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.

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.‎

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.

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.

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.