Three new “songs of the rides” from my British Columbia Tour on the Music to ride Bikes by page.
I really do have very little idea how my mind works with these songs of the rides. I have six days of cycling and three of them had their own theme tunes. Each song totally different in tone and origin, one just a fragment that stuck as it passed.
But each is as much a memory of the day as the words and photos in the main blog.
I hope you are singing as you are riding.
Enjoy.
Final proper day of the tour – 135km to meet my friends camping by Lake Okanagan just north of Kelowna’s Westside. 271miles/440km since I left Whistler, the tour is over, a glass of local wine by the beach to celebrate.
With pained memories of my previous long day just 3 days ago and the forecasts of temperatures well into the 30s all day I studied the ride and route profile assuming a day similar to day 1 – long and hard. As it was I had one of those special days on the bike where everything seemed to work out perfectly, the scenery was great and the miles just disappeared under the wheels making it a great end to my short tour.
I shall do some roundup posts about one or two subjects when I get home, but a thoroughly enjoyable four days in a stunning country. So glad I did it.
The ride
Because of the heat I was out of the motel and on the road by 6am with the intention of bowling along the valley from Kamloops to my main climb out of the valley as early as possible.
Odd bit of signposting as I left the motel, the marked bike route sent me almost immediately onto the shoulder of Highway 1 where I was to spend the next 26km despite the fact that most of the way alongside the main highway were a combination of service roads and residential roads that would make a perfectly good linear cycle network all the way along the valley.
However today it didn’t matter, it was early on a Saturday morning so the number of vehicles was minimal and there was no wind at all.
In fact the overwhelming feeling was of a day that was going to be a scorcher. The heat haze was almost mist already down the valley and in fact it never left all day, running any prospects for good photography.
The road was just gently rolling and the hard shoulder was wide and well surfaced which just invited me to get into a slightly tucked position with my forearms resting on the handlebars and my hands just gripping the cables, reminiscent of a time trial position without tri-bars. Even the knobbly tyres seemed to roll without