The First Day: Hills are Steep and Zeta makes friends!

This first day feels about a week long! I leave Jasper, and start heading south. The first couple miles are lovely, and then I turn off onto what I think is the old highway. The advantage is that there is a lot less traffic- it is quiet, wooded, and lovely. The disadvantage is it's a hill. A hill that goes up. Fortunately there are few cars to see me stop to catch my breath... which I do a lot.  An hour or two in I stop for a granola bar, and talk to a passing day cyclist who stops ask me questions. He's quite taken with the idea of cycle touring and has lots of questions and asks me for advice... and seems quite disappointed when I tell him I'm on the first hour of the first day of my first tour... and have no advice!

I ride on- past a rest stop where a family is eating peaches and I temporarily fantasize about stealing the peach from the youngest child (4 hours in and I'm already craving fresh fruit!). At a rest stop farther on a nice family gives me blueberries. Everyone is amazed to see a solo girl cyclist with a fully loaded bike, and the conversations bring me zero joy:
Standard comment/question: "You are amazing! Where are you biking from?"
Me: "I started in Jasper."
Them (said with disappointment): "Oh. Isn't Jasper that town just 10/20/30 miles away?"
Me: "Yes. It's the first day. Leave me alone."
I'm doubting myself a little and these conversations aren't helping me.

I ride past my first black bear on the side of the road- I'm glad a couple cars stop for picture so I use the cars as a barrier between me and the bear... I do not stop to take a picture... and on I ride.

Pretty water.

Pretty rocks.

I stop to camp at Honeymoon Lake, and camp near a couple families in an RV. Cindy and Barbara are biking- they each have kids and adult support riding in the RV. They feed me salmon and pasta and birthday cake!