Ride Report – Fairmont 2010

by Peter Hoeltzenbein

I rode the Fairmont starting Friday morning at 5 am and finishing Saturday at 15.45, a total of 34h 45 min. The ride was very difficult for me. I was in Fairmont at 7.25 pm, an average of 22 km/h. Behind my schedule (wanted to be there at 5pm) due to headwind. Returning I made about 35 km/h without effort for half an hour or so, then it started to rain and the wind disappeared. From there on everything went worse. More rain, actually until 3 am on Storm Pass it did not stop. My pace decreased continually, I bonked and dehydrated (I guess). My derailers blocked due to the dirt sticking to them, I could not get on the large chain ring any more (not too bad considering my lack of power). Slept for two hours in the restroom in the park at the BC/AB border with my bike (fear that a bear would open my mounted bags) which gave me shelter from the rain. At 5 am I went down the hill in the early morning light with maximum speed of 30 km/h. I was dizzy, sleepy and cold.

Nothing open until Canmore (8 am), where I stopped at the Tim Horton and met 3 guys riding across Canada. I left before nine, struggled all the way and finally pulled over at the Seebe Dam and took another nap for an hour or two. Departed after noon and slowly made my way back to the Coop. My Garmin went out of power while at the Tim Horton in Canmore. The ascent until there was 4366 m, the ascent for the last 100 km to Coop is about 560m.

For future rides beyond 400 km I will book a room for a rest, it is no fun and potentially dangerous to fall asleep while riding.