Alberta is Not Flat

Contrary to popular tandem belief, Alberta is not flat. It is rolly. Very rolly. These rolling hills blend into the landscape, causing the unsuspecting quad-tandem rider to think that he is travelling on a level plane, when he is in fact, going uphill. When battling a headwind, this uphill climb can be much tougher than expected.

This morning we woke to a headwind coming directly from the east, our direction of travel. The climb began at 11:00 am this morning, and finished about an hour ago. Our destination was Medecine Hat, a 120km ride away. With a fair tailwind, travelling at a swift 40km/h, we thought we had it in the bag. Instead, we battled the wind and the endless endless pulsing landscape for 120kms.

Riding into the wind is physically and mentally exausting. You push through the burning burning in your legs to get there faster, but "there" is still 100kms away, and you're not getting there any faster. Because of the wind speed, the faster you push into the wind, the harder it pushes back. What should be a fast cruise through the flats, turns into an uphill battle. Our average speed riding into the wind on a flat was 12kms an hour. Our average speed going up the largest pass we've crossed so far, was 10kms an hour.

Downhills usually provide a small break for the rider to lift his butt off the seat, and get a quick break. On the flat into the wind, there are no breaks. Without the constant motion peddling, the wind quickly slows the bike down. Sitting in a bike seat for 11 hours in one day is very very painful. Every time you lift your butt off the seat, the searing pain escapes for just a moment, until you sit back down, and the pain sinks back in. Your bruised sit bones beg for some relief, but the land is endless, and the wind is strong.

The mental battle is just as bad. The road stretches in front to no end, and the weather looms on every horizon. In combination, these make for a wall of defeat being built in the quad-tandem rider's helmeted head. The bike and the weather seem to push and push until you are up against that wall, not wanting to push back.

But today we pushed and pushed and pushed, until the pains in our butts ceased, and the horizon got a little closer. Tonight we sleep in Medecine Hat. Bruised but not battered, with warm beds and full tummys...and sore asses.

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