Wilgress Rest Area to Castlegar, BC
It was very hard to get up this morning. The snooze button on the alarm made that all too easy. But we survived the rain, and things were only slightly wet. On our way into Grand Forks we came across another guy on a bike. We quickly learned he was heading west and had left Trois-Rivière about 40 days ago. Him and Ian spoke french for awhile then we were back on our way. Not for long though.
On the same stretch of road Tyler had his 3rd flat. But this one was 'serious', because he heard a pop-pfffffffft as he was going at speed on a descent. What makes it serious is that we found what the culprit was... A 1.5" nail that was still fully imbedded through and through the tube. As Tyler was dealing with that a gentleman was walking up the road and stopped to chat. Apparently he does the route a few times a day because "it's gentle enough on my knees, and I'll be damned if I am going to pay a gym to use their stair climber!"
Finally in Grand Forks we stopped for some supplies (including our 3rd bottle of sun screen) and some snacks. On our way through town Ian randomly found Chain Reaction, a bike store, where Tyler grabbed another spare tube.
Along the way was Christina Lake. Dark clouds started to form again so we ducked into a rec centre that had a little cafe and an internet stand. After waiting for 45 mins with no change we decided to venture on.
After a slow climb parallel to the lake (awesome view!) we found a sign that informed us we were in the Bonanza Pass and to expect 'quickly changing weather'. The majority of the next few hours were a slow pace of long climbs with the occasional bend. We did quickly get into a healthy groove, which allowed us to actually carry on full conversation. Up to this point we had only made comments in passing when we could. What Ian and Tyler talked about will be between them and the hills...
We actually crossed from one mountain side to another over the Paulson Bridge. The hills are definitely becoming more rocky, and more steep.
After what seemed like days we finally hit the Paulson Summit (1535m). Even though this pass was a constant climb, the overcast sky and cooler winds made it for the best climb yet! Shortly after we started our descent we actually had to stop and put our sweaters on because it was that cool up top!
On our way down we hit a cross-road of the #3 and #3b. A few days ago we were told to take the 3b. It is a bit longer, but you have one less pass. Well 500m onto the 3b we hit a sign for the Strawberry Pass (1500+m). At this point we didn't want to do another ascent. Some discussion went on, and we scrapped the 3b to Trail and continued on the 3 to Castlegar which was downhill the whoooooole way.
In town at a coffee shop we learned there are two mild passes from here Salmo. We finished our drinks (yummm), refilled water, and pushed on through town. We found a good spot on the east side in behind the highway scales.
And here we are! Getting some funny farmer's tans, and eating pasta and pesto.
-posted on the go!
On the same stretch of road Tyler had his 3rd flat. But this one was 'serious', because he heard a pop-pfffffffft as he was going at speed on a descent. What makes it serious is that we found what the culprit was... A 1.5" nail that was still fully imbedded through and through the tube. As Tyler was dealing with that a gentleman was walking up the road and stopped to chat. Apparently he does the route a few times a day because "it's gentle enough on my knees, and I'll be damned if I am going to pay a gym to use their stair climber!"
Finally in Grand Forks we stopped for some supplies (including our 3rd bottle of sun screen) and some snacks. On our way through town Ian randomly found Chain Reaction, a bike store, where Tyler grabbed another spare tube.
Along the way was Christina Lake. Dark clouds started to form again so we ducked into a rec centre that had a little cafe and an internet stand. After waiting for 45 mins with no change we decided to venture on.
After a slow climb parallel to the lake (awesome view!) we found a sign that informed us we were in the Bonanza Pass and to expect 'quickly changing weather'. The majority of the next few hours were a slow pace of long climbs with the occasional bend. We did quickly get into a healthy groove, which allowed us to actually carry on full conversation. Up to this point we had only made comments in passing when we could. What Ian and Tyler talked about will be between them and the hills...
We actually crossed from one mountain side to another over the Paulson Bridge. The hills are definitely becoming more rocky, and more steep.
After what seemed like days we finally hit the Paulson Summit (1535m). Even though this pass was a constant climb, the overcast sky and cooler winds made it for the best climb yet! Shortly after we started our descent we actually had to stop and put our sweaters on because it was that cool up top!
On our way down we hit a cross-road of the #3 and #3b. A few days ago we were told to take the 3b. It is a bit longer, but you have one less pass. Well 500m onto the 3b we hit a sign for the Strawberry Pass (1500+m). At this point we didn't want to do another ascent. Some discussion went on, and we scrapped the 3b to Trail and continued on the 3 to Castlegar which was downhill the whoooooole way.
In town at a coffee shop we learned there are two mild passes from here Salmo. We finished our drinks (yummm), refilled water, and pushed on through town. We found a good spot on the east side in behind the highway scales.
And here we are! Getting some funny farmer's tans, and eating pasta and pesto.
-posted on the go!
Location:Castlegar,Canada
1 comment:
great pace fellas! im enjoying your photos ....easily excited!!!
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