We spy ocean!

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Sharon:

Can't believe we made it here! Last update, we were sitting in Scott's hotel in Kamloops, tired and sore (I'm pretty sure the injuries on my bottom are what most people would call "saddle sores") and completely oblivious to the mountain ranges we were going to be confronting the next day. And I thought the Rockies were the force to be dealt with!

We started off day 11 by pushing our bikes up the formidable hill that makes up the other side of the valley in Kamloops - it only took us, say, maybe 3 hours! Ugh. Whoever commented that we were going to have massive leg muscles but no arm muscles to mention after such a long bike trip should really try pushing a rather heavy bike loaded with close to 100 pounds of gear up a 65 degree angle hill. For miles. and miles. and miles. and miles... You get the point. Anyway, tired and weary (and well into the afternoon) we finally made it out of Kamloops and out on to the highway.

Our original plan was to take the Coquihalla Highway, so off we went. About ten kilometres in and about 4 hours later (We stopped. A lot.) battling loose gravel on a one foot shoulder, uphill and with traffic so fast it couldn't be identified, we decided to call it a wrap. The real clincher was the bus/RV (who can tell anymore?) that nearly knocked us over. There are only two ways that it could have possibly happened. Option (a) they didn't see us, despite two bright yellow reflective pannier covers, a bright orange bag on the rear rack, and brightly colour clothing and are basically unable top see over the sterring wheel (scary) or (b) they have a deep seeded hatred of cyclists and wanted to run us off the road (really scary, and it worked). Both options weren't very pleasant, so we turned around.

To the traffic that doesn't move over, even though the shoulder is incredibly narrow and you have three lanes to play in: Can we have a word? I'd like to take this outside.

Anyway - after that debacle, we certainly didn't want to head back down into Kamloops (no one wants to push up that hill twice) so we decided to take Highway 1 through the Fraser Canyon. It was going along wonderfully, until a massive, massive hill arose out of nowhere, completing crushing any spirit we might have had left after the Coquihalla incident. Up went the sign ("Tired, give us a ride?") and along came Don and Linda, our new favourite people! We got a boost to Cache Creek and have NEVER been happier! Who knew I could possibly love the drivers of a massive man truck SO much? It was great to meet some great people, after such a draining, bordering on treacherous day.

Anyway, enough stories for one night - which only brings us to the end of day 11 (maybe I should update this more often!). I'll write about our Fraser Canyon experience later!

A couple updates to my original observations...

First, truck drivers in ALBERTA are generally courteous and move over for cyclists. Truck drivers in BC, on the other hand, seem to have a bit of a game going to see who can push the cyclists closer to the ditch (it's not that band and the boost of wind is nice up a hill, but it's certainly a noticeable difference in truck driving etiquette).

Second - we have an updated theory on the urine in a bottle hypothesis. Mike has suggested that perhaps when people chew tobacco, they spit this urine resembling liquid into a bottle. We're unsure. There's only one way to find out. I offered to do the smelling if Mike did the opening, but I don't think that deal is going to very far. If you know the answer, please let us know so we don't have to actually carry out the test....

That's all for now! We made it to Tswwassen ferry terminal (Vancouver) yesterday - on Monday. It's been great and we barely wait to start the destinationless portion of the trip where we can wander around, feckless and fancy free!

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Comments

[Auntie Trish]

Keep It A Mystery!
Way to go Sharon and Mike...what an adventure! My suggestion on the mystery liquid in the bottle...keep it a mystery! I look forward to hearing more, until then, happy cycling

[Joe Schwartz]

way to go you two! life is better seen behind a set of handlebars, keep up the good work!

[Alan]

you left DIE board for this?
Amazing! Do you have much of your itinerary planned? If you happen to swing by the eastern seaboard, let me know!