Kootenay Lakes day 5: ending rough

Accidentally writing this a week late...

Anyways, felt pretty alright waking up in Slocan after a long day. Legs were definitely feeling the hills and miles starting to add up but it was only about 120 km back to the car with no huge climbs. And it wasn't even raining when I got up.

Got breakfasted, packed up and on the road by about 8:45 and decided to forgoe the highway and check out one last rail trail that startes jn Slocan and went about 50 km south to the junction with Highway 3A.

It turned out to be a nice little trail! No KVR mistakes with letting ATVs on it, the entire thing was non-motorized only. There were a few roughish sections but nothing too bad and I was able to ride at only slightly below highway speed. A small price to pay for no traffic and no hills.

I idyllically wound my way through woods and along rivers for several hours, interrupting my ride only briefly to check out a nearby coop grocery store for snacks. I supplemented my cheese bun with a variety of baked goods and jerky, and had a lunch fit for a king by the river. Still making up for the hard day the day before.

Eventually the rail trail ended though and I was back on the highway for the final 40 ish kilometers to Nelson. A little bit more traffic and hills but the temperature was hovering around 15°C and no rain or wind so it was about as good as it gets.

Made it into the big city by 1 pm and had a few beers to celebrate before letting Tom the car host know that I was going to be enroute to Balfour.

Heading out of town, I quickly ran into a headwind off Kootenay Lake but I was determined to make it to my car asap so I could clock in some driving hours towards Thanksgiving in Calgary and I kept my pace hard.

Unfortunately I had forgotten how hilly it was between Nelson and Balfour and soon started to wear out. It was a rough 30 km and just as I got within 2 km of my car, I flatted my rear tire again at the bottom of a hill.

Not wanting to fix a flat for 2 km of riding I decided to just ride the flat the last stretch.

Bad idea, as the tire eventually popped off, forcing me to walk the final approach to my turnoff. 

Then, as I went down the road to Toms, my inner tube came off and went into my gears, forcing me to cut it out.

At this point I couldn't even walk my bike the last 300m so I tossed it in the bushes and jogged down the hill to my car, fired it up, drove up the hill, tossed the bike and baggage in the back and then drove back to say thank you and goodbye ro Tom.

Unfortunately (kind of), Tom informed me as I rolled back in that the ferry had just left Balfour. The next ferry? 6:10 pm.

He offered to let me sleep in his lakeside gazebo and I graciously accepted. 

I grabbed a six pack of beer from the local store and settled in to some five star digs. 

A rough end to an overall rough bike tour but I had a week of visiting family and friends in Alberta so I had lots of time to fix the bike and recover. 

I fell asleep in the open air (but waterproof) gazebo to the sound of rain falling and watching the ferry go back and forth across Kootenay Lake.

A feast fit for a king.

Okay, one more rail trail...

Not bad after a week in the tent.

Kootenay Lakes day 4: less than ideal

Woke up at the hotsprings feeling a little tired but not too bad all things considered.

Tried not to think about the ride back to the highway or the 125 km day waiting for me as I stretched and made oatmeal.

Eventually the time came and I saddled up. 

Sure enough, the ride back down to the highway was just as bad as I anticipated. It took me about an hour, leaning on the brakes the entire way. I had the smart idea to dry my towel and shorts on the back of my bike, which turned out to be less than smart when I got within 2 km of the highway and realized my shorts had fallen off somewhere along the way. Well shit. Knowing that they were not worth braving another 1 - 2 hours on the logging road I carried on.

Hitting the asphalt again was a pleasure but was soon dampened by the inmediate hill around the corner. A long climb and then longish descent into Nakusp started the days hills off.

Rolling into Nakusp was a treat though. The first real town in three days, complete with cell service and cafes. I caught up on notifications while sipping coffee and did some planning before heading to the grocery store for lunch stuff and fresh veggies. Looking at google maps as I left town at 11:30, it was still 81 km and 900 m of climbing to Slocan, but I was determined to push on. I mean, 81 km isn't THAT bad.

There was an absolute gruesome kicker to get out of the downtown, hitting at least 15% gradient, and then I settled into a gradual climb up to the divide between Arrow and Slocan Lakes. It got very overcast and a slight headwind developed as I climbed, making it almost feel like autumn. However, it was also extremely humid and the effort level was enough to keep me dripping sweat.

Legs felt good though so I made it to Summit Lake in good time and took a short lunch break and assessed leg condition. Still seemed good so I carried on.

Quickly realized that the name "Summit Lake" was a bit off as I actually had another few kms of uphill before I began a slow descent to New Denver. 

Increasing wind and water on the road alerted me to a nearby rain system but I was cruising at a solid 30-something km/hr on the downhill and spirits were rising. 

I then made an unexpected discovery of the rare "item that can actually flat out my touring tires". Or well, my rear tire found it. I still have no clue what it was but I am picturing a cross between Wolverine's claws and one of the swords from Kill Bill, since it went through my usually bombproof tires like they were a wet tissue. 

Had to change the tube on the side of a narrow road, and also tape up the hole inside the tire itself to keep dirt out. As I started up again, anxious about how this may affect my ability to reach Slocan before dark, it began to sputter rain and the wind increased.

Another one of those character building days.

I was having eta anxiety as I reached New Denver and the tire and tube seemed to be holding so I had a quick snack, mentally prepared myself for the days biggest hill and headed out again.

I came upon the hill about 5 km later, still feeling okay-ish in the legs and just paced myself really well. I was luckily still in the zone and had no issues, reaching the peak in about 45 mins.

As I started down the other side it got progressively sloppy but I knew it was almost all downhill to Slocan so I was feeling pretty swell.

The descent went well, until an unexpected uphill a scant 2 km from town with increased headwind almost killed my legs for good. It should honestly be illegal to put an uphill segment at the very bottom of a long downhill.

However, within an hour I had my campsite set up, was eating my way through an entire bag of chips and was getting ready to shower and drink some cold beer. 

Long day done. Google maps tells me it was about 125 km with roughly 1150 m climbing. Pretty solid. 

Tomorrow its less than 100 km back to the car with only about 500 m of hills. Should be a fairly pleasanr ride with a lunchtime beer stop in Nelson before getting back to my car. Theres even a rail trail for most of the way that I may check out.

Alls well that ends well.

Morning fog enroute to Nakusp limited visibility to 100 m or so.

Sloppy conditions for bike touring but occasionally a good view when the clouds lift.

