DIARY - Week Two
DIARY - Week Two
Our overnight stop refreshed us and after a lazy start we got on the road. Most of the day was Highway 10 which is busy with a lot of HGV's. It was hard work because riding all day on the hard shoulder requires a greater degree of concentration. We had a late lunch, which was a big mistake as we had drained our energy by the end of the day. A swim in the pool and a relax in the hot tub has set us up for tomorrow. We have discussed the total weight of clothing etc we are carrying. At the moment as soon as we hit a steep hill we have to walk which doesn't look too good for the Rockies.
A good gentle ride and an early stop. We have escaped to the country and scenery. We can see snowcapped mountains ahead of us, but assume they have nothing to do with us. We are following beside highway 1 (Transcanadian). The main road is busy but the parallel is very relaxing. At lunch we met two fishery protection officers who were most intrigued by our quest. One had recently been on a cycle tour in Vietnam. We have now heard twice of a couple on a tandem recumbent ahead of us on the road. Apparently the one on the rear faces backwards.
The route took us through Chilliwack town and then via back roads to Highway 7, then to Hope. The ride was quiet and enjoyable and the miles covered in good time. We have decided to take a day off the bike tomorrow and enjoy the sights of Hope. PJ deserves a rest considering all she has achieved in the last 4 days.
After a rest day our choices were to target Yale or Boston bar. We started the day by changing 3 spokes on the front wheel which delayed our start a little. After the climb out of Hope the road was a little kinder and we made good time up the Frazer Canyon and arrived in Yale at Lunch time. We checked into a motel and spent the afternoon looking around the museum and watching the muddy waters of the Frazer. The waters are particularly high at the moment and there is a lot of debris flowing downstream.
We made an early start to benefit from the cooler temperature and the first half mile was downhill, the rest of the day wasn't. The road climbed steadily following the river. Occasionally the road climbs away from the river before dropping back to river level. The major climb of the day (3 to 4 miles) was up to Hells Gate, high above a narrow canyon with the river at the base. At the top is the Elvis Rocks café. We had a good lunch surrounded by pictures and memorabilia of The King, even the tablecloths had his pictures on them. We then decended, past the Hells gate cable car, to our destination.
At breakfast Pauline was gifted a mothers day rose. The day primarily consisted of 5 big climbs and decents. From the start we had 1 mile up then half a mile down then 1 mile up again. The main climb of the day 'Jackass Mountain' was about 3.5 miles to the summit, we managed about three-quarters before walking. Most of the hills we walked could have been managed easily without our cargo. We stopped for a long lunch 16 miles in and watched humming birds at the feeder outside the window. During the afternoon a strong wind blew us up the canyon. It made the bike difficult to handle and almost blew us off the road in exposed areas. We checked in to the Totem Motel at 4pm. Uphill is difficult. Downhill can be frightening. But for 1.5 miles we had flat road.