Revelstoke, B.C. - Kelowna, B.C.

I was up at 6:30 to brew some coffee and eat a breakfast of McDonald's parfaits and a muffin I'd bought the night before.  I rolled out of my room just before 7:00.

Rather than get right onto the highway, I elected to leave Revelstoke via this single lane bridge instead:

It crosses the Columbia River parallel to the Trans-Canada highway bridge.

Unlike prior mornings, this one was already fairly warm and I was hot in no time at all. Nonetheless the first couple hours of riding were very lovely.

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For the most part I cycled through valleys, including past the particularly gorgeous Three Valley Lake.

I stopped briefly to see the countless busloads of Asian tourists lined up at the public washroom at the Craigellachie rest stop, where the last spike of the Canadian Pacific Railway was driven in (unfortunately I did not photograph the real attraction, the Asian tourists).

I reached Sicamous (about 75 kilometres from Revelstoke) around 10:00, quite pleased with my progress.  I stopped at A&W for a plate of eggs and toast and to refill my water.  Today I was only carrying about a litre and a half, since I knew I would be passing through plenty of spots where I could refill or buy more.

I took my sweet time on the shady A&W patio before heading south through the town and joining highway 97A into the Okanagan.

The highway runs tight along Mara Lake for about fifteen kilometres or so.  

Certainly the view is wonderful here, but the cycling was not ideal, as the shoulder is very narrow or even nonexistent, and traffic was considerable.

At a place called Grindrod a road called Enderby Grindod Road branches off the highway.  I was tempted to take it, as it looked like a much more enjoyable (i.e., quieter) route, but I hestitated until I saw an older, white-bearded, leather-clad motorcyclist stopped at the side of the road.  I went over to ask him which way I should go to get to Enderby and he said to take the local road for sure.  "It's great, no hills, less traffic, I've biked it myself."

I am really glad I asked him, because the ten kilometres or so I rode on this stretch was probably the most enjoyable part of my day.  I nearly had the road to myself, and it passed through some very pastoral settings, including vineyards, cornfields, and, ultimately, the Splatsin First Nation.

It was noon when I got to Enderby, 110 kilometres or so from Revelstoke.

There I stopped at a gas station to refill my water (I had already drank nearly 3.5 L, and the day was only getting hotter and hotter).  

I was now over halfway, and I felt pretty good about that, but the most enjoyable part of the day was defintely behind me.

I continued to make good time between Enderby and Vernon, but the intensity of the sun made the ride difficult, and the highway was now extremely busy.  I stopped more than once to apply sunscreen to my cheeks (most of the rest of my skin is covered with clothing, including special white sun sleeves I wear on my arms and legs). 

I was very pleased with the time I was making up to Vernon, and I got there just before 14:00 (so I had done close to 150 kilometers in seven hours, including stops).

I pulled into a plaza along the highway and stopped at Booster Juice for some lunch.  Here I really took a long break, even plugging in my phone and watching a couple of innings of baseball.

Eventually, a little before 15:00, I decided I should get going.  Vernon's not that far from Kelowna, but of course now it was the hottest part of the day, and I knew there was some climbing invovled.  

I had no idea the extent to which the highway climbs coming out of Vernon, so I was in for a surprise.  My bike computer says it was 39 degrees Celsius, which I think is possible given that Environment Canada said 36, and I was above pavement.  A steep climb at almost 40 degrees alongside significant traffic after having already cycled 150 kilometres is not my idea of a pleasant way to spend the afternoon.  

I was rewarded, however, with a) a sense of triumph and b) views of Kalamalka Lake, which has got to be one of Canada's prettiest lakes.  This picture does not come close to doing it justice, of course, but you can just see the turquoise water over the highway before I left the lake behind.  The colour of the water reminded me of shallow Caribbean water.

It was right at this point where I literally jumped over the guard rail and dragged my bike after me to leave the highway and join the Pelmewash Parkway along Wood Lake.  This was another inspired, spontaneous route change, as it was also a much quieter, more scenic road.  I think I may have also saved myself more climbing.

By the time the Pelemwash Parkway rejoined Highway 97, north of a place called Lake Country, I was more or less limping.  I could see my average speed falling quickly, as I was doing nothing more than intermitingly pedalling.  I was terribly hot, completely worn out, and my legs were sore, sore, sore.

