# A personal Giro



## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

This is not the Giro of nearly 200 tragically skinny uber-athletes riding the latest plastic rigs. Nor is this a Giro of support vehicles, mechanics, soigneurs and screaming tifosi. The route does not go through one picturesque Italian town after another or over the Dolomites. No.... this is a ride of one middle aged man, who once fancied himself as a passable athlete, riding alone with a light load on a lugged steel bike equipped with fenders and lights. The route wound its way from the city, through the suburbs, to the foot of the mountains. It then followed canyons, rivers, lakes, along the sometimes lonely highways of BC where the only spectators were a few disinterested herds of deer and the next town was 100 km away. 

This Giro had only six days of riding with a two day break to taste some wine. The total distance was somewhat shy of 1000 km and took in something like 9000 meters of ascending. The roads were at times empty, busy, smooth, strewn with gravel or non-existent. It broke down something like this:

Day 1: Vancouver to Hope - 155 km, 900+ meters climbing [photo: Mission Bridge]
Day 2: Hope to Lytton - 110 km, 1200+ meters climbing [photo: Fraser River from Jackass Summit]
Day 3: Lytton to Merrit - 100 km, 1200+ meters climbing [photo: Nicola Valley]
Day 4: Merrit to Summerland - 165 km (including detour that went wrong), 2400 meters climbing [photo: looking to the high plateau]
Day 5/6: rest days [photo: d'Angelo vineyards]
Day 7: Summerland to Manning Park - 200 km [photo: Cascade Mountains]
Day 8: Manning Park to Vancouver - 220 km [photo: Surrey, looking north]


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

*Day 1: Vancouver to Hope*

A holiday Monday with cool temperatures and rain ever threatening. An early start along familiar roads, then across a bridge, through the suburbs and farms, another bridge then a highway beside lakes, rivers and sloughs. The rain held off until the last hour or so, then it was one last bridge - the third crossing of the Lower Fraser River. A surprising hilly ride through what appears to be a flat valley, the river always there and the mountains all around.

The Photos:

1) Bike on the bridge
2) Skytrain bridge across the Fraser
3) Nicomen Island farms
4) Looking across the Fraser towards Chilliwack and the Cascades
5) Maria Slough, looking north into the Coast Mountains
6) Bikes seldom catch on fire
7) the view downriver from the last bridge of the day.


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## rcnute (Dec 21, 2004)

Well done!


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

*Day 2: Hope to Lytton*

"We had to travel where no human being should ever venture for surely we have encountered the gates of hell" - so spoke Simon Fraser in 1808 as he came upon the narrowest, deepest, fastest point of the river which now bears his name. An amazing place. The 1300 km long river which rises in the Rockies and drains a large portion of the province hurtles through a narrow chasm at breathtaking speed. The gorge is even narrower now because of a rock slide during the construction of the railroad in 1912. The slide nearly took out the entire salmon run. Fishways have since been constructed to aid the returning salmon. 

The Fraser Canyon hold many charms apart from Hell's Gate. A lovely road to ride, if you don't mind dealing with rumble strips, gravel all over the shoulders and seven tunnels. The two longest tunnels have cyclist activated lights to warn motorists that there are bikes in the tunnel, which generally have no shoulder at all. I somehow managed to forget to take any photos of the tunnels, probably because I was more intent on sprinting through them to lessen the chance of encountering any transport trucks. 

While the road does not climb over any particular passes of note, it does have a lot of short, steep hills. The worst is probably to Jackass Summit. Interesting name. You may wonder where it came from. Well, the story goes that two sets of prospectors were winding there way along the tracks high above the canyon in opposite directions. One had a train of camels, the other of mules. The met each other, could not pass and the mules decided to leap into the river - or something like that. 

Despite the iffy road, I really enjoyed this day of cycling. Not a lot of traffic, the trucks were uniformly courteous and gave me a wide berth, and the scenery makes almost anything worthwhile.


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

*Day 3: Lytton to Merrit*

"The lonely road" is the subtitle for todays shortish ride. Highway #8 which goes from the little town of Spence's Bridge to Merrit has virtually no traffic. I had never even driven this road, let alone ride it so I did not quite know what to expect. What I found were a lot of short ups and downs, with some very steep pitches, above the Nicola River. There was also one of _those_ headwinds: you know the sort that practically stops you in your tracks.

