Day 3 - Illusions of Grandeur

Today marked the first day of climbing and after two days of riding in the Fraser River Valley, a trip up to the summit if the Coquihalla Pass at 4,081 feet and then a descent down to our campsite and first rest day in Merritt. 

Serge, Pierre-Alain and I decided that we would form the "EFM Club" (Every F^&*%ng Mile) so to start the day we headed downhill, back into Hope to climb the section of the route that we missed yesterday in taking the scenic Kettle Valley Railway Tunnels.  After the 13 mile detour and 500' of climbing at the end, we started the 23-mile climb up towards Merrit, 68 miles away.

Despite a couple of mile-long sections with an 8% and 9% grade, I found that the most difficult part of the route was the long slog of 2%-4% grades in the first ten miles of the climb.  With the mountains rising 2,000 - 3,000 feet on either side of the highway, despite climbing, one had the visual perception of a nice descent.  These "false flats" played mind games on us.  Our eyes were telling us that the ride should be an easy, fast downhill, but our legs, heart and speedometer were telling us something different.  I even got off the bike a few times to see if my brake was rubbing, as I felt like I was having a very bad day as I couldn't seem to generate any speed "descending".  Relief, of sorts, finally came after checking the altitude on my bike computer, which told me I was climbing. 

The weather was variable, cloudy and in the mid-50s up to the top of the pass, and in sunny and in the mid-70s as we descended into the interior of BC.

As usual, the views were spectacular as we climbed to a high point of 4,081' with snow on the mountains only about 600' above us.

The pay-off for all that climbing and mental anguish was a 18-mile descent - I am including the route profile to give my cycling friends in New Jersey a perspective on the day.

We arrived in camp and our first "Rest Day" tomorrow, to a howling wind, which made setting up the tent rather interesting.  I had to secure it to a chain-link fence to make sure it didn't get blown all the way to Banff.

Here is a shot of the campsite to give you all a perspective of what we do after our day's riding.
They have set up a "Beer Fund" ($2.50 per ice cold beer) with all the profits used to fund a Pizza Party on the evening before we set sail to Newfoundland.  Judging from all the carbohydrates being replaced after the days efforts, I expect that there will be plenty of Pizza in Nova Scotia.

I have logged some 328 miles since the Tour started with the trip to Victoria last Thursday, and have loved every minute of it, but am looking forward to the well-earned rest day tomorrow,  during which we will do much needed laundry, probably ride about 30 miles touring the area, and have planned for a BBQ at the campsite tomorrow evening.

Day 2 - Beyond Hope (BC)

It was good to learn last night that my tent is waterproof. After a night of rain, and cooking breakfast for the group (French toast which involved cracking 7 ½ dozen eggs) at the crack of dawn, the skies opened up once again and we rode in 55°F temperature and rain.

The ride up the north side of the Fraser River was spectacular, and somewhat challenging as the mileage on the cue sheet indicating when to turn was up to three miles off at times, as well it is evident that I have been away from Canada too long as I am unfamiliar with the language – apparently “veer right” means to turn right to stay on the same road. Despite the vagueness we managed to stay on the right roads and end up in the campsite damp, but quite early.


The last three miles of the ride were a climb up the Kettle Valley Railway tracks which had been converted into a bike trail, cut into the side of the Coquihalla canyon walls. The railway was built between 1913 and 1916, and the terrain was chosen in the 1880s, not because it was particularly well suited for a railway, but because it was far enough north of the US boarder that the Canadian Prime Minister, John A. MacDonald felt that it did not risk being captured by "the aggressive Americans". 

The trail took us through four railway tunnels, and when in fresh air, cliffs to the left (uphill) and cliffs on the right (downhill) with an arboreal rainforest growing in them down in the canyon with raging torrents of the Coquihalla river below.

It was the longest time I have ever taken to ride such a short distance – not because the ride was difficult, but because the views required stopping every 100’ or so to get a picture, a video or just to drink in the scenery.

Tomorrow is a climbing day with long grades of 7% to 9% up the remainder of the Coquihalla canyon and top our first rest day. The forecast is for 70°F and sunny skies, so after two days of rain, we will finally get to see the mountain tops.

