First Leg Complete

Well it's Friday night and I've arrived in Crescent Valley, with stops in Hope, Princeton, Osoyoos, and Christina Lake. It's been about 660km so far, spread over five days of riding. Tonight I'm cozy at Suzanne and Bruce's house (Lani's parents) after a hot shower and a wonderful dinner.

The first few days were really hard, but I'm feeling stronger every day (or maybe the advil and TigerBalm is just kicking in?). Every muscle in my legs is sore to the touch, but after riding for a few minutes each morning they loosen up.

Lunch at the Sasquatch Inn on the way to Hope

The ride to Hope was pretty uneventful. In the campground I met three other cyclists on similar trips: Yvon from Quebec City, Leslie from Ontario, and her boyfriend Ulrich from Denmark. We agreed to ride together to Princeton the next day ... I never thought it would be so easy to find a partner!

Yvon, Leslie and Ulrich in Manning Park

The Hope-Princeton Highway actually has three summits to climb, and it rained for each one! This made for I think the hardest day of my life, battling cold, lack of fitness, and a heavy bike. I had serious doubts about whether I would be strong enough mentally to finish the trip. Leslie and Ulrich decided to stay the night in Manning Park after the Allison Pass summit while Yvon and I agreed to ride together until Keremeos. We finally arrived in Princeton that night at 9pm, 13.5 hours after we started!


Exhausted at the final summit of the Hope-Princeton

But it just got better from there as I got stronger. The climbs (including Anarchist Pass and the Blueberry-Paulson) are going more smoothly, and all the little towns along Hwy 3 are wonderful. Touring on a bike you get to stop at each viewpoint, park, or town along the way. I've never appreciated the Similkameen River before until I biked beside it for a day and a half (from Manning Park to just outside of Osoyoos). The road also followed parts of the picturesque Kettle River as well ... it sure would be fun to bike the Kettle Valley Trail.


Bromley Rock and the Similkameen River

Ooo, this is going to be a long one.

People are very friendly. I don't think I've paid full price anywhere yet, and there's always someone willing to strike up a conversation. Just outside of Grand Forks and elderly couple approached me and started talking. As they were leaving a few minutes later, the wife gave me some money and told me that my next meal was on them ... how often does that happen!

In Keremeos we met a 50 year old, 250 pound German man, dressed in a golf shirt and khaki shorts, with 35kg of gear who was riding the Kettle Valley Trail on his cycling journey from Vancouver to Halifax. Proof positive that anyone can go exploring on a bike.

Next I'm off to climb with Dave in the Valhallas for three days. Hopefully a weekend in the mountains will help my body recover from this first push.

Thanks to everyone who has offered places to stay along the way, it is greatly appreciated!

Cheers,
Dave