Kootenay Lakes day three: hills hills hills

A nice peaceful, bear-free night at Trout Lake Rec Site, disturbed only by some brief rain at 5 am.
However, upon waking I discovered a great tragedy. One of the window panels on my rian fly had somehow torn loose and was hanging by one corner. I've had this tent for over 7 years now and was understandably heartbroken.
I mused over repair options but as the fly was still dripping wet from the rainfall I couldn't do much for the moment except apologise to it and pack it up wet and broken.
Saddling up for a big morning of climbing on gravel to Trout Lake (the town), I rolled out and immediately hit construction at the first hill.
Bob the sign man though immediately offered me grapes and apples from his own yard and filled the 15 minute wait with conversation. Great guy.
Sneaking past all the heavy equipment on the very narrow road, I started grinding my way up what would be a bakers dozen of 8-15% gradients. It was a roller coaster reminiscent of Lake Superior but I was steadily going up and soon went into the low hanging clouds. Mist began condensing on everything, including my sunglasses, so I had to ship them for a while.
About an hour and a half (and like 19 km) later, I finally began descending and dropped out of the cloud into some lovely sun. A vista opened up and I was shocked to see fresh snow brushing the mountains across the lake, not far above me. Wild, considering it was +10 at the rec site when I left at 8 am.
Finally rolling into Trout Lake a little past 10 I got some snacks and carried on. A headwind soon cropped up and I began to feel the multiple 15% gradients I had smashed my legs against in the morning. I settled in for a tough day and slowed the pace.
I was expecting a solid downhill to the ferry turnoff at Galena Bay, but I had to fight my way up two more big climbs to find it. Descensing for 5 km in the sun with no traffic and not having to turn my pedals once was quite nice though.
At the ferry cutoff I was hurting for lunch and coffee but a severe lack of rest stops forced me to take my break just sitting in the weeds along the road. I managed to find one half of one bar of service, which wasn't enough to do more than check the date of Thanksgiving Dinner with my sister.
After revitalizing, I headed south. Into another big hill.
As I crept up it I remembered the words of the mythical east to west Cross Canada bike touring I once met in Sault Ste Marie concerning his plans to bike around Lake Superior, "It's along a lake so it should be pretty flat, right?".
After a long roll along the top of the ridge I finally got a blistering fast downhill to St Leon and turned off to the logging road that would lead me to the hotsprings for the night.
I had recieved mixed advice about this road. Some people seemed skeptical about me doing it on a touring bike. Some people assured me it was not that bad and easily handled by an RV.
It was only 11 km so I decided to risk it for a night at the hotsprings and camping.
I made it to the hotsprings. But man, did it ever suck.
The road was bar none, the roughest road I have ever been on. Even the KVR was more rideable in the worst spots. Lots of rocks, but the worst was the washboard that stretched all the way from ditch to ditch the entire 11 km up. It seemed perfectly designed to shake a bike apart and my tent bag fell off the back no less than 4 times. Not to mention the 300m climbing with multiple instances where the gradient dipped above 16%.
It took me about an hour and wow was I ever miserable going up it.
So here is your verdict, straight from the experienced cyclist: do not attempt on a touring bike unless you have full suspension or maybe a fat bike. Better yet, find someone to give you a ride up.
Anyways, I eventually made it up with the bike in one piece, had a snack, got a site and settled in to mend the tent. I eventually decided sewing the panel back on and then applying a liberal layer of seam sealer would be the best bet. Seems to be holding as of 5 hours later.
Then I ate a swift dinner and finally rolled down to the hotsprings.
Relaxation! I lay back and stretched out tired legs and back while watching the clouds go by.
Maybe it was worth the grind up.
Tough day with only 90 km but over 1300 meters of climbing.
Trying to get back to my car by Friday afternoon so I am going to try cranking out a longer day to Slocan tomorrow. About 125 km and I have been assured that there will be a fair number of hills.
Oh well, at least I will get back to cell service at Nakusp tomorrow morning and get to go grocery shopping. 

Looking down on the clouds.

Fresh snow on the hills. 

Still deciding whether or not this was worth the trip up and down the road.

Kootenay Lakes day 2: easy rolling

Everything was nice and quiet in the campground at Kaslo and I woke up bright(ish) and early at about 7 am as it started to get light out.
I made my customary oatmeal and coffee and began packing up. Weirdly enough, no condensation on the rain fly, despite it feeling very humid. Maybe it never got cold enough? It was certainly warm enough that I was able to start in short sleeves at 8 am.
I knew that there were some hills to get over jn the first part of the day and sure enough, I was grinding up as soon as I got back onto the highway, seeing multiple 12% gradients in the first 10 km. A slight tailwind helped out now and then though.
My old nemesis, the logging truck driver, was out and about and the narrow highway, often missing a shoulder, kept me on my toes.
A little into the morning I had to make an emergency u-turn as I went by a sign that said "Free Apples. U Pick". Sure enough, there were apples. I didn't even debate the extra weight and tossed three into my front pannier.
The first half of the morning passed by as a series of rolling steep hills until I got to Lardeaux, at the head of Kootenay Lake. From there on I was following a gentle river valley up into the hills. Finally, the mythical flat and straight road. After 10 or so kilometers along nice valley views the road surface transitioned to gravel, but what nice gravel! Super smooth, well packed and hardly any traffic aside from periodic gravel trucks.
For the last half of the day, the road took me through gorgeous cedar forests along a crystal clear river. Eagles would often alight as I passed and fly on next to me for a ways. No big hills and excellent road condition had me eating up the kilometers.
As I passed through some construction where they were grading the surface, the sign guy at one end held out a can as I approached.
Could it be a beer? Is this day that good?
As I got closer the logo on the can became obvious: A&W.
I wasn't too into the soda so I waved him off and thanked him and then carried on.
Now, I had crushed 80 km and reached my preferred stopping point at the south end of Trout Lake. However, it was only 1:30 pm and I had to debate going on further.
On the other hand, the next 30 km to Trout Lake (the community) were going to be narrow, with logging trucks and steep gravel hills. I was also unsure of what the camping options were like.
Then, as I contemplated pros and cons, a headwind started blowing off the lake.
Mind made up, I turned into the small rec site and parked my bike at the vacant site not only right next to the bear hang, but also with a stack of already split wood.
Since I was there so early I had a snack then practices hanging my food, took a hike to some nearby waterfalls, did some planning for the next week, stared solemnly out across the lake, had a small fire, ate dinner and finally called it a night at 7:30. By which time it was already dark.
Not too worried about furry visitors as I have my food hanging, had a campfire, and have some friendly neighbours a few sites over in a camper.
Todays weather: overcast, with maybe 6 individual raindrops hitting me. All tailwinds. About +13°C.
Tomorrow its a slightly longer day to try and reach a rec site at a hotspring (!) about 100 km away. If I survive the first 30 km to Trout Lake though it should be an easy ride and I will even get back onto the pavement at some point.
As usual, fingers crossed.

Yay, no more scurvy.

Alone in the woods.

Lots of waterfalls in the Kootenays.

Kootenay Lakes day 1: easy start

Hot on the heels of my KVR trip, I had my sights set on another bike tour. I had never been up the west end of Kootenay Lake or been down through Nakusp on the other side. Since I was already in southern BC and had at least one more week of warm weather predicted I figured why not go check it out.

My car-park host from warmshowers for the KVR had a friend in Balfour, which was the perfect starting point. Although I had some last minute trepidation about the trip when realizing how little camping options there would be day two and how many uphill meters there would be, I told myself "well the worst you can feel is to wonder how it may have been" and set off for Balfour.

I took a short stop in Nelson for a new book amd a beer, then drove the car out to Tom's place on the lakeside. I once again had my panniers ready to go, so a short chat later I loaded up and biked off around 2 pm.

I had already called ahead to the Kaslo municipal campground and received confirmation that they would be open so that was my destination for the night. 

The ride was only 33 km but had almost 600m of elevation gain along a narrow, winding road by the lake. As is typical of narrow roads in BC I had a few close calls with bloodthirsty logging trucks but the rest of the ride was pretty nice. The pavement was nice and smooth and it seemed like there would be lots of places to get water over the next few days, as creeks were common along the way.

Eventually rolled into Kaslo around 4 pm and was pleasantly surprised with how quiet and cozy the town was. 

Secured my campsite for the night, took a shower and since I am going to be out in the wilderness for the next two days, checked out the local brewery and splurged on a super greasy pulled pork and fries for dinner. 

The other campground guests seem nice and quiet so I am anticipating a very cozy sleep tonight and then an early morning tomorrow. 

There's a rec site at 85 km that would make a good target, especially because the next camping (aside from hiding in the woods) would be almost another 90 km past that. There are apparently a lot of bears up the valley too... 

Oh well, problems for tomorrow.

Easy bottle fills. Crystal clear and pours itself into your bottles!

Whitehorse vibes from the local sternwheeleer.

KVR day 4: KVR Komplete

The morning I woke up in Osooyoos things seemed to be pretty swell. 

It was warm. Definitely a lot nicer than the freezing mornings of the highlands. 

It was also dry, which meant that my tent didn't have any condensation on it.

