Day 12: One for the records

I'm noticing a trend between trying to cycle away from family and getting completely owned by the world. There appears to be a strong gravitational-malevolent (more commonly known as gravilevolent) pull surrounding my bloodline. When I left Jana in Calgary, I had 2 flats in an hour and it was so hot that my eyeballs began to poach in my tears. Upon leaving Brie in Lethbridge, it poured rain for the day in 11C temperatures and I had to sleep on a concrete floor under a cookhouse to avoid hypothermia. Today, trying to leave behind my parents and extended family, I'm lucky to have made it out alive. I love you all, but I need to run away before something really bad happens!!

I'd like to congratulate today on claiming the proud title of worst road day. I realize that I still have a few weeks to go, however it's going to take a curious bear, or an angry biker gang to top this one. Today was not the coldest day, but my fingers are still thawing. It was not the worst headwind, but Hwy 250 was a sharp, N wind, welcome back to the road. It was not the most rain I'd seen, but my clothing will still be wet well into tomorrow. The roads weren't as bad as Swift Current, but I'll be sitting funny for a few days. No, today only broke the record for most bike maintenance, however was able to claim the award for it's all around game.

Today showed me that it could play an agressive offense, but still a conservative defense. Today was a smart, crafty day with a head for the game. Today was a selfless team player, but also not afraid to drive one home on it's own. It had a natural talent that just can't be taught. Today showed huge potential for the future and will go down in history as one of the greats of the game.

Unfortunately, I was the opponent.

I had my parents driving behind me today which is likely the only thing that stopped me from throwing a hissy fit on the side of the road like a 2 year old who just lost their favorite toy. My parents insisted on coming since the stretch of highway I rode today is among the most dangerous in Canada. There were no paved shoulders most of the way and I was forced to ride in the lane of our country's biggest highway. I love my little keystone, but we have no money and we need new roads.

The weather was a balmy 12 degrees with the odd break of sun, just to get your hopes up, followed by the more frequent downpour. I had the wind at my back which allowed me to still make decent time, however periodically, it would flip direction just to confuse and annoy me.

I started off the day right with breakfast and a flat tire. I was convinced my parents had done it on purpose to get me to stay longer, however my conspiracy theory broke when a couple of hours later, my patched tube popped again in a different location. My second repair job of the day turned into a third when the valve ripped off as I was pumping up the newly patched tire. Fists whiter than a Winnipeg winter, I grabbed a new tube and begrudgingly got back to work.

The slap to the face came when I stopped in Brandon to do an interview with the local TV station. After the question period, they wanted some stock footage of me riding and naturally, on the last take we had to do, I managed to find a massive mud puddle and take a swan dive off the side of my bike. I walked into Tim Hortons like a swamp monster and spent a good while, and a good deal of tissue cleaning myself.

Still, I had a big day and made it all the way to MacGregor with a smile on my face. I said good bye to mom and dad and started thinking about the road ahead. I'm sure it'll rain cats, dogs and small herds of bison on my tent tonight but all I'll do is laugh and remember a classic quote:

Even the worst day on the road is still better than the best day in the office.