A Parting of the Ways

Patty was up at 6...anxious to get on the road...anxious to get home.  Vacations are like that, at some point you have just had your fill of good food, adventure, and exploring new places...you want to go home and see sweet faces.

We had planned a stop at Modern Bakery in Revelstoke, but when we got there, we realized they don't open until 7.  We decided they were worth waiting for.  I bought a date bar and a raspberry custard oat muffin and Patty got a date turnover and a cheese and chive roll.  We said our goodbyes and she headed west on Highway 1 while I rode south towards Shelter Bay.

There is a free ferry that runs every hour between Shelter Bay and Galena Bay.  It takes about 20 minutes to cross and then there is a pretty good climb until you are riding above Arrow Lake.  While I was waiting to board the ferry, I talked to three motorcycle riders (heebiejeebies) and a cute older
couple named Hank and Maxine.  Hank is from Penticton and met Maxine, who is from Wenatchee
on Plenty of Fish.  They asked questions about my adventure, but assured me they were on their own adventure.  I thought they were very sweet.

There is a good, long climb of about 5 miles from Galena Bay to Halcyon Hot Springs.  And, it was scorching.  I was out of water when I got to the resort.  It caters to people in cabins and RVs more than little ol' bike tourers like me, but trust me...I can make it work.  Nestled above Arrow Lake, Halcyon...which means "healing" has three pools of varying temperature plus their swimming pool.  I a Spent the better part of the afternoon and early evening poolside and Hank and Maxine even showed up.  It was a great place to people watch...one elderly couple, perhaps in their 90's...carefully holding on to each other as they slid into the warm water.  Another woman wheeled her mother over to the pool and gently assisted her into the water and then put a few noodles around her so they could float together.  I liked watching the relationships.

Tomorrow I have a 50+ mile ride to Hills (what could that possibly mean?) where I'll be staying with Warm Showers hosts Daniel and Helen.

A Beary Good Day, eh?

There was no hurry for us this morning...Revelstoke was a little more than 20 miles away.  Patty checked out Williamson RV Park and said the lake was mucky, while I rode down to the KOA, now called Alpine Chalets to have a look.  The campground looked fine, but to get downtown where services were, you had to first climb a big hill and then drop down a steep hill...which translates to a steep climb after breakfast...and after dinner.  We settled on the Lamplighters RV Park, run by a German couple.  It was a short distance from town and also close to Highway 23 where we wanted to ride an out and back after breakfast.  We ate at Carrie's...I had the Western Omelet and Patty had Eggs Benedict.



The ride on Highway 23 is where I'll be riding tomorrow, and it's a great cycling route.  Low traffic with plenty of rollers to keep things interesting.  On our way back, a small blue car driven by Ken and Mary Kingsbury stopped to tell us that two black bears had just crossed the road 400m ahead of us.  We thought it was nice of them to warn us, and even nicer to turn around and point into the trees where the bears had gone.  Well, guess what?  They weren't gone...at least one wasn't...he was halfway up a tree.  We stopped and the couple stopped too.  He had a very nice camera with an expensive lens...I had...my phone.  Patty was sticking pretty close to the car.  Several times he rattled the branches, making a lot of noise, and at first we thought he was coming down.  Now, we think he was basically saying, "Get lost..."  Patty was brave...she didn't have her bear spray with her, but she didn't ride off in a panic...she was 20 yards from a bear!i

The owner of the campground had given us a recommendation for dinner...Woolsey's Creekside Bistro.  It was superb.  Patty had the chicken stuffed with bacon jam with a polenta cake, and I had wild salmon topped with a rhubarb compote and pecans.  The vegetables that came with the entree were cooked to perfection and Patty had her beer and I had my cider.  We were full in such a wonderful way on her last riding day.  I will miss her...she is a great traveling companion...a great friend.

We left the restaurant and headed downtown where live music plays most nights through the summer.  Tonight's entertainment was the Mike McKenzie Band.  They play what they call "funky jazz".

Both of us fell in love with the little town of Revelstoke.  It is British Columbia's version of Hood River with people riding bikes, toting sports equipment, hip little businesses, and great restaurants.  I saw a bakery that I will be hitting before I head south tomorrow.

911

First of all, Happy birthday to Jackson, who is now a teenager...and Aaron, my wonderful son-in-law. I love you both!

