Epilogue

May 24, 2022

Epilogue

(I finally saw a bear)

The end of a cross-country bicycle tour is alway anti-climatic. I slept well at the Jasper Downtown Hostel in room number U upper bunk 5. I woke up at 7am, and wouldn’t be able to get my bike unlocked until 8 am. I eventually rode over to Coco's Cafe for breakfast and had the huevos rancheros wrap, along with a cappuccino and freshly squeezed orange juice. Afterwards I went next door to the pharmacy to get a replacement pair of reading glasses, the tour’s third. The Bench bike store didn’t open until 10am. It was sunny and I went to the large grass yard in front of the visitors center to lay out my tent, ground cloth, Thermarest, sleeping bag, and liner in the sun to dry. I got to the bike shop at a quarter past ten and picked up a bike box. I gave them my remaining CO2 canister and borrowed their pedal wrench. I grabbed a smaller box from the back of a nearby supermarket. There was a small gazebo to the side of the train station next to the parking lot. I turned it into my workshop and began dismantling my bike. The bike boxing went smoothly. Unlike the trip out, I had to disassemble the rear rack. I noticed that the box had an image of a flatscreen television and hoped that it wouldn’t give me trouble at the airport. I wasn’t able to fit all of my gear into the smaller box and had to return to the supermarket for a larger one. The larger box’s previous purpose was transporting ice cream cones. It’s always a pain packing up the final box because I have to pack my Leatherman. I pulled out my house keys from deep within the frame bag and used those to cut the tape. The Canadian tape was much thinner that the Scotch heavy-duty packing tape that I prefer. I was completely packed by 1pm and the bus would be arriving at 1:45. Everything went smoothly and the driver had space for my bike. The ice fields highway south to Banff was straight out of a fairytale. They were some of the most spectacular mountains in the world and we even saw a brown bear. We stopped briefly at the stupendous Columbia ice fields, and passed numerous jagged rock formations and waterfalls. I saw several touring cyclists on the highway. From Banff, we retraced my route to Canmore and passed the large plants I had ridden by.

Calgary was larger than I had expected, and even had a rapid transit system. It was jarring to be back in a big city, and the raucous Stampede was in full effect. I was dropped off at the airport, where I raced through with a free luggage cart. I caught a shuttle to the hotel, where there were no food or drink options. I went to bed hungry and thirsty, and had a good night’s sleep. The next morning I penned out two BICYCLE signs in large letters which I taped over the bike box television image. I caught the shuttle back to the airport, where I boarded a flight to Portland. It would be the fourth time I had ended a cross-country tour out of Portland. The fee to ship my bike was $121, and the flight followed the Columbia River, which I had cycled in 2020. I remembered well the oppressive desert heat and wind below. Towards the end of the flight, green trees emerged and we passed Mount Hood. I caught an Über to Justin and Kim’s place, where Justin was waiting. We had a fun dinner party that night, and I enjoyed my visit at their amazing place. Monday I flew to Spokane to visit Jeff, Tim, Henry, and Linda. I was traveling with one of my panniers as luggage, and my friends were amused at how little I had.

In Spokane I participated in two early morning Rocket Market rides, and Jeff showed me around town. Tim and his wife Priscilla had a wonderful dinner party for everyone, including two couples whom had just finished the TransAm. We shared silly stories that only a long-distance cyclist could fully appreciate. Jeff and I visited Linda and Henry’s cabin in Priest Lake Idaho, where we retraced a bit of our 2019 Northern Tier route. I indulged in a huckleberry milk shake, pie, pancakes, jam, and margarita. Thursday I flew back to Portland, where I spent a few hours with Justin before taking the red-eye back to New York. Jet Blue charged me $30 to ship my bicycle and there were no issues. I arrived at JFK in the early morning. Jeff had convinced me to assemble my bike at the airport and forego an expensive rush-hour Über. I took a LIRR train to Brooklyn, and cycled home, where Blanka was happy to see me.

Over the next week I cleaned and packed my gear, worked on my stats, and began editing my reports. My body was trashed and it felt great to be in my own bed.