July 24, 2019
Halcyon Hot Springs - New Denver, BC
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We thought once we got away from Lake Louise we would leave the rain behind. No. We have one more day of rain. We are stalling this morning, waiting for a window of opportunity. I'm not sure we will get one.
Later - We had a steep granny gear climb away from the resort to the main road. If our legs weren't awake at the beginning, they were by the time we hit the road! Every mile we made it without rain was a gift. We didn't dally, but kept right on pedaling. Jim and Genny started with full rain gear. I had dressed in tights, but when Jacinto said he was wearing shorts, I changed. I hated to wear my freshly machine washed tights. They were looking fine inside of their ziplock bag. I wore a wind vest and long gloves. Because we were climbing, I didn't feel chilled. 5 miles, 6 miles, 7 miles. We moved right along, but the inevitable happened. I felt a few rain drops and then a few more. I tried to decide at what point it was truly raining and I should get my coat out. I wasn't cold, so I kept riding.
Genny stopped at a rest area. Timing was such that the first wave of cars from the ferry were passing us. Then here came Jacinto! Check out time this morning was 10 AM - he thought that was far too early. We all left together. It started sprinkling more seriously. I told Jacinto to ride on ahead, no reason for him to get any more wet than he has to.
Pretty soon I gave up on deciding if I was wet (I was) and if it were raining enough to put away the electronics. I reached a new low. I tucked my music speaker inside of the shoulder of my bra strap. I put my Garmin on the other side. There's all sorts of things I do when cycling that I don't do at home. Even as I was mentally shaking my head at myself, I thought I was quite clever about the speaker. It was somewhat sheltered by my vest and helmet and I could hear the music just fine.
Today's ride was undulating. I was on the edge of cold. I didn't want to put my jacket on - then I would still be wet, but it would be sweat from the inside. My vest and shirt were soaked. I wasn't getting out the jacket. I would estimate that we had seven miles of riding in the rain. Then it slacked off, but looked like it could start again at any time.
My oatmeal was burning off and I was thinking about stopping in Nakusp. Jim and Genny had a big breakfast at the hot springs, they weren't hungry at all and didn't want to stop and get cold. I was debating if I wanted to try and snack my way through the last 30 miles, or stop on my own. They took pity on me and stopped at the Paddy Shack. I ordered a donair and pirogies to. Both of those are Canadian foods. Genny gulped down a coffee. Now I have food with me, just in case I get on the wrong side of hungry. I didn't want to eat in Nakusp as our big climb of the day was getting out of town.
I definitely remember the Hilltop Convenience Store - that's where Oren and I stopped in 2016 and I bought an entire bag of ice just to fill my water bottles. Oren, that's where I showed you the little carrot cake that you didn't end up buying.
We were going in the opposite direction today, with rain threatening. It seemed a completely different ride. The only thing familiar was the store.
We still tried to keep on moving. Every mile not in torrential rain is a mile gained. It was raining heavily in the early morning. Luckily, we've only ridden in light rain so far.
Today the vegetation was heavy and green. Lots of tall pine trees with occasional breaks with lake views. After climbing to 2,500 feet, we reached Summit Lake and Summit Ski Area. Then we had a long stretch of mostly flat riding. The forecast had said clearing by 3 PM. I couldn't say it was clearing, but at least it wasn't raining. As we got closer to town, the pavement was drying in a few areas. Genny got so brave as to take off her rain pants and booties.
We were on an uphill when Jacinto called. He had been in town for a couple of hours and was very bored. Why weren't we there yet? He'd been to the store and bought snacks. I was ready to be there and sample all of the food. Jacinto had scouted the town out. There was one restaurant. It looks like we don't need to discuss where to go for dinner.
The sun came out just as we pulled up to Glacier Cabins. Yay! We were in cabin 2. I didn't even pull the bike inside before I asked for a rag. Hopefully this is the last time I have to wipe the entire bike down this trip. The forecast says sun the rest of the trip. Jacinto had a quart of homemade corn chowder, heavy on the bacon. It was delicious. That was from the deli at the store, but tastes like mom made it at home.
We sat outside and sampled all of our food. The donair is what I would call a gyro. The pirogies I've never had before, these were homemade. They looked like little bites of mashed potatoes inside of dough. These were supposed to be bacon, but neither of us saw bacon. They were served with salsa and a creamy sour cream sauce. We finished the soup and my food. I'm always so starving when I get in. It's similar to how ready I am to arrive in town. No matter how many miles I ride, I'm always happy to be there.
Tomorrow we have 52 miles and 4,756 of climbing to Balfour. We are sharing a house with Jim and Genny. That's our only shared housing this trip.
Later - we went to dinner at the only restaurant in town. It's the same one we ate at with Oren in 2016. We even sat at the same table! I'm pretty sure it was the same Asian lady owner. Service was slow both visits. Jacinto knew to ask for a menu from the bar, which was Chinese food. That seemed pretty strange. It seems like bar food would be burgers and that sort of thing. Three of us ordered ginger beef. Jim got the schnitzel.
We had stopped on the way to dinner at a new, well stocked sporting goods store. I asked the clerk when the store opened and was surprised to hear her reply of 25 years. She did allow that they were down at the end of the street previously and had just moved to the new location. I bought a pair of wool socks to replace my riding socks which had developed a hole. With only one of everything, having a hole in my clothing is a problem. At least it wasn't a hole in my shorts!
While I was waiting to check out, I overheard the clerk and a customer discussing how bad the bear problem was in town. The man in front of me said he'd taken to carrying a bear bell everywhere.
We are at the Glacier Cabins tonight. We are in Cabin 2, which has a newly refurbished bathroom with a new tub. Jim says Cabin 4 has a tiny shower that he can hardly turn around in. Lodging has been interesting this trip. In Revelstoke we were in room 128. We had two queen beds, a sofa, and plenty of room to turn around. Jim and Genny were in 125, which was a small room that they hardly fit in. Earlier in the trip, the tables were turned, we had the little room and they had a nice, big room.
I always make sure to ask for a downstairs room and an early check in if possible. Hauling my long bike up the stairs is a real no go. Last night at the cabins, Jacinto and I came up the steep side of the hill. He had to push my bike from behind while I pushed the handlebars. After that Genny pointed out the walking path from the other direction. It had a gentler slope. We exited that direction in the morning. We had cabins 2 + 3 there and I think they were identical.
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Today's ride: 51 miles (82 km)
Total: 632 miles (1,017 km)
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