I am looking forward to getting to a Laundromat and getting everything dry once again.

Day 1 - Carpe Diem

Finally an accurate weather forecast. Our ride out of Vancouver was in 50°F overcast skies, with the promise of rain on the horizon. We were not let down.

Shortly after our group photo at the Totem Poles at the Museum of Anthropology, and trip out of Vancouver proper, we were met with a driving rain as we headed by the Simon Fraser University Campus. Today was intended to be a fairly short (51 mile ride) up the north side of the Fraser River. In keeping with my promise to “Tour’ rather than ride head down, I kept on the lookout for some interesting sights to see along the way.

Thirty miles into the ride, we passed by a Hot Rod show (mostly new Ford Mustangs) in a parking lot along side the route. Not to miss out on things, we looped back and took a little tour. The most interesting part of the show were the “Hot Rod Hotties” who were the main attraction.

After about 48 miles of riding, mostly in the rain, we (Serge and I) passed by a sign for the Stave Lake Power Station Museum, a national historic side, 10 Km off the route. Figuring that we would only be by this part of Canada once, we opted for the detour. The other option was to arrive in camp early and waiting around in the rain. Little did we know that getting to the museum, involved a rather significant climb up and over a big hill, and then down a pretty fast and long descent to the bottom of the dam. My biggest fear that we would arrive there only to find out that since it was a Sunday, the Museum was closed. We arrived at the museum, and were literally the only ones there. After trying to dry out, we opted to visit the museum. The guides were very friendly and once they learned of our treks off the beaten path to visit the museum, they gave us a private tour of the facilities. The original power station was built in 1910, and designed for a service life of 30 years. It was finally closed with a new generating station opened up right beside it in 2000. The scale of the room containing the turbines was difficult to grasp – enormous would be an understatement.

With the overcast skies (OK rain!) the mountains to the north of the lake formed by the dam were framed with wisps of clouds. That view alone was well worth what turned out to be a 20 mile detour with about 2,000’ of climbing.

After our team finished cooking for the group, I spent the next hour or so cleaning my bike and cleaning and lubing the chain, I then helped out two other riders by doing theirs, and lubing first my bike and then a couple of others.


The mosquitoes are biting as I am typing this (it is 10 PM now) so I will call it a night as we have to get up at 6:00 AM to cook breakfast for the group before tomorrow’s 60 mile ride.

Uploaded at the end of Day 2.

Day 0 - Orientation

Today was spent indoors learning the ropes of the "housekeeping" part of the tour.

Rider Safety:
Observe all traffic laws, keep aware of where you and the riders around you are, and above all,
Don't Crash.

The Layout of the Truck:
Where our stuff is stored while we are riding, and where the kitchen gear and mobile mechanics equipment is for working on our bikes when they need it.

The Camp:
Each campsite we stay in will have its own specific peculiarities, but we should pitch our tents when we get into camp (unless it is raining heavily, when we should wait for a break in the rain).  Apparently the wildlife we should be most fearful of are not bears, coyotes, elks, mountain goats or skunks which we should see along the way, but the fearsome chipmunk.  We have been advised to keep no food or food wrappers in our tents, or anything else that we care for.  On previous tours, these savage beasts have been known to gnaw through tents, clothing and backpacks to get at food wrappers.  It would not be too much fun to face the hoards of mosquitoes (apparently the Provincial bird in the summer months in Saskatchewan) with a gaping hole in the tent.

Feeding the "Peleton":
Unlike on the Tour de France where the riders have personal chefs and personalized menus to replenish the calories burned in the day, we basically cook for ourselves.  Our drivers get the needed provisions, the six Galley Teams each cook dinner and breakfast for the entire group once every 6 days.

I am on Galley Team 1 and offered to be the Crew Chief, which I believe to be a Jack of All Trades helping out where needed, and letting the drivers know what is running short in provisions.  As is tradition on the Tour (and unbeknownst to me when I volunteered to be the Crew Chief) the first meal (this evening's) prepared for the group is prepared by the 6 Crew Chiefs.

