Our ride started in Strathmore but our day started with a drive to Strathmore from Calgary because we drove back into the city to where we had finished our ride the day before, because we had been hosted and had an evening program in Calgary.  In Strathmore, Mike’s friends, Henrietta and Edo came to meet the team and sent us on our way. Rob took another day to allow his ankle to recover.

The morning was overcast and we had scattered showers but we had a nice wind at our backs! The big sky views were such a contrast to most of what we had experienced thus far. The route surprised us with the number of hills but they were fairly mild compared to others we have faced.

It was clear, this is cattle country. We passed many fields filled with beef cows.  A herd of prong horn sheep and a coyote added some variety to our day.

In the late afternoon, Gabe got the first flat tire of our trip! We have been so fortunate not to have had any to this point. Funny thing, getting it fixed was not going well. Then another cyclist, Ian, showed up. He is near his destination in Calgary, having cycled from Newfoundland. He made fast work with the tire! What a significant gesture of kindness on his part to give us a hand.

With the delay created by the flat tire, it was almost a 12 hour day. We arrived at our destination, Suffield, with the sun low in the sky and some long shadows!

Our host for the evening was Temple Baptist Church in Medicine Hat. We were greeted with an ice cream pail of homemade chocolate chip cookies!