I am starting to feel better physically and emotionally. My butt is still sore but the pain is either getting better or my pain threshold is higher. There is still some discomfort but not all day. It was a good riding day as well. I felt more energetic. The day started off cooler. However before I really hit the road I needed to go to a grocery store to replenish my supplies. I had no idea how much opportunity there would be to purchase food in the next couple of days. Safeway was a little out the way but it was a necessary trip. By the time I rode to Safeway, purchased my supplies, and packed them it was almost 9:30 am. Even that was not going to stop me from getting to a campsite near Clearwater.
I now started to encounter construction immediately adjacent to the the highway. The construction is related to the Trans Mountain Pipeline that will carry oil from Alberta to the Lower Mainland of BC for export. I believe over 30 percent of the traffic that I encounter on the roadway is related to the construction. There are so many look-a-like pickup trucks and SUVs with the same red flag that I see on the highway, stopped at the construction sites, in the towns and campsites. It can only be construction related.
I believe the impetuses for this construction was a 2013 train derailment of crude oil in Quebec that killed 47 people and the cancellation of the XL pipeline by the US government. It seems like Alberta was set on exporting the crude no matter where it was going. It was only when the Federal Government stepped in was the approval for the construction of the pipeline through BC was permitted. BC has the most to lose with the construction but in the long run transporting the crude oil by pipeline vs train cars is safer though not environmentally sound. The degradation is noticeable. At least a buffer strip was left between the road and the pipeline right-of-way. More support and use of renewable sources of energy is better than burning fossil fuels. Case in point, seeing the country by pedal power.
When I got to Clearwater I stopped for dinner at DQ. My campsite was a few miles north of Clearwater and I had very little to eat since breakfast. The campsite was interesting because the majority of the people camping at this particular site were Trans Mountain pipeline construction workers. It was a good day.
Today stats
Total mileage: 90.0 miles
Average speed: 13.9 mph
Total ascent: 2247 feet
Total descent: 2051 feet
Maximum speed: 33.4 mph