Reflections

No, not this type of reflection... although it was a beautiful lake. I wish I could have stayed longer, but this was an incredibly mosquito-y lake. I learned a lot of things this trip- including I'm not a big fan of bug spray. I was already slathered in sunscreen. Biking means I'm covered in sweat. Adding bug spray created this awful sunscreen/sweat/bug spray combination that I just couldn't deal with. Just as well, perhaps, otherwise I would have stayed at this lake for hours.

Ok, reflections: This was hard. And I sort of loved it and want to do it again. In retrospect a part of me wonders if this was really an appropriate first solo bike trip. Maybe not. But as a result of this trip, I did mountain passes, country customs, bus/plane/train travel, biked in 90+ degrees and around 40 degrees, sunburn and snow on the ground... in thinking about other trips I might take I now feel pretty comfortable. I think if I had done something "flat and easy" I would still be wondering if I could do 1000's of feet in elevation gain. (Now I know, yes I can. I'm just slow. Very, very slow.)

However, the large carnivore thing did get tiring. I've camped a lot in bear country before... just not solo. That was a big difference for me. I'd rather have other folks around for a simple reason- at 4am when you wake up and hear the bear squirrel outside your tent, it's much easier to get back to sleep when your tent mates are sleeping soundly. Hey, if they are asleep it must be no big thing, right?

I did mail some gear home in the middle of the trip- I learned when I travel alone I eat right out of the pot- no need for a bowl. The binoculars I would have loved to have kept with me, but I sent them back too. As well as the 2nd biking shirt, a pair a shorts, lotion (I'll take the dry skin), an ace bandage, the footprint to my tent... never, in all my backpacking/hiking/traveling have I ever worried about mere ounces like I did on this trip. I think I would have cut off my toothbrush handle had it not already been a half-sized travel one. I weighed all my bags when I got home- I think with full food and water I came in at around 65 pounds for my bags- I don't know how much the bike itself weighs.

My bike packed: that's the bear spray right under the handlebars. 

On my next trip, I think I'm going to avoid all conversations with all people until I get 75-100 miles completed. The first days totally stank when people would ask where I was from and when I would say Seattle they would get all excited that I had biked from Seattle... I felt like I disappointed them when I told them where the biking part actually started.

Other things I learned:

Hostels are great places to stay in- there are showers, it's warm, and it's the same cost as a  campground in Canada!

I got really excited when my watch matches my mileage: 12.49 miles at 12:49pm!

Canada has some odd roadside signs.

My mood swing were amazing on this trip- from super high to the depths of despair, and all within an hour.  It took me days (days!) to realize it was all tied to food. This was my lunch at the top of the Icefields.

I found I do love the pace of bike travel- it's a beautiful way to see the world and I'm sure I saw bears, deer and rabbits that I wouldn't have seen from a car. 

This was my route: Jasper to Fernie, 454 miles total including side trips.

So that's my trip. Possibly the hardest trip I've ever taken, and I'm looking forward to doing it again. Now to find a road without cars- now that would be a glorious route!

One last question- who wants to join me next trip?