Day 9 – Lake Louise Campground, AB

From Golden to Lake Louise is “only” 85 km.   I thought I would take my time getting up. Golden is a picturesque gem; all surrounded by mountains but it’s not much of a town yet.

The trip to Lake Louise was almost all up hill. My GPS said it was about a 750 m ascent.  Although I suspect the elevation numbers I know first hand it was uphill.

At about 1:45 pm I had my lunch in a little tourist town named Fields at a place called Trifle Pigs. I had a dainty serving of salmon and some fancy green stuff (not my usual Hamburger and Beer).

The remaining 27 km from Fields to Lake Louise was tough; the ascent was considerable, I had a strong head wind and my front derailleur refused to switch to first.  I eventually made it.

I was hunting for a place to eat supper and eventually  agreed with a couple from Holland to eat at a family restaurant so I could get my regular food.

The campground and Lake Louise had a notice that tents weren’t allowed because of bear activities. I wasn’t going to argue! I ended up staying in the Mountaineer Lodge (the first place I came to.).   These places have a few perks but the outdoors scenic experience is not one of them.

In Golden, just a few meters from where I camped 8:05 am 2015/05/10

BikeTracking, BikeRoute

Day 8 – Golden Municipal Campground, Golden, BC (May 9, 2015)

I checked out the distance for Day 8 the night before. 154 km to Golden! I resigned myself for a long day..

I asked the lady managing the camp (who I believe had a Dutch accent) where the best place was to have breakfast in Revelstoke before 7am. She was very kind and recommended two local places that were in the heart of the town and pointed them out on a map of the town. And then as a bit of an afterthought she said “then there’s Denny’s”. The advantage of Denny’s for me was that it was closer to highway.

So I got up in the morning and packed up camp by a little after 6 am and headed down to the Denny’s by the highway at Revelstoke.  I ordered two eggs, two blueberry pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream, bacon, and hash browns.   Not a bad breakfast.

I looked around to see what other people ate at Denny’s when just then a couple in their 50s drove up in their Mercedes. As they were walking I couldn’t help noticing how happy they both looked and enjoying each others company; like they walked right out of a pharmaceutical commercial. And they even ate at Denny’s. By-the-way I was served by a born and raised ‎Canadian! What do you know.

There are no towns or food stops between Revelstoke and ‎Golden.   The trip starts with a gradual climb to Roger’s pass which is pretty close to half way.   At 1pm I had about 84 km left and was just arriving at Roger’s pass and began a descent and picked up some time.

Near Roger’s Pass there are a number of avalanche ‎shelters and at least one tunnel. Point to remember: when you are going through the tunnel on your bicycle take your sunglasses off and turn on your lights (if you have them). Within 30 seconds of going in the tunnel it was too dark to see the barrier 2 feet to my right, lane markers or loose gravel.

I arrived in Golden with a bit of a tail wind at about 5:30pm Pacific Time (6:30pm Mountain) and had supper at a roadside restaurant.   I was served by a rosy-cheeked girl in her early thirties who immigrated not too long ago, for ‘love’ no less. When I told her I needed calories I ended up with a hamburger monstrosity that would likely not fit any mouth that I know of. It was the first meal that I couldn’t finish.

I camped at Golden Municipal Park, had a shower, washed some clothes and caught up with all the excitement in Kitchener on the phone with Ann.‎

11:08 pm 2015/05/09

11:09 am 2015/05/09

12:34 pm 2015/05/09

2:19 pm 2015/05/09

BikeTracking, BikeRoute

Day 6 – Vernon, BC (May 7, 2015)

I made up a day today as I had planned.

Last night I stayed at the Lake Front Resort in Summerland, located right on the water of Okanagon Lake.  This morning my first ride was up a steep slope of about 150 m back to the highway.

I managed to make Kelowna by 10:30 am and had my lunch there before leaving town.  I arrived in Vernon by about 4 pm and had my supper.  I am now settling down beside Swan Lake for the night.  The girl that served my supper had just arrived from Ft. Nelson. She had moved to Vernon to get away from the boredom of a northern BC town.

The Okanagon Valley is something unlike anything else in BC and Canada.  Its arid landscape, large rolling hills, and relatively warm temperatures make me think of some place off the Mediterranean, although it lacks the sense of history, culture, and permanent architecture.

As I am riding my bike with cars speeding by, it is difficult not to question why everyone seems in such a rush.  You’d think in BC, where everything is so beautiful, that people would be more reflective and laid back.  Apart from the noticeable but relatively few sporty-out-doorsy-type people (uncle Rich being one) the province seems still more like a new frontier with people bustling to build their life.  It seems everywhere you meet people who have moved to whatever town in BC from somewhere else.  I’ve met people now from Italy, Alberta, New Zealand, Austria, Africa, Ft. Nelson.

