CODY SHIMIZU

A look into my life, a journal to look back on, a blog for others to see.

The Beginning

Its been the trend in the cycling world lately, with the rise of gravel bikes comes a new wave of riders seeking for the untouched, unexplored, unknown gravel roads. To achieve this people, need to be travel long distances, unsupported. Even the bike racers are getting involved with races similar to the Tour Divide a race from Banff Canada to the Mexico border, popping up all over the place. Inevitably it caught my attention, actually a few years ago. With the monotony of life school, study, work, ride, repeat, I wasn’t enjoying what I was doing at the moment, I wold dream of leaving everything behind, just my bike, myself, and I just riding from the front door of my house, to wherever the road takes me. Also, dreamy pictures of remote gravel roads being explored by a sole bikepacker was pretty appealing as well. I was convinced, my motivation was there, it was time.

The Plan

The end goal was simple, pedal my bike from my home in Edmonton, AB all the way south to Fernie, BC riding along the front range of the Rocky Mountains. I would have 5 days to ride 860Km and climb over 7500m. In hindsight, it may have been a bit much to make my first bikepacking attempt a 5 day trek with 2 nights in the middle of nowhere, but my ambition was too grand I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity.

The Gear

Now getting into a new hobby, sports, anything can get really expensive. But as a student I wanted to keep it as cheap as possible but still staying functional. In terms of the bike bags, I invested in a quality saddle bag since when I went on a small trip last year with the tent strapped to my seat post with a bungee cord it was swinging all over the place. I ended up with Arkel Seatpacker 15, a massive 15L saddle bag that uses a very small metal frame to support the bag on the seat post and saddle rails. This also allowed the bag to be removed very quickly and easily with minimal swinging when out of the saddle with complete water proofing it was excellent. I had already owned a medium Blackburn Outpost Frame bag which was a bit small for my liking but loved the versatility of having it as a half frame bag or a full one. Lastly for a handlebar bag I was looking at a few options from reputable companies but they were quite expensive and there was a much cheaper option with very little compromises. I got a 20L MEC Raptor Dry bag and strapped it to my handlebar. It worked beautifully. My sleep system was nice and compact with a Outdoor Research Aurora Bivy, Marmot sleeping bag and a Klymit sleeping pad which all fit in the handlebar bag, a compact stove just for rehydrating some food, and toiletries, spare bike stuff, and a bunch of clothes.

The Inception

7Am, the alarm goes off in my room. Its dawn, light breaking through the curtains, I quickly eat some breakfast, check my room for anything I could’ve left behind, it was finally time. I left the house all kitted out in my best riding gear, big grin on my face with the sun shining on it. The weather was nice with not too many clouds in sight, it was perfect I thought. Leaving Edmonton was weird, getting a lot of weird stares and double takes from parents and kids finishing up their school year. I meandered through the river valley leaving the city heading south west. As the roads opened up and residential buildings far away from sight I realized that there was a fairly strong heading roaring through the big farm fields. It was only the beginning to a very, very long day. This entire first day would have me on the pavement, making my way towards the Canadian Rockies. A quick stop in Devon, the last fairly large town away from my final destination of Rocky Mountain House I payed visit to a Canadian symbol Tim Hortons. Timbit donuts make excellent ride food, one bite accessibility filled with carbohydrates and fats. The rest of the day was a story of me battling the wind, and losing. Slowing my progress, and slowly eroding my enthusiasm. It was cool to see the small towns if you could call them that, 3 buildings in the middle of nowhere, most often one of them would be a liquor store. I used gas stations as an excuse to stop and rest, sitting on the sidewalk exhausted chugging a bottle of iced tea. Further and further I pedaled the wind wouldn’t stop, crawling my way to Rocky Mountain House I finally hit the wall, after 9 hours sitting by a sign telling me 10km to Rocky Mountain House. I sat there on the side of the highway for 30min devouring every sugary candy I’d been saving for the day. But it would only be a little while later finally making it to Rocky Mountain House the euphoric joy that I felt of riding close to 10hrs and 220Km in the headwind with a 50lb bike and making it. It almost made me forget all of the suffering I was in only hours earlier. In Rocky Mountain House I made my way to Tim Hortons again this time to pick up dinner, then to a small municipal campsite in the middle of an residential area I set up camp and passed out.

