Sixty Fiver

I took a little 100 km shakeout ride yesterday which was more for me than the bike, and at the halfway point I stopped for a little stretch and got to talking with a local guy who was out trimming weeds in his pasture.

I discovered we both grew up in the same town and knew a lot of the same people despite our 20 plus year age difference.

He was quite interested in my bike so we discussed modern innovations and he then related that back in '66 he and a friend set out from Edmonton on a bike tour that took them to Calgary, Banff, Jasper, and back to Edmonton.

This is a serious bit of riding that is close to 1000 miles.

He said their bikes were much simpler back then as he rode an Eaton's Glider (a re-badged Raleigh Sports 3 speed) and his friend had an upright coaster bike... he said he still has the Glider and keeps it as a souvenir from that time.

They were self supported (and broke) so they camped and when possible, used the few hostels that were available at the time.

My ride was a good one... the bike purred like a kitten and was pleased I did not have any problems keeping the legs going as I only have one leg that works full time.