Day 41

This morning we woke up at 7am, and started packing! Dave left the house earlier than we did, so we said our goodbyes and thank yous (we were so grateful!). Then we hit the road just after 9am. We had a wicked tail wind, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky (later, we noticed there was one very small one that ruined our cloud-free day!). But we made amazing time into Canmore, where we decided to stop off for some fudge! Since the store closed before we could get any in Banff, we thought we should try our luck today. It was so good! And it was a nice little stop! Then we hit the road again, straight to Calgary. We were going stupid fast! When we were drafting, we reached up to 45km/hr. Gotta love the tail winds! Then, unfortunately, the winds changed and we had a headwind coming into calgary for the last 50+kms. It was SO hot out! Summer has finally arrived! Michael informed us he broke a spoke, but he would be fine until Calgary. I then broke my chain (it just snapped in half. Don't know how or why, just happened). And, as our bad bike luck happens in threes it seems, Travis inevitably got a flat. These slight delays caused us to only get to Travis's house around 4pm. We had to hurry to get our errands done so we could just enjoy the day tomorrow. Unfortunately, we couldn't get them all done, so we will have to do some tomorrow. But I did go to the bike store. When I went to get a new chain they convinced me to get a new cassette as well (because they said mine was worn etc). I know mine was still fine for a bit longer, but it may not be fine all the way to Winnipeg, so out of peace-of-mind, and because we were in a rush (both in Calgary, and in a rush to get to Montreal), I didn't want to take the chance. I also got a new rack (or rather, the attachment piece. I still had to buy the entire rack though and just gave it to Travis in the end so I didn't have to bother with the shipping etc). My make-shift duct tape and tie wire job was working quite well, but just to be safe (and to avoid future delays) I figured it would be best to do it right. They also convinced me to do a full clean (ie take apart and clean all the bearings and joints and gears). I really wanted that done since we had a LOT of rain/snow/shitty weather through Alberta that I thought it was a good idea before hitting long hauls of nothingness through the prairies. It was stupid expensive, but again, we were on a tight time-line so I didn't want ANY problems while we needed to gun it! Because they were all booked up, they told me they could get someone to look at my bike if they were bribed (ie if I bought them beer), and then it could be ready for tomorrow. I didn't really have an option, so I said alright. After I was done (and after Michael bought some spare spokes) we didn't have time to hit up MEC so we went back to Travis'. We showered, and met two of Mrs. O'Farrell's friends who were visiting from Toronto. They were lovely, and we had such a nice dinner (they made the most delicious pizza!). It was so much fun! Then Julie came over and we watched Jurassic Park. Me, being predictably lame, fell asleep almost immediately after the movie started. It was so nice to see Julie! I hope to meet up with her again tomorrow before I leave Calgary! (But unfortunately I might be lame company with errands :().