Before getting to Spence's Bridge, the road follows the Thompson River. The Thompson is one of the main tributaries of the Fraser and is home to the famous Adams River Sockeye run: one of the largest on the planet. It is also a great river to raft, with several Category 6 rapids (depending on the water flow). We have had a cool spring and the snow pack is below normal so the river is not yet near to its full flow. I have cycled this part of the road a number of times and have always enjoyed it. The road is right beside the river.

Photos:

1) The Green Thompson and the muddy Fraser (flat light so you can't really see the contrast)
2) Scary tree 
3) Thompson Rapids
4) Long, very long, train: I thought it would never end
5) Lonely road
6) Bend in the Nicola


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

Why did you set fire to the camper?!?


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

*Day 4: Merrit to Summerland*

"My Cima Coppi"

At 1728 meters, Pennask Summit is high on the Thompson-Nicola plateau. Today was a hard, lonely struggle. The road climbs, and climbs and climbs. It is never overly steep (6 or 7% is the maximum) but it never seems to end. Kilometer after Kilometer the four lane highway goes up and up, occasionally punctuated by a downhill bit. There is nothing here, but you, the ranchlands, and the beetle infested forests as you climb. No towns, no farms, no rivers. The road just does not belong. Four lanes of blacktop reaching up into the high, arid plateau with a shoulder covered in sand from the barely ended winter and the occasional transport truck whizzing by to my left. It was cold as well. The weak sun tried to poke through the high overcast with little success. I am sure the temperature was only 3 or 4 degrees C. 

Then finally is the summit, with the snow still holding on in the ditches and beneath the trees. A cold and bitter place. I could hardly wait to descend into the promised warmth of the Okanagan Valley. And descend I did: but into the teeth of a raging gale. 25 kms of descending, and I pedalled almost the whole way down. But finally, the sun arrived and with it the warmth and the views of the lake, making it all worthwhile (I think).

The only thing left was to find the detour sent to me by TooManyBikes. This was not a success. After too long climbing yet another hill looking for some d*mn dam to cross, I gave up and asked for directions. Ooops ... you know, my bike is reasonably stout, but it really is not built for a logging road, particularly a decommissioned one. After 30 minutes or so looking for the promised connection to the well-graded back road, I gave up. Went back down the hill and along the highway - through the 7 km of roadwork I was trying to avoid. 

The two days of rest tasting the fine wines of the Okanagan Valley was a very pleasant interlude. Friends had driven up to meet me in summerland and our location was quite congenial

Photos 

1) ranchlands
2) Pennask Summit
3) I did adjust my brakes
4) Lake Okanagan
5) Detour gone bad
6) Pleasant spot on the lake


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

*Homeward Bound*

By a different route. An early start, then south along Okanagan and Skaha Lakes, over the hills to Keremeos then west and north on Highway three to Princeton, finally climbing up into the Cascades, staying at Manning Park lodge. 200 kms of riding, with a real sting at the tail end: a series of steepish climbs ending with one of those infernal false flats into a head wind (after 180 km of riding). But, unlike the climb to Pennask summit, today was a fabulous, if tiring ride. Views everywhere, perfect weather (except for that constant westerly wind that is). The roads were rough, though. Through the park the shoulders were terribly narrow, if they existed at all. Lots of frost cracking, plenty of sand and gravel and more traffic than I would have liked.

Photos:

1) Final morning by the lake
2) Skaha Lake
3) the Hills west of the Okanagan Valley
4) the cliffs of Keremeos
5) looking down, way down to where I've been
6) Sunday Summit (and, fittingly, it was Sunday)
7) Manning Park East Gate


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

*The Final Leg*

Out of the mountains, back to the Valley and into the City. The longest day in length, but not the hardest, at least physically. Mentally it was another story. Being run off the road by a dump truck on a steep hill onto a gravel shoulder is never fun. I never like to hear the sound of an air horn behind me as I descend a tricky bit at 50 or 60 km per hour. Then there was the logging truck that thought it was a good idea to pass me on a short stretch where the shoulder vanished for about 100 meters. Before and after that little bit: good shoulders, but right there - nope. Both very scary incidents. The logging truck more so. On top of all that there was yet another head wind, which was becoming rather annoying. And did I mention I approached the city during rush hour? Yech.

