Day 12, July 1, Sparwood to Lethbridge

Day 12, July 1, Sparwood to Lethbridge

We got up at 5:30am today so that we could get into Lethbridge at a reasonable time. It was raining when for the first 15kms or so, but not too hard. We met up Vanessa’s Dad 50k into the leg. He’s competed twice in Iron Man Canada, and once in the U.S. I wasn’t looking forward to the pace he would set for the next 150k, although we only ended up staying around 23km/h.

We thought we’d have a tailwind coming out of the Mountains, but we didn’t. We had a substantial headwind from Cowley to Fort MacLeod. I was in need of some serious energy from Pincher to Fort MacLeod. This felt like the longest part of the ride.

We stopped for an hour in Fort MacLeod at the A&W for some food. I can’t eat there, so I ate at the gas station next door. It was nice to eat a Reese Peanut Butter Cup that wasn’t melted.

It started to rain in Fort MacLeod and didn’t stop until we hit Lethbridge. This was the first substantial rain we’ve had on a trip. Passing trucks and campers would throw rain and sand in your face. My bike and helmet are caked. We were lucky though; we missed the flash flood that happened in Lethbridge.
It is going to be nice to sleep indoors tonight. Today was our longest ride at 178k-my second century. Tomorrow we will attend a BBQ arranged at the University. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone.