Back in the 1970s, Granny, our maternal grandmother, mentioned someone from a Saskatchewan family they knew was going to cycle there from B.C. and back.

Teenager Clive Granger was impressed. Like any Burnaby boy growing up in the 1960s, Clive rode a bike. He loved it and did drop riding when he got his driver’s licence. So when he heard about this guy doing such a radical thing for those days he decided to do it too. He aimed for the summer of 1976, between his Grade 11 and Grade 12 years.

He told Mother of his plans. She put the brakes on. Hard.

“No. You’re going to find a job,” she told him.

Well, 40 years later he’s finally living that dream.

Although Clive has been active over the decades in rugby, skiing, waterskiing, boating and cabin building, he still maintained a connection to the bicycle. For instance, for many years he would ride his bike about four kilometres down Dog Creek Road from his home to his graveyard shift at the Lignum sawmill. Doing it in the dark before his 11 p.m. shift was no easy task. The road is bumpy and winding. Bike lights weren’t as light or strong as they are now. When his shift ended at 7 a.m., he’d hop back on and ride up the steep grade before getting some shuteye.

When he and Cheryl became empty-nesters, he began to think more about long-distance bike rides. They’ve gone on several week-long ones together in the last few years touring places like the Gulf Islands and the Kettle Valley Railway trail.

When his eldest son, Bryce, moved to Halifax in 2013 the idea of going cross-country began to percolate like his well-used coffee pot, especially as he contemplated retirement. Now he’s in the process of crossing that desire off his bucket list. The original plan was to be joined by younger son Brody, but only if he graduated from UBC after nine years of post-secondary education. That mission was accomplished. Unfortunately, Brody is lagging behind because of a knee injury, although it is getting better. Clive has been joined by me, his older brother Grant, putting up with his mechanical and camping deficiencies.

With nearly 800 kilometres already behind him heading into Wednesday’s trip from Edson to Entwistle, Alta., his 40-year-old dream is coming true.

• Now that we’re out of the mountains it’s likely the wildlife count will dip considerably. But we went out with a bang. On Sunday, I saw four elk grazing in the middle of the Whistlers campsite where we were staying in Jasper. Then during our trip to Hinton on Monday, we encountered four horned sheep munching away in the ditch only a few feet from the shoulder of Highway 16. I even went into the road to keep some distance from them as I went by. So many cars kept stopping to gawk and take pictures that the biggest danger wasn’t anyone getting attacked, but a multi-vehicle rear-ender.

• Along with the horned ones, Monday was a bit of a mixed bag weather-wise from clouds to rain to wind to small hail pellets, and then finally a bit of sun when we got to Hinton.

• We’re hoping to reach St. Albert on Thursday to visit with the family of Clive’s brother-in-law Brian Mennegozzo and to rest up on Friday. We’ll also hook up with the family of our brother Ian since they’ve taken up temporary residence there until everyone is let back into Fort McMurray. Ian and Rosamond’s Grade 12 son Matthew will finish his high school days in St. Albert.

Reaching to so-called summit at Obed

• Since our arrival in Alberta we were warned about climbing to the Oden Summit, the highest elevation on the Yellowhead Highway, between Hinton and Edson. Well after both of us tackled tons of tough topography in British Columbia, the climb was just ‘meh.’ However, we did obey Rosamond’s request for the requisite pictures from the summit. I’m kicking myself for not shooting a selfie when I reached the Coquihalla Summit.

Kilometre count

Grant: Day 10 (Jasper to Hinton) 90 km Total (8 days riding): 920 km

Clive: Day 7 (Jasper to Hinton) 90 km Total (6 days riding): 665 km

Grant: Day 11 (Hinton to Edson) 90 km Total (9 days riding) 1,010 km

Clive: Day 10 (Hinton to Edson) 90 km Total (7 days riding) 755 km