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.