Day 10: Warming Up for the Hills

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Thanks to Graeme we had a fine selection for breakfast today - porridge, yoghurt, begals and soft boiled eggs. The begal has become a staple of our meals when forced to fend for ourselves. It travels well, is dense and filling and tastes good to boot.

We aimed to leave by 8am and left by 8:20am. Forecast was for some early morning showers after overnight rain. We certainly heard the rain overnight but as we set off from Sicamous there was no rain about.

Today's ride was a short 71kms from Sicamous to Revelstoke along Highway 1 with about 500m of climbing. We travelled easily in the cool morning air and the rain seemed to be holding off. We were all waiting for a significant climb but nothing came. Instead there were a number of small climbs of less than a kilometer that added up to the height gain - this was both unexpected and very much appreciated.

While we did see a goods train and the Rocky Mountaineer today the highlight was certainly Three Valley Lake from a scenery perspective. A close second is the glacier we can see from our hotel in the mountains and coming in third (ahead of the trains) was a 10meter tall Smokey the Bear.

We made such good time that even with multiple stops we hit Revelstoke well before our rooms were ready. We went in to town for some supplies and bumped into Colin. Now Colin is from the Isle of Man and and is 6 months into an epic 2.5 year adventure where he is touring the whole of North and South America. His load and bike combined weigh in at 90kgs! Yes 90Kgs, and we're complaining about the 30kg loads we have - that certainly puts things into perspective.

Another benefit of arriving early was being able to relax in the hot tub. We've done 10 consecutive days riding now covering about 800kms and there are a few aches and pains between us. The hot water and bubbles did wonders.

Everything we have done to date will pale into insignificance with tomorrows ride. We have to climb 1562 meters and cover over 140kms. That will be hard work and a very long day. The plan is for an early dinner and early to bed so we can make an early start in the morning.

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Photos

Smokey the Bear
Childhood memories came flooding back