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.
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