The Fall

I woke up to the sun just peeking above the horizon, as I crawled out of my bivy. I quickly packed up my stuff and headed over to Tim Hortons again for breakfast. The great thing about bikepacking is that you can eat like crap and not feel bad about it. I snagged another bag of Timbits and made my way out of town. It was tranquil, quiet roads, cool morning air, wind was non-existent. As the road turned left and I started making my way to the Rocky Mountains the hills were getting bigger and bigger, as each climb got longer, and steeper. After a few hours it got me wondering if I took a wrong turn since I still wasn’t rolling on gravel. Then, glory! Finally hit gravel, it was well packed down and fast rolling. Although there were a few hills it was relatively flat. Riding around I got a glimpse on the other side of the Rockies. I’m used to seeing the tall exposed mountains of Rockies, usually bald too high for tree’s to thrive. But in the front country of the Rockies with low rolling hills and mountains all covered by tree’s must be an excellent place to enjoy ATV’s. I saw lots of people setting up their massive trailers off the side of the road in small fields, a campfire and drinking games going, it wasn’t even noon yet. Thankfully they were all friendly with waves exchanged and plenty of room given to me when they were passing me with their massive trucks. After a few hours I turned a corner and looked up, low and behold a massive climb. Steep and long twisting and winding through the mountains. After a while of grinding up the climb, a few cars cautiously passing me with curious stares from passengers I finally made it to the top and the sign that I’ve been waiting for. “Forestry Trunk Road (Highway 40)”, after a day and a half I managed to find myself finally on the Forestry trunk road I’ve been wanting to ride for the last while. The gravel was still nice fast rolling hard pack, just with a few massive potholes here and there. The Forestry trunk road started off with a massive descent after the climb taking me into the valley bottom of the Seven Mile Provincial Recreation Area. It was awesome, surrounded by nothing but mountains, little to no sign of people around me. The gravel became loose, deep, tires sinking in slowing my progress, from the valley bottom I see what looks to be a road cut into the side of the mountain, and as expected I’d be climbing and traversing the side of the mountain, another gruelling climb; at least the views were great. Everything was going, although slowly, I was still moving, with a smile on my face. But then weather happened. As the day wore on and the hills started feeling much bigger than they actually were, a few rain clouds passed over me, soaking me, but giving me enough time in-between to dry off a little. But as the rain clouds starting becoming more frequent and frequent, next thing I know the skies just opened up. Absolutely pouring, even my raincoat got soaked. I kept riding for another 2 hours or so. It was already 8:30Pm, the skies starting to get dark, I started shivering. Even riding wasn’t keeping me warm anymore. I quickly checked google maps but no campsite nearby, still 130Km from Canmore I didn’t know what to do. At this moment was the first time in my life that I was so far out of my comfort zone that I was you could almost say scared for my life. Looking around with no end in sight for the rain to stop I walked 10 meters into the woods off the side of the highway. And decided to crash for the night. I quickly set up my tarp, crouched underneath still shivering I changed into what little dry clothes I had left. Pulled out my bivy and just slept. I didn’t even make dinner. I was worried about bears, and I for sure wasn’t going to go hang my food from a tree after I had eaten it. With my contacts still in, hair still wet, listening to the rain hit the tarp I passed out in hopes that I would see the light of day.

