Day 4 Update
We're about to start the fourth day of our trip, and so far we've made it from Vancouver to Maple Ridge (where we stopped early on the first day due to having to change our first few flats), Maple Ridge to Hope (where we stayed at a hotel with some friends of ours who met up with us for that leg of the trip), and from Hope to Merritt, for a total of about 320km of very hilly terrain.
A note for any other cyclists attempting routes similar to ours: There's lots of camping around Maple Ridge, but it's not very far from Vancouver. There's plenty more if you can make it further to Harrison Mills, but if you're attempting the Coquihala Highway, I'd recommend staying the night in Hope so you can start as close to the highway as possible the next morning.
The Coquihala Highway (#5) is a route well suited to the very fit or the very foolish. I'll let you guess which category we fall into. It's 123km from Hope to Merritt with absolutely no civilization in between aside from a few rest stations to fill up your water bottles. The distance alone isn't too terrible, but there's a 1200m climb about 30km into the trip that is absolutely savage. 3km of the climb is at 8%, which was enough to make me question my sanity about halfway up. Getting to the top is pretty satisfying though, and the reward is an awesome 30km downhill stretch afterward, followed by a few more big-ish hills before Merritt. Just make sure you bring lunch if you're attempting it in one day.
I've been thinking about which items have been the most useful so far on the trip, and I think the awards go to my rain equipment and my lowest climbing gear. Packing rain gear is sort of like gambling. It's big and bulky, and fenders add weight and drag to your bike, and there's always this little voice in your head saying "you know, it could be sunny for the entire trip!". However, as soon as it rains, fenders and a rain jacket become the greatest inventions in the history of mankind, and we have been dealing with a LOT of rain.
Actually, yesterday at the top of Coquihala Pass (when we were looking DOWN on snow), it started to rain/snow, and then my thermal sleeves and leggings became the best things I packed, but I'm hoping I won't have to rely on them too much more.
It's about time for Andrew and I to hit the road and head for Kamloops. My initial estimate for Kamloops had been 5 days, but it looks like we'll make it in 4 right now, which is pretty surprising! Let's hope the next few days go as smoothly as the last few!
Our next guaranteed internet access is in Banff, where we're hitting up some old Clark Hall Pub connections for a place to crash. I might be able to update again before then, but we're running on a pretty loose itinerary right now, so you never know!
One more thing, I should put a big thank you on here to all the people who have helped us out so far, including total strangers stopping their cars in the rain to give us updates on highway conditions, and local cyclists giving great trave advice (thanks Al!).
Time to get back on the bike!
A note for any other cyclists attempting routes similar to ours: There's lots of camping around Maple Ridge, but it's not very far from Vancouver. There's plenty more if you can make it further to Harrison Mills, but if you're attempting the Coquihala Highway, I'd recommend staying the night in Hope so you can start as close to the highway as possible the next morning.
The Coquihala Highway (#5) is a route well suited to the very fit or the very foolish. I'll let you guess which category we fall into. It's 123km from Hope to Merritt with absolutely no civilization in between aside from a few rest stations to fill up your water bottles. The distance alone isn't too terrible, but there's a 1200m climb about 30km into the trip that is absolutely savage. 3km of the climb is at 8%, which was enough to make me question my sanity about halfway up. Getting to the top is pretty satisfying though, and the reward is an awesome 30km downhill stretch afterward, followed by a few more big-ish hills before Merritt. Just make sure you bring lunch if you're attempting it in one day.
I've been thinking about which items have been the most useful so far on the trip, and I think the awards go to my rain equipment and my lowest climbing gear. Packing rain gear is sort of like gambling. It's big and bulky, and fenders add weight and drag to your bike, and there's always this little voice in your head saying "you know, it could be sunny for the entire trip!". However, as soon as it rains, fenders and a rain jacket become the greatest inventions in the history of mankind, and we have been dealing with a LOT of rain.
Actually, yesterday at the top of Coquihala Pass (when we were looking DOWN on snow), it started to rain/snow, and then my thermal sleeves and leggings became the best things I packed, but I'm hoping I won't have to rely on them too much more.
It's about time for Andrew and I to hit the road and head for Kamloops. My initial estimate for Kamloops had been 5 days, but it looks like we'll make it in 4 right now, which is pretty surprising! Let's hope the next few days go as smoothly as the last few!
Our next guaranteed internet access is in Banff, where we're hitting up some old Clark Hall Pub connections for a place to crash. I might be able to update again before then, but we're running on a pretty loose itinerary right now, so you never know!
One more thing, I should put a big thank you on here to all the people who have helped us out so far, including total strangers stopping their cars in the rain to give us updates on highway conditions, and local cyclists giving great trave advice (thanks Al!).
Time to get back on the bike!
posted by Bryce at
11:28 AM
1 Comments:
Well done so far, by about day 12 you will both be in great shape to handle the fun stuff ahead. Hope you enjoy your climb towards Banff. Kicking Horse Pass is very scenic, be sure to catch a training running through. When I cycled through it was in the opposite direction. This Pass is particularly memorable to me as this was the place I first lost a spoke, on the freewheel side of course, so repairs were made at the little bridge, at the end of that long down hill run.
My tip: whene searching out the grocery stores, honeydew melons make for a very refreshing break.
Second tip: whatch out for those small sharpe rocks that tend to fall from the rock walls.
Travel safe.
Philippe
By
Philippe, at 4:46 PM
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