The rest of the ride to Revelstoke was very beautiful. And the ferry crossing to Shelter Bay was quite cool.
View of the Galena Bay - Shelter Bay ferry across Arrow Lake from my campsite that nightA couple day ago I had my first mechanical problem. I was putting some more air in my tire, and the presta valve broke. When I went to change the tire, I discovered that I hadn't brought any tire levers! (I later found out from Jenn that I had left them on the living room floor) Turns out BCAA does not in fact do bicycle repairs outside of Vancouver, but they did drive me back to the bike shop in Revelstoke with my wheel. There I got some tire levers and the mechanic replaced and inflated the tire for me. It was time to hitchike back to the rest of my bike, so I started walking down the main Revelstoke street to the intersection which leads up to the highway. Someone stopped before I was even had my thumb out and offered to drive me the 12km out of town to my bike! He wasn't even going that direction; what a generous guy! That night I stayed in Canyon Hot Springs outside of Revelstoke and soaked myself for far longer than recommended!
Rogers Pass was not nearly as hard of a climb as I expected. The summit elevation is only 1300m, compared to 1700m in Lake Louise or 1300m from just above sea level in Allison Pass. Among others, I met some cyclists who were travelling with their parents meeting them each day in an RV. I can't imagine this being very fun for the parents, but what a way to travel for the cyclists!
Rogers Pass Summit. Another cyclist named Oliver just barely visible as well.
Saw these Rocky Mountain Sheep on the side of the road outside of Golden.Yoho National Park was beautiful. Unfortunately it started hailing and I had to skip any sightseeing in the second half.
Wapta Falls in Yoho National Park
Impressive windloading in Yoho National Park
Alberta looks ominous!
This is all I could see (during a break in the weather) of Banff National ParkSince Slocan I've been riding into a headwind (I must have been a sleazeball lawyer in a past life). Last night it was so bad that I was struggling to keep 15km/hr and it took 4 hours to travel slightly downhill 55km! My normal speed is 22 - 25 if it's flat. But on the positive side, I'm in no rush ... and it's not a big deal if I arrive an hour or two later at my destination.
Headwinds at the Alberta border. Seconds later my bike was blown off the sign and I had to run down the road after my pannier cover!From here it's up to Sylvan Lake and Red Deer to visit friends and family, then to Drumheller to meet Jenn and my parents for the weekend. I'm quite excited!
I'm getting more and more in shape now and am off Advil and TigerBalm. This is good news! I'm also developing quite the farmers tan ... it's absolutely hillarious.
Cheers,
Dave
(This is ashley on my Dad's computer) Congrats on finishing your first province! My Dad says hi. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm quite excited as well...
ReplyDeleteHey Dave, Glad to hear it's going well. The spring snows can be tough, especially because they are often wet as well. Ashley headed back to CA this evening (Kristen had her wedding on Wednesday) and I'm getting ready for leaving on the trail next Tuesday (16th). Looks like there's a good possibility that Vicki will get a teaching job in Flagstaff Arizona (7,000 ft) so if it works out and you guys do some travelling next summer maybe come visit? Take Care and we think about you ... JPP
ReplyDeleteGreat progress, Dave, you've got one province down, nine more to go. I especially like the last picture you put up; you can see how strong the wind is by how taut the flags are. Don't worry though, the headwind will eventually drop off when you get to Ontario, to give the blackflies a chance to devour you. = ]
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of black flies I think you left the bug repellent at home...
ReplyDeleteThose crowns are MASSIVE!
ReplyDelete