I used the dried fruit I got at a gas station in Rock Creek to really jazz up my oatmeal and took a leisurely breakfast, since I only had about 70 km to get back to my car in Penticton.

Heading out around 9 am, it was just warm enough that I could get away with short sleeves.

I was however pretty hungry, even post-oatmeal so I made a side trip into a fruit stand for an apple and plum to snack on.

Shortly after I was able to ditch the highway and got back onto the KVR heading north. It was actually a very nicely maintained gravel trail in this area so despite a slight headwind, I was really scooting.

The trail wound along a flood control can for about 20 easy kilometers, with good views of passing farmlands and vineyards. There was even a paved section, although it was actually lumpier than the gravel path 

Eventually though, all good things come to an end and I popped back out onto a mandatory 15 km stretch of highway.

Unfortunately the slight headwind gathered its strength as I came alongside Vaseux Lake. Around this time the effect of multiple 100 km long days in the heat also began to hit my legs and I could feel the wall coming on hard. I grit my teeth and slowly ground along the very slow 15 km to Okanagan Falls.

Reaching town I ws hurting for some energy so I stopped into a coffee shop for some caffeine and a nice thick date square. Properly rejuvenated I set out to tackle the last 20 km of the KVR.

Again, I was pleasantly surprised to see the trail in good condition, although it did get quite narrow and the skirt of poison ivy flanking the trail made passing a little more dangerous.

The coffee and date square managed to keep me pumped until Penticton and I made it back to the car by 1 pm. I promptly changed into different shoes and a clean(ish) shirt, unloaded the bike and set off in search of a brewery for a reward beer.

KVR done!

Wowwww its even paved?

Well, sometimes its paved.

KVR day 3: Rock Creek Reunion

After a better sleep than I expected, given the nearby highway and my site neighbour starting up his truck to go to work at 4 am (don't worry he warned me the night before he's an okay guy), I awoke to another frosty morning in the hills. 

Thermometer registered 0°C on the nose but my searchea for frost yielded nothing. It definitely felt colder than at Chute Lake for some reason. 

I hastily made my breakfast, hoping that the warm coffe and oats would toast me up inside. While pouring hot water into my thermos I found some ice on the edge of the picnic table, success.

By 8:15 I was all packed up and although the sun was beginning to creep down the hills it still felt pretty chilly so I layered up with sweater and gloves again. 

Soon I was hot on the trail of the KVR, finding my access point a little ways down a gravel road. As I have come to expect, the first few km were pretty ravaged by vehicle traffic but I hit on a few sections where ATVs were unable to sneak onto the trail and things improved.

As the sun finally peeked into my face I was back in lands ruled by the ATV and had to drop my speed a bit to dodge rocks and ruts. The temperature quickly rose and just as I was looking to layer down and pee I found a wild (feral?) apple tree! Very neat and while the apples were fairly small, it was good to have fresh fruit.

By late morning I began getting into farmlands at the bottom of the valley and the trail often required me to pass through and relatch livestock gates. However, this afforded me some riding through gorgeous open fields and along a quiet, crystal clear river. 

A quick lunch break and water top up saw me the last few kilometers of the rail trail into Rock Creek and the Crowsnest Highway, where I passed through once before on the Cross Canada tour in 2018. Not as nostalgic as I expected but then again, I was going the opposite direction back then.

Since it was only 12:30 I made the judgement call to go another 50 km to Osooyoos for the day, knowing that there would be a significant and long climb out of Rock Creek.

Steeling myself with some butter tarts from the gas station I shifted into the little ring and began up the hill. 

The temperature crept into the mid 20s.

There was no breeze.

No shade.

Just 800m of climbing into the blazing sun.

I had to stop at a few points to layer down, apply sunscreen and refill water bottles but eventually I made it over the summit and began the long downhill to Osooyoos. 

Unfortunately my hopes of screaming down Anarchist Mountain at mach 10 were soon dashed when I hit road construction that would only end in the last kilometer of the descent. Adding to my sweaty body the flying sand and dust from passing vehicles and I looked pretty unsavoury as I rolled into town.

I made a quick pitstop to the gelato shop, where I got a snack and asked to see my entry in the bicycle tourists logbook from 2018. Sure enough, there it was. Ahhhh there's the nostalgia.

A few moments of panic soon followed when I got to the Provincial Park and found it to be full. Calling around town seemed to indicate that all the other campgrounds in town had closed for the season. I was steeling myself to ride another hour and pray that the next Provincial Park had space when I reached someone at a campground/RV resort on the other side of town. They had sites!

I sprinted over as quickly as possible just in case and secured a somewhat costly site but it had power and water so I wasn't too upset. 

I checked my data for the last few days and realized I may be behind on calories so I made a big pot of mashed potatoes for dinner and then relaxed with a walk around the beach area at sunset. 

Remarking at the blood red moon rising (with what eerily looked to be a skull in the crater formations) and gazing across the lake at the US border, I began making plans for another bike tour next week. 

Finally, I brushed my teeth and slipped into bed.

Still warm at 8:15 pm and nicely secure and quiet. Should be a good sleep tonight.

Tomorrow is an easy 65 km back to Penticton to pick up my car.

Try getting through this gap ATVs.

Free trailside snacks.

KVR day 2: Dennys big day

Despite the warm sunny weather the day before, there was a noticeable chill in the air in the morning at Chute Lake. A night of weird dreams had left me tossing, turning and waking up every hour or so until it was finally light enough to cook breakfast. 

I make up my usual oatmeal and instant coffe while letting my fancy new keychain thermometer acclimate to the air temperature. 

As I was sipping coffee, I was shocked to see it sitting a shade above 0°C. I was wearing a hoodie for comfort but otherwise fine in short pants and without gloves. Must have been the gross Yukon summer and frosty field work in Beaver Creek a month ago that made me ready for chilly weather.

To be safe, I put on my jacket and gloves to start the day. It turned out the be the right call, as even suited up I could definitely feel a nip in the air and found a few patches of frost along the lake.

About an hour into the day though the sun was out and I was soon stripping back to short sleeves.

If only the road/trail surface had improved as quickly!

Coming out of Chute Lake, the surface got progressively rougher for about 15 km, with many sections of deep potholea or with unfortunately large rocks jutting out of the dirt. Speed was not that impressive. Luckily there was good scenery of the Kelowna valley but I spent a lot of time brooding on the evils of allowing motor traffic on otherwise wonderful trails.

As I approached Myra, a few logging roads intersected the trail and vehicle influence waned while the trail surface got better. Eventually I reached an awesome section where motor vehicles were unable to access and began winding around a wide canyon along a series of curving trestle bridges. The sun was out and I stopped to put on some sunscreen and enjoy the lovely scenery. There was even a couple of tunnels. Very cool. 

All good things come to an end though and eventually I popped back out onto the section of KVR that vehicles are allowed on and the silky smooth gravel became quite a bit less silky.

Still, it wasn't too awful and I was making solid time so I was in a pretty good mood. 

Shortly after my lunch break, I encountered two ladies by the trailside and soon discovered that one of them had crashed and injured her hip. I offered whatever help I could but they were good on food and water had already sent a friend to call for rescue and were fine on food and water. 40 km later I would remember the painkillers and triangular bandages in my first aid kit. Oops.

Aside from about 5 km of trail that had been horrifically thrashed by a brushcutter (apparently on government orders?) the rest of the afternoon was 100% downhill and quite warm, with more or less smooth trails.

The final 5 km into Beaverdell was a bit rough, likely having something to do with the incredible amount of ATV tracks along the trail...

I made it into town by 4:30 though and stopped off at the small store for a tomato and a sandwich. Then it was off to the campground. A tent site by the road ran 30$, a bit steep but not a lot of options and the showers and water were drinkable and unlimited. 

I had a short chat with my neighbour the next site over while eating dinner, then did some reading until it got too dark (around 7:15) and retired to bed. 

