Day Eight - Golden

Today we went over Rogers Pass so I decided to leave early to avoid the heat and got up at 4:15.  Sam and John joined me and we left camp around 5:30.

The scenery up to Rogers Pass was spectacular. Tall jagged mountains, some with waterfalls, on all sides of the route. 

Once at the pass we pulled over for some photos at the sign and went over to the rest area to have a snack and rest. 

We were back on the road for a couple of hours when we noticed a sign to a resort called Heather Mountain Lodge. We heard that there were no services for 89 kms so we pulled over to eat and get water. 

There was no one eating at the restaurant so I didn't have high expectations. We ordered burgers that had Elk, pork, and beef. When they came and we ate them and they were delicious. The water that they served was filtered and from a nearby spring. Maur, our waiter, was from Estonia and he is pictured below. 

Once we were full we got back on our bikes to finish off the last 60 kms. By then the temperature was getting hot. We made pretty good time. 

Tomorrow is a rest day and o can't wait as I am very tired and my body is fatigued. 

Enjoying the best spring water ever at Heather Mountain Lodge just past Rogers Pass summit.  What a nice spot!

At the top of the pass.

Pic of mountains while descending from Rogers Pass

Day Seven - Albert Canyon

Today I was up at 5 hoping to get away earlier which I did. The cool air at 6:45 is nice. Most of the route earlier in the ride was shaded which was a nice break.

There was a logging operation on the side of the road which had log booms in the Shuswap Lake. There also were logging trucks lined up that were waiting to be unloaded. 

After that the route took us through the downtown of Sicamous. At 8 am it is a quiet little town. 

At 45 km I stopped at Graigellachie where the last spoke of the trans-continental was nailed. 

Three Valley Gap was my next stop where I sat with a very nice view of the resort and had my second sandwich. While I was there Ken passed by and I shouted and waved. 

Approaching Revelstoke the route took us across the Coumbia River. The water was green and shallow. I took the optional route through Revelstoke to see the town but mainly to get water.  I stopped at an Esso to buy some water and to rest in the air conditioning. 

Up till Revelstoke the route was rolling but past there the hills seemed much longer. At the information centre for Mt Revelstoke National Park I pulled over, took off my shoes and socks, sprayed my feet with water and laid down in the shade. 

There was only 20 km left but difficult kms with the blazing sun and long rolling hills. By 4:30 I was in to camp and only the third to arrive. 

I've set my tent up and am waiting in the shade for the dinner crew to finish making dinner.   Tomorrow we are going to Golden and according to Google Maps there will be an elevation gain of 1120 metres. 

I will be getting up at 4 or so tomorrow to beat the heat and John will be joining me. 

Enjoying lunch in the shade with a view of Three Valley Lake Chateau

Crossing the Columbia River into Revelstoke BC

Beautiful mountains

Day Six - Canoe

Even though I got up before 5:15 today I only left camp at 7:20.  It seemed that a lot more people got up earlier than normal.  Probably because the hard rain last night forced us into our tents at around 9.

The campground that we stayed at was at the top of a hill so it was easy going for the first 20km or so as we navigated through Kamloops to the trans Canada.  The route took us to Canoe which is basically a suburb of Salmon Arm.  Most of the road was rolling but there was a couple of major hills.

Just before Chase I took a break at a fruit market and bought a pint of blueberries.  The blueberries were eaten before I left the market along with my second peanut butter and blueberry sandwich.

Sorrento was the next major populated place on the route.  The town was small but from the Highway there was an amazing view of Shuswap Lake.  I'm sure I have been through there in a car but probably moving too fast to notice.

Before getting into Salmon Arm we rode up a couple of hills that were fairly steep.  My legs are fairly fatigued and every uphill is getting more difficult.  I was glad to see that there were only a few kms left until getting camp.  Matt, Duncan, Vicki,  and Laura caught up and passed me and I found them a couple of minutes later at a fruit market.

We rode into Salmon Arm together and decided to go to Dairy Queen for ice cream.  Unfortunately the DQ was up a large hill and it was painful to make my way up there.  Once there I didn't feel like ice cream as I was too tired and hot to eat anything.  Camp was only 7 km away from the camp and got there pretty quickly.

Once in camp we found out that the truck hadn't arrived and we decided to cool ourselves at the beach in Canoe.  The water was refreshing and cooled my legs off nicely.  After a half hour or so we headed back to camp to set up our tents, shower, and get ready for dinner.

Jim, Patti, and Mr. Bumps showed up just before dinner.  They are a very nice couple that we met when we were camping in Merritt.  They arrived with pringles, water, and gatorade for us.  We had a good chat with them and took some pictures before they left.  Thanks Patti and Jim.