Tonight's menu was Spaghetti and sauce and Salad with a homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette.  The pots we use are about 20 gallons and take about 4 minutes to fill from a hose running full out.  It is quite the challenge to drain 10 lbs (dry) of cooked spaghetti into the colander, but we managed to do so without spilling any on the ground. Given the nature of our kicthen floor, the "5 second rule" does not apply.  Having learned the ropes of the kitchen and cooking duties, our team gets to cook the first dinner and breakfast.  Tomorrow night we camp by a fish farm so fresh trout is on the menu.

Everyone devoured the meal in preparation for tomorrow's official start and 50 mile ride.

We were once again blessed with perfect weather, despite being indoors all day.  I wonder if everyone would have been as hungry if it had been raining sideways with a 30 mph wind.  From what I have experienced of the group, I think so.

 Off to my last sleep in a real bed until the end of July in Thunder Bay.

Did I mention that I am having a great time and that this is living up to my expectations.  the next two days are riding up the delta of the Fraser River Valley, after which the climbing begins.  This may be my last posting for a few days as I am unsure of what type of network access we will have.

Eastward Ho!!!

Prologue Day 4 - "Ad Mari Usque ad Mare"

Couldn't think of a better way to title today's blog than the Latin inscription on the Canadian Coat of Arms "From Sea to Sea."

Since I did not post any photos from yesterday's blog, I am going a little overboard today.

After a restless night at the Victoria Youth Hostel (20 to a room), we started off with a coffee and scone at Starbucks, and then I took our Swiss riders on a brief tour of Victoria before our trip to Mile 0 and the rear wheel dip in the Pacific.

We stopped in to the Empress Hotel to tour the interior - while visiting the tea room we learned that Pamela Andersen's mother goes there often, and apparently thinks she is a celebrity.  The folks at the Empress were very accommodating when they found out what we were doing for the next 10 weeks, and let us sit in the dining room for a photo.  I don't think the dining at the campsites will be quite this luxurious, although we just posed for the photo and did not eat anything.

Our first view of the water was framed by the snow capped peaks of the Olympic Range in Washington, across the Juan de Fuca Strait - another spectacular day, weather and scenery-wise.

We then headed over to the Mile 0 Marker for the official start of our trek east and a photo-op for the seventeen of us who opted for the Mile 0 Option.

Behind the sign is a little brass plaque which reminded us of what lay ahead. 

After that it was off to the beach for the wheel dip, and then the riding began.  We arrived at the ferry crossing 1 minute after the closing time for boarding the 11 AM ferry so we had to chill for an hour.

The views from the ferry were just as spectacular as yesterday.  Today's ride was a fairly flat 61 miles.  The most challenging parts were waiting - 1 hour for the ferry, and 90 minutes for a shuttle to get us through a tunnel with no bike lane. 

We arrived back in Vancouver shortly before 5 PM where we met the other 20+ riders who will be joining us on the trip.



Tomorrow we have an all day Orientation starting at 8:00 AM where breakfast will be served from the mobile kitchen/galley off the back of the truck, and ending in the early evening with a dinner - again off the back of the truck.

After that we start riding again on Sunday - our first stop is in Mission some 50 miles up the Fraser Valley.  I am unsure when where we will get network access once we are on the road so the postings at that point may be somewhat sparse.

So far things are beyond my expectations.

Prologue Day 3 - A Connected World

The rain predicted yesterday came through with sunny partly cloudy skies. The ride to Victoria involved 2 new bridge crossings,a shuttle through a tunnel, a 90 minute ferry crossing, and 47 miles of great cycling.

Just 16 miles into the ride Serge (one of the Swiss riders) started to have an odd noise coming from his bike. While waiting for the tunnel shuttle, I figured out, finally, that the root fUse of the noise was a damaged front dérailleur, It would no longer stay in position, the cage was rubbing on the large chain ring, and it would.not shift out of the small chain ring - not a good way to start a 5,000 mile adventure.

The problem solver/engineer in me put together a plan. I called Eric, my son, at home on New Jersey and asked if he could Google bike shops in Victoria, find one withthe specific part needed (not a common one) and text me back with the specifics. Eric likes challenges like this too, and within 15 minutes, came back with a bike shop, street address,and phone number.
I called the bike shop, told them of our predicament and got things coordinated for repairs once we got into Victoria.
Kudos to the staff and mechanics at Fort Street Cycle - great service - they had Serge's bike fixed in 30 minutes and even found and fixed another problem that we hadn't mentioned.