What. A. Day.  I was up at 5:30 and slapping dozens of mosquitoes in between getting my panniers loaded onto the bike.  I was glad I left so early...Hwy 1 was quiet...a vehicle every few minutes as I pedaled on a shoulder as wide as the traffic lane.  There are cracks in the asphalt, so you have to "pick a line" as you're riding, much the same way you would if you were skiing.

Patty passed me around Donald, which was 20 miles down the road.  She was going to check out the
Arthur Wheeler Hut to see what we were missing and then head for Canyon Hot Springs, which is about 20 miles east of Revelstoke.

I thought the riding today was much easier than the ride on the Going to the Sun Highway, even though the elevation gain was about the same.  At one point, I had a couple of deer bounding along the road ahead of me.  One stopped and took a closer look at me and freaked out, stumbling and falling all over himself as he exited stage right.  It was comical.

The tunnels were coming, and the traffic had gotten steadily heavier.  8 snow shed tunnels of varying length with little provision for cyclists.  No button to push to activate Amber blinking lights that let a motorist know that a cyclist is in the tunnel like you see along Highway 14 near Lyle.

I had just seen my first tunnel sign...and it was about 800m away, when a semi truck passed me and then immediately moved to the side of the Highway and put on his hazard lights.  He ran across the Highway and bent over and as I came up the hill, he motioned for me to cross the Highway.  With all this traffic?!?  But he motioned again, so I waited for an opening and rode across to see a motorcycle that was mangled beyond recognition and a man laying face down and motionless in the ditch.  "Oh, God!"  The trucker's cell phone did not work, so I pulled mine out and dialed 911, giving the dispatcher the location, as near as we could tell the condition of the man, any particulars I could.  He said help was on the way.  Trouble was...Rogers Pass is about 50 miles from Golden and 44 from
Revelstoke...this guy couldn't have been further away from help on this road.

He was moaning and eventually conscious, and the trucker and I ascertained that he was riding alone, that what hurt most was his back, and a promise that he wouldn't try to move much until the ambulance got there.  His face was raw and there was a fair amount of Rogers Pass dirt wedged in his ears and helmet.  But God is good...an off duty policeman happened by to essentially take control of the situation and also an RV that was driven by a German doctor.  Franco...from Saskatoon...I pray you make a full recovery.  I know this...your helmet saved your life.

I'm not gonna lie...that accident had me rattled and I was nervous riding through the first couple of tunnels.  Most are well lit...the third, which is also the longest, is not.  There is a sidewalk...well, it's more like a shelf...not really wide enough for a bike with panniers...that has a 16" drop off to the
pavement.  I don't think it's safe.  I like to enter the tunnel with a vehicle about 200 yards behind
me...so the driver is saying, "Why look, Ethyl, there's a gorgeous cyclist heading into that tunnel!"  To which Ethyl replies, "Slow down, George, I want to see what kind of bike she's riding!"

After the 6th tunnel, I reached Rogers Pass and took a short, but much needed break.  There's really not much there...a Visitor's Center...a closed lodge.  On the way down there was a large construction project on a bridge that was backing up cars for miles.  At first, the flagged was going to make me wait until all of the west bound cars had gone through, but after a few minutes, she relented and let me into the line.

The downhill was amazing...fast and smooth.  There were even more cars backed up heading eastbound.  They kept yelling, "Is there an accident?"  "no," I replied, "Bridge construction."  I felt like the town crier.

Up ahead of me there was an RV and truck blocking the shoulder.  I slowed down and found an older couple with their heads under the hood.  I asked them what I could do for them...he had no service on his cell phone and was trying to contact the couple they were traveling with to let them know that the power steering pulley had broken...he was going to need a tow truck.  I was able to call and leave a message for his friend, but nothing else.  I wished them well and headed down the road, passing through the last 2 snows he'd tunnels.

I was sailing along because the route was almost entirely downhill.  On my right was a pull-off sort of parking lot with a truck and RV parked...and an older couple standing outside looking to the east.  Hey...wait a minute!  I braked hard and pulled off the road.  "Are you traveling with another couple?" "Is your name Dan?"  It was the other couple!  I hope they got their truck repaired!

