I'm thinkin' day 4 might be a bit grueling because of the wind! This ranchland area on the eastern side of the Canadian Rockies looks beautiful from the photos, and it will be really fun to ride moderate, rolling roads for 118 miles... but this area is known for the chinook winds, to the point that there are areas where the windmills are lined up along the road to harvest the wind energy! This might be a LONG day if the winds are blowing... but maybe it'll be a tailwind and we'll get pushed all the way to Waterton National Park! Hmmm. If it's a cross or headwind, then we'll need to conserve energy in a
paceline, which is where we sit on the wheel of the rider in front us and save energy because of the drafting effect. We'll all take turns as the lead rider, and switch regularly because that person takes all of the wind and has to work harder, but then gets a significant rest when taking a turn behind the others. The amount of climbing over this route is a little less than 4000', so it seems like over 118 miles that's gotta just be due to the rolling terrain as compared to any major climbs. The pictures suggest that it'll be beautiful farmland with the Rockies on the horizon the whole way until we reach start getting into the Waterton area. Towards the end of the day we'll
turn west and head towards the mountains until we end up inside the park, where we'll stay on the shore of Waterton Lake. The picures from this lake look amazing... I wish we could afford $500 a night for the Prince Wales hotel, but after a long day on the bike we'll be glad for clean sheets and running water! It's funny how when you're outdoors, using your body hard all day, whether backpacking, climbing, cycling, running.... it breaks you down sufficiently so that everything is easy and good by comparison. I can think of so many times after backpacking all day, cycling for 7 hours, getting off a long rock climb, etc. where the instant coffee and freeze dried instant food you ate for dinner
was the most amazing food I'd ever had! Somehow when you break yourself down, perspective becomes clearer, and extraneous crap matters a whole lot less... and the basics of life are so much easier to appreciate. Thanks for reading.
paceline, which is where we sit on the wheel of the rider in front us and save energy because of the drafting effect. We'll all take turns as the lead rider, and switch regularly because that person takes all of the wind and has to work harder, but then gets a significant rest when taking a turn behind the others. The amount of climbing over this route is a little less than 4000', so it seems like over 118 miles that's gotta just be due to the rolling terrain as compared to any major climbs. The pictures suggest that it'll be beautiful farmland with the Rockies on the horizon the whole way until we reach start getting into the Waterton area. Towards the end of the day we'll
turn west and head towards the mountains until we end up inside the park, where we'll stay on the shore of Waterton Lake. The picures from this lake look amazing... I wish we could afford $500 a night for the Prince Wales hotel, but after a long day on the bike we'll be glad for clean sheets and running water! It's funny how when you're outdoors, using your body hard all day, whether backpacking, climbing, cycling, running.... it breaks you down sufficiently so that everything is easy and good by comparison. I can think of so many times after backpacking all day, cycling for 7 hours, getting off a long rock climb, etc. where the instant coffee and freeze dried instant food you ate for dinner 
was the most amazing food I'd ever had! Somehow when you break yourself down, perspective becomes clearer, and extraneous crap matters a whole lot less... and the basics of life are so much easier to appreciate. Thanks for reading. 
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