26th – 27th July 2018

Revelstoke to Sicamous 74kms

Now for a change, I am not going to complain about these Canadian hills. We probably had the best riding day so far, today, with most of it down hill, weaving around the hills, in a valley. It was very nice right up to 10:30am.

Art had us all up and going before 8am, so we had smashed out 50kms by lunch time, with just a few short stretch and snack breaks. The traffic had really started to increase by 10:30am, and after our long leisurely lunch break, it was quite a lot worse.

Oh poop, this means uphill for a bloody long way. Grrrr!

After a small conference, about where to stop for lunch, Will spotted a rest stop 6 more kilometres on, so we all agreed to smash it out, and came into Craugellachie and The Last Spike rest area. It was nice and grassy, and Art managed to snaffle us a shaded spot with a table. There was also a small gift shop, that sold cold drinks and ice creams. Will had a hankerin’ for an ice cream, and sorted that straight away.

 

 

Some nice downhill runs, along a very picturesque lake and river, with the green mountains, looks amazing hey? Will and John have lots of discussions about the geography, bloody nerds.

 

 

We passed a couple of tourist attractions, but didn’t stop. It was getting hotter by the second.

We relaxed and enjoyed ourselves, knowing we only had another 20 or so kilometres, heading downhill-ish. It really was getting hot, and we were all grateful that Art had pushed us to start early. The breeze had picked up into a slight head wind again, and there was a smokey haze on the hills. Traffic was stupidly busy, getting annoying, so we jumped off the number one, onto a parallel side road, for a much more relaxing ride. It was good while it lasted, but finally we had to get back on the highway, and rolled into Sicamous, and found our campground at Joe Schmucks Roadhouse. Perfect. 

 

 

An historical site of the railway, from 1885. It was a welcome shady lunch break.

 

 

A great gimmicky name, the food was good, the grass was soft, and we had a view, and shade. Not so Schmucky. 

A cold beer, set up our little homes, and have showers. Then it was time to catch up on this blog, have a couple more coldies, and a nice pub dinner. At last an easier day. My butt still hurts, but my legs did better. Wait till tomorrow!

Sicamous to Pritchard 101kms

We had a good sleep at Joe Schmucks, and got up early again to beat the heat. It has slowly been getting hotter, and with all the hills, it is taxing. Yesterday it had taken us all day to ride around Lake Shuswap, which was really pretty, and today, we just seemed to be dealing with traffic, trains and long slow hills. 

 

 

Uuuuuupppppp, down, uuuuuuupppppp, down…..all day long.

We went through Salmon Arms, which reminded me of the old TV show, Beach Combers. Logs all floating in the bays, and lots of trucks loaded with all types of wood. It was a nice medium size town, and we found a fantastic grocery store, with a cafe for lunch. Heading on through the town, we had a cool and speedy, down hill. At one point, Will and I were busting along at 54kms/hr, in a 50 kay zone, alongside a cop car. Oops, but it’s Betty, not me, fine her. Coming right into town at the same speed as the local traffic, seemed good, until  the car in front brakes suddenly. I had time, but Will had to engage his ABS, and YellowDawg, let out a painful yowl, and slowed up just in the nick of time. Phew, close call number one, and note to self, don’t get too carried away downhill in the traffic.

 

 

To get up these long, long climbs, I’ve taken to blowing raspberries, making horse noises, along with the traditional swearing and spitting.

From Salmon Arms, there wasn’t a lot, and our campground, Ponderosa Pines, was in the middle of nowhere. Our last chance for groceries or any sort of shopping, was Chase, and it was halfway down a huge, fast, and fun, downhill run. Art and John, always in the lead, had stopped under a sign, in the shade, and were waving frantically, as Will and I went speeding by. Will stopped, but Betty wasn’t having it, so I carried on until it leveled out and I found some shade. It was really hot. I skulled a bottle of water, and it wasn’t long before Art and Will rolled by. No John. I followed on, thinking John would catch me up the next hill.

About 6kms from our destination, there was an Esso service station, and I spotted Wills bike, so I pulled in. It was hot, and I was keen for a cold drink. Art and Will were sitting in the shade, waiting for John and I. I hadn’t seen John, so Art checked his phone, and sure enough, John had sent a message. He’d stopped at the grocery store, because he had “a hankering” for something nice for dinner. He is a good shopper, and always comes out with little surprises in the food department.

 

 

These were the last two photos for the day, I was over it big time, and it was bloody hot. Are we there yet?

Along comes John, and we share out his extra load of food, beer and wine. What a jet! Then we head along to finish the day. The Ponderosa Pines Provincial campground, looked a bit dodgy, a bit run down, but was really relaxing and quiet. We had a delicious dinner of sausage pasta, some nice cool beers, and a couple of glasses of wine. We all slept well.