havecarryonwilltravel

Today is the final stage of the 2015 Tour of Alberta. Murray and I look forward to this stage as it is an 11 lap circuit in downtown Edmonton, has some exciting hill climbs, crazy fast descents and is walkable.

We park in our secret spot, walk to the hairpin turn at the bottom of Bellamy Hill and only have to wait about 10 minutes before the peleton swooshes by. I hold my breath as the riders pass as I am in the path of a miscalculation around the corner. I am ready to jump out of the way, if necessary.

The next two circuits we spend at the top of Bellamy Hill as lap 3 is part of the KOM and I want to cheer on Ben Perry, a Canadian, riding for Silber. Perry does not disappoint and there is a race up the hill to garner the KOM points. (He goes on to win the KOM title.) I clang my bell and clap my clapper along with the rest of the crowd cheering.

The bottom of Bellamy Hill.

We then spend the remaining laps walking along the route, stopping each time the racers rush by, Murray to shot photos, me to cheer. We meet people from the different segments of our life and stop to chat. The stage brings out Edmontonians and the turn out is great.

The finish is fast and loud. We wander along the team buses, Murray chatting to a coach from the Hincapie team and an Austrian rider from the Giant team. We pick up a couple of water bottles, always a good find.

All of a sudden the Tour of Alberta is over.

Up early again. Outside temp at Wabasso Campground is a balmy 2 C. We break camp in record time and scoot up Marmot Road. Get stopped at the gates to the ski hill. G & M, folks we met yesterday, are just turning around and we both park just outside the gate. It’s 7:30 and now we wait.

We walk up the road to the finish line. We hang out in the lodge, read, chat, watch the clouds lift. We go back down to the car, eat lunch, reorg. We walk back up the hill, sit outside, listen to the entertainment, watch the race live when it comes onto the big screen. When the peleton rounds the corner onto the last climb we walk down the hill to a spot good for cheering and taking photos.

We cheer, I rattle my bell and clap my clapper, Murray takes photos. The peleton is once again spread out over the hill. Another great climb on the Tour of Alberta.

We are going to miss Stage 5 tomorrow as we are attending the ITU Triathlon in Edmonton where Murray has gotten official photographer credentials. (WHO HOO!) We will be in downtown Edmonton for the last stage of the tour. See you then!

Panic. Slept in. Managed to miss two alarms. 45 mins. behind and haven’t even started to pack the tent. We don’t know if we will be able to turn right out of the campground and get up to the finish and they are closing the road at 8am. I’m thinking the closure is at Highway 16 but best not take a chance.

We make the corner at 7:30, 32 minutes to pack, and 30 minutes ahead of any fellow in red that might appear. We reach the top and things are in full swing. There really isn’t much room up here. We drive right past everyone like we own the place and park way in the back near the picnic area. Waking up late does not allow time for breakfast so we pull out all the supplies, clear the snow off the table and eat. No one says boo. The temperature has risen slightly from the 4 C and it just might be a pleasant day.

Scouting out the best spot to watch the race on the way up we leave our spot and park just outside the 300M barriers in the gravel off the side of the road. This is going to be the spot from where we watch the race. I think the riders that want a stage win will try from here.

A couple of hours are whiled away in the RAV 4 reading. The hot pool beckons. It is warm, real warm, they say  40 C. It is nice to have heat deep inside our bodies for the first time in 3 days. Clean and warm we eat lunch in the lobby of the pool.

1pm and the race appears real time on the big screen TV at the finish line. 1/2 hour later and the obnoxious announcer screams at us. Generally knowledgeable guy but his announcing style is in your face and frankly not needed north of the 49th. We persevere for another 1/2 hour or so, the riders are at the bottom of the climb and it is time to take up station.

The flashing lights are in the distance, the riders appear. Make noise and cheer. The climb has had a devastating effect on the peloton. It has been ripped to shreds. A group of 15, then 5, ones and twos, another small group, and on and on. The time gaps will be big and the race is on.

Tomorrow is another day to pull out some time but today’s stage was hard and there will be some tired legs.

The face says it all.

Oh today is cold one. It is like one of those really cold mountain days with condensation on the inside of the fly dripping onto the tent above our heads. Inside the tent is actually quite warm from our body heat all night but I get bundled up knowing outside will be a shock.

Sleeping is good. The place we are staying is close to a secondary highway but a really busy one and the traffic noise is loud and continuous. The fresh air lets us sleep very sound. Regular camping routine. Get ready for breakfast. Stove, dishes, food and water. We are really good with time. Yesterday we scouted out the race route and where we wanted to be and when. We missed one road so we check it out this morning and end up exactly where we want of be. The start area is rather jammed with race equipment. We find a place to park facing our predetermined escape route and chill.

