Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Drumheller to Youngstown, 145km: The generosity of a community




The suddenness of entering the Red River Valley was similar to that of leaving it as once we cycled out of the valley we were instantly met with endless fields, the Red River Valley swallowed up in the landscape.


Today was the last full day in Alberta. Our destination was Youngstown, which was a special destination because the community was hosting a potluck for us. Youngstown has been hosting a potluck each year for Tour du Canada riders since the tour was initiated. The journey to Youngstown was not that eventful. I did take a break in the town of Hanna which is where the band Nickelback is from. Apart from that is was simply straight cycling to Youngstown.


The potluck was held at the community building and it was absolutely fantastic. Members of the community ate with us, which was lovely. I had two full plates of dinner and then one plate full of desserts. I was stuffed to the gills by the end of the meal but it was all too yummy for me not to be :) Members of the town even made a cake that had “25yrs Tour du Canada” written on it as this was the year the tour was celebrating its 25th birthday. We all expressed our utmost appreciation to the community for their hospitality. Several riders stated that it was lovely to see a small community coming together to show their hospitality. It was heartfelt, kind, and generous and it showed the importance and greatness of people coming together to keep the community alive. I could not agree more with these words. I truly appreciated the generosity shown by the people of Youngstown to essentially complete strangers and I am thankful.

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