Thankfully, I had less than 20 kilometres to go at this point and I managed to roll onto the University of British Columbia Okanagan campus, where I had a dorm room booked, just before 17:00.

After a long shower, I went for a dinner of an apple brie chicken burger, a big pint of Granville Island beer, and blueberry pie.  It felt awfully good to be done.

The UBCO campus is actually north of Kelowna itself, but it is more less across the street from the airport, so its a perfect place to spend the night before flying home tomorrow morning.  Whenever I come back, whether I fly in or come some other way, I will cycle from here to Vancouver.  But that will be another year.

Golden, B.C. - Revelstoke, B.C.

For the third time I set out from Golden towards Revelstoke.  Immediately as I moved my bicycle out of my room I noticed the rear wheel was a bit wobbly.  I wiggled it side to side and realized it was loose in the hub.  It was certainly worrisome, but there did not seem to be much I could do about it.

I got going at 7:04 mountain time.  Unlike yesterday there was no fog, and the temperature was warmer by a degree or two. 

Typically I am quite driven when cycling long distances, but today I was especially motivated.  I was determined to get to Revelstoke and began calculating how long it would take to walk there if necessary.  I figured I could average 5 kmph walking, so I began counting down from 30 hours or so.  It made my progress seem more significant as every five kilometres I shaved off an hour of walking time.

Thankfully, walking did not prove necessary.

I was quickly past the cursed spots outside of Golden where I had experienced my flats, and was soon climbing Rogers pass.  

As tough a climb as this was (probably the toughest climb I have ever done on my bicycle), it was also somewhat pleasant.  The weather was cool enough that I did not feel especially hot, traffic was light, and the scenery stunning.

It was still mid-morning as I entered Glacier National Park.  It was about here that I also gained an hour, moving into the Pacific Time Zone.

I stopped for a few minutes and checked my wheel again.  It was as wobbly and loose as ever.  I checked the nuts and realized one was stripped--it just turned and turned and turned without tightening up.  I figured that could be part of the problem, but the hub itself seemed loose, so I thought it must be something more than that.  I figured I would try to get it looked at in Revelstoke if possible.  For now I just wanted to get there.  

More or less, the approximately 150 kilometres from Golden to Revelstoke involves climbing the first 75 and descending the last 75, which is a nice way to have it break down as a cyclist.  The Rogers pass summit is pretty much in the middle of the park, and you can see the pass through the trees here:

There is a visitor's centre at the summit, and there is a great water fountain there that I did not know about.  If I had, I would have carried half as much water and saved some weight.  I stopped at the visitor's centre for just a few minutes before carrying on down to Revelstoke.  

From the Rogers pass summit to Revelstoke the ride was mostly really easy, although it did get quite hot and sunny.  There were numerous spots where I was forced to brake as I descended, and I was flying down the hills at over 50 kmph quite frequently.

It was 14:00 as I rolled into Revelstoke's downtown.  I passed a sports consignment store that advertised bike tune-ups, so I decided I would take my bike there as soon as possible.  

I checked in at the Gateway Inn, showered quickly and headed backed downtown.  The man at the sports consignment store looked at my internal hub and said he would have no clue what to do, but he recommended a place called Flowt.

The guy inside took a quick look at my wheel and suggested the axle might be broken.  This had not crossed my mind as a possiblity, but it made some sense.  The stripped nut might not be stripped but merely turning because the axle was turning.  A broken axle was not going to get fixed that afternoon, even if they had a spare one.

To check, the guy removed the nut and used a wrench to test the axle: all good.  So that was a big relief.  I explained that I was trying to get to Kelowna tomorrow, so the man said if I left the bike with them for a couple hours they would take the hub apart and see what was up.  Needless to say I was pretty pleased that they were willing to work on it right away, regardless of whether or not they could get it fixed.

Meanwhile I walked down the street to the laundromat to do my laundry.  I threw my clothes in the washer and went for coffee and some lunch at a place called Mountain Meals.  Back at the laundromat, 75 cents and ten minutes got my clothes dry, so around 16:00 I walked back over to Flowt.