Dinner was a delicious meal of Chicken Paprikash, mashed potatoes, and broccoli.

I am more tired than I have been in a long time and I can't to finish this so I can go to sleep.  The others are heading into town to celebrate Canada day.

Duncan trying to keep cool

Jim, Patti, and Mr. Bumps

Thompson River just past Kamloops

Day Five - Knutsford

Today I slept right through my alarm that was supposed to wake me at 5:15. Earlier the birds were singing so loud I put my noise cancelling headphones and didn't hear it.

My group was on breakfast duty.  Matt was the cook and we had banana and blueberry pancakes. Once we had fed everyone we had some ourselves and I made two blueberry pancake sandwiches with Nutella in between.  It was one of the best things I have ever tasted. 

We had the camp packed up and were on our bikes before 9. Today we rode to Knutsford which is just outside of Kamloops. The route was along Highway 5A which I've never been on before. 

The route took us through rolling hills that are covered in grass that are mainly used by ranchers. There are many lakes along the road, the biggest one being Nichola Lake. 

I passed by an osprey that was perching in its nest which was very close to the road. It was making its screeching noise which I learned about a couple of days ago when we were camped at the trout farm. 

About 30 kms into the route I could no longer shift using my rear derailure. This created a major problem because it limited me two only 2 gears instead of the normal 22.  Despite the situation with my bike I enjoyed the day because the rolling grassy hills and lakes were so scenic. 

Once I made it to camp I called Spoke In Motion, a local bike shop, and Steve the mechanic fixed it immediately. 

On the way back to camp we watch as storm clouds formed and we got soaked.      Just before the rain and hail fell an amazing display of sheet and fork lightening was displayed. 

Supper tonight was vegetarian something, I'm not fan, but for dessert was blueberry pie.  We ate as a group under the awning to escape the rain and hail. 

Most people are in there tents by 9 as tomorrow  we are cycling 134 kms to Salmon Arm. Our longest day so far. 

Steve from Spoke In Motion.  Thanks for the quick service!

Campground at Knutsford (Kamloops)

Osprey nest adjacent to highway 5A

Day Four - Rest Day Merritt

This morning I was up at 5:30 even though I was up early yesterday. I had started getting up at five for the past month in preparation for the trip but hoped to be able to sleep in this morning but couldn't. 

No breakfast duty for any crew today so I made instant oatmeal, my regular breakfast when not in tour. I made and drank three pots of tea to rehydrate from yesterday's ride. 

Today my agenda was to go into town to do laundry, eat some lunch, and pick up some hardware that I could use to build a water bottle holder that can hold three water bottles. Water was in short supply yesterday and I was in desperate need of water for the last part of the day. 

The nice lady at the RV park offered to do my laundry so that was one less thing to do today. I follow the others in the group into town and looked around while they did their laundry. 

We stopped into the Fields store to resupply. I picked up an OFF clip on mosquito repellant to stop from being eaten alive while sitting around at camp. While Matt was at Fields for the first time he bought some beef nuggets which are kind of like beef jerky.

For lunch we looked on trip advisor to see what was good and decided on the Bannok Cafe for lunch and again later for dinner.  The cafe uses Bannok, which is fried bread, to use for buns on hamburgers, sandwiches, and sweet deserts. 

On the way back to camp after lunch I stopped by the home hardware to pick up some nuts, bolts, and some metal bracing so I could Magyver together a water bottle holder. I was successful with the help of Tom who you will see pictured below. He asked me about what I was doing and told him the details. Thanks Tom. 

Tomorrow my group makes breakfast and cleans up. We bike only 89 km into Knutsford so if we leave late we won't get into camp too late. 

Tom at Home Hardware in Merrit.  Thanks for your help!

Matt loading up with jerky in Fields

Water bottle holder created to prevent dehydration

Day Three - Merritt

This morning I arose at 4:15 to get ready to leave by 5:15.  Sam and Matt joined me and we left before the sun had even crested over the mountains.  

The route today takes us up Highway 5 to Merritt.  Known as the Coquihalla and seen on the tv show Highway Thru Hell the route is hilly to say the least.  The first 18 km is not too bad but then it starts to climb summiting at 1244 metres or 4081 ft.  We stopped to get some water at the Zopkias rest area where there was a food truck that was not open yet.  A couple of us asked if we could buy water and the lady was happy to sell us some.  Once at the summit a few of us took a minute to take some pictures before descending.

Past the Britton Creek rest area I noticed a couple of bikes and I recognized that they were apart of our group by the yellow triangles attached to the back of both.  I slowed and realized that the riders must have stopped to cool off in the water below the bridge.  As the temperature was very hot, I decided to jump over the fence and slide down the embankment and found Matt and Kerry cooling off in the shade of the bridge. I immediately joined them and took my shoes off to cool my legs and feet.

