 Mr. Legs - Jasper street performer This guy also rode a 10' high bike with his stilts, but I didn't get to the camera in time to get a picture of him on his bicycle. |
As I may have mentioned, when I lived in Fairbanks, I underwrote
a public television show called "Adventure" on KUAC TV. One episode
chronicled a man sailing solo around the world. Each day, he would turn
on his video recorder for a few minutes to record his impressions. At a
point in time, he reached the area of the South Pacific commonly known as
"the doldrums" and was utterly becalmed for an extended period.
As I recall it, one five minute segment consisted entirely of him saying
"son-of-a-bitch" over and over again.
The human mind has a saturation point. After a month on the road, with only
short breaks, followed by 6 days of mostly headwinds and mountain climbing,
I reached the doldrums myself. I couldn't bear to sit another minute in
my saddle. It was so bad, that the night I got here I walked the mile from
my room to the townsite of Jasper just to avoid the bike.
I indulged myself. I slept late in the morning. I ate an ice cream cone.
I called home and several friends from pay phones just to talk--despite
the exorbitant cost. I ate out in a nice restaurant (I particularly enjoyed
Fiddle River -- absolutely fantastic blackened red snapper with mango chutney--$37
CDN with beer, grand marnier & coffee). I tested some Alberta beers
(I like several made by the Big Rock Brewery in Calgary, including Traditional
Ale and Warthog). I walked all through town, shopping and relaxing -- getting
my mind off bicycling to the extent possible.
I bought a bear bell for my bicycle. What, you ask, is a bear
bell? Everthing I've ever read about bears has suggested that people in
bear country make noise, by talking, rattling tin cans, etc. I didn't have
anybody to talk to, so a Santa Claus sleigh bell affixed with velcro to
my bike made a lot of sense. I was fully cognizant of the fact that sound
could be ineffective due to my speed and the direction of the prevailing
wind, but it was better than nothing. I affixed it immediately to the handlebar
of my Cannondale.
I considered whitewater kayaking or some other physical activity and opted
instead for relaxing. I get enough exercise bicycling.
The good news is I'm about half-way home. I have another week of big climbs
through the Canadian Rockies followed by some mostly-downhill mountainous
riding down to Montana. But then, I'll be heading downhill to the Mississippi
with tailwinds all the way (I'm counting on it).
Though Jasper is indeed a tourist town, with some of the typical
tourist gift shops and street performers, it is far more.
Mr. Legs - Jasper street performer This guy also rode a 10' high bike with his stilts, but I didn't get to the camera in time to get a picture of him on his bicycle. |
Jasper is a really beautiful town with nice healthy people. All
the people who appear to live here (waitresses, clerks, my landlords) look
healthy--as though they actually use the outdoor resources which are right
there to use.
 main drag looking east |
 looking north |
 Jasper railroad station (note use of winter clothes on July 4) |
As I get more fit and trim, I start to realize that most people
my age (especially I think in Michigan) are not. They don't get enough time
off and don't make good use of their free time. As the bumper sticker says:
"Kill Your Television." People need to get out and exercise their
bodies and expand their minds. This trip is fantastic for that. I've noticed
that even my reading eyesight is improving as a result of riding. I believe
the bicycling along bumpy roads improves the muscle tone in my eyes as a
result of the constant need to see the road ahead while moving up/down and
sideways.
This part of the world is an outdoors enthusiast's paradise: mountain bike
and hiking trails (everywhere); canoeing & kayaking (whitewater and
placid lakes); whitewater rafting; fishing; mountain climbing; horseback
riding; golf (18 holes right in Jasper) and, a panoply of winter sports.
I want to come back sometime with my wife to experience this place together.
The Jasper townsite is surrounded by snow-capped peaks (and they're getting
whiter as I stay here because it is extraordinarily cold and snow is accumulating
high in the mountains--right now in July).
There is one real unusual cost: $10 per day to Parks Canada just
to be here in the park (camping out is extra yet). I'm told that next year,
the folks who live here will have to pay the $10 each per day to remain
in the park. I suppose it is fair. After all, even the Jasper townsite is
inside the park and gets all the benefits of a National Park. I saw 7 elk
walking to my room today 
(just
dozing in the woods about 1 block from here).
For further information about Jasper use this link:
I'm feeling pretty good about what I'm doing for my body by taking
this trip.
There was a man in the restaurant tonight who epitomized the aging effect
of an unhealthy lifestyle. He'd had a bit too much to drink. I thought of
him as an old man. He was neither fit nor trim; seemingly affected by drinking
and smoking in excess for years. I was surprised to hear him say he was
only 58, but he went on to say, he was "tiring of his life." How
could anybody be tired of their life?
We all know the type: overweight, haggard, heart disease, etc. They've fallen
into a trap and don't even know it. Here I am doing the physical feat of
my life, feeling great about myself despite some health problems, and thinking
how great it is to be alive. We eat too much, drink and abuse our bodies
too much in the North American lifestyle (incidentally, I average less than
1 beer per week even though I had several this week--never more than 2 in
a day for years). Physical fitness clearly helps reduce the likelihood of
heart disease, cancer, stroke, and other life threatening diseases. Take
it from me--at this stage in my life--a great adventure is what you need
to revitalize yourself.
I spent 25 years sitting behind a desk practicing law. My penchant for multiple
business activities left me too little time for the outdoors. We moved to
Alaska because of the outdoors, but through the years found ourselves participating
in less and less outdoor activity and finally reached a point where we wondered
why we lived there. I'm still overweight, but I'm starting to lose some
of it. My sleep disorder doesn't seem to be benefited by my better fitness
and resultant weight loss as I had hoped, but this trip may just be the
best thing I've ever done for myself--it may just change the way I live
and extend my life by decades. There is overwhelming evidence that regular
exercise and a healthy lifestyle reduces the risk of all major diseases.
I'm sure I won't stop with this journey--that there will be many more such
physical challenges.
While resting in Jasper, I decided it was time to evaluate some of my equipment and services. I am almost at the halfway point between Fairbanks and Williamston, Michigan, so I have developed some opinions. On a separate page, I've developed a Totally Subjective Preliminary Equipment Report.
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© Ed Noonan 1996, 1997