Today is Day #28 of The Road To Valour and there are 2 weeks left before rolling into the finish line.

Today I was riding solo.

I woke up after an exciting (read windy and rainy) day yesterday well refreshed and eager to get at it. I always sleep well in the tent, especially after a good hard day of cycling. With the tent taken down and the bike fully packed, I made breakfast in the covered shelter. Time to roll and mark the last day of the fourth week of The Road To Valour. Hard to believe.

I got conflicting directions from my computer and Google Maps. Seeing as Google was a bit shorter I chose it and headed off with the wind to my back. About 5 km down the road a lady in a pickup flagged me down and said that if I was going to Medicine Hat I should turn around as the road ahead was gravel for 30 km and given all of the rain would likely be pretty muddy.

Okay. I turned and backtracked to Rolling Hills – into the 20+ kph wind, of course. So, now I was on the track that the computer had recommended and 10 km into the ride without having gone anywhere! Heading down the road, I was looking for the turn recommended by the computer, only to find that it also was a muddy, gravel road. Frustrated and well behind schedule, I continued on towards Hays.

As I reached Hays, I remember the comment made by a fellow I met yesterday that. if I go through Hays I should stop in at The Hays Cafe. I found it, it wasn’t hard and went in. Susan, the lady behind the counter, made me a coffee and got me an apple strudel. We chatted a bit about The Road To Valour and why I was riding and how I found my way to Hays. She was impressed with the project and decided to cover my snack and also made a donation. Small town hospitality at its very best.

Then it was on the road again — this time, the right road. I still had almost 100 km to go and the wind was strong and crossing. Well, this was just going to be a day to shift the brain into neutral and pedal.

The time passed, as did the kilometres and soon I was approaching Hwy 1. I got onto the highway and finally had the wind at my back. As I went along I saw a sign that almost felt like my welcome to Medicine Hat.

I connected with a local rider who helped me to find my way over the Bow River ( I must have crossed that river a dozen times over the past few days) and my hotel for the night. Through my friend, Graham Mackenzie, Halo Air Ambulance, Southern Alberta’s only dedicated Helicopter Emergency Medical Service, sponsored me and arranged my stay for the night. Thank you.

Riding The Road To Valour