Always enjoy a good TR here. As we wait for snow thought Id contribute and post a trip I did a few weeks back. Mostly type II fun I would say...
BC750 Day 1 (https://www.strava.com/activities/9486905109)
The BCEpic1000 is a 1000km route that goes from Fernie to Merritt. My buddy Dan introduced me to bike adventures and had spearheaded the planning of our previous trips. This would be our third birthday bike trip together and I was very psyched to hang out and take on a somewhat adventurous ride. In hindsight, letting me plan this trip was mistake #1. The stipulations were that we wanted to do big days/cover lots of ground and end in Kamloops. The idea that eventually surfaced was a four day ride from Trail BC to Kamloops that would involve three 200+ km days on the BCEpic1000 route to Merritt and finishing up on the fourth day with a relaxing 100km from Merritt to Kamloops with time for some patio sessions.
So on a random Wednesday in July we set off from Trail to complete the first 40km leg to Castlegar in the early morning. My note for this leg said ‘very tough start’ though I also received unsolicited advice on the Facebook to avoid this section “unless you love to suffer”. Oh yeah, we love to suffer. I would come to realize that suffering on a bike was very different from other types of suffering. The air was crisp but our spirits were not high given the daunting three days ahead of us. Dan also woke up with a slight cold, which would prove to be less than ideal. In the normal mix of feelings that comes with setting out on something so large, we were certainly on the ‘nervous/tense’ end of the spectrum rather.
The route from Trail immediately kicks up outside of town on a paved road before turning to dirt. These first kilometers of dirt were not easy riding: loose sand and big ruts. But we have energy and its rideable. Unfortunately the route gets worse from here. And then worse from there. A few hours in and Dan and I are walking our bikes up and down sandy hills. With all the on-and-off the bike this 40 km takes more than four hours and we finally roll into Castlegar at 1030h. It’s getting hot and we’re a bit shell-shocked. We get some liquids at a Pharmasave and head out. We have about a 50km climb ahead of us and it would be my introduction to rail grades. Something I have now come to loathe. But the contrast with the last 40km makes us start the climb in great spirits. The views of Arrow Lake were incredible. But doing anything this many hours in a row gets repetitive and the last bit of the climb seems to go on forever. The timing is perfect though, we exited the shady hillside just in time for the sun to beat the crap out of us as we carry on. A short detour confirms that the trail ahead is closed and forces us to climb out of the canyon to get back onto the highway and then descend into Christina Lake. This would be the steepest climb of the trip during the hottest part of the day. We had run out of water but managed to crawl back to the highway before the descent. My contact points are already a bit sore making this a bit tiresome but I’ll take it over some of the terrain we had been through earlier.
When we stop for dinner in Christina Lakes, Dan is hurting. The combination of the cold he had and the heat has resulted in him wondering if he can keep going given we still have 100km to go with almost all of it off road. The next 25km to Grand Forks should be mainly downhill but after a rest and chat, we decide to forego the trail and push on via the highway. Though it’s getting towards the evening, it feels even hotter than before with the sun at eye level. This was the death knell for Dan. We reach Grand Forks and we both know he can’t carry on. He will be ending his trip here and I have to decide whether I want to continue on alone. There is no real reason for me to stop other than being a bit daunted by three days alone on the bike in terrain I’m unfamiliar with. In a way, I was hoping Dan would tell me he wanted me to stay back for some reason and I would have an excuse not to carry on. But I decided to buck up. I said goodbye to Daniel and headed out for the next 35km climb. It was getting late at the top and even riding pavement would put me at about a midnight arrival in Rock Creek. I had also noted the next section of trail down to Greenwood has between 70 and 100 cattle gates. Doing the math, getting in later than midnight is putting me at less than 6 hours of sleep at the most before I have to set out tomorrow. (As I do this math I also think to myself: “Wait, this is my vacation?”). I make the decision to ride on the highway to Rock Creek from the top of the hill. I turn on my lights, turn off my brain, and pedal. I finally get to Rock Creek and after a quick gas station stop I get to my cabin, shower, wash my clothes by hand, and eat as much as my stomach will allow. This will be my routine for the next two days.
BC750 Day 2 (https://www.strava.com/activities/9491670639)
My body is in quiet a state from the previous day. It ended up being almost 17 hours out and my butt is feeling it. I eat my gas station sandwich for breakfast with a bit of caffeine and head out. Though all my contact points hurt, as my body gets warmed up the pain subsides and I’m treated to some very nice views. I am in a good head space which is needed given I have about 100km of uphill ahead of me. There is not much of note between here and Chute Lake Resort above Myra Canyon and though the elevation gain is gradual, I solidify my opinion that rail grades suck. Going down they are not steep enough to enjoy and going up it takes forever to gain any elevation. There are times where I would gain 100m over 10km. This is demoralizing and so I find it best to not check the numbers.
Riding out of Rock Creek is quite beautiful and though I have a long climb ahead of me, I know that once at the top, I “know” I have a great downhill all the way to. I turn off my brain and get pedaling taking in the views. The water sources I have labelled all turn out to be false and I go from “rec site” to “rec site” wondering if there are any sources. A camper gives me some water and electrolyte powder that I didn’t realize was bubblegum flavoured and my bottles would taste of bubblegum for the rest of the trip. I hate bubblegum flavour. I have a water filter and the situation is not dire, but this climb just won’t quit. At the top of the climb I seem to have reached civilization. A sign! People with rental bikes! My stoke is high that I have a 40 km cruise down to Chute Lake and then another 45 to Penticton.
Setting out from the rental bike location I’m treated to the most spectacular part of the trip. Myra Canyon is quite incredible. I’m flying down and this trip seems to have turned around! But about 12km down Myra Canyon the people get sparser, then the good terrain gets sparser, and finally my good mood becomes a memory. The terrain goes from perfect gravel to miserable rutted out dirt. Three days later my triceps still hurt from the hour or two of shaking down this “descent”. I thought this part was going to be a cruise all the way down to town but I was wrong and I am the most miserable I will be on this trip. I am hating this. Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse the ruts turn to sand and I am putting out so much energy to keep moving and stay upright while going downhill. I’m screaming obscenities by myself in the middle of nowhere for the next couple of hours to Chute Lake lodge. If Garth hadn’t told me there is a restaurant at this point to look forward to I don’t know how I would’ve have been able to motivate myself to keep going. I roll into the lodge at 6pm and need to have a proper stop to decompress as I’m not in a good headspace at the moment. I put down some food, get some words of encouragement from some strangers (one of whom assures me the road is pretty great the rest of the way). The road is terrible for the next 20km and I am even angrier and more frustrated than before the lodge. Ruts. Sand. Ruts. Sand. I move over to one side of the road. Then slide over to the other side of the road where it looks better. It’s not better. So I slide back. Over and over. Slipping. Spinning. The relentless pounding. Rock dodging. So so awful. It’s not until the final switchback outside of Penticton that I can finally relax but my body has taken such a beating even the gentle downhill feels painful everywhere. The sun setting brings welcome relief from the heat. I psych myself up knowing that once in town I will have only 15km till my motel in Summerland. And though it’s been a very long day, I should be arriving before 10pm which means I’ll have some time to recuperate. After a quick coke in Penticton I set out for the last couple of hours up to the motel which, in contrast to my last eight hours, are a breeze. I even have time to look around and enjoy my surroundings (what a concept). Same routine: gas station, motel, shower, wash clothes by hand, fall asleep. Though excited to have this day behind me, another daunting day ahead does not allow me to fully relax.
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