Happy Birthday to Me :-D

We were up early and with loaded packs we hit the road to Banff. We have been planning this weekend for a long time- the idea was to ride 300km over 3 days for my 30th Birthday. I also have a 3hr run to do while there so the theme continues...

It was a tough ride- less because of the headwind, and constant uphill, and more because of the 10lbs I was carrying on my back :-(
I was having lower back muscle spasms and it was tough to keep going. I am too stubborn to quit for any reason though and pushed on despite the pain.

Just outside of our water stop at Chief Chiniki, my chain became jammed between the cassette and the frame. 10mins later I was covered in chain grease and grumpy... I carried on feeling completely deflated. I stopped again at Lac Des Arcs to take off the backpack and stretch- by this time I was tempted to throw the pack in the water and be done with it. But I needed the running shoes in there and the idea of being in cycling clothes all weekend burst that fantasy bubble in a hurry.
I carried on and finally arrived in Canmore. I was toast, I dropped my pack and flopped down of the grass, convinced I would camp here for the night. D was there waiting for me though and after a bit of a rest I was feeling ready to get back on the road..but first I needed to get some of the grease off my hands, arms, legs and face...
Despite how haggard I looked, and how drained I was feeling, D turned the tough day into the best day of my life when he pulled a box from his backpack and asked me to marry him...
WOW.
Of course, I said yes :-)
The rest of the ride was better- I had an ear to ear grin, and D let me sit on his wheel which really helped going into the blustery head wind.
We arrived at our hotel and dropped off the bags. D really wanted to do the Norquay climb and as I found out, it was where he had originally planned to pop the question- but after seeing how done I was in Canmore didn't think I would make it. With that knowledge I was definitely going... haha. Without the pack I felt fantastic! We did the 5km climb feeling great. On the way down we stopped at the lookout and took in the amazing view. It was such a surreal day...

After showering we went for a delicious sushi feast and then walked downtown for a latte dessert. The rest of the night we spent chilling in the hotel room and just enjoying our time together.
This is a birthday I definitely will never forget :-)

Training for the day: 152km 6hrs 12mins