I also took a bit of a detour to cross the river by ferry. The Albion Ferries will soon be no more, replaced by a new bridge. I shall miss them. It is always a pleasant little ride and a welcome break part way through a ride.

So that's it. Hope you enjoyed your guided tour of Southern BC.

Photos:

1) the last pass
2) Mt Cheam, dominating the eastern Fraser Valley
3) the Benedictine Abbey which gives the town its name
4) log booms on the Stave River (thus the murderous logging trucks)
5) Albion Ferry docking
6) from one ferry to the other
7) the new bridge which is making the ferries redundant.


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## brentster (Jul 12, 2007)

Awesome trip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Guest (May 28, 2009)

Nice.

I have a client in Lilloett that I go over to from time to time and I really enjoy that drive out along #8 to Lytton.

Awful pretty places.

Stark, lonely, quiet.

I love those trips.

All of the pictures are great, thank you.

I know this will surprise you but, I recognize quite a few of those.


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## zpl (May 7, 2007)

Now there's an epic ride. Thanks for sharing!

Scott


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## dingster1 (Jul 2, 2006)

WOW!!! Cool pics!


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

How do you say "incredible" in Italian?


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## drawerfixer (Aug 4, 2005)

Bellissimo!


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## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

Great report. I always have wanted to visit western Canada. Thanks for posting.


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## bigrider (Jun 27, 2002)

The scenery is stunning. I could really enjoy a trip like that.


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

MB1 said:


> Why did you set fire to the camper?!?


Well, that is just what happens when you annoy a cyclist.....


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

bigrider said:


> The scenery is stunning. I could really enjoy a trip like that.


The scenery is amazing, but the riding is not for everyone. The roads can be narrow, and because there are so few routes through the mountains, the highways often carry a lot of traffic, particularly trucks. A little later in the year would probably be better - less sand and gravel littering the shoulder (when there is one). And, it can be a _very _ long way between towns - easily 100km. You can ride for hours and hours and see no signs of other humans, except those driving the highway.


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

toomanybikes said:


> I have a client in Lilloett that I go over to from time to time and I really enjoy that drive out along #8 to Lytton.


I really like the road between Lillooet and Lytton. I have cycled it a number of times. Not much traffic and the views are superb.


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

Beautiful report and pictures, wonderful trip, but don't they sell wine in Vancouver.


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

jd3 said:


> Beautiful report and pictures, wonderful trip, but don't they sell wine in Vancouver.


Well, yes and no. A lot of the Okanagan wineries are small estate vineyards with a limited run. A lot of the wine is just not available in the stores or even restaurants. Besides.... I like tasting a whole bunch of different wines. The Naramata Bench, where we spent a whole day has dozens of tiny wineries. It is great fun to go from one to another. Some nice restaurants too.


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## Bertrand (Feb 1, 2005)

Great trip, great photos. I love that country, and drive through it whenever I get the chance. Thanks for posting.


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## JP (Feb 8, 2005)

Cool report. You might want to think about moving that light. I had mine mounted there, and the little hook on the Berthoud bag ripped off the rubber button cover when I loaded it up one day. oops.


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## pdh777 (Oct 7, 2005)

Truly what bike touring is all about - greaat pics.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

Very, very nice report. I've driven up that ways but never had a bike with me. I HATE logging trucks with a passion. If they don't run you off the road you risk getting creamed by flying debris or loose chains.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 20, 2007)

Wow, that`s some scenery! Good job operating the camera, too.


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## Guest (May 30, 2009)

Ridgetop said:


> Very, very nice report. I've driven up that ways but never had a bike with me. I HATE logging trucks with a passion. If they don't run you off the road you risk getting creamed by flying debris or loose chains.


One of the facts of life living in this part of the world, is that it is very unlikely you are going to find a road that doesn't involve sharing it with logging trucks.

You learn to hear them coming.

With the pine beetle hitting hard right now it's going to get worse.


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