A big day at over 100km. I can theoretically make it bad to Penticton in two days but the distances between campgrounds make it a bit weird. Either a short day to Johnson Creek tomorrow or a long one to expensive camping at Osoyoos. We'll have to see.

Morning at Chute Lake. Note the frost.

Whoaaaaa. Bridges are cool.

Somewhat regretting passing up the gorgeous free camping at Arlington Lakes. But I did get to eat a fresh veggie instead...

KVR day 1: Cheeseburger in Paradise

September 28th. Pentiction, BC. Back to bike touring.

I've wanted to do the Kettle Valley Rail Trail for a while now and I managed to get a place to park my car through Warmshowers so it was on.

I stayed a night at a provincial park north of Penticton so I could take a shower and then woke up the morning of the 28th and drove into town. 

I rendezvoused with my "host" by 9:30 am and, having prepacked my bags, was on the road minutes later. 

I did a few kilometers along some very nice bike lanes until I came across the KVR. The trail soon took me out of the downtown area and into orchard country. Very cool to be passing beautiful ripe grapes and apples just beside the trail. Lots of people passing by too and I stopped a few times to chat with cyclists and once a guy wearing a White Pass shirt. 

As the trail reached Naramata, the long, slow climb began, but being an old rail route, the gradient never exceeded about 3% except for short stretches so it was pretty easy pedalling the entire way up. 

I had a tailwind heading north, it was sunny without a cloud in the sky, and the trail was pretty well groomed riding for the first 20 kms or so. After passing through a tunnel (very cool), I came to the end of the section that vehicles are excluded from and the going got significantly rougher. I had to drop my speed and even then, managed to ding a big rock every 50m or so.

It was more or less rough the rest of the way up to Chute Lake, but I took it slow and tried to spare my poor bike as much as possible. I ran into an older woman (Donna?) also biking the KVR. She had come down from Chute Lake direction to Penticton already and was heading back up so she gave me a little intel about the trail ahead.

I rolled into Chute Lake around 2pm, which despite being in the middle of nowhere, is blessed with a lodge and a rec site. I set up shop at the vacant rec site (yay weekdays) and then headed over to investigate the likewise vacant lodge. 

They had a hamburger and beer on offer. I hadn't really eaten much that day, missing out on grocery shopping before leaving civilization, so I had to partake. It was nice and sunny so I sat outside and soaked up some rays while eating. Very satisfying.

Donna (?) had the same idea apparently and showed up just as I was finishing my burger. 

After wandering back to the rec site I polished off my day by doing some reading, taking a short walk and cooking another small dinner before calling it a night by 7:30 (at which time it became dark).

Biking through a vineyard in short sleeves at the end of September! So good.

Rattlesnake count is 0 as of day 2. Lots of grouse though.

Really hits the spot when you've biked hours on oatmeal and protein bars.

On the Road Again, pt II

Biking back along the brewery's 2 km driveway, I reflected on my luck to have met the great owners. Soon my reflections were interrupted by two cows on the road.

They seemed pretty freaked out by my bike and jogged ahead of me for a bit until they ran away over a small meadow.

Turning the next corner I was suddenly faces with their friends. All 20 of them and all standing in front of the gate. The two I had chases promptly walked out of the woods and joined them.

After a minute or two of gentle reassurances and creative sign language, I managed to open a narrow path to the cattleguard and successfully escaped Cowtopia. Back onto the gravel to retrace my steps.

The 30 km back to the pavement was much nicer than the day before, fortified by a solid sleep and some non-dehydrated meals. I did take a few snack breaks but also just rode it nice and slow and enjoyed the scenery. I only had about 80 km based on rough map calculations to ride, aiming at a rec site on the northwest side of Francois Lake. 

After an hour and a half I reattained the pavement and promptly picked up an extra 5 km/hr or so. A sign warned me of heavy logging traffic for the next 40 km but being Sunday, I only passed about 6 or 7 vehicle the entire day. Soon a light tailwins caught me and my pace increased yet again. Everything was coming up Denny.

Around lunchtime the gravel returnes and I spent the next hour slowly climbing a nice, easy gradient up the ridge between Francois and Ootsa Lakes. As I cleared the summit, I could see a large stormcloud sweeping away east across Francois Lake, but it looked to be missing me completely. I even had a brief glimpse of some mountains to the west. Nice.

I was rewarded for my climbing at last and enjoyed a long, winding descent back to the lake, and a deceivingly short flat section before getting a reminder that BC road engineers take perverse delight in sending their roads over every possible hill. Short but steep and winding hills along with periodic showers were the theme for the last hour and a half of the day. At one point, what looked very like a cougar butt disappeares around a copse of aspen.

Just as I was beginning to wonder if I had missed the turnoff for my rec site, it appeared around the next corner. Showers were rolling in again so I quickly set up camp, and began cooking dinner in the cook shelter while polishing off a book.

I had the rec site all to myself and spent the rest of the night reading and pensively wandering around in my raincoat. The darkness rolled in by 7:45 pm and, exhausted by a few big days, fell asleep early.

The next day I woke up with the sunrise again, cooked a slow breakfast, packed up my poor, sopping wet tent and began peddaling by 8:30. 

Feeling quite frigid, I had to wear a hoodie, rain jacket and gloves. I had to wonder if I was just being a wuss, since there was no sign of frost and my breathe wasn't fogging. At my mid morning stop I found one bar of service, and checking the weather, realized it had been +1°C that morning. Probably one of the coldest mornings I will see for a while hopefully. The morning ended up being a lovely spin along the lake, with few hills and the sun coming out by 10 am. A few locals called out from their yards to make sure I was okay. I guess they don't get much in the way of bike touring traffic out here.

I made it back to the ferry landing by 11 am and scooted over two short hills back to Burns Lake by lunch time. I sent off a few quick messages to assure people I had not been eaten by cougars or creamed by a logging truck and then began humping my bike back up the steep road to Kager Lake. 

The rain had unfortunately made the road quite soupy, so I had to grind up in my easiest gear to make it through the mud, despite the slope being only 8 or 9%. Luckily my car was undisturbed and I gratefully changed into clean clothes and ate a chocolate bar while drying the tent in a nice ray of sun.

After catching my breathe for a half an hour, I popped into town with the car, demolished a hamburger, picked up some groceries and beer and returned to Kager Lake to celebrate the successful test tour.

Next up, south to the Okanagan. 

"oh, would like you like to use this road?"

Emotional moment after many kilometers of climbing. Note the giant raincloud.

Success!

On the Road Again, pt I

I just couldn't wait to get on the road again.

While the big plan for the fall vacation was to do an extended tour of the Okanagan, West Kootenays, and anywhere else with lingering warmth in BC, I hadn't done any real bicycle touring in two years and wanted to make sure all the gear and my body were ready.

I had planned a few possible tester runs and the one that stood out was a spin south of Burns Lake to a brewery about 100 km away over some gravel backroads, returning on more logging roads through remote country southeast of Fraser Lake. It would be a good distance to complete in about 3 days and would verify my rig could handle extended gravel and some cooler mornings.

I had a leisurely morning at the rec site and carefully packed up the touring gear, trying to hit a balance of low weight and also not forgetting anything crucial. I chatted up a few locals regarding places to park my car and they all seemed to agree that the rec site was probably my best bet.

Parking the car in an empty campsite and crossing my fingers, I hopped on the loaded touring rig and headed down the road. About 100m later I was stopped by a woman who needed a picture of an "interesting stranger" for some sort of social media scavenger hunt. Boy if that doesn't describe me.

I then realized I wasn't wearing my helmet and had to retrace my pedal strokes back to the car for it.

Finally hitting the road, I headed south from Burns Lake. Several hills arose before me but I already had the touring balance in and traffic was light so I made it to the ferry at Francois Lake in good time and without incident. I timed it almost perfectly and just had time to eat a cheese bun before the ferry loaded and headed across the lake.