Patty was in her swimsuit when I got to Canyon Hot Springs, and it didn't take long for me to change into mine.  There are 101 rules at this campground...no shoes on the pool deck, no driving through the campground until 10 a.m., no drinks at the pool other than water...but we got a mosquito-free, shaded campsite and enjoyed the pool all afternoon.  Our dinner...consisted of all of the contents of our food bags:  2 handfuls of peanuts, 1 power bar, 1 pkg. chicken noodle soup, 1 apple, 1/2 bag potato chips, and a few pieces of beef jerky.

A Golden Ride in Golden

We had stopped at the bike shop in Golden...Higher Ground...to touch all the stuff and see if there was a ride that we could do today.  The owner pointed out a couple of possibilities and we liked an out and back on Upper Golden Donald Road.  It required a one mile ride up the hill to the east...maybe a 10% grade.  But Upper Golden Donald Road was a winner...we rode all the way out to Northern Lights Wolf Centre.  It is owned and managed by Casey and Shelley Black and dedicated to the care of rescued wolves and public education of the wolf's role in a healthy ecosystem.  Maya, their oldest wolf, is 16 and well beyond the normal life expectancy of a wolf in captivity.  Wolves in the wild only have a life expectancy of 3-6 years.  We learned a lot at the centre and were glad we made the visit.

We rode back to the hostel, stopping for a big, frosty mug of A&W root beer.  It brought back memories of the A&W stops my folks made when I was little...the tray that hooked onto the rolled down front window...big, frosty mugs of root beer...yum.

We had been warned about the mosquitoes in Banff and Lake Louise, but they were manageable.  The mozzies in Golden are aggressive and relentless, and my Off with Picaridin isn't cutting it.  They have declared Open Season on Cindi and all I can do is swat like a madwoman.

Tomorrow I'm going to get up at the crack of dawn and do my best to beat the traffic up to Rogers Pass.  It is about 50 miles from Golden with over 4000' of elevation gain, but I don't want to ride on Hwy 1 anymore than I have to, so...two days worth of riding in one day again.  

We were going to stay in a winter hut near Rogers Pass called the Arthur Wheeler Hut, but when we took a closer look, we realized there is propane for cooking but no services, and only pit toilets....all for $30 a piece.  We had thought it might be a little like the Refugios we stayed in while we were in Italy...but the Arthur Wheeler Hut doesn't come stocked with food and good wine.  We'll try staying at a place about 20 miles from Revelstoke called Canyon Hot Springs...a good place to soak our weary bones.

Change of Plans

Patty said the temperature last night got down to 43 degrees...I believe it...all I wanted to do this morning was snuggle in my down sleeping bag.

Our plan was to stay at Kicking Horse Campground in Yoho National Park.  To get there, I had to ride Canada's Highway 1, which at first, had shoulders as wide as the traffic lane.  It was noisy, and maybe a little unpleasant, but adequate.

Kicking Horse is so named because when the Canadians were building their transcontinental railroad,   a Scot named Sir James Hector, a geologist and surgeon, was kicked when trying to retrieve his horse.  The Canadian Pacific had employed Hector to help with railway routes, and though Hector did not particularly like the present day Kicking Horse Pass area for a train route, that's where the line ended up going, complete with its famous spiral tunnels.

Patty met me at the campground, which is near Field and we decided to press on to Golden because it was only 10:00.  The plan was for her to meet me at Emerald Lake Road, but we had a bit of a communication glitch.  She went to get National Park day passes for us, and thinking I was behind her, waited, and waited, and waited.  Meanwhile, I was ahead of her, riding and wondering where in the world she had parked. We finally saw each other on my way back from Emerald Lake.  Boo!  We stopped and saw a natural bridge over the Kicking Horse River which was spectacular.  I had gotten the idea of the ride up to Emerald Lake from one of Trek's Canadian Rockies brochures...I think it's an 8-day sagged trip where all meals and hotels are included...at a cost of $4800.  Emerald Lake was beautiful and the lodge there is rated #2 on Conde Nast.  It was windy, but people out in the canoes looked like they were having a great time.  Canoe rentals were $40/hr.

