Day 5 of the GDMB- our last night in Canada!

After a great nights sleep (on a bed!) in our hostel we walked into town and had bagel sandwiches and big mugs of cafe mocha with lots of whipped cream on top. A thunderstorm with hard rain passed as we finished getting ready and we finally hit the road a bit after 08:30. It was a beautiful morning, cool and windless, as we started out. After a few miles on a paved road we rode beautiful winding and undulating gravel roads along the mighty Elk River. It was just like I imagined the route would be… We came to the little town of Elko after about three hours of riding and stopped in a convenience store for lunch (our practice is to split a super pizza sub and chips). Caroline was working in the store and was incredibly helpful and kind. We had a blast talking with her and some local men- our best lunch stop yet! We also met a solo female cyclist riding across Canada. She showed me a funny anti-GMO poem and I said it was cute but surely she knew it was not true. She said “what do you mean?” I said that I was not aware of a single article in a peer reviewed scientific journal that demonstrated a negative health effect from consuming GMO foods. She then said “well, it doesn’t have to be in a peer reviewed scientific journal to be true.” And I said no, just to be credible. John said she then muttered “science”! under her breath… it was an amusing exchange. We then rode another 20-30 miles in 90 degree temps and tough headwinds (including a late 600′ climb) to our camp on Loon Lake. We set up our tents then swam in the lake- extraordinarily refreshing!- did laundry in the lake and then the camp manager took us in her ATV to a spring to fill up our water bottles! Very kind of her. We then had an excellent dinner, including apple crisp for dessert, and finished the evening with bourbon and a cigar. It was a truly exceptional day and evening. And Johnny D, aka Johnny Pisco aka Johnny Shredder hit his stride and motored through all hills and obstacles in his way. He is a machine.

Johnny D here: at the end of each of the first 4 days I was very sore and completely out of energy. I was so exhausted that I did not feel like eating, which was a counter-productive downward spiral. David did a great job of encouraging me in every way, especially pushing me to take in calories.

However, after finding it difficult to even walk at the end of Day 4, when I awoke on Day 5 I felt great! And I still felt quite good after the ride Dave described above. I guess it pays to persevere, because I feel as I’ve turned the corner.

Daily totals: 47 miles and 2,500′ of climbing

Some nice cafe mocha to start the day:

A beautiful gravel road:

Some nice scenery along the way:

Our friend Caroline from Elko, BC

John and I enjoying a nice bourbon and cigar at the end of our last night in Canada. Canada was a beautiful and memorable start of the ride, eh?