June 4 - Rogers Pass, BC

I have had some redemption! This morning I shooed three baby deer off the road so that they wouldn't get hit.

Today was an extra-long one - from 6AM to 6PM - but very productive. I cycled a little over 100km, including a trip in and out of Revelstoke in the morning to get CD covers printed, go to the bank, and buy a bike pump, patch-kit and tire irons.

The climb up Rogers Pass was difficult only because I did it at the end of a long day that included rain a-plenty. Compared to the peaks going from Hope to Keremeos, I found the climbing relatively easy. Of course, I am a stronger cyclist now. (The Kiwi fellow I met yesterday said he'd much rather go from east to west over Rogers, but I am learning something about the cyclist's perspective: the downs always seem steeper than the ups. When you are screaming down a hill at 50km/h, you can't help but think, "Boy, am I ever glad I am going down this!")

Tonight I am dealing with bugs for the first time on this trip - good prep for Manitoba and Ontario! I ate dinner inside my tent to avoid being a meal myself.

I am wondering where Derek's at right now - if he's ahead or behind me. At times I miss his guidance and company, while at others I am glad for what I figure is a healthy break. I am a very independent person who likes his personal space, and I can go a bit bananas when in close quarters with anyone for days on end. I am also glad not to watch Derek hurtling down hills at 70km/h through snow tunnels with no shoulders to speak of - too many visions of gruesome death there.

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It is now 2:43AM. I've slept for seven hours already. I went up to go pee, and decided I wanted to listen to tunes. I am now going to drift off to "La Vie en Rose". Yes, life is surreal.

May 26 - Keremeos, BC - after a hard day

We did 120kms today.
We climbed another mountain.
We saw some incredible landscapes.
We encountered more kindness from strangers.

And yet....

My memories from today mostly involve wildlife:

Big raven staring at me
unafriad from the side of the road;
small birds keeping flight-pace with my ride;
chipmunks wide-eyed,
fearful of the large racers whizzing by;
groundhogs with guts spilled on the roadside,
fodder for the hungry crow;

and most shocking,
most painful -
the white-tailed deer that flipped I don't know
how many times
through the air, scant feet before my eyes,
smashing into barbed-wire,
both legs broken,
so stunned it tried to run before it would die.

I saw its pain and its panic
as I tried to soothe it with my voice
before the couple that hit it,
dumb-smiling and ignorant
(and possibly the terrified animal's last healthy sight)
came, after checking their car for damages,
to see how the mangled thing was.

And when they asked what to do
I said, "Shoot it, if you have a gun.
If not, call the police and tell them what you've done."

It is not their fault, individually.
A car moves too fast for a human to see a deer coming.
A car moves too fast for a human to see a deer coming....

Once upon a time, we were dependant on our Mother Earth for everything.
Once upon a time, we looked to Our Father to guide us to be conscience-beings.

Now we still need, but have stopped looking.
Our belief is in a false independance.
Our behaviour is like a teen.

We need to take responsibility, grow-up, become adults.
This means we either return to a healthy competition with nature as our equal
or we treat it as a parent who deserves our respect and care in return for our upbringing.

The death of the deer disturbed me deeply
because the extension of that event
is a vision of a beautiful world
bashed into a crippled state
by our carelessness and our machines.