couldn't fix it with the tools we had. We transfer some weight back to my bike and make-do. On the larger descents we hit record high speeds and despite deep fatigue and broken machines the spirit soars.
Pulling into McGrath we're welcomed by a church group picnicing at the town campsite and given all the burgers and water we could consume... which was just as well as there was no running water and it had been a long day to say the least.
As the Christians set off for home the clouds draw in and we escape a short sharp storm in the tent, asleep by 9pm as the sun re-appears still high in the sky.
The next day we make it into Lethbridge and just about collapse into delicious steak dinners provided by friends of friends. Josh, Anisha & the kids continue to provide glorious respite from the road producing ice-cream, guitars, and beds! Sitting on a couch is surely a splendid use of one's time.
The rest of the ride into Calgary was relatively uneventful, just long flat rides. We watch as storms race across the prairies from the west and time our cafe-breaks to coincide with the short heavy showers. We watch dark skies pick their way across horizons hiding distant mountains. Each town appears an hour before we reach it.
Horrendous wind between Champion and Vulcan force an early stop after only 20km covered but a change in wind allows us to ride the full 140km into Calgary the next. Good points and bad points... pesky Coyote.
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