Wednesday, July 8: Finishing up Highway 68

 

Livingstone Golf Course -- along Alberta 68

In the long view of  crossing the country,  my travel has slowed to a snail's pace.  But I don't think about that much.   The task at hand is such a large undertaking, that I don't think too much about getting to Newfoundland and Labrador.  Each day is an experience in itself to savor, and I find myself living in the moment, and squeezing out experiences, as the miles track by.  Today my progress is 8 miles; the final stretch of Alberta 68, where it turns to the north to join up with the TransCanada Highway.  I am on a multi-day detour, as the TCT travels upon two trails that are closed due to flooding in the region.  The detour is a bit longer than the original route and my northbound travel today is taking me away from the true trail.  I return to the car every day, and tomorrow's route is along the TransCanada highway.  While bicycle travel is just fine along that road which is Canada's main interstate highway, I don't feel comfortable just pulling over and parking the car and leaving it there for several hours.  So my stopping points are predicated by the exits, and so I am in for a short day, or a really long day.  I opt for a short day.

Highway 69 becomes a paved road

Yesterday I had a pleasant surprise;  I found out that today's route was going to be on pavement.  The dirt road portion of Highway 68 becomes a paved highway for the north-south section of the highway. This would have an impact on my adventures today.  In one of my pictures below one can see there are still some respectable grades in this region.  

As a cyclist I am aware that opportunities for speed records are rare.  First of course is that a steep hill is needed.  But there are other factors.  So many hills have a stop sign at the bottom! That's true for most urban roads.  And I've commented about the typical topography in mountain areas.  The first section of road is an ascent. Turn that around, and there almost always is a stop sign at the end. A stop sign because the road turns onto a busier route.  Here in Wisconsin we live in an area close to the 'driftless area'. It's the region of Wisconsin that was never covered by a glacier. Lots of  valleys with steep sides that were never ground down by the ice.  Our roads have lots of curves and lots of forest.  So the opportunity for a very fast descent is available, but prudence dictates tapping the brakes because we can't see ahead around the curve, and there always is a chance that wildlife might jump out onto the road.  And then of course the wind.  

But on rare occasions all of these factors are neutralized and then cycling becomes an adventure!  That is what happened today on the road in the photo be  I was on a straight road with good visibility and no traffic.  No wind. No animals. No reason to have to slow down for a stop. Earlier in the ride I traversed up this hill, a steepish long hill, but not unlike many others I've climbed on the TCT.  I did not consider the opportunity the return trip would provide.  So when I began the descent I was up to 30 mph, notice mph - not kms, in no time at all. I had no reason to have to tap the breaks, and I began to fly.  I topped out at 46.9 mph. The metric equivalent is 75 km/hr.  Indeed, it may have been the fastest speed I have ever attained on a  bike.  I certainly do not remember ever travelling this fast.  I was really surprised because my tires are 2.1 inches wide. Really fast road bikes have tires half this size.  I will probably forget about this speed number, but for now I am going to claim it as the maximum speed I have attained on bike in Canada.   

A view to the south on Highway 68 -foothills on the horizon

 and  a delicious hill

Proof of my  maximum speed : 46.9 mph !

Isn't that the truth?  Travel in this part of Canada usually means dusty dirt roads

 

Mileage: 16 miles

High Elevation:  4601 feet

Low Elevation:  4345  feet, at Highway 1