The start was at an exhibition grounds was rather uneventful. It was a small festival and it was Thursday, a work day. Five or ten bus loads of kids showed up for an all day field trip. They had a good look at a rolling neutral start and were going to wait all day for the finish. I’m not sure there was enough there to keep them entertained but it was a good thing to take them to a big community event as a world class bike race.

At the start line

From here it was over to the KOM hill and wait. You have to be good at waiting when following a bike race. Things progress slowly over long distances. Today we make lunch and chill for about 2.5 hours. The chopper appears on the horizon. They are coming. The first riders start up the hill and 15 minutes of action ensues. There is a break of 4 riders and they sprint like hell for the top. The few minor KOM points left are picked up by the remained of the peloton. One more half hour and it is all repeated.

Climbing the KOM hill for the first time.

Climbing the KOM hill for the second time in the rain.

From here on we partake in an amazing comedy of errs that sets up for the the biggest coup in some time. We intend to watch the group go by the bottom of the hill we are on and then as they pass head straight to Grande Cache. On the way down I suggest we should drive part way up the final hill and watch from there and then proceed down the road. When we get to the appropriate elevation I make a snap decision to make a u-turn on the highway and park facing in the direction we are to head. One of the other spectators informs us there is a huge line at the top of the hill waiting to get on the highway in the direction we are going. When the bikes pass we jump in the car thinking we need to stay ahead of the line up at the top of the hill. As we pass the broom wagon we see a massive line up following and we realized if we had parked facing up hill we would have had to wait upwards of an hour before we could have got onto the highway. Last we went by the place we first were going to stop and saw that we would of had to make a left hand turn onto the highway we wanted and it would have been hell. We were on the road with clear sailing ahead and it was only serendipity that had us there.

We have never travelled Highway 40. It’s up and down and back and forth with forest as far as one can see. Really interesting and far better than Highway 43. The vegetation is a variety of greens and the terrain is constantly changing. The road surface is everything from horrible crumbling mess to brand new dark black smooth asphalt. Pretty much uneventful trip except a teenage moose standing about 10M from the road quietly munching on grass.

Another night in the tent. Hopefully on the closure side of the Miette road. And they say it’s going to a snow tonight.

Start is a long way from where we are. 400km at least. We packed yesterday and just had to get a few things out to the car. 8:55 , 25 minutes late but still should have loads of time.

It’s a long road and I haven’t traveled it is a very long time. It has probably been 35 or 40 years since I have turned north on Hwy. 43 from Hwy. 16. People that drive it regularly think it is boring but today I am a passenger and really the time passes quickly. The scenery doesn’t change too much but there are highlights as we progress. There is a cool little valley with a swoop in the road and a great wood trellis work train bridge. Something much less visually appealing are the sign boards that line the highway in to each of the cities on the way.  The ones into Whitecourt in particular make the city look cheap. If I were the council I would rid the road of such trash. I THINK it is illegal in Alberta to line the highway anyway and don’t really understand how this is happening.

Arriving in Grande Prairie was a bit of a shock. It is a small city much the same as other small cities in Alberta, but traffic, it is two o’clock on a Wednesday and the cars are basically jammed. Lines of cars at every light in every direction. I would hate it here. Edmonton is bad enough and I can drive around mid day without too much hassle.

The city is put together quite well with a huge park running from north to south through most of it. The first two people we have contact with aren’t really the happiest folks but everyone we have met since has been great and really pumped about the race.

First campground we stop at doesn’t accept tents. What kind of campground is that??? A bit snooty I’d say. If I had a campground I wouldn’t accept RV’s, I’d starve but the statement I’d make would echo throughout the world.

After we find a place to pitch our humble abode, we scouted out tomorrows start and hill climb. We still arrive at the start line ‘festival’. We wanted to pick up a tour guide and that was where to do it. There is not a lot of booths but there is a lot of action. One whole  section is dedicated to kids and it is hopping.

Only in Grande Prairie!

6:15 and the race starts. People come out of the woodwork. It is cold here people waited until the last minute to emerge and see what all the hype was about. I think they are enjoying it even though most do not really understand the subtleties of a team time trial.

I’m standing on a traffic island in the middle of the road taking photos of the teams starting out on one side and turning around and taking photos of the teams finishing on the otherside of road. In the meantime standing at the curb, Debbie has gathered a small crowd as she passes on knowledge and knowhow on the race. She is telling them about how only 5 riders are needed to count a time and different strategies the teams might employ as they make their way around the race course.

As the last few teams make their way up the final hill we spot our Tour of Alberta friend, Jo. She is standing on the side of the road cheering just as we are and just as she was when we met her at time trial opener of the first Tour of Alberta. We get reacquainted as we cheer on the last few riders and make plans to meet tomorrow.

Not so far to the start line tomorrow.