Well, the trailers arrived at 10am today and Marco and I spent a little time in the store assembling them and fixing them on to our bikes. After shipping a huge box filled with all our other stuff to Phoenix, we set off on the road to Canmore.
The road out of Calgary was busy and largely uphill and just as we reached the steepest of the hills, a lightning storm passed over our heads. Marco was up ahead as the lightning fork hit the ground - it looked to be very close and the telephone wires crossing the road were sparking. Then came a heavy rainfall, accompanied by a strong cold headwind which soaked us through to the skin. This was definitely a good test of the waterproof trailer bags, and thankfully they passed.
We had one huge downhill along the way and a series of long slow drags up hills. The scenery was amazing though, and every mile brought the mountains closer. We had another rain shower hut then the skies cleared and we had a very sunny ride into Canmore, where we are staying with Rob and Ingrid, friends of Marco’s aunt.
The trailers worked pretty well - it’s strange to have such a weight on the back of the bike though, and we both really felt that weight on the hills.
We’re both pretty tired after 70 miles or so on the road and so an early night is in order. Tomorrow we’ll go and check out the first part of the route, just to see what we are getting ourselves into.
A much more positive day today, and the best news is that I didn’t fall off. The ribs are getting better each day, and so all we have to worry about now are tired legs and sore bottoms - looking forward to a good sports massage tomorrow.