Heading south, I started grinding over a series of large hills (small mountains?) into a headwind that became more and more spicy as the day went on. Well, at least my luck and route planning skills remain unchanged from two years ago...

By 3pm, I was still an hour from the brewery at least, knee deep into the gravel, and already 100m above the predicted elevation gain from Google Maps. In top of this it was hot, and I made the dummy mistake of not filling my water at the perfectly convenient boat launch on Ootsa Lake.

Another hour and a half of rolling gravel hills (sometimes hitting 15% gradient) finally saw me at the 2 km long driveway to Ursa Minor Brewing, where I scared off a small bear and headed down the driveway in search of beer. 

Finally rolling into the brewery, feeling like I had been beaten with a fairly big stick, I was greeted by the proprietors, who enthusiastically informed me that I was the first cyclist to ever visit them. I guess the 90 km/1200m of climbing on gravel roads is a bit of a discouragement for some.

I was the only one around so I could give them the full Denny monologue about my life while they told me about their brewing adventures. 

Eventually, they brought out a map of the local logging roads and after some consultation, I decided to change my course and go west around Francois Lake to return to Burns Lake. It would cut out a lot of hills and some sketchy remoteness and would also let me take shorter days without risking running out of snacks.

The owners also then made the very generous offer to let me camp on their lawn and have dinner with them. Being an old hand at bicycle touring I obviously accepted.

After shutting down the brewery for the night, ee chased another (or maybe the same) small bear away from the lawn, with the help of their dog, and I set up my tent for the night. 

I had a great dinner with them and their family and some wonderful post-dinner conversation before settling in for the night in the old trusty tent.

I woke up at 6:45 yet again and enjoyed the sunrise for 5 minutes until it started raining, then went back to sleep for an hour. By 7:45 the rain had stopped and I popped inside for coffee and eggs before walking out the the pigpen to watch the pigs get fed spent grain. I took my time packing up and filling water while saying goodbye to the adorable dogs and cat. I was sent on my way with a final treat, a bag of carrots, fresh from the garden. 

All in all, not a bad payoff for a long, hard ride. I clipped into my pedals and began heading back up the driveway.

Back at it with the old workhorse.

Loving the lawn decorations, right next door to a church of course.

All you need for a good spot is some goodwill and a good bear dog.

Peter Pan Syndrome

Well, for the last two years since the big tour I have grappled with various levels of responsibility.

In the midst of a somewhat stressful month of trying to figure out how to build a house, the COVID pandemic began to hit its stride in March and I realized that I wasn't really ready to grow up yet.

So, with my usual summer work in Alaska no longer allowed, and my house building plans on hold indefinitely, I began to brainstorm alternative ideas for the future.

Above all, the idea of spending another winter sitting in front of a computer screen was not all that appealing. So, I formulated a plan to escape the winter in the Yukon, aided by the travel bubble we have with BC. 

I spent the summer camping and sinking some money into my car while deliberating and planning but mostly contemplating various ways I could recapture the carefree touring life.

By the time autumn rolled around, I was dead set on escaping winter by whatever means available. After some last minute field work in the Beaver Creek region, I frantically packed up my car and bike and got my room as tidy as it has been for years. On Wednesday, September 16th, I took off south on indefinite vacation 

The plan: spend a month bike touring BC until winter caught up with me, then spend the winter on Vancouver Island, exploring or working as my mood dictated.

Leaving Whitehorse on day one was quite warm and sunny. I tried unsuccessfully to settle into a relaxed vacation mood but spent most of the drive worrying about possible car issues and debating whether I was making the right choice in leaving. I am still young and feel I should take rhe chance to enjoy my youth but I'm also not getting any younger and eventually I should start thinking about setting up a more secure life and maybe starting a family.

Anyways, as I wrestled with my own doubts, I turned onto Highway 37 and crossed into BC, saying goodbye to the Yukon and shortly after passing two older bicycle tourists heading north on a late-season tour. They both smiled and waved. I took it as a good sign.

All the small native communities were closed to visitors due to the pandemic but luckily there was gas at Dease Lake. I eventually decided to call it a night after about 800 km and eventually settled in a pullout somewhere between Iskut and Meziadin. I had been testing various methods of sleeping in my car all summer and was quite comfortable, tucked away from the highway behind some willows.

An early sunrise woke me at 6:45 and I cooked some quick breakfast before wiping the copious condensation off my windows.

I had descended into coastal climates the night before and began to see more green plants, tall spruce, amd hanging lichens.

I made good time in the morning and arrived in Terrace by lunch time. I settled in at the municipal campground and set up the bike to go drop a 6 pack of Yukon beer off with Murray and Sherry, who had generously offered me a place to camp, a shower, and several meals on the cross Canada tour. 

It was getting warm by that time and I tried to dress light but I was not prepared for +22°C after an unusually cold and rainy summer in the Yukon. The 6 pack acting as a boat anchor didn't help either and I was dripping sweat when I rolled into Murrays yard. Luckily he was around, working on the roof and we had a short chat and exchanged phone numbers before I headed back to the local brewery, a six pack lighter.

The next day, I purchased some donuts, tracked down some camping fuel with the advice of the local sporting goods store guy (apparently there is a shortage of camping fuel, as it is hard to ship it from the US right now) and headed east into the interior.

It was a good day for driving, just warm enough, and I actually enjoyed the drive and began to feel very road trippy.

I took a longer break in Smithers to get some snacks and visit the brewery, where I ran into a friend of my sisters, from the same high school I went to.

With a bike tour in my head in the Burns Lake area, I decided to stop there for the night and some parking lot research led me up a steep, gravel road to the Kager Lake rec site. Upon arrival, I quickly claimed a (free) site, as I noticed the area was popular with local mountain bikers, who were quickly arriving in droves for the weekend.

Feeling pretty spicy, I unloaded the bike and did a 'casual' ride, that ended up taking me on a max effort up to the radio towers on Boer Mountain. My pump at hammering out a strong effort soon faded when I realized the sun was going down and I had 500m of descending to do in twilight on a steep hill with rim brakes.

I survived the downhill though, getting back to my car just as it got dark. No time to cook so I scarfed some donuts and a 2 day old cheese bun before settling into the car for the night.

Loaded up for the road.

Success! Back in civilization.

Smoky beers in Smithers.

Cross Canada Round Up: Impressions and Advice

Well, one thing I keep telling people, and it's been true from the start, is that you can't really sum up a bicycle tour across Canada. You see, do, and experience so much that there's just no way to capture it all in words. Or maybe that's just where my writing ability meets its match. Regardless, I will try to summerize as much of my summer as possible, giving general impressions and thoughts regarding my trip and also offering advice and some zen quotes I came up with for anyone considering a similar trek.

First things first. Canada is fucking big. It is a huge country. To cycle across is a major undertaking. It took me 122 days (4 months) from start to finish, including travel days and rest days. However! It should be mentioned that I was not attempting to cross at all quickly. As you will likely know from reading the blog, I took many sidetrips (mostly to breweries) and also budgeted in a fair number of rest days in Western Canada. Not to mention, it took me almost 3 weeks just to get to Victoria, where most Cross Canada cyclists begin their trip. For the budget and time conscious cyclist, I would say that the trip can easily be done in less than 3 months, even allowing the occasional rest day or short detour.