They were actually just about finished with my bike.  The mechanic explained that several of the nuts inside the hub had come loose and so he had simply tightened them up; the wheel was now as tight as ever.  He had also gone ahead and replaced my gear shift cable, which had frayed from all of my wheel removing and remounting.  He told me to take a spin and test it out, and indeed everything seemed like new.  I was very impressed, relieved, and happy.  I felt like my bad luck of yesterday had turned into good luck with interest.

Then I paid the bill and was shocked when it came to less than $20.  My quick, friendly, competent service had come at a very fair price. 

I cycled back to the motel past Revelstoke's courthouse, built in 1912.  I was more than a little surprised to see it here in the middle of residential Revelstoke.

I celebrated having made it to Revelstoke with takeout dinner from The Nomad Food Co.--a big hamburger, poutine, and cherry milkshake.

Golden, B.C. to nowhere and back, again

Today was a total disaster, probably my most miserable cycling day of all time.

It started well enough.  I was on the road around 7:45.  The day was cool again, about 10 degrees, and awfully foggy, but not dangerously so.  Actually, it was rather beautiful in a way, with the fog hanging over the valley and the mountains poking through above.

I was making good time, over 20 kilometres outside of Golden by 8:30 or so, when my rear wheel went flat.  This was not unexpected because a) I get flats a lot; b) I was carrying a lot of weight on the back; and c) there was a lot debris in the shoulder and there is no telling what I might have run over.  Of course, I was quite unhappy, unexpected or not.

My preference would always be to change a flat at a gas station, where I can access a serious air pump, but I had passed two signs informing me that there was no service between Golden and Revelstoke, so I set to work right away on the side of the highway to change the flat.

It is actually the first time I have changed a flat on this bike, because I have always taken it in to Mountain Equipment Co-op to change them in the past.  Moreover, after two or three flast, I had gone for a Gatorskin tire, which, at four times the price of my usual tires, seemed worth it given its puncture-preventative qualities.  To be honest, I had only recently learned how to even take off and put on this internal hubbed rear wheel, more than a year after purchasing the bike.

Anyway, the change went smoothly enough, but when it came to inflating the tire, there was no way the little hand pump I had was going to allow me to inflate to anything close to the required PSI.  Reluctantly, I realized I would have to cycle back to Golden to inflate the tire properly before continuing on. 

A few metres down the road towards Golden, I realized the tire was still so low that riding on it was risking another flat.  I decided to ditch the panniers, reducing the weight on the wheel considerably.  I stashed nearly everything I was carrying under a bush and kept on.

I was still fifteen kilometres out of Golden or so when my tire went flat again.  Now I was flat a second time, and my only remaining spare tube was at least six kilometres up the highway, with my only source of air 15 kilometres in the other direction.  I was very frustrated.  

I began walking back towards my bags, mulling over my options.  The ride to Revelstoke was intimidating me, what with the Rogers pass climb involved, so I was worried losing all this time might prevent me from making it.  There were no good options for staying in between Golden or Revelstoke, either.

I decided I would call a cab in Golden to come get me and my bike, take me back, and, perhaps, return me to the spot I had reached to continue on.  I phoned my girlfriend to ask her to look up the Golden taxi service phone number, which she did.  

Fifteen minutes later or so a minivan taxi driven by an older lady picked me and my bike up and then continued down the highway to get my bags.  She drove me into Golden's closest gas station for a fee (cash only) that took my breath away: $75!  Clearly I would not be asking her to take me back down the highway; I would just have to cycle the extra 20+ kilometres.

I changed my flat for a second time, inspecting the tire thoroughly.  I did not find any issues.  The tire was still fairly new, and looked to be in perfect shape.  I filled the tire to the appropriate PSI, bought some more water, and headed back out of town.  

It was now 10:00, so I had lost over two hours, but I figured even if I could only average 15 kmph with all the climbing, I would still reach Revelstoke by 19:00 with an hour time gain due to the time zone difference factored in.  This would make it a much later day than I would have liked, but it was not unreasonable.  

This time I was 15 kilometres out of Golden when my tire went flat AGAIN.  I was incredulous, and now very depressed.

I began walking back to Golden, with my thumb out, just in case someone wanted to give me a ride.  I was really disappointed: I figure it was highly unlikely that I could get back to Golden, visit a bike shop, have my tire changed again, and still get to Revelstoke.  I was not even confident the Golden bike shop would have tubes for my wheel.

