I really tried and tried to get up early but just couldn’t. Then I needed to sort out my electronics which I thought were okay but turns out they weren’t. First was the Gopro camera which now when I turned on just started taking hundreds of photos and I couldn’t turn it off without removing the battery. The second problem was my solar charger which I had returned and upgrade yesterday at MEC. The different brand had a multitude of connection types for various phones and electronic items but when plugged into my phone, the phone indicated I was at risk of wrecking the phone. It also would not charge my tablet no matter which combination of connections I used.

I left the apartment by 9AM and had the Gopro replaced at London Drugs. I have to admit I always get great service at London Drugs and there is no fuss or blaming the customer. I then rode to MEC and simply returned the new charger, borrowed a floor pump for my tires and bought a 12′ x 12′ tarp! By the time I got on the road for real it was around 11am and already starting to get hot which I in fact welcome.
Continue reading →

The rest day consistent of wrestling cow girls, riding bulls and roping the little balls hanging off Chevy pickup trucks or something like that. I set up all my malfunctioning equipment to charge up fully while I rode out to Bow Cycle out by 16th where I entered Calgary the day before. I was great because I pretty much took the bike path along the Bow river almost the whole way. Even though it was midday Wednesday there were lots of cyclists and even more runners.

When I got to Bow Cycle my new friend Tim was on lunch so I chatted up the people in reception about my trip and gave them some of my cards. Wait, let’s back up, this shop is humongous! I walked in the service entrance where 3 or 4 mechanics are going at it. To right of their area is all of the bike accessories in the middle of the floor and there are bikes and frames hanging all around including an upstairs balcony full of bike overlooking the floor. There is another group of mechanics working downstairs out of site and finally there is an off site warehouse where they build bikes. Okay back to the story.
Continue reading →