The Resurrection

I woke up to the sun shining its heartwarming rays through the trees glistening off of the raindrops still left on the trees. It had rained thorough most of the night only to stop just in time for the sun to rise. Still a little cold, I boiled some water to rehydrate one of my food packs. After a nice relaxing breakfast savouring every bite. I broke down camp and packed up. Everything was still soaked and damp, shoes, gloves, helmet, raincoat, long sleeve. I didn’t have any dry, warm riding clothes. I ended up riding with my puffy for a bit until the sun warmed the air up. After a crested a few more climbs, a few hours pass and finally; pavement. With the smooth riding of pavement comes false presumptions that I had about the route. I thought once I’d hit highway 1A it would be a quick 20km ride into Canmore. As I turn off I was met with a sign telling me 65Km to go. A little disheartening but not the end of the world, it was still early in the day and I wasn’t planning to ride too far today anyways. After an hour of riding against the howling heading blowing through Bow Valley, I made a quick stop at Morley’s gas station. After enjoying a Subway sandwich, I hit the road again. I opted to ride on highway 1 in hopes that all of the big trucks, and trailers whizzing by me would help counteract the effects of the headwind, and it actually kinda worked. When I finally made it to Canmore I went to my favorite café, Bagel Co and had myself a delicious bagel as I waited for my family to arrive since they were camping in Canmore for the weekend I decided I would stay with them for the night, also to dry all of my gear out.

The Denouement

I woke up the next morning in the warmth and comfort of our trailer, I was still on the edge about if I wanted to keep going or not. The night before had really shaken me up. Sitting around, looking at all the weather forecasts I could find none of them were conclusive with 30-50% chance of rain throughout the entire route. I sat there pondering, and ended up just flipping a coin. Then and there it was decided. I would keep pressing on. I quickly collected my things, packed up my bike and started riding. It was a steep climb out of Canmore, up to the Nordic Centre wasn’t too bad but past there was terrible washboard filled gravel that always kicked up and went all over the place when cars came flying past me. On a regular mountain bike this climb isn’t too bad but a 50lbs cross bike made things much harder. As I crested the climb I was greeted with a strong headwind blowing through the Spray valley. The gravel road itself was excellent. Well packed down and fast rolling with the washboard not being as bad and excellent views of the Rockies towering over me I could barely keep my eyes on the road. As I kept pedalling, looking in the sky the weather wasn’t looking too friendly anymore. In the distance, I could see dark clouds causing havoc in the distance. Seeing that terrible weather may be coming my way really got on my nerves, especially after 2 days ago. A small rain cloud rolled over me as I finally hit Highwood pass. A continuation of highway 40, but this time it was paved, actually the highest paved pass in Canada. As I turned off I came across a mother and cub grizzly bears off the side of the highway, fortunately there were a lot of cars passing by so I cautiously and quickly rode past them without too much worry. It feels weird saying this but the climb was really enjoyable. Good views, drivers were fairly friendly passing with lots of care. The only thing that was really bothering me still was the weather. As small rain clouds passing over me more frequently, my mind started running wild thinking about 2 days ago. By the end of it all it was almost the only thing I could think about. Cresting the climb was extremely rewarding with the descent being absolutely awesome flying past mountains, the rain made things a little cold but I managed. As the pure descent turned more into rolling hills my mind was running wild of what if’s, what if its raining, what if its even colder, what am I going to do!? Unfortunately, it got to the point where it was taking away from the fun of it. As I made it to the Highwood pass general store, 105Km from Coleman, I was done. I used a payphone from behind the store to call my parents, a mere 1.5hrs by car which took me close to 7hours to come pick me up. I spend the rest of the weekend in Canmore, actually doing their annual Canada day run 5k the next day.

Closure

Maybe my ambitions were a bit too big for my experience, 5 days is a long time to be living off your bike, but I loved it. I’d be lying if I said I loved every minute of it, but overall, I loved it. The quiet gravel roads far away from people, just living off my bike, it definitely lived up to my expectations of seeing all of the Instagram photos. At the same time, many things were learnt along the trip, changes to make my set up much more efficient, and comfortable. If you are a cyclist, or maybe not, just an adventurer bikepacking is something I would definitely recommend. Even for a racer like myself where speed is the name of the game it’s a completely different kind of experience where you aren’t racing others, or even yourself, you can almost fall back in love with the pure joy of riding, the exploring side of cycling, something many of us have forgotten all caught up in the pursuit of speed.

Strava Data Day 1
Strava Data Day 2
Strava Data Day 3
Strava Data Day 4