I walked for over an hour.  Cars and pickup trucks and RVs and semis wizzed by, all ignoring me.  I stopped a few times to rest, drink water, eat snacks, and take a few pictures.

It was a hot, slow walk.

I was about halfway to Golden when a purple Silverado pulled over.  A lady hopped out and told me she would take me into Golden.  We moved some empty cans and bottles around in the back of her truck and put my bike in beside them.  She was going to the clinic right near one of Golden's two bike shops, so it worked out well.  I was extremely grateful.  

That particular bike shop was closed Mondays and Tuesdays, so I was out of luck, but just across the Kicking Horse River was the Higher Ground bike shop, and it was open.  A friendly Francophone employee helped me out a bit.  We found a staple in my tire, which was apparently the cause of the most recent flat.  They had tubes for me, and he let me change the flat in the back of the shop out of the sun.  I bought two extra tubes as well, and asked him some information on getting to Revelstoke.  He told me there was little chance I would make it tonight, which I had more or less concluded anyway.

I biked down to the highway to top up the air in my tire and get lunch.  It was now almost 14:00.  I sat and thought through my options.  I went back to the Ponderosa Motor Inn and got a room for the night.  Thnakfully there was no problem getting a room, since it was Monday.  I called the Revelstoke motel and changed my reservation to Tuesday night.  Then I called the motel I had booked in Enderby to cancel.  My plan now was to bike to Revelstoke tomorrow, and then try to get all the way to Kelowna on Wednesday.  If I could not get to Kelowna by bike, I would have to bus or something, since my flight was Thursday morning.  I looked up the Greyhound schedules just in case.  Regardless, I would no longer be staying a night in Enderby.

I biked/walked over 50 kilometres today, even though I had gotten nowhere, and that exertion combined with the frustration/stress had tired me out pretty good.  I took a cold bath and hot shower, and then biked down to the laundromat and IGA grocery store to wash my clothes and get snacks and breakfast for Tuesday.

I was in bed before 21:00.

Lake Louise, Alberta - Golden, B.C.

This morning I cycled from Lake Louise, Alberta to Golden, British Columbia, the first leg on my trip from Lake Louise to Kelowna.  

My plan is to bike from Lake Louise to Golden; Golden to Revelstoke; Revelstoke to Enderby; and Enderby to Kelowna, staying in motels along the way.  I have a WestJet flight booked for Thursday, August 13, 2015, out of Kelowna.  

I arrived in the village of Lake Louise late yesterday afternoon on the Greyhound from Edmonton via Calgary.  The bus trip had gone smoothly and my bike was in mostly good shape when we got to Lake Louise.  I had lost a piece of my rear rack, which meant I no longer had anywhere to mount my rear reflector, but otherwise everything went back together nicely.

I checked into the HI Lake Louise hostel.

The rest of the afternoon I spent cycling along the river--

--and up to Lake Louise itself.

I woke up at 7:00, having slept poorly.  I had three roomates in the hostel dorm, and all three snored, so I was eager to wake up and get out of there.

I did linger over breakfast at the hostel's marvelous cafe, where I had also eaten dinner the night before.  It was a cold, cold morning, and I had less than 100 kilometres to travel, so I was in no rush to actually get started.  

It was 8:00 once I finally left, and it was 8 degrees Celsius outside.  The morning was beautiful though, and wonderfully quiet and peacful.  

I left the village of Lake Louise via this pedestrian bridge that crosses the Trans Canada highway.

I actually started off slower than I would have expected, but I crossed into British Columbia and Yoho National Park before 9:00.

From the border I started making excellent time, and really enjoyed the ride.  The tourist traffic did not start until much later, so I felt like I could relax and take in the spectacular views.

Coming down the Kicking Horse pass and along the Kicking Horse River into Field was especially memorable.  For much of the way, and after Field as well, I could simply coast and travel at over 40 kmph.

Because of this I made better time than I expected, and arrived in Golden not much after 11:00!  

The Ponderosa Motor Inn let me check in when I arrived, which was nice.  I relaxed the rest of the afternoon, did laundry at the laundromat, and did a little exploring around the town, including finding this neat pedstrian bridge across the Kicking Horse River, pretty much just north of where the Kicking Horse meets the Columbia River.