Friday 21st June - In the Rockies

In the Rocky Mountains, between Albert Canyon and Golden

Liz reporting today:

Just talked to John. The tour organisers are working out what to do, as Calgary - to where they are heading - is being evacuated due to flooding. So they can't go there and can't go back....

Was a hard day riding, though the mountains were lovely. Last 40ks into a head wind, cycling downhill.
No doubt we'll hear where they get to soon!

Wednesday 19 June & Thursday 20th June - Kelowna to Mara/Mara to Albert Canyon

This report is for 2 days since there was no WiFi last night.

Wednesday 19th June-
Today was one of those days! It started raining about 6km into our 106km ride and hasn't stopped. The road was very busy with big trucks sending up plumes of spray. Finished the day dirty and wet.

I hit a pothole and blew a tube. We stopped in Vernon at the Starbucks for a hot caramel macchiato which warmed me up. Another stop at some roadside tourism venture - The Log Barn - where bigger than human models of T Rex were displayed alongside black bears....... Too long in the woods methinks!

At the Log Barn

The scenery, what we could see of it was lovely, farms,  lakes etc.

Shane had hot soup waiting for us when we arrived - very welcome. I hand-washed all my clothes and dried them in the camp drier.

Dinner tonight was pasta and a meat goulash of some sort. It's still raining steadily and they are promising the same all day tomorrow. 

Swollen river between Mara & Revelstoke

In fact it rained heavily all night and several of our number had to move tents in the night to higher ground because of concerns that the stream beside the camp would burst its banks.


Tomorrow we go through Revelstoke to Albert Canyon, starting to climb the Rogers Pass, a 127km ride.



Today is Thursday 20th June, and at least the rain is not as persistent - just drizzle.

Started off with Peter and climbed up and down all day. The camp ground here is supposed to be 900m ASL. Rogers Pass is 1250m or so.

Between Mara & Revelstoke

It rained or drizzled for the first 50km them cleared up for the remainder. I feel pretty good as I slept well last night.

The route today is into the mountains with lots of beautiful lakes. The rain has put all the rivers and streams into full flow. The road is washed out about 150km ahead - so we are hoping the road workers get it sorted tomorrow.

Between Revelstoke and Albert Canyon

Angela and Linda had to stop for a black bear today, adding to their enjoyment.

Taking photos has even hard because of the rain  and heavy cloud obscuring the view.

Kelowna Tuesday 18 June - Rest Day

Kelowna is a small city of perhaps 35,000, around 350m ASL
It seems to be quite prosperous with lots of retirees moving here for the good weather. It's connected to Vancouver by a good highway and has 4 flights a day from there.

Everyone is taking it easy though my roommate, Mike, rose at 5am to do his washing...... I was tired enough to sleep in. I've since cleaned my bike and been down to the supermarket to stock up on chocolate bars for the mountains ahead!

Then a stroll up and down the Main Street. Caught up with Brian from Toronto and had coffee, then lunch in the park where the photo was taken. Kelowna is situated on the Okanagan Lake shore and is quite picturesque.

Have managed to clean and dry the tent and clothes. You can tell which hotel all the cyclists are staying in by the balconies draped with drying tents and cycling clothes.

I'll probably rest most of the afternoon, but I saw some of our number off on a wine tasting tour. We look after ourselves for dinner tonight but there are plenty of good restaurants within a short distance of the hotel.

Cycling demands lots of energy food so meals with lots of either potato, rice or pasta are a good start.

Tomorrow they are promising rain, but the day at 116km appears to be up a valley to Mara, so hopefully will be an easy ride.

Monday 17th June - To Kelowna

With Angela on the road between Hedley & Kelowna

Another beautiful day in the coastal range of the Rockies. 26  degrees celcius, so a hot one for cycling. People all seemed keen to get away early, with most of us up at 5am. A bit early since the cook was still in bed!

Peter, Angela and I rode together today. The ride was a real mixture. The first 33km were downhill with a 30kph tail wind. From then on lots of hills. A great deal of the day was spent riding along the shore of Lake Okanagan, an area renowned for its wine.           
                                                                            But the road often went up over bluffs.