The evening was spent having dinner and a beer (or two - carbo loading) with my High School physics teacher who I hadn't seen since I was last out in Victoria in 1978.

He gave me a great walking tour of the town, educating me on lots of it's unique aspects among other things showing me the last section of street paved with the wooden equivalent of a cobblestone. Did I mention that there were lots of huge trees around here.

Photos and final editing will take place when I get back to Vancouver - this was "tap-typed" on my iTouch.

Another sunny day for the ride back after the "mile 0" wheel dip in the Pacific.

Prologue - Day 2 Vancouver June 23rd

(Posting delayed 1 day due to limited internet access)


Today (the 23rd) was another day of what is defined as Rain and mid 50°s F in Vancouver, at least according to the weather forecast. We must have been getting it all wrong in New Jersey as I always thought rain meant water falling from the sky. In Vancouver it means sunny skies and balmy temperatures hovering in the high 70s low 80s. It made for a wonderful morning helping other riders get their bikes set up, I even managed to true a wheel that had a wobble in it.

The payoff for the mornings work was another spectacular ride along the same route from yesterday. I got to play “experienced” (from my knowledge gained on yesterday’s ride) tour guide and interpreter for our two Swiss riders and our rider from Newfoundland.

In order to save time at the end of the day, I have decided to limit the daily photos from the ride, etc, to the two best – this will not be a simple choice picking from the 26 photos today.

Here is a shot of the Lion’s Gate Bridge with snow capped peaks in the background taken from the bike path along the shore line of Stanley Park – we rode one lap around the perimeter and then another on the access roads up to and over the bridge into North Vancouver and back.

This is the four of us from today’s 32 mile ride (Serge, Murray, Pierre-Alain, and me) in the heart of Stanley Park in front of one of the many towering Douglas Firs. Now I know where they get the wood for the wonderful Totem Poles that are throughout the park.


Three hours from now we are off to Victoria in the “rain” for the Mile 0 option, so progress-wise I guess, in theory that would put me at minus mile 49 today as it is just under 50 miles to Victoria and the "Mile 0" marker of the Trans Canada Highway (which is ironically measured in Kilometers!)

Vancouver at last!

I arrived in Vancouver at 10 AM after a great flight and about 3 hours of sleep.  I managed to finally relax after witnessing my bike box being loaded into the luggage compartment of the plane in Newark.

The scenery on the flight itself was like playing a "Tour du Canada" movie backwards,  It was an odd sensation looking down out the window thinking that in a few weeks I'd be on my bike riding east  on some of those roads. (Click on the photo to get an enlarged view)

A couple of hours of flat as a pancake prairies and then we flew over the Canadian Rockies - I am glad I focused on hill work in New Jersey as part of my training regimen.

At Immigration at the Vancouver Airport, the immigration agent asked me where I would be going while in Canada.  Not one to miss an opportunity for a funny reply, I responded "St. John's".  He looked at me like I had three heads and I am sure was wondering "If you are going to St. John's, why on earth did you fly to Vancouver???"   After explaining to him that I was riding in the "Tour du Canada" he asked all sorts of biking related questions.  I think the agent beside him would have joined on the ride if he could.

Taxi service from the airport to the UBC residences where we are staying was very efficient.  I arrived shortly after 11:30 local time, only to find that check-in was at 3:00 P.M.  They were kind enough to let me, along with another rider from the group unpack and set up our bikes in the "lobby" of the dorms.

After about an hour of assembling the bike, I was ready to go out and explore Vancouver - my intent was to ride about 5 miles to make sure everything was working well on my bike.  The scenery here is spectacular, with the Strait of Georgia to the west, the coastal range to the north (still some snow on the peaks) and Vancouver to the east.  My 5 mile jaunt ended up being 30 miles.  The bike lanes are very well marked and I managed to ride along the shoreline to the north, over the bike lane on the Burrard Inlet Bridge, through Stanley Park amongst the towering Douglas Firs (Canadian equivalent of Redwoods, eh!) and finally over the Lions Gate suspension bridge (again a dedicated bike lane) to North Vancouver where I turned around and rode back to campus.

