It was a cold morning as we left camp just 10 degrees and I had my rain jacket on covering my Canada shirt I wore just for the occasion. Todays route was quite simple 78 km on the same road out of town throw beautiful valleys, no serious climbing just curving roads and around every bend the scenery just seemed to get better. For most of the ride one had the felling of being in the middle of nowhere as there really wasn't any buildings for miles just road , lakes and mountains. The land was arid covered in sage brushes , what ever agriculture activity there was had irrigation ( sprinklers ) and that land near the rivers and lakes was lush . Lots of wildlife : deer , loons ,eagles and ospreys ( maybe pelicans ) and lots of domesticated animals : cows , horses and llamas and a burro also , it’s funny but I think the animals where just as much interested in us as we where in them as they would watch us ride by intently, ears perked.
After the first 78 km we went off road as we had the option of a shorter but more scenic route but it involved 11 km of gravel, well it was amazing, a narrow valley with cows grazing on the side of the road with no fences ( they have Texas gates all over the place to prevent them leaving the area) , there were horses that looked wild as wild can be with long manes blowing in the wind and every now and then a ranch . The weather was warmer in the valley so I was able to display my Canadian colours !!. The road returned to pavement and on we went until an unmarked left turn needed to be done which again was a dirt road but this time it was loose gravel and it looked like it went to nowhere , so after some consultation with a passing motorist it was decided it was the only way to get back to the Hwy and off we went , down and down, sharp turns and all ( just like mountain biking !!! ) and finally we were back in civilization ( the trans Canada Hwy ) from there it was a simple 20 km ride to the campground .
Oh Canada , what a beautiful country you are !!!!
Total ridden today: 130.2 - average 22.7 - riding time 5.44
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