To give you an idea of my daily food intake: breakfast was 4 blueberry pancakes with honey, a banana and a plate of muesli. On the road I had 2 bananas, 6 bottles of water, 1 ice  cream, 1 raspberry donut, 1 iced milkshake, 1/2 a chicken panini, 3 assorted chocolate bars and 3 handfuls of trail mix. For dinner I've just eaten roast pork with chips, fried beans, corn bread, coleslaw and a tonic water. This is a routine food intake for exercise like this. I will probably still loose weight. Indeed, a recommended Jenny Craig diet plan!

Lake Okanagan approaching Kelowna

Resting enroute

As you can see from the photos the scenery is stunning. The road was very busy though, so we are grateful for the wide shoulder on Canadian roads.

With Jim on bridge into Kelowna

 We did the distance  of 151km in just on 7 hours actual riding.

Now staying at the Royala Anne hotel in Kelowna for 2 nights. Tomorrow is a rest day so we get to recover and clean our clothes.

Saturday 15th June - To Manning Park

Today's ride was up over the Allison Pass from Hope to Manning Park. A tough but short ride of 66km. The pass is at 1342m and starts climbing almost as soon as one leaves camp.

The day was cloudless with a tail wind. The first 11 km were at about 5% gradient then a stretch of 6 km at about 8%. Thereafter the road flattened out for perhaps 20k before continuing to the summit at between 3 and 5%. I rode with Peter from Dundas in Ontario. He is probably a stronger rider being a few kg lighter as well.

I was ready for the summit with about 4 km to go! However the last 9km were down hill to camp. A special treat is that we are staying in the Manning Park lodge. If you Google it you'll see what its like.

We did the 66 km in 4 hours 36 minutes at an average of 14.6kph. To put this in context, ironman Chris took less than 3 hours. He is a very competent rider. 

The surprise at Manning Park is that we are staying in a lodge with spa and swimming pool. So I've soaked my weary muscles in the hope I'll be right again tomorrow.

One of our number is struggling with the ride. He's a diabetic so I suspect that he maybe finding it hard to balance his sugars.

All in all a great days ride. Tomorrow we have a 100k ride to Hedley which I suspect a good part my be downhill following a river.

Dinner was was curry chicken with a fancy white sauce! Yummy! I was rooming with Mike from Alaska, a man of few words.

16th June, Manning Park to Hedley

Fathers Day Sunday 16 June 100km

Another beautiful day in the mountains with no cloud or wind. Breakfast of fried potato and scrambled egg, followed by muesli.

 Peter and I set off at 7.15am. The first 23km were downhill, perhaps a 700m descent. 

Did the first 23km in 44 minutes. Then up up up, to Sunday Summit at 1291m, just on 32km into the ride. From then it was largely downhill to the campsite at Hedley, which I think is about 450m ASL.

We averaged 23.9 kph for the day despite all the ups and downs. One really steep 3 km descent where I got to 62kph

Saw 2 deer on the roadside, but no bears yet. Stopped at lots of places to take photos and have something to eat.

We were second into camp but while writing this we are still waiting for the truck to turn up. They are swapping trailers for a new, larger one which is being delivered from Ontario. This means shifting all the gear over.

So I'm feeling ok at this stage. We have a long day of 145 km tomorrow into Kelowna where we have a rest day. Today we followed the Similkamine River.  (Spelling?)

The day tomorrow is along the lakeside so hopefully not too many hills.

Camp about 4 k West of Hedley

Hope

It rained from about 2am and continued all morning. We broke camp with wet tents and got a good soaking while riding.

The scenery looked like South Westland in the rain......which would have been nice if fine. The route followed the Fraser River all day with a couple of river crossings but a mainly tail wind.

We got into the campsite at Hope about 3pm and dried everyone out - its sunny now with a good breeze.

The bike needed a good clean and the chain oiled, since riding in the rain really makes them dirty.

The young chef (Shane) started off well last nice with spaghetti and meat balls with a home made sauce. Looks like he does dinner and the driver, Megan the breakfast.

Tomorrow we have a short hard day to Manning Park. It's only 66 km but climbs 1300m. Hope is 42 m above sea level.

Today's ride was 120km.