Fort MacLeod to Taber

My 1st day riding alone and it is going to be a hot one – 35c predicted.  I’m determined to get up and off early so that I can cover the 105 km route before the heat of the day really kicks in.

This was my earliest start but not by much perhaps 5-10 minutes but it was before 8 a.m. and that meant I might get the ride finished before noon. It was the perfect start to a ride – a tail wind, haze obscuring the heat of the sun and next to no traffic (6 cars passed me in the first 10 miles). Highway 3 in this part of Alberta is a four lane divided highway with a large paved shoulder equal in width to another lane. For most of the ride I had a good tail wind and that meant I was able to cover the 105km in just over 3 hours. So, I kept going and ended the ride in a little crossroads called Grassy Lake. The 83.6 mile (135 km) ride was over in under 4 hours.

We had booked a site at the Municipal Campground in Taber so Deb picked me up and drove me back to Taber. Now that it is labour day we are thinking that it won’t be as difficult to find camp sites so we will stop booking ahead. The flexibility will allow me to cycle as far as I feel comfortable without having to double back.