It was great to get out on the bike again, and breathing the sea air - well except for the return on the Lions Gate which happens to have a sewage treatment plant underneath it.

The lesson for the day is - even if you are only going out for 5 miles, bring your camera!!!  I will probably repeat the route tomorrow so I can take pictures then.

Four days until "Orientation", two days until the "Mile 0" equivalent of a "Prologue" to Victoria.

Off to dinner and a good night's sleep - The tent/camping starts on Sunday.

Bill

T Minus 19 Hours and counting.

The past few days have been spent tying up loose ends (mainly packing related, and making sure things run smoothly at home during my 10 week absence)  before I leave the house at 3:45 tomorrow morning for my flight to Vancouver.

I think the best way to give you a perspective on things is through pictures:

This is basically everything I have to take for the trip, and more importantly fit into my bike box and bag to travel and into two laundry baskets during the tour. Bike at the back, camping gear in front of the bike, bike clothes and spare parts on the left and camp clothes and shoes on the right.  I have also packed a massage stick, and a Wiffle Ball and Bat for entertainment at the campsites.

 The constraints are that our clothes (bike and camp) must fit into no more than two laundry baskets, and to get there I can only bring my bike box, a duffel bag, a carry on and my computer case.  The challenge was to figure out how to fit all the stuff in the allotted space.

 The airline has restrictions on the weight of each item, so I trotted out the bathroom scale to make sure I complied.  I am already paying extra for the bike box (max 70 lbs.), so I tried to optimize everything between that and my checked duffel bag (50 lbs.).

It is apparent that the hours I spent playing TETRIS have finally yielded some fruit, as I "passed" the first challenge - making sure everything fit into the two laundry baskets.
 .

The next challenge was to get everything into the luggage available and check the weight.  After much trial and error, success!   The bike box, fully packed with all the "voids" filled by my clothing and tent, weighs in at 66 lbs. and the duffel with my sleeping bag and other bulky stuff at 35 lbs.  Thankfully, all this goes in the truck, and we don't have to ride it to the next campsite each day.

  

One final check against my packing list and then the box gets taped up and loaded in the car for my 3:45 A.M. departure to the Airport.  Many thanks to Eric for being my chauffeur tomorrow.   I doubt I will get much sleep, if any tonight - par for the course for the past week or so - but will make up for it on the plane tomorrow.

After 10 months of preparation, it is hard to believe that this adventure will start tomorrow (in reality it started 10 months ago).  In recognition of that I have changed the Blog Summary to reflect the change in status from "plan" to "reality".  I am looking forward to actually meeting the other riders this week!  Thank y'all for your kind words of encouragement and support to date.

If you want to get automatically notified when I add to the blog - it may be somewhat sporadic during the ride, as I am not sure of when/where we will have network access - you can add the "RSS" feed to your e-mail or web browser. 

The address for the RSS feed is:

http://mysummerbehindbars.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
with this set up whenever I post some news you will get a notification.

Have a great summer!

Bill

The Revolutionary Ramble - Doh!

I rode the Revolutionary Ramble this weekend expecting it to be the icing on the cake of my 5 ½ months of training for the tour. The ride was a fairly hilly 65 mile route through a lot of the sites where Washington and the Continental Army spent their winter in New Jersey in 1781. It was fairly interesting along some of the more rural roads of the route, where we could see what appeared to be defensive berms built up by the opposing armies.

Despite the peaceful surroundings of the woods, there was the occasional marker reflecting on more troubled times for the area.

Specifically a memorial marker to a Continental Army Captain killed while trying to suppress the Pennsylvania Line Mutiny.

As you can see I have already started the transition to "touring" which means taking the time to stop and learn a little bit of the history of the areas through which we are riding.


On Friday, I worked on my bike - cleaning and lubing the chain, and cleaning the bike itself as it was getting rather dirty. Early Saturday morning, I rode 13.5 miles down to the start of the ride, and met up with the other riders from our cycling club who had signed up for the "Ramble.".