Patty drove ahead to Golden to find the Kicking Horse Hostel, and I hopped back on Hwy 1 to ride the 40 or so extra miles.  About 10 miles east of Golden, I was riding a lot of up and down, and lost any shoulder.  The highway would alternate between one and two lanes of fairly heavy traffic and the elevation was high enough that sand and gravel was all over what used to be...my shoulder.  I was not afraid I was going to die, everyone gave me room and cyclists ride this route across Canada every year.  But...it was tense and I worked hard to stay focused on the riding, the road, and the traffic.  I was very glad that I hadn't taken anyone else up here to ride.

I got into Golden a little after 2 and Patty just happened to be out riding and yelled at me.  She had checked us into the hostel and we stashed my bags and went for something cold to drink.

Tanya Connor hails from Scotland and runs the Kicking Horse Hostel.  She is well traveled herself and generously provides showers and space to cyclists that are traveling through.  I think there are 7 or 8 other guests here, some that are taking fire fighting training.

We ate dinner at the Wolf Den, where a lot of locals seemed to be eating.  They had live music playing and the menu had about 20 different kinds of hamburgers. Yes.  I.  Did.

The Mother of All Lakes

I wanted to ride up to Moraine Lake today.  It's only about 10 miles from the campground, but it's a heart-thump in' uphill.  Patty met me at the top and...oh...Moraine Lake got our vote for the most beautiful place on this trip.  Matthew, a single, good-looking bus driver for Brewster Tours offered to take our picture and we said, "Yes!"  For more reasons than the photo.  We hiked up Consolation Lakes Trail to get a better view of the lake and the word you kept hearing over and over was, "Wow!"

We have been buying breakfast items from the grocery store in Lake Louise Village...bagels, muffins, a darn good date bar, and fruit.  The prices are pretty high, though.  I saw a young fellow go through the checkout line with a bag of Lay's potato chips...$5.99.  Apricots are $3.85/# and Patty told me my beloved Greek yogurt, which I have been missing, was a whopping $4.99 for a single serving.  Ah, well...ya' gotta eat.

Patty wanted to ride back on the Bow Valley Parkway (Highway 1A) because...it's just hard to beat a beautiful route like that.  So, we rode 15 miles out and then turned around for the 15 miles back.  There is a little resort called Baker Creek Mountain Resort that would be a perfect honeymoon setting for any of you that are getting married.  Or maybe...I could introduce you to Matthew, the bus driver, and you could work on it.  :)

We showered, did laundry, took a 15 minute power nap, (yeah...we do those things EVERY bloody day) and then rode into the Village for dinner at the Lake Louise Inn.  They were having a wedding reception there, but we were really on the fringe of it all.  I had a bison burger and Patty had a regular burger while we watched the time trials of the Tour d' France.  I think it's only fair to tell you that I'll be moving on from the burgers to other culinary delights.  Can I have date bars for dinner?

Happy Independence Day, America!

I had been a little negative about spending three days in Banff over Canada Day.  I had imagined too many people, making too much noise, blocking too many views.  Never mind that I was also blocking someone's view.  I was wrong.  Banff is a bicycle friendly, über international city with Asians, Austrailians, East Indians, Englishmen...the list goes on.  I am sad to be leaving.

We used a bike path that runs from Banff past Vermillion Lakes before it connects with Highway 1A. Green.  Lush.  Patty thought it was the most beautiful route we have ridden.  We are utterly surrounded by beauty.

It was a relatively short ride past Johnston Creek Canyon and Castle Mountain.  I had clocked a little over 41 miles when I checked into Lake Louise Campground.  It felt very good to say "Yes!" When I was asked whether or not I had a reservation.  The campground is full.  It is not as big...and not as clean as the campgrounds were near Banff.  There is a fence that runs the perimeter...to protect the Bears, and to protect the campers.  There are resident grizzly mamas, one, named 72, had two cubs last year.

After Patty got in, I thought we should climb the 3 or so miles to see Lake Louise.  Patty wasn't so sure...traffic was heavy and the road up to the lake is windy with narrow shoulders.  But...she's a good sport and off we went.  What a climb!  And if that wasn't enough, when we got to the lake with the beautiful chateau on the shores, I decided we really needed to hike around the lake to the Fairview viewpoint.  In cycling shoes, no less.  Poor Patty, she puts up with an awful lot.  But...it was worth it. The ride back down to Lake Louise Village was zoom, zoom, zoom and we ate dinner at the Village Bar and Grill.  You can refer to the past two days if you want to know what I ate...:). Yum yum!