Day 12: Easy Street… Or Was It?

Ascent 376m, descent 289 = please tell me how this is possible when going from the Peel river to the MacKenzie, I mean really almost 90m higher??

Distance 72 (McPherson excursion).

We were a bit slow to get started today….not surprising after yesterday’s episode – Dale was on for breakfast – it is day 12 and he had to ask ‘where are the tongs kept’….just saying. Pancakes and bacon for brekkie. There were showers at the campsite and we were able to wash our bikes – much needed!!! So much mud/dirt in all the gear/brake mechanisms.

We came to Fort McPherson to stock up on some missing items (from the shower back up debacle). Replenished a few key ingredients (hot choco) and stopped by the local café for a grilled cheese. Town is approx. 900 souls. The day started a chilly 8^o and reached a high of 12 degrees, overcast mostly to start and the sun came out this afternoon.

Today was a perfect day for peloton (apart from a few blasted hills) and it was Suneet’s first go at it – she did awesome; after I explained that the rider behind her is supposed to be ‘on her ass’ and that doesn’t mean go faster (jeez man…..her cruising speed was 24 kph). We averaged 18.4 kph for the total ride. Finally crested the plateau and saw the mighty MacKenzie – with cliffs like Dover. The MacKenzie is the longest river system in Canada and is only behind the Mississippi for the largest drainage basin in North America – what a sight. Glorious! We hopped on the Ferry to jump across and started looking for campsites – in the wild as they say – thankfully we found one about 3k on the other side of the crossing – we were ready! We are up high with a view of the MacKenzie below = can’t wait for sunset (though highly likely to be asleep as it doesn’t happen till 1039 pm).

Chip’n’Dale are doing dinner tonight – chili and apple crumble! Best part of this was the bet on how long it would take Suneet or I to comment on their technique…….2 min…..and Farid (who has only cooked hot dogs) took just about 15 min to comment – HILARIOUS!!