We were up early this morning and on the road by 7:15. Good thing we did. It was a hard day! I will rephrase that "it was an extremely hard day"! Training in Southwestern Ontario or on turbo trainers cannot prepare you for the climbs on Hwy 3. The first 18 km to Sunshine Valley was uphill. And I mean no let up. 6 kilometres of this was at a 7% grade. Then we had a downhill where we were a little chilly and then the climbing started again. At times we walked and at other times our "Granny Gear" was our best friend. Through BC "Granny" will get a workout. By about 47 km we were ready for the day to end. If a suitable "gorilla campsite" (wilderness) had been found we would have stopped. We were forced to continue, however, as the shoulders were either rock face or cliffs. With some riding and some "pushing of the bikes" we made it to Allison Pass Summit (elevation of 1341 metres). After a celebration and picture taking, we coasted 7 km to Coldspring Campground in Manning Park. We are camped in a facility not yet open. There is snow beside our tent.
Met a biker today about 10 km outside of Hope who had his back rack break and he was trying to temporarily put it back on so he could continue. His destination was unclear to us. Seemed like he was just wandering. Another biker passed us hoping he would have a flat so that he would have an excuse to stop. Tough day!!!
Daily Distance = 67.65 km. Time on the bike (or pushing it) = 6 hours 58 minutes. Actual Time = 10 hours 45 minutes. Average Speed = 10.28 km. Maximum Speed = 52.42 km.
Kevin = 1 Sue = 0
