Had a good sleep. Only the sound of the distant river, song birds and the occasional cow bellowing. No internet or phone connection. Woke around 7, made some breakfast (from the food I'd stashed in the outhouse overnight to keep it bear proof-glad it had a lock on the outside too!) Then went back in the tent just as a gentle rain began to fall, crawled into my sleeping bag and got more sleep. I had a wet tent to pack up. Around 10:30 I was on the road. It started to rain again. Not much I could do about that. It got heavier and I got soaked. Shoes drenched. It was miserable and it got worse. My fingers and toes lost all feeling and were numb with the cold. It was aweful. There was nothing to do but keep moving forward though.
The oddest thing I saw on my ride from mountains to foothills was all manner of stuffed animals tied to fence posts and onnthe barbed wire. I felt sad for them all soaked and wet out there.
I was glad I didn't have a really long ride planned for the day, but I began to think camping wasn't going to be a great option.
I was about 4 km from Longview, where I planned to stay, when a woman stopped her car and got out. She asked me if there was anything she could do to help. I was so cold I could hardly function at that point.
She urged me to sit in her car and warm up, which I gratefully did. She was a cyclist as well and had seen me, turned around and extended kind compassion. I was given a towel, and fruit and slowly regained feeling in my hands again. What a God send Suzanne turned out to be! She offered me a place to stay, but it was backtracking for me to go up to North West Calgary. I felt better about life when I got back on my bike although my teeth chattered so badly first.
Longview was a letdown. The campground was ripped up and the "temporary " one had no amenities (aka, no warm shower!). I checked at a motel but decided I wasn't willing to spend the money to stay the night there (it was only 2 pm). The rain had cleared. I was grateful to have data again. Plan B looked like a good option; bike another 31 kms to the bigger town of High River and see about camping there...
It was quite flat, I was in ranch country! The mountains fading in the distance behind me. I began to dry off and the sun briefly peeped through before it began to drip again. I found George Lane Memorial Park without too much difficulty and was able to get a tent site without any difficulty. And took a very long warm shower.
They had books available for exchange, which was perfect since I'd just finished the one I'd picked up in Comox.
I waited till it stopped dripping before setting up my tent, not that it would've mattered since my tent was still wet from the morning.
I ate bagels with peanut butter for supper (since I actually picked up a jar the other day)! I'm glad I ended up where I did.
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