Solo cycling

Heya folks, I'm in Cranbrook now. My body is adjusting and responding really well to the abuse that I'm dolling it. I went over a truck stop today and it said I and my bike weighed 110 kg, but it only goes in 10 kg increments. That's probably a little heavier than usual as I feel like I'm carrying a bucketfull of water in my tent (it rained like mad last night).

I almost got my pic taken with the Stanley Cup today. Buuuut, even though I arrived before it closed, the line was so long that they weren't admitting anybody else. Tomorrow it's in Fernie, 100km from here, but I'm not going to make it there before it's gone again. I must be Canadian, the Stanley Cup is eluding me.

This is my first solo cycling trip. I've done a few group trips before, but this is a completely new experience. There are lots of pros and cons:

Cons:

• You don't have anybody else to share the weight with (stove, cookware, tent, food), which adds about a thousand calories per day of required input, which just makes you have to carry more weight, oh it's a nasty cycle
• You don't have anybody to draft (cycle closely behind and use their suction and wind-cutting) -- this is a biggie, I'd say that it makes at least a 20% difference, although this is just my own completely not based on anything except how much less I am travelling per day (and the effort required to get there)
• In the end, there won't be anybody else who I can turn to and say, "hey, do you remember that time when I was learning how to shit in the woods and you guys kept video camera-ing me and I nearly lost my mind?" (Sorry Drock).. Nope, just me. Sharing a trip like this with somebody or somebodies is really nice, for those special moments.
• You have to do everything yourself -- when you're dog tired and soaked and just want to sleep, you've still gotta pitch tent and cook food, etc etc. And you've gotta fix everything that goes wrong. Nobody to lean on at all.

Pros:

• You don't have anybody else to share the weight with. Your body is made of steel (yet somehow still coated in that really cute layer of belly fat). Also helps drive home the point that the point is the journey, not the destination. Cause sometimes, you're just not going to make it.
• You do what you want, when you want. You don't have to wait for anybody, and don't have to deal with any feelings of anxiety caused by having to wait, or hurry, or do things you don't want to, or not to things you do want to, etc. Eating when you're hungry and sleeping when you're tired is fantastic.
• You meet a tonne of people, more than if you were with somebody. And you can do spontaneous things more easily, often involving these people.
• You have to do everything yourself. Sure this is tough, but it makes you tough.
• Meditation.

Right, so that's that.

Sorry about the lack of pics lately, but I haven't had much internet access. I'm sure there will be some later on... I may add them to these picless posts, so keep your eyes peeled.

Hope all is well!