Which brings us to our next point: fitness and preparation. You may be reading that time estimate and thinking, "but I am not the greatest cyclist" or, "I don't know if I can plan out a long trip that easily".
Well, let me tell you something that I learned on this trip.
You don't need to have any idea what you are doing to cycle across Canada. I will admit with a small amount of ego, that I am a fairly strong cyclist. However, this trip was my first experience bicycle touring. At the start of the trip I did not know if my bike was strong enough, or if I packed enough clothing, or even if I would be able to make it to Skagway (a day and a half from my starting point). Despite my experience bicycle racing, I could barely even pedal my loaded touring bike around my neighbourhood on day 1. But I loaded it up, filled my water bottles and hit the road. And you know what? I figured it all out along the way.
And that is one of the most important things I can say about long distance bicycle touring; you will figure things out as you go. Do not stress out too much about preparing for the trip, as it is impossible to plan out every eventuality and detail of a several month tour. Don't worry about your fitness level (unless you are morbidly obese or have a severe medical condition). Just get on your bicycle and go. You'll figure out your own way of bicycle touring.
I met the entire range of touring cyclists on this trip. I met children touring across Canada with their parents, I met 70 year old Grandpas touring (and they beat me to the other side...), I met people with decades of cycling experience and I met people who had barely ridden a bicycle before they left.
We all had our own methods. Some of us rode 120 km a day and some of us rode 60 km a day. Some of us paid for camping, and some of us wild camped every night.
Everyone has their own way of bicycle touring, but we all made it across Canada (I think). 

That being said though, I should mention that while cycling across Canada is doable for nearly everyone, it is by no means easy. As I'm sure you can tell from my blog posts, there are many things to complain about on a Cross Canada tour. 
At this point, I would like to bring up the two most hurtful lies you will hear from people when they find out you are a bicycle tourist:
1) "The wind blows west to east during the summer"
VERY WRONG. The wind blows wherever the hell it wants. Statistically, it blows a bit more often from the west. However, this is by no means a guarantee that you will have lots of tailwinds going west to east. After leaving Calgary, I estimate that I spent about 75 to 80% of my time on the bike going into a headwind. I did talk to some other Cross Canadians who had the opposite (mostly tailwinds), but be aware that the possibility exists that you will spend most of your trip in a headwind. Sometimes for days at a time. My longest stretch of continuous headwind was 11 days (more than 10% of days I spent cycling!). And to add insult to injury, I was constantly told by people I met that I was lucky to be cycling west to east, because the wind would always be at my back.
2) "(insert region) is totally flat"
Also wrong. Canada is not flat. There are hills EVERYWHERE. There are hills in Saskatchewan, there is at least a couple hills in Manitoba, and you better believe that there are a ton of hills in Ontario. If you desire to cycle across Canada, you will encounter many, many hills. There is no way to avoid them, although looking back I think that I went out of my way to do the hilliest routes possible at times. Locals will also try to advise you on upcoming vertical terrain features, but they are almost always misinformed. Sometimes this is good, as I had a few cases where someone warned me about a major bad hill coming up, only for me to spend the rest of the day wondering where the hill was until I set my tent up for the night and realized I went over it at some point without noticing.
Other times it is not so good. This is the essence of lie #2. Someone (or several someones) will tell you not to worry, that the next stretch of road to XX town is "totally flat". Only for you to discover an astounding number of hills, or spend 2 hours slowly climbing a 2% gradient. My best advice is to only trust the word of someone who has cycled your projected route before. Motorists have no clue about hills. Actually, it's better if you just get used to hills early and assume that there's a monster climb lurking around every corner. That way your surprises will be good ones.
Other sources of distress on a long distance bicycle tour:
Saddle sores. The unspoken plague of every cycle tourist. Most people don't like to openly talk about it, but there's really no way to avoid them on a long tour. Even with the best saddle and chamois, spending hours on the bike, in heat and humidity and rain will cause unfortunate chafing in some very sensitive parts of your body (your crotch). Even worse are the even more taboo affliction of constant sweat and sitting: hemmorhoids.
I was struck with both saddle sores and hemmorhoids at various parts of my voyage. The only thing I can say about managing them is to make sure you have a good saddle that fits your body, and pack some sort of ointment or lotion. Vaseline works alright but a specific hemmorhoid ointment will be worth it's weight in gold when the time comes. I did not bring chamois butter or any other cycling specifix ointment with me. I found that the combo of vaseline and preparation H was enough to keep me on the saddle.
For additional suffering references, I suggest reading the Cross Canada Grandpas blog on Crazy Guy on a Bike.

In terms of gear, I reiterate my point that you shouldn't stress out too too much. However, I will talk about some gear options that I feel are important or that worked out really well for me.
The most important thing on a bicycle tour is your bike. The most important thing to look for in a touring bike is this: can it hold enough stuff (via racks and panniers, handlebar/frame bags, or with a backpack) to get me where I want to go?
Aside from that, the rest is just details. As long as the bike can hold you and your gear without breaking down, you can theoretically tour on anything. I actually did my tour on a fairly light gravel racing bicycle, complete with carbon fork.
With that in mind, there are a few things that will make your tour much happier if included in your bike choice.
1) Bike fit: picking a bicycle that fits your body size is important. You can wiggle around handlebar and saddle adjustments to fit onto an unoptimal frame but it will be less efficient and comfortable. If you are unfamiliar with bicycle geometry and how it relates to your body, I would suggest talking to your local bike shop and possibly getting a bike fitting done before your trip to ensure maximum comfort. Be sure to mention that you will be doing long distance touring and want a fit aimed at comfort.
2) Gearing: on a long distance bicycle tour, more gears is almost always better. I ran a triple chainring up front with 9 gears in the back, for a total of 27 gearing options. I would recommend a minimum of 18 gearing options (2 in front, 9 in back). Anything less than this will mean you may run out of easy gears on climbs and may have to spend a lot of time pushing your  (heavy) bike up hills or that you will not have any big gears to get into on tailwind days or downhills, limiting yourself to low speeds. That being said, it is 100% possible to go across Canada on almost any gearing, even a single speed (please don't do this) but it is my opinion that your trip will be massively more enjoyable with a wide gear selection.
3) Tires: For most bicycles, your choice of tire will honestly be the most significant factor in your speed and comfort on a bicycle tour. Your frame choice will limit you on how wide of tires you can fit. Wider tires will have a lower pressure, and offer better shock absorption and slightly better traction, but will have more rolling resistance. I recommend an absolute minimum of 28mm wide tires, but highly advise you to go for something in the range of 32 to 40 mm if your frame allows. Anything less than 32mm will result in a very uncomfortable ride, especially with all the gear on your bike. I personally tried 37mm and 32mm on my trip and vastly preferred the 32s, as they were slightly faster and didn't deform as much when cornering.
Another factor to consider is tire toughness and tread. Using road racing tires with minimal tread will reduce your traction in wet and sandy road conditions. Using super knobbly offroad tires will make you slower on paved surfaces and will wear faster.
If you buy a touring specific tire, the tread will likely be an inbetween option and perform well in a range of road and weather conditions.
Touring specific tires should also be a bit more puncture and wear resistant. Most people will recommend you use Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires. These tires are somewhat expensive, but are super puncture proof when run at proper pressure, and can last over 10 000 km without wearing out. I talked to several cyclists running them who said they did not get a single flat all the way across Canada on Marathon Plus.
However, Marathon Plus have an insanely strong wire bead. This means that they can be VERY difficult to install onto your wheel rim in the event you do run over a nail. I personally ran Marathon Plus on my bike a few years ago, and after one or two flats, decided that it was not worth the effort required to get them on and off my wheels.
My suggested tire is the Continental Sport Tour. It is just as flat proof as the Schwalbe, but is much, much easier to install. I can easily seat the Contis with just my thumbs. They also come in a wide range of widths, and have an excellent tread pattern for shedding water and dealing with light to medium gravel and dirt. The downside to the Contis is that they have a shorter life expectancy than the Schwalbes. I found that I was wearing a set of tires out every 3500 km or so. I ended up using three sets of tires of my trip. However, this is not so bad, as the Conti Sport Tours only cost between 23 and 27$ a tire. Compared to the Schwalbes, which cost 50$ minimum per tire and the total cost is comparable. In my mind, the Contis are the superior choice for touring, as long as you will be passing through cities now and then to replace them.