The morning started out OK, but for some reason, I did not feel quite as strong as usual, always searching for an easier gear to ride in. As well I was lagging behind, which was not typical of this year given my training for the tour. We finished the 65 miles, ate a big lunch (meatball sandwich and salad with a balsamic vinaigrette), and then headed uphill for the 18 mile ride back home.

The ride itself can best be summed up by that American Icon, Homer Simpson...

With about 10 miles left, I felt something odd coming from my rear wheel when braking, and decided to stop and have a look. Off the bike, I performed the first check, spinning the wheel to see if it would spin freely. Normally it should spin without any hesitation until the brake is applied. It did not and stopped immediately – apparently for the first 85 miles, the wheel was rubbing against my brake shoe.

That probably explained the lack of energy and my lagging at the back. Once I opened up the brakes, and the wheel was not obstructed by them, I got all my energy and strength back for the last three (Big) hills to get home.  Lesson learned – sometimes it pays to check the basics when things aren’t going well, and not just assume you are having an off day. It did make for a very good training ride with all that added resistance!

Apparently the airline recommended that I arrive at the airport at 4:30 AM since I am travelling with over-sized luggage. That will mean leaving the house at 3:30 AM on the 22nd. Oh well, I can sleep on the flight to Vancouver.

9 days to wheels up in Newark.

Today's posting provides a preview to the types of postings I plan to make during the tour.  A brief summary of the day's riding, providing a perspective on either the history or geography of the region, and our progress as we make our way across the continent..

The Countdown

With less than two weeks until I leave for Vancouver, I find myself going through various checklists to make sure that when I leave for the airport at 4:30 AM (my flight leaves at 7:00 AM and I will have over sized baggage to check in) everything is ready.

Judging from the postings of other riders on the tour's bulletin board, I am not alone with my anxieties.  I keep having to remind myself that the tour is designed to maximize the probabilities that riders who start in Vancouver finish in St. John's some 10 weeks later.

The biggest "unknown" at this point is "Will my bike and spare parts, my camping gear, and my riding and camping clothes fit into the bike box.  I have been rather ruthless in paring down non-riding clothing just to increase the odds in my favor.

Lots of people have asked for more specifics on where we will be going and when.  As mentioned in a previous post, we find out the specific route at the Orientation meeting in Vancouver before the ride starts, but I have pieced together the following "map" from previous riders blogs to give an approximation - each "Pin Point" represents an overnight stay.  If you click on the "map" it will open up a bigger sized picture.

From the route one can see the wisdom of the planned stops - fairly short daily distances (approx. 50 - 75 miles) in the first two weeks and getting longer as we go along.  This gives us time to acclimatize to riding day after day, get more familiar with our camping gear and sleeping outside, get accustomed to the responsibilities of galley crew, climb over the Monashees and Rockies, and getting to know the 40 other riders in the group.  Once we hit Alberta and the Canadian Prairies, you will notice that the distance between the "Pins" increases significantly.  We cross the Prairies in only 2 weeks of riding.

At this point I am beginning to feel like Santa Claus (making a list and checking it twice), and organizing clothing by weather - cold days, rainy days, other days... hopefully no cold and rainy days.  My last big ride is this coming Saturday - a 65 mile ride over most of the roads I have been training on.  I have decided to make it a challenge by riding to the start of the ride and riding home at the end, which should give me, in total, another 100+ mile day.  I will be riding with a group from Team Marty's (our local bike club) so it should be a fun ride - it even looks like I may get to try my rain gear.

One big mental adjustment I will have to make after heading west is to change from a "Training"  mode (constantly pushing one's self to build up strength and endurance) to a "Touring" mode - basically riding the miles and drinking up the scenery and experience.  I will also have to remind myself "It is a ride, not a race" and enjoy the sightseeing, although I suspect on rainy days it will be "Get to the next Campsite, and get dry!"

On my three other big cycling adventures (across Alaska, Montreal to Maine, and Toronto to Montreal with my son) it was much more enjoyable once the mental transition from Training to Touring was made, and we would stop along the route for the occasional blackberry ice cream cone - well not in Alaska!

13 days left to wheels up...