Chris and I just got back from Canada last night. One might argue that because the RM1200 had 8-foot shoulders, it would actually be much safer than the lonely country roads I prefer to bike. No doubt, if you bike in British Columbia, the only choice is the highways, and we passed at least a dozen fully loaded touring cyclists who do this all the time. However, because it is a highway, we got into areas with alot of road debris that made the shoulder less than safe. Also, there were several places where the shoulder disappeared, such as narrow bridges and construction sites.
Chris and I picked the 84 hour start. I was so tired 4 hours after the start at PBP, I almost fell off the bike. The 4am start is equivalent to 7am on the east coast, so we felt like our bodies wouldn't have to adjust. My main reason, however, was to get through the icefields during the day, because I was afraid of how cold it would get there at night. What I didn't know before the ride was that Kamloops is in a Canadian desert. It was hotter in Kamloops the day before the ride than it was in Miami.
I started the ride with a goal of finishing in less than 70 hours. I needed some evidence that my training was paying off, and another 83 hour finish would have been o.k., but very disappointing. I started the ride off as slow as possible (which I also recommended to my brother). After riding by myself for awhile, I managed to catch up to Jim Solanick, Melanie Ashby, and Eva from San Francisco. We worked together for about 200 miles, with Jim taking 10k pulls and the rest of us averaging 6k pulls. This worked well until we hit a 30mph descent near the highest mountain in Canada. We had spread out a good bit, and Melanie was the last in line when she hit a rock and went down. I felt helpless. When I turned back to her she was face down on the pavement with her bike on top of her, and she was bleeding from the mouth. I could tell she wouldn't choke on the blood because of her position, but I didn't want to move her at all in case she had a broken neck. Cell phones weren't working from that point, but a critical care nurse stopped soon after the accident. Melanie looked like she was going into shock, was loosing consciousness, and even started twitching without control. I knew I couldn't help much, especially with professionals around, but I really didn't feel like finishing the ride when one of my riding partners went down.
Jim abandoned the ride to stay with her, and he encouraged Eva and myself to continue. At this point Jeff caught up to us, so I jumped in with him and rode off. Jeff turned out to be a great riding partner for me. The fixed gear bicycle kept his pace within my comfort zone, and after Melanie's accident, I was more than happy to take the descents a little slow. We rode through the night, and caught up to a couple 90 hour riders just before Jasper. I was looking forward to talking with some of the 90 hour riders, but I would estimate we passed at least 40 riders while they were sleeping in Jasper. At dawn, we met David Bundrick in Beauty Creek, but he was soon on his way. It was cold at this point like I thought it would be, but it could have been much worse. We would have been in for a little trouble if it had been raining or snowing. Within two hours it was extremely hot again, and by the time we climbed Bow pass I believe the temperatures were in the high 90's. I expected at 6000 feet, the temps would be much lower (like on Mount Mitchell). This is probably where my brother got into trouble.
Scott Ohlwiler caught us after Lake Louise, and between him and Jim Solanick, I got alot of confidence that I could still meet my time goals. I felt like we were riding slow, but it turns out that this was the controlled pace we needed to set a good time. Except for the traffic and some serious heat, the rest of the ride went well. At this point, I'm not doing too bad, but my numb feet have begun pulsing in pain and walking is a little difficult. If this resolves quickly enough I will be at BMB in a few weeks.
To Jeff Bauer, Jim Solanick, Melanie Ashby, and Scott Ohlwiler - thank you for helping me reach my goals. I will be looking to beat 65 hours sometime in the next few years, and with a result like this I know I'm on the right track.