By the time Sam and I turned off Hwy 5 onto Coldwater road we were both out of water and desperate to find more, quickly!  As we crossed over our first “cattle guard” an older RV followed.  We waved at them and before they had completely passed us I asked if they had any drinking water.  They did and Sam and I filled all our water bottles and drank quite a bit.  After getting back to camp I found out that most riders had similar experiences.  Some knocked on doors to ask for water and all riders found people in this area to be very hospitable.

Even though the road into Merritt was only 35km long it felt much longer.  The sun was out in full force and there was little wind.  The terrain was rolling and I noticed that we were in an area that have Ponderosa Pine trees, my favourite.  Sam and I took many short stops to huddle in any shade we could find along the way to cool down and drink water.

Once we got to camp it was straight to the shade with a cold drink.  Tonight it was my group’s turn to cook, Team 3, and we made Burritos.  They were delicious.

Later on once dinner was over I went down to the creek to cool my legs.  A group went earlier but I was preparing dinner.  Nobody was down at the creek as it was dusk.  I sat in the water so that my legs were completely submerged by piling rocks on them to prevent them from floating.

Tomorrow is a day off which is nice after today.  Sam said as we approached the camp ground the temperature was 48.8 C.

One summit down many many more to go

Cooling off under a bridge out of the sun

Very generous people offering up life saving water to us.  Thank You!

Day Two - Hope

This morning I awoke at 4:45 hoping to leave camp early to beat the heat as yesterday when I arrived at camp the temperature was 34 C.  Breakfast was cheerios and banana as breakfast is normally served at 7.  By the time I got my lunch made and my camp packed up at was close to 7 and before I left camp shortly after 7 I put some maple syrup on a piece of french toast folded it and scarfed it down.

It was nice to get on the road before it got too hot.  The air was a little cool and I wore my jacket for about the first 15 minutes then took it off after I was warmed up.  The route took me along the same road that I rode on yesterday when I missed the turn and ended up doing an extra 2 kms.

The cue sheet had 11 instructions on where to go which could be replaced by “Stay on Route 7 until you enter Hope”.  Most of the day was relatively flat which was nice as I made pretty good time and was averaging about 24 kph.

As I was looking around I noticed a very very tall tree that only had branches at the top.  It looked odd and I was trying to determine what species it was.  As I looked closer I saw that it was a cell tower disguised as a tree.

Before Agassiz I saw a trio of raptors within the span of 30 minutes.  First I noticed a huge eagle’s nest built on top of a piling that was used to secure a number of log booms.  As I got closer I notice a white head which was an adult eagle. Next I heard the call of an Osprey which I learnt when we stayed in Mission.  Then the bird flew right over my head quite close.  Lastly perched on the top of a telephone pole was some kind of hawk.  Not sure if it was a red tail as the tail was more brown than red.

Just before Agassiz I pulled over to meet a cyclist riding to meet his wife on Highway 3, I can’t remember the exact spot.  His name is Steve Dykstra from Abbottsford.  He asked me about the tour and I was happy to tell him the details of our journey.  At Agassiz we went separate ways as he was visiting a friend before continuing on.

On of the riders told me in came tonight that their cycling computers said that it reached 45 C today.  Even though I didn’t know it at the time when I got close to Hope I was feeling overheated and headed straight for the Chevron and drank 2 litres of water and waited in the store for about 45 minutes until I felt almost normal.  

I met up with a couple of other riders and we took the alternate route on Bud’s cue sheet along the trans Canada trail that went through the Othello Tunnels.  The tunnels were very cool, literally.  The temperature was at least 15 C less than in the sun on the highway.  In the canyon below I noticed 20 or so salmon that were in the water just above a small waterfall that were probably feeding on whatever floated by.  If you have never seen the tunnels it is very worth while.

Before dinner Duncan told of about a swimming spot in the Coquihalla river and a bunch of us went down to check it out.  I was hesitant about getting back on my bike and riding the 2km to the spot but I was still feeling the effects of the sun and I went. 

The water was moving swiftly but not enough to carry you down stream too far.  It was cool but refreshing and cooled me down totally.  It was a challenge to swim across and all the practice I did in the pool really helped.

Diner was a vegetarian kind of shepard’s pie and was very good.  Desert was strawberry shortcake that I hovered down.

Tomorrow is a tough day as we will be climbing up the Coquihalla to Merrit and it is going to be hot again.  Once again I will be rising early, 4 am, but with Matt and Sam it will make the hills easier.

Eagle's nest on a piling

Enjoying the amazing views at Othello tunnels

Steve from Abbottsford