Where's Joe?
British Columbia and Alberta, Canada
Stage 3 of the Journey: May 23 - May 30
BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
mile 2,424 to mile 2,570
May 23
Joe left Bonners Ferry, Idaho, and soon crossed the border into British Columbia, Canada. He is riding in a narrow valley in a very sparsely populated region. Beautiful country. The mountains on either side have snow. 43 miles to Yahk.
May 24
Joe rode a little over 75 miles today to the town of Shookumchuck, which means "fast running water." He has now pedaled over 2,000 miles in this trip. The mountains keep getting higher as he heads north. Frost in the morning. Cool in the day. Rain, as usual. Sometimes all day.
May 25
Joe pedaled 59 miles from Shookumchuck to Radium Hot Springs. Very rugged, mountainous terrain. Near Canal Flats he visited Lake Columbia, which is the headwaters of the mighty Columbia River. There was no rain today. For Joe, this was a big deal.
May 26
It was 86 miles, twelve hours on the bike, and three high mountain passes to Banff. Joe said, "the scenery is absolutely breathtaking." He saw elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep, coyotes and had lunch with a bear. He crossed the Continental Divide and was escorted into town by eight bicycle riders who thought they could show an old man a thing or two about power riding. They couldn't.
Alberta, Canada
mile 2,570 to mile 2,910
May 27
The plan was to make it to Calgary today but a heavy, steady, all-day headwind wore our rider out. He slept on the ground. Very chilly night with a cold morning dew but at least no rain. He'll be in Calgary early on the 28th. Joe wants to say a special "hello" to Beanie and that "I think of you every day. Your beautiful spirit is an inspiration to us all. Live Strong!"
May 28
Joe rode 51 miles into Calgary which happened to be hosting a Bicycle Festival. Joe, of course, had some of the best stories to tell and, of course, had ridden the furthest to get there and, of course, had the furthest to go. The Calgary Herald did a story on him in '67 and another one this time. Joe tells everyone along the way about Kentucky and what a wonderful place it is. Of course.
May 29
After coming down from the mountains, Joe found himself on flatland covered by wheat fields. He pedaled 92 miles to Ft. MacLeod. The Canadian maps used above to track Joe are on a smaller scale than the US state maps so the colored lines represent more miles traveled. I hope you are enjoying Joe's narratives on the "Stories from the Road" page.
Joe is 14,000-mile advertisement for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Here, he is enlisting a couple of local kids to paste "Kentucky Unbridled Spirit" bumper stickers across half of Canada.
May 30
Joe pedaled the 42 miles between Ft. MacLeod and Cardston against a direct headwind of 22 - 25 mph. He only averaged 6.5 mph. He said, "Sometimes you just get days like that. Sometimes you have to fight the wind. You have to accept it and keep on pushing."