In terms of non-bike gear, it's really up to personal preference. I would highly recommend bringing a good tent with a solid rainfly, that covers the entire tent. It will rain a lot on your cross Canada trip and after a long, wet day on the bike, crawling into a wet, smelly (wet things smell really bad) tent is the worst.
Luckily my tent was amazing, and I only had a few days of perpetual rainy weather that it began to get overwhelmed. Having a rain fly that forms a vestibule in from of the entrance is also nice, as you can store your gear in it overnight and potentially cook in it during inclement weather (make sure your vestibule is well vented and large enough first though!).
Speaking of cooking, I highly recommend bringing a small, single burner stove. I took one that just screwed into the top of a butane/propane canister. If you go thus route, carry a backup canister at all times, as you may run into trouble finding replacements in the prairies and some parts of rural Ontario/Maritimes.

Well, if I ever want to get this last post published, I think I'll wrap it up here with some quotes by yours truly that held true for the length of the tour:
"You will simultaneously despise Google Maps and wonder how you ever lived without it"
"You will never be disappointed to see a Tim Hortons on the horizon"
"There is always going to be another hill"
"Life is short, try as many new things as you can"

And finally, the most important quote:
"Don't worry. Bicycle touring is something you figure out as you go."

And that's it! (for now)
If any future bicycle tourists want to reach out to me with questions or input, or if you are someone I met along the way who wants to get in touch, you can email me at: umbohmer@gmail(.com)
Remove the brackets, obviously.
Happy Trails!

Cross Canada Round Up: Stats

Departure date: May 8th
End date: September 7th (arrival to YXY)
Total trip days: 122
Days spent on the bike: 96
Rest days: 20
Travel days (ferry, airplane; no cycling): 6
Total distance cycled: 10 800 km
Average km/day: 112.5 (not counting rest days)

Best tasting pastry: Chacun Son Pain; Beaupre, QC
Best All Around Bakery: Superior Home Bakery; Sault Ste. Marie, ON
Best Donuts: Country Corner Donuts; Regina, SK

Best tasting single beer: The American Wild Ale; Rebellion Brewing; Regina, SK
Best all around brewery: Rebellion Brewing; Regina, SK
Honorable mentions: Old Yale Brewing; Chilliwack, BC and Trans Canada Brewing; Winnipeg, MB

Best Paid Campground: Sunshine Valley RV Resort and Cabins; Sunshine Valley, BC (I was there for a customer appreciation weekend and my site was discounted)
Honourable mentions: Christina Pines Campground; Christina Lake, BC and Gagnon Beach; Cap-Pele, NB
Best free camping: Horseshoe Lake Recreation Site; Cranbrook, BC
Nicest riding: Highway 138 between Montreal and Quebec
Worst riding: Toss up between the Island Highway from Port McNeil to Woss or Highway 14 in rural Nova Scotia.

Best Bike Shop: Velorution; Sault Ste. Marie, ON

Worst Mosquitoes: Alameda, SK
Runner up: Summerside, PEI

Epilogue Pt I - The End of the Road

Kind of a mixed bag for sleep my last tenting night in rural Nova Scotia.
I did eventually have a weirdly deep sleep with many vivid dreams and slept in until 8 am.
However, there were apparently long weekend fireworks at 10 pm. Not bad, stars were very bright so I poked my head out and contemplated the coincedence of having fireworks after my last full day of riding.
Then, I woke up to water the grass at 2:30 am and discovered that my neighbours were still awake, inebriated and getting very passionate about complaining about things.
After about 15 minutes laying awake, I got out of the tent and politely asked them to keep their voices down. Very diplomatic.
After my sleep-in, I made some coffee, drained the last fuel canister, and finished off the dinner pie. Then I took off for a short ride into the Halifax-Stanfield Airport. Turning onto the highway, I came right into a sturdy headwind.
Well, I started the trip into a headwind, and had headwind most of the way across so I guess it's just fate that I would have headwind the last day. All I needed was a big hill.
Sure enough, Nova Scotia obliged. The airport was apparently built on a fairly good hill and I spent the last 10 km going more or less uphill. Mostly gradual climbing but a punchy section of 10% lent some challenge to the morning.
Arriving at the airport I easily found Alamo Car Rental and the 8 deep lineup. All good though, got a bonus upgrade to an SUV and was off by 12:30. Zooming along the expressway, I felt super weird driving. It was wrong. But after getting slightly lost and falling back on bluetooth directions, I made it to the hostel.
I was quickly checked in and found a bike box shortly after. Chores done, I found myself with 36 hours to kill in Halifax.
I saddled up again for one last ride and took an unencumbered spin down to the waterfront to dip my tires. Then found some beer and donuts and headed back to the hostel.
I perused several options for dinner and settled on Maxwell's Plum, as they seemed to have cheap, decent pub food and a good beer selection.
It was a great place! They had a full breakfast on special for 7$ so I sprung for that and a few pints.
I dragged myself back to the hostel, spent some time reading and went to bed.
The next day I moved the rental car to a paid lot, as street parking was still enforced for Labour Day. I then set to work packing up my bike. It went smoother than expected. The bike shop provided a large box and even gave me some foam packing to protect my frame.
After wrestling with tight pedal threads, I eventually got it all stuffed away and took a break to plan my next move.
With nothing better to do, I wandered down into the city proper, dropping into cafes and scoping out potential dinner spots. Eventually growing tired of wandering, I returned to the hostel. After some more laying around (god I feel so lazy), I decided on Maxwell's Plum again and dropped some dollars on a hefty feast of beer and comfort food.
When I returned to the hostel once again, I found a few hostel guests and employees sitting outside. I sat down and spent the evening crushing beers, espresso and getting a bit carried away.
Woke up the final day with an incredible hangover. I mostly just lay around for a while before taking a hot shower and steeling myself for the long day ahead.
Once I got myself moving, I actually got packed up quicker than anticipated and I was driving back out to the airport by 10 am.
Making one last Irving stop to refuel the rental and purchase packing tape, I made the final touches to my baggage and bike box in the parking lot.
Post car-return I headed to the WestJet checkin, preparing myself emotionally and mentally for the oversize baggage fees. Following the directions of the attendant, I went through self checkin and paid the standard baggage fees before carting my gear over to oversize scanning.
Still waiting for the axe to drop I put my bags and box through the scanner and through the mysterious plastic flaps.
Waiting for a credit card machine to appear, I realized that I was done processing my baggage. No oversized fees.
Huh.
I handed off my bear spray to an attendant for disposal, as it can't fly without an approved secure container, I quickly put some distance between myself and the checkin desk before someone tried to charge me more.
Passing easily through security, I purchases a magazine and waited around for a few hours before my 3 pm departure.
The flight was long, 6 hours to Calgary direct, but my hangover was improving and after spending 4 months riding a bicycle for 6 - 10 hours a day it passed quickly.
I had a two and a half day layover in Calgary before the last leg of the trip would take me home to the Yukon.
I was picked up at YYC by my hiking buddy from the June rest day, and after working out the complicated spatial geography of small car + big bike box we made it down to my aunt's place.
I spent a few days hiking and visitinf family, trying to reorder my brain out of bicycle touring mode. No good though, I still feel weird walking or driving any distance larger than a few hundred meters. I begin thinking about winter plans and possible employment, but it seems a world away. I'm still waiting to wake up in the tent again, smelly, tired, and sore. Ready to make the morning oatmeal and head off for a new destination. I am beginning to wonder if I will be able to adjust to life off two wheels. At least, my body is not ready to adjust. Despite my relatively sedentary few days since Halifax, I find that I still crave a bicycle tourists diet and I have to discipline myself not to eat 6 or 7 meals a day, or put away 6 donuts at a sitting.
Anyways, I pack up my things again Friday morning, preparing for the last leg of the journey, back to the Yukon by air.
The flight is short, and my mother is waiting to pick me up.
My bicycle and luggage all arrives safely (minus a bag of spare cables and my bike lights, oops). The season is just starting to turn, but it is obviously autumn, meaning that I have missed a Yukon summer for the first time in my life.
I spend a few days visiting family and trying to reintegrate to normal life. I keep riding my bicycle, obviously, and discover that I am quite a bit stronger than I was before the trip. All those brutal days I forced on myself showing some benefits perhaps.
It's still not the same though. I find myself randomly planning new trips or casting my thoughts back to sunny days crossing the wide open prairie, and humid nights watching thunderstorms from the comfort of warmshowers host apartments. While I definitely do not want to do the Cross Canada again anytime soon (never say never), I think I'm really starting to warm up to this bicycle touring thing.

