Day 11 - Abbotsford BC (665 km): Into every good trip....

... you know what's coming here.... a little rain must fall!

I had a great sleep (or as good as my sleep ever is) and from 0600h to the time I got up (around 0800?), the only thing I heard was Malcolm chattering ;-). Melanie started me off with a coffee, followed by my day's quota of fruit and veggies served in a tall glass: freshly squeezed carrot, apple, pear, cantelope, beet & beet greens (which Emma declined to have in hers) and strawberries. Yummy! And a homemade granola bar. Melanie's a good cook :-)

By the time I got on the road this morning, in a light rain and after Pete escorted me to a gas station at the entrance to the highway (thanks Pete!), it was 0950h. I picked up an hour when I crossed into Pacific Time just before Glacier National Park and landed in Abbotsford at around 1830. Got a room and then went to a nearby gas station where my credit card wouldn't work at the outside prepay. Although I had called VISA and apprised them of my schedule and itinerary, and asked them to not do anything funky to my card, it appears they may have just caught up to me. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

As soon as I pulled onto the highway at Golden, I caught up to 6 "Big-Dresser Doods" and rode 'sweep' (rear) with them until we got to the snow sheds at Rogers Pass when I stopped to take photos and lost them. Crossing Glacier National Park with its snowsheds was easy - thankfully. They're not as bad as they, apparently, used to be. They're lit so not dark like they used to be. Dry, clean and 16 degrees on the Pass. All good ! Stopped for coffee, water and washroom inspection at Revelstoke and continued on my way. My close call today was at the Revelstoke Timmy's when I stepped off the sidewalk into the path of a slow-moving vehicle in the drive-through lane ;-)

It was a great ride through the Pass and Revelstoke Park - 2 or 3 more snow sheds after the first set. Right after Revelstoke, I entered the Okanagan Shuswap Forest District. I rode around a corner and the view made me catch my breath. A treed mountain wall on the left side, a pond smooth as glass on the right at road level and across the pond a railway tunnel. Actually 2 tunnels carved out of the rock and as I rode along this very short stretch of road, a train came out of the first (rear) tunnel. I pulled over as quickly as I could and grabbed my camera. One of the shots is posted. Suffice to say, the scenery for the next little while - especially where the Shuswap lakes system could be viewed, was spectacular. The area known as Three Valley Gap is also very beautiful.

It was about 16 degrees when I left and by the time I got to Salmon Arm, where the TCH goes through the town so the riding was slow, it was REALLY hot - high 20's. I stopped in Sorrento for lunch and gas, and took that opportunity to shed my long-sleeved shirt (with the 100-wearing shirt underneath), opened the vents in my jacket and changed from WP gloves to hot-weather ones.

Toward Kamloops, the scenery became more farmland along the highway but further away from the highway, it was evident that this area is more arid. The hills look sandy with very sparse vegetation. Rode through a heavy sun shower for a couple of minutes and I had to pay careful attention to traffic for a few kilometers to make sure I stayed on course for Highway 5 south = Coquihalla Highway. Once I hit Hwy 5, the traffic all but disappeared. I'll digress here for a moment to talk about traffic. For the most part, we've seen very little traffic - especially in Wyoming and Montana. The highways are in great shape and we often had them pretty much to ourselves (you know what I mean). That was until we hit Alberta where the traffic picked up noticeably. June's great because the "kids-are-out-of-school-let's-hit-the-road" crowd hasn't started yet. And the weather conditions when we were at the 'tourist traps' in the US tended to discourage the looky-loos. I can only imagine what the traffic would be like in high tourist season. The traffic during the Alberta and BC legs has been spotty. For the most part, the Coquihalla traffic was sparse and really got heavy only near the Chilliwack exit.

What was really noticeable today was the transport trucks. The highway was lousy with them. And I noticed today because I was getting tossed around so badly by the wind. Right after Kamloops, the terrain made me think I was back in Wyoming! Remember the hills peppered with sagebrush or tumbleweed and very little else? There were also signs posted indicating "high mountain conditions: unexpected weather changes". First weather change was another torrential rain for a couple of minutes. And during it, the temperature dropped from around 22 or 24 to 15! The sun was still out - I was directly under a rain cloud. I thought I'd seen a couple of lightening streaks and kept looking but it's hard to watch the road AND the sky. Another interesting note about the Coquihalla highway is the 'runaway lanes'. If they're on other mountain highways, I hadn't noticed them. There are quite a few of them on Hwy 5 - long dirt driveways that go up the side of the mountain.

At one point, a gust of wind caught me and I thought "this is the one good thing about the weight of this bike for me; it keeps me on the road and not buffeted around by the wind". A few minutes later, I noticed the first sign indicating "strong cross wind". Great. I should note that I didn't have any sense that I was in "high mountains". I eventually found out how high I was. The 4-lane highway seemed to snake around the top of a mountain and it WAS gusty. I never follow transport trucks since they cause too much of a wake. And it takes very little throttle for me to blow past them. That was a white-knuckle ride for many kilometers. AND I've been having a lot of trouble with .... pain in the butt ....kind of. I couldn't identify it except to say it felt as though it was in my adductor muscles. Jim kept commenting about my feet being off the pegs a lot. I have to stretch them - frequently - after I've ridden about 100 km. It doesn't seem to be a muscle thing since I should have developed "muscle memory" by now. My back, for example hasn't bothered me in days whereas this 'butt' thing is getting worse. Add that to the 'strong cross wind' situation and I was getting pretty tired. I stopped south of Merritt, walked a little, finished off a bottle of water and had some trail mix (that I've been carrying in my tankbag since I left Fredericton), and hauled my sheepskin out of the trunk (Dave - it hasn't gotten wet yet so I can't describe what that feels like!). That DID help a bit. In the meantime, I'd figured out - I think - that the problem may be in my "sit bones" (ischial tuberosities) as a result of cutting foam off the seat so that I can reach the ground better :-( I'm not giving up the Feej - not yet anyway! And I'm not planning any more trips like THIS so it probably won't be a problem .... once I get home.

The last leg of the Coquihalla (200-300 km north of Vancouver) was one of those breathtaking experiences - like speeding through a steep, downhill parkway. That's when I found out high I actually was. Is it possible the mountains down here are even higher than in Yoho Park ?? I would have loved to poke along and really gawk around but that's not feasible even at low speeds so I might as well keep up with traffic. It was all I could do, as I descended, to put my head back - very quickly -at almost at 90 degrees to see the top of a mountain. And the trees are right at the side of the highway. I'm sure it's like nothing you'd see back east - ANYwhere.

It's 2300h and if I have any hope of getting to Tofino at a reasonable time tomorrow (1 hour & 40 minutes crossing), I have to get some sleep. I'm tired! And when I'm tired (as I was last evening), I forget to do the quiz questions. I'm wondering if anyone is reading / answering them anyway?

As a postscript, I'm getting some nice comments (I don't always reply but I DO always appreciate them!) from people who show up as Anonymous (which is fine) but also don't sign a name or initials and I don't know who you are :-(

Over and out from the Best Western in Abbotsford, BC.

KSAO&E quiz:

1. Mount 7 is located in which mountain range?
2. Revelstoke is best known for what seasonal activity?
3. One of the very picturesque areas I rode through is Districk of Sicamous whose logo is "Gateway to the Shuswap" What is this district known as? hint: it's the "---Capital of Canada". Sounds like fun to me!