Alberta
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May 29- Day 22

It is nearly June! That blows my mind. This is the longest trip I have ever been on, and it's only 1/3 over (maybe only 1/4)!

I got up at 7ish and was gone by 8. By 10 I was in Vulcan.

It's a cloudy day, and it spattered rain so I wore dad's rain gear. By the time I got to Vulcan it was clear that I was wetter inside than out. Note to Dad: that rain gear is NOT meant to be used while exercising! My clothes are eXTREMELY damp, and it didn't even rain worth anything.

Getting to Vulcan was long, a fair bit uphill, but the problem is that the road twists and turns so much with so many offshoots even though I logically knew I was on the right track, I thought I was lost a couple of times (to the point where I asked directions from a passing truck). There were virtually NO houses or anything conveniently along the way, just mile long driveways jutting off either side.

After trudging along for two hours, I finally made it.

I don't think it was worth the detour.

The Trek aspect of the place (a giant model of a old-school Enterprise type ship and a visitor center geared around Star Trek) is cute, but there is nothing going on here right now. In two weeks they have something called "Spock Days and Rodeo"... quite the odd combination. The information center is a tomb right now, only a secretary busy in her corner indicates any kind of life. There are, however, a couple of Star Trek uniform tops lying around for staff to use... just in case some of the Trekkies show up early, I guess.

Yes, I took pictures. Cheese like this doesn't come along every day, you know.

I did the survey again at last. With the secretary. She's not a Star Trek fan, but I think working in that building has had an effect on her. Some interesting ideas. Too bad there wasn't a full blown wearing a Federation uniform and Spock ears kind of Trekkie laying about.

There is a burger joint here called Burger Barron, where they have some Star Trek theme going on as well. A Geordie La Forge cutout is in the corner, and they have a burger here called a Spock. I had some deep fried mushrooms... haven't had those in ages. Rip off of a price, though.

After an hour's rest or so, it's onto Brooks. I hope the wind isn't against me. Maybe the sun will shine? Naw.

I stopped in Lomond briefly, intending to fill up on water. Instead I ended up doing another survey with a gas station intendant. He's a total farmer time person, born and raised and going to die in the prairies. He was surprisingly intelligent and articulate, and had a good phylosophy on life. A trifle un-PC, but at least he didn't feel like he had to pad his feelings around a city boy.

Time spent cycling: 5:41:10

Distance traveled: 140.81 km

Total distance: 1542 km

Average Speed: 24.7 kph

Maximum speed: 63.7 kph

Current Location: Aunt Elaine's house, Brooks, Alta.

I'm in Brooks, but not the way I had planned. By the time I got to Bow City I had to stop. (Bow City, by the way, is not a city at all, but a failed city. It was supposed to be "the next Pittsburg" after coal was found there. They were going to lay down railroad tracks, had a bridge put up (which still exists, but is only one lane), then it all dried up. You can see the remains of what was going to be the mine).

My left knee problem was acting up plus my pulled hamstring in the right. I couldn't peddle uphill whatsoever. I stopped to massage the injuries and was swarmed by hundreds of little flies, a couple flew right down my throat in a kamikaze run. I had enough. I was only 35k from Brooks, and had wasted so many klicks in the past two days on a less than successful detour that I decided to call for help. Elaine picked me up a half hour later and now I'm resting up.

My cousin Beth is in a play, so I'm going to stay until Thursday so I can see her put a kind of parody of Robinson Crusoe. I've talked to almost everyone on the phone, and the journal is for the most part complete for now. I'll update my stay here in one lump sum, just as I had in Chilliwack.



Onto Day 23-27...