Bald Eagle nesting by the bridge to Kelowna 2:57 pm 2015/05/07

Lilacs in bloom 1:21 pm 2015/05/07

A steam engine tractor 2:03 pm 2015/05/07

Bike with the Okanagon Lake in the background 2:49 pm 2015/05/07

Overlooking a lake (I can’t recall which) in the Okanagon Valley 10:41 am 2015/05/07

Day 5 – Summerland, BC (May 6, 2015)

Today, a number of things didn’t turn out as planned:

(1) – I realize that I had intended to stay at Princeton rather than traveling to Bromley Rock Provincial Park.  That added an extra 20 km today (and yesterday)

(2) – my intent was to travel the Kettle Valley Trail today and take the road running parallel if the trail was too rugged for my touring bike.  As it turns out, the Kettle Valley Trail, although as beautiful as I expected, was filled with loose gravel and stones that kept me from going any faster that 15 km/hr.  This made me lose too much time so I decided to switch to the road.

(3) The pavement on the road running parallel called the Princeton-Summerland Road ended abruptly about halfway to Summerland and turns to gravel.

(4) – I had a head wind of at least 15 km/hr.

(5) – I had to stop several times to adjust my rear derailleur, which was giving me problems since I fixed my flat on Sunday.

(6) – the weather couldn’t make up it’s mind.  Each time it started raining, I put on my rain gear.  Each time it stopped for an extended time, I took it all off.

Now, for the bright side:

It was a beautiful day.  Cool and sufficiently sunny.  The scenery was very beautiful but much different than the mountains.  I met a nice couple from Vancouver who were returning from fishing.  They stopped and gave me some wine, bread and cheese.

11:29 am 2015/05/06

11:30 am 2015/05/06

4:19 pm 2015/05/06

6:02 pm 2015/05/06

6:09 pm 2015/05/06

6:09 pm 2015/05/06

As a result of my difficulties, I am staying in Summerland tonight instead of travelling to Penticton as I had planned.  I also decided that tomorrow I would carry on toward Kelowna on the west side of the lake bypassing the Kettle Valley Trail through Myra Canyon and Trestles.  It may be beautiful but if the trail continues to be as rough as it was from Princeton to Summerland I would not be able to stick to my planned distance and schedule.

Day 4 – Bromley Rock Provincial Park, Cawston, BC (May 5, 2015)

I had a relaxing lunch at a pub in Princeton – soup and sandwich, a beer, and chocolate cake and ice cream for desert.  Hopefully there were enough calories.

I was served by a nice, friendly waitress.  She inquired about my trip, suggested a more scenic route (which wasn’t really practical), reminded me to ‘carb up’ (and order more food), and switched the TV nearby so I could see Juventus beat Real Madrid in the Champions League Semi Final (who would have guessed).  It is kind of peculiar that when I meet nice people in a town I am left with an impression that everyone there must be friendly.

I arrived at Bromley Provincial Park just beside the highway at 3:40pm.  A more secluded spot may have been more idyllic but I appreciate not having to travel far to find a great place to up my tent.

Bromley Provincial Park 4:15 pm 2015/05/05

Just for the record; it snowed today.  The snow was clumpy (not flaky) and melted as soon as it hit the ground.  Later is started to rain, which was much worse when it is below 10 C.  Fortunately I am dry now except for my shoes and socks.  I am looking forward to eating my supper – lentils and rice and heading to bed to get warm and listen to Laura’s playlist.

Here it is…

Lentil and rice dinner 6:20 pm 2015/05/05

Half a cup of lentils – soaked for a couple of hours, boil, add half a cup of rice and some more water, brew for a couple of minutes, add some vegetables, salt, curry (I only put in 1/2 table spoon now). Let the whole thing simmer for about 20 minutes.

It’s not perfect but it works.

I just realized that I need to eat about 7 equivalent lentil and rice suppers each day to keep from losing weight.

Energy out: 6 hours of riding at about 700 calories per hour = 4200 calories.

Energy in (a rice and lentil supper): 70 grams of lentils and 70 grams of rice (1/2 cup is 125 mL or 125 grams of water. I figure rice and lentils is only a little denser so 140 is a good guess). Assuming that dried lentils and rice are all either carbs or protein, this gives you 140 grams x 4 calories/gram = 560 calories.

4200 / 560 = 7.2

Day 2 – Hope, BC (May 3, 2015)

I sent a few text messages to uncle Rich just after 6 am, got packed, had oatmeal, and was on the road by 7:44 am.  The ride was part highway and part road – all had very good and well marked bike lanes (bonus).

I arrived in Chilliwack at about 10:20 am and met up with uncle Rich who came to see me on his road bike.  We were extremely mismatched.  I told him that I would be slow but he didn’t quite get it until he saw my bike – his is only about 18 lb and mine is 80 lb or so.  He didn’t even notice hills that I laboured on.

I noticed that you really can’t perceive hills in BC like you can in ON.  Because of the mountains on either side, your frame of reference of the horizontal gets confused where as in Ontario you seem to always know what ‘flat’ is.

I got a flat (a staple puncture) and soon after, Rich and I stopped for lunch, about 20 km outside of Chilliwack.  Rich accompanied me all the way to Hope before he turned back.

I am camping at Coquihalla Campground in Hope, BC.