Tires still wet from dipping

Good thing I was bumped up to an SUV

Just chillin' in Kananaskis

Back home, back on the bike

Finishing Strong

When I poked my head out of my tent at 7:30 am, the wind was already howling.
Oh well, I only had to go 25 km to the ferry for the first leg of the day, and what's another headwind after so many?
However, I would soon discover that not only did I misjudge the direction of the ferry landing relative to the wind, the shoulder for the last rip on the Trans Canada was smooth and wide. So I sailed down to the landing in good time, not feeling any of the exhaustion lurking below the surface.
I passed the ferry trip eating free cheese samples, charging my phone, and reading a newspaper. I know, boring, boring. But I've spent the last two weeks along the Gulf of St. Lawrence, so it's nothing new.
As we docked, I headed on deck to give Nova Scotia a strict first assessment.
Much more wooded than PEI, and yep. Sure enough there were some decent hills lurking menacingly in the background.
I let all the vehicles disembark before hopping back in the saddle and enjoying a highway totally free of traffic for about 10 km.
Continuing on to New Glasglow, I passed several lumber mills, filling the air with billowing smoke and the acrid, metallic tang of chemicals. Lovely.
Stopping in town for groceries, pints and a new book, I chatted with the bartender at Backstage Brewing for a bit before heading out for an "easy" ride another 25 km to a campground.
I probably should have checked the elevatiom profile.
As I left New Glasgow, the road began winding up. Waiting for the eventual downhill, I plodded on. The road kept going up.
And up.
And up.
For the entire 25 km I climbed over what is apparently the easternmost foot of the Appalachian Mountains. Wow! The more you know! Sure enough, the campground was smack at the top, and after so many long, tiring days and a small mountain, I was pooped.
I had expected a gas station or convenience store enroute and being wrong, I had to make do with only my instant rice dinner and pop tarts for snacking. Oh well, I still filled up and then had a chat with the guy who runs the park and campground. He offered me a small bottle of maple syrup produced on property and I graciously accepted. It will go well with my oatmeal for the last few days on the road. The day wasn't too bad even. I did manage to sew up my pants and lube my chain before calling it an early night.
I'm going to attempt a run to Lunenberg and back up to the Halifax Airport by Sunday morning, but if it doesn't work out, oh well. Only 3 more days on the bike and man am I looking forward to my soft bed and warm shower in the Yukon.
As I ran out of purification tabs the day before, I risked drinking the water right from the tap, despite a boil water recommendation. I like to live dangerously.
I didn't find my downhill for a while. The morning started with a ride along a hilltop ridge for an hour. Luckily the road was good and traffic nonexistant. I put on some tunes and had a nice ride.
Descending into the valley, it started to get less enjoyable. Remote woodlands gave way to small farms, rusted cars, and potholed roads. Truck traffic increased and the local populace emerged as mainly surly, overweight white dudes. It seems I charted a course through Rednecktopia.
As I went along, I passed through much of the same, with some rolling hills thrown in. The shoulder was nonexistant, food and water were hard to find, and garbage was everywhere. Garbage in the ditch, in people's yards, in the parking lots.
Nova Scotia is edging down below Northern Ontario on the Provincial Rating Scale.
I stopped at a small ballpark for lunch and tried to settle some last minute escape plans. I needed to find camping, as I discovered that the imminent Long Weekend meant that campsites were hard to come by, and I still needed to book a car rental.
After an hour of data usage and phone calls, I called it good enough and took off. Turning onto a "feeder highway", I assumed that traffic would be low and it would be a relaxing afternoon ride to some camping.
I was so very wrong.
The road was in bad shape, no shoulder, potholes, etc. And the traffic was abysmal. Drivers were doing minimum 20 km/hr over the speed limit, passing me with less than 2 ft space, often shouting or laying on the horn at my audacity to ride a bicycle within 5 km of them.
The transport trucks were the worst. Passing as close as possible, at 90 km/hr, ingnoring blind corners and hilltops. I began filming with my action camera just in case I needed evidence at at hit and run trial.
To make matters worse, the road wound over a series of hills, into a headwind. And then it started pouring rain.
Things were grim. But what could I do? I just turned my pedals, secured my wallet and phone in a pannier and toughed it out to camping.
When I rolled in, I negotiated a very costly site for the night (frickin long weekends...) and set up camp. I came close to a nervous breakdown when the wind blew my action camera off the charger and into a dense bush, making me think it had been stolen until I got down on all fours and conducted an extensive search.
Then my thigh cramped up as I couldn't believe, making me feel like someone hooked a car battery up to my quadriceps.
Eventually though, the cramp passed.
I made dinner and hung up my damp clothes and read my new book.
I slept the best sleep for weeks.
The next day I cooked breakfast and determined my stove fuel may only have enough oomph for one more meal.
Pie for breakfast Saturday? I think so.
I braved the rigours of Highway 14 again, but the traffic was much better. I made it into Windsor by 11 am, grabbing one last rice dinner from Sobeys before hitting up the local cafe and brewery. I have campsites booked for tonight and Saturday and booked a car online for Sunday. Things are starting to shuffle into place.
It only took a shott effort to get back up into the hills to the campground. I set up, killed a nearby pallet for wood, then cooked some curry rice over the fire before discovering some wild blackberries, reading and going to bed.
The next day I did my best to drain the dregs of gas from my last canister. No good though, still a dribble left. Oh well, it can heat some coffee tomorrow.
I had camping booked in Renfrew that night and was looking at a 35 km ride on bad roads or a 100 km ride on unknown roads.
Easy choice. It's my last full day on the bike (only biking to the airport Sunday to rent a car), so I must obviously do the 100 km of mystery.
A little unnerved by the number of geographical features ahead of me with "hill" or "mountain" in their name, I took off. Sure enough, a few short winds took me up the side of the local hill for 10 km straight. Google Maps informed me that it would be all downhill from my 11 am snack break, but as always, my heart was subsequently broken by a series of winding hills.
I dipped briefly down into Sackville before turning north again and hitting the first good cycling road I have yet found in Nova Scotia. No shoulder, except in parts, but traffic was good and the surface was smooth. I passed the first cyclists I have yet seen in Nova Scotia.
A quick stop in Enfield for an Irving lobster roll and then I hit up Sobeys.
Being my last night camping, I went in for a feast of watermelon, corn chips, pie and beer.
Whew, gonna need to start cutting firewood asap when I get home. The calories are starting to pile up.
I spent the last night polishing off a book, feasting, and double checking bookings for my return home.
Just a quick visit to Halifax, Calgary and then it's home.
Looking back over pictures of the trip, I am having trouble believing it's over. Surely there is another cloud to gaze at, another hill to struggle over, better coffee and beer and donuts somewhere down the road...
But all journeys must end. Time to return to the Yukon and try processing four months of incredible travel.
But first, Halifax!

Beer was decent, decor was a solid 10

Need this range for my future cabin/shack

I was told Irving's big stop was the place for lobster rolls. It was alright-ish.