June 17: Nanton to Lethbridge

Distance: 122km
Riding Time: 3 hours
Average Speed: 40.7 km/h
Total Distance: 1330 km
Total Time: 3 hours 25
Wind/Weather: Driving rain and a 50 km wind from the Northwest
Terrain: rolling hills to flat.

An odd day on the bikes today. We were soaked within minutes of leaving, and pretty cold by the time we arrived, but with the wind this was the fastest day yet. Our average would have been even higher had we not needed to turn east for 30 km and ridden leaning hard left into the wind for an hour, helped a little by Abe driving right beside us. Any time we headed south we were cruising at 45-50 km/h, and if the wind had been from the south I doubt we would have made it. Tomorrow we begin our last day of riding, 15 km into Coaldale with Grandpa and then 90km on the bike-a-thon. Adam tells me the total raised has exceeded 180,000, which was gratifying on a day like today when it was difficult to keep riding. No photos from me today because of the crappy weather, although Abe took a few of us looking pretty nonplussed from the van. Looking forward to riding with Cindy Klassen tomorrow and then the end. Thanks for reading.