The last time we checked in with Recumbent Ray Harris of Oak Lake, he and pal Laidback Leon had left the Okanagan and were contemplating the climb up the Rockies as they pedal their way from Victoria to Manitoba on tricycles. In his latest blog post, Ray has to make a tough decision.
June 6
Well, here I sit Wednesday, June 6 in Fort MacLeod, Alta. Arrived last night from Rock Creek. The last hills from Osoyoos to Rock Creek were too much for my old knees.
With half the province scaled (and I do mean climbed) I am forced to put a stop to the trauma I’ve been putting on my knees. So with help from an old friend from Kamloops, Leon and me were taken by truck and trailer to Fort Macleod.
After a long discussion with my physio, a plan was made. The decision to pull the plug on the rest of the mountains is all on me. I can’t continue to damage my knees.
As far as Leon goes, he is amazing. All I could hear was “Be one with the mountain, be one with the mountain.” But now he leaves me in Fort Macleod to face the rigours of the ride tomorrow all alone, so sad I am.
Leon has had a mechanical issue with his trike so he was able to hitch a ride to Lethbridge to a bike shop. Hopefully he will be up and running by the time I get there.
June 11
Well hello there. Last update we were given a lift to Fort Macleod. Well that's where the fun began.
While resting my somewhat tortured knees, Leon found that his three-speed hub had acquired a grinding sound. For those of you that may not know - that's not a good thing.
He went to work trying to fix the problem as best he could. To no avail. It was worse than he thought. So next course of action was to find a bike shop.
OH Boy. Closest one is Lethbridge. So being the resourceful fellow he is, he wangled a ride there leaving me to fend for myself in Fort Macleod.
Next day I braved the highways and championed on to meet up with Leon, stay the night in Lethbridge and head out the next day to Grassy Lake.
But as we finished with the bike shop, Leon discovered more grinding so back to the shop to have a new rear wheel installed on his trike.
So now finely off we go to Grassy Lake.
Just enjoying the day, sunny wind at our backs, cruising.
On the outskirts of Lethbridge at an intersection, a car rushed past then pulled over. A woman jumped out of the passenger door, stood there looked right at me and said, “What are you doing here?”
I replied, “Going to Manitoba.”
I thought it was someone just interested in a couple of old guys on strange-looking bikes. WELL I was WRONG.
She walked around the car staring right at me and said, “Jim, what are you doing here?” So I just smiled and said, “Sorry, not Jim but Ray Harris.” To which she started to turn the most brilliant shade of red you ever saw.
“Oh my God, you look just like my ex-husband.”
I said, “I'm glad you didn't hate him enough to run him over. That would be a bit messy.”
She then jumped back in the car and sped off.
Gee. Maybe it was something I said?
So off we head again to Grassy Lake. It’s a beautiful day, just about there and you guessed it. This time my trike breaks down – the derailleur fell apart.
So back to Lethbridge bike shop. The boys in that shop are fantastic; they got me on my way in no time. So what do I do… stay the night in Lethbridge? NO NOT ME. I head back to Grassy Lake.
Five hours later at 11:30 I arrive to a bewildered Leon. I think Leon thinks I'm nuts. To which I reply, “YEP”.
Good night to all.
Stay tuned, more of Recumbent Ray and Laidback Leon’s adventures next week in the Empire-Advance.
