New Denver - Balfour, BC - British Columbia 2019

July 25, 2019

New Denver - Balfour, BC

Heart

Comment

Today was a hard day. I'm thankful we rode it in the sun instead of rain. Now to backfill.

Jim and Genny ate downtown. I tried to whittle down the oatmeal supply. Jacinto had a variety of leftovers to eat. Three of us were out the door in the sunshine slightly after 8 AM. The remaining person was drinking coffee and had one eye open.

It was four blocks from our cabin to the highway. Genny's computer register 12% on the climb. Talk about a rude awakening for the legs! The first section was very steep, IMO. Perhaps it was just getting the legs warmed up. We knew there was a 1,600 foot climb over 10 miles, so we were mentally prepared to work. Today was advertised as 4,7xx feet of climbing by RWGPS. The elevation gains have been wildly over estimated by the mapping program this tour. Not that I'm complaining - 3,000 feet is a pleasant climbing day. More than that and it starts to feel like a death march to me.

Trying to be factual about the climb, there was a stiff uphill to start and then any number of level and slightly downhill areas where we got a break. I was in and out of the middle chain ring many times today. Genny stopped at mile 3. I was happy for the rest. I also remembered at that point to take a couple of the Hammer brand Anti Fatigue pills. The temperature was 60ish, the sun was shining, and we were riding mostly in the shade due to the tall mountain cliffs next to the road. The road surface continued to be delightful almost new pavement. Traffic was occasional. Ever since we left Highway 1, the traffic has been notably light, even for a country highway.

Up and down. Down and up. We stopped once at a beaver mound. I thought I saw beavers frolicking in the water. Genny says they were ducks. Probably she is correct - I have an eye appointment when I get back. If I can't tell the difference between a beaver and a duck, I will be getting a stronger prescription!

At almost exactly mile 10, we hit the top. Hurray! We had a long 20 mile downhill. I loved how gradual it was, I hardly touched the brakes. Genny said she felt cheated as the downhill was so gradual she had to pedal the entire distance. We did go through a one way road construction area where they were replacing a bridge. The flag man told us to follow the road grader as the cars would be driving on the wrong side of the road. We saw one convoy of cars pass by, then nothing. I didn't think too much about it because traffic was light all day. We were toodling along, perfectly happy. Then we came to another one way area with more construction. I think they'd been holding traffic all that time for us to get through. Thank you!

We had a slightly noticable headwind on the way down. We stopped at a rest area that was muddy from all of the rain. Genny and I tried to find a good place to cross with our bikes, but finally had to give up and just cross. There was a car set up for support for bike riders, they had bike parking, a work stand, and snacks set out. As we were getting ready to leave, 5-7 young men pulled up on bikes that weigh about the same as one of my wheels. You should have seen how they were flinging their bikes this way and that way. One man asked the mechanic if he had a spare cassette as his was acting funny. Ah, the life of the supported bike rider . . . .

I was pleased to hear that Jim had scouted out a bistro only one block off route in Kaslo at mile 30. I'm not sure if I wanted off the bike or if I wanted food - but stopping was a top notch idea. Sadly, the food was disappointing. I ordered a steak sandwich that had two thin pieces of meat. Jim ordered a BLT that was also skinny on ingredients. He ordered carrot cake in Oren's honor.

Unbeknownst to us at the time, while we were in the bistro, Jacinto passed us by. I had checked on his Strava and it said last updated 1 hour 51 minutes ago. I thought that meant he was still on the climb. I wish Strava would add a mileage feature to their tracking. Elevation would be nice also, then I could tell if he was still on the climb or not.

I had no desire to get back on the bike. We had 22 miles to go. The profile showed quite a few ups and downs. I said outloud that since we were riding by the lake, the climbing shouldn't be bad. Many years ago a man told me that riding around lakes is always flat because if there was much climbing, a lake wouldn't be there, it would be a river. That sounded reasonable at the time = but today I am here to tell you that he was dead wrong. There is plenty of climbing to be had going alongside Kootaney Lake. Far too much climbing for someone who had just climbed the hill to Silverton!

At mile 42 we arrived at Ainsworth Hot Springs. We had seen a sign advertising ice cream and espressos. Jim stopped to ask if we would like ice cream . . . no, at this point, I'm ready to get there. I've heard of the hot springs and thought it was more of a town, like Radium Hot Springs. No, it is just a wide spot in the road with the hot springs and a couple of lodging places and a couple of places to eat. We had 10 miles to go. Boy, was I ready to be there. For me, this was the toughest day of the tour. I counted my blessings again that we had a good weather day and that the only factor was elevation gain.

Ten more miles. I can do it. I ate a Perpetuum tablet. We had an up and a down, and then a 400 foot up. I said that with confidence as we took a break. But what I didn't know . . . . we were going down into a narrow canyon and crossing Coffee Creek. Then we had a narrow climb back out of the canyon. The saving grace here is that traffic was light and what traffic there was moved slowly. I was happy this didn't turn out to be another Ten Mile Hill (outside of Golden).

We were just starting our last downhill and Jacinto called. ??? He was already at the Acorn House. Where were we? How could he be there already? He must have passed us while we were eating. Four more miles - we will be there soon. I wish. We had more rolling climbs. I'm SO, SO ready to be there. We bicycled past the food in town. Ha. I don't want to ride all the way back there, or walk either. Maybe I will have oatmeal for dinner. Wait! Here's an old school bus. It say Kootaney Gourmet. That sounds like food, although it looks like a plant store, there are so many flowers outside.

Perhaps a quarter mile past there was the house we had rented for the evening. $200. for a two bedroom house. We parked inside the covered entry way. Jacinto was sitting there, tapping his toes, and eating. I didn't catch the owners' names, but they were extra nice. We have soap for the washer and the offer of a car to drive to dinner. I'm the one who jumped right on that offer. I think the others would have walked, but I've had plenty of exercise today. Thank you!

Jacinto is up and drinking coffee. We are out the door.

I have new socks AND I can see my shadow. It’s a good day already.

We were on the steep part of the climb. But this was worth stopping.

The sun was shining brightly on the water, but it didn’t show up here.

We took great pains to get a photo of me riding with the magnificent background.

Having a photo session was a good break from the climb.

A beaver dam. I thought I saw beaver, Genny says they were ducks playing in the water.

We rode through 12 km of construction with about 3 miles of milled pavement. I was extra happy when we got off of the milled pavement.

Today's ride: 53 miles (85 km)
Total: 685 miles (1,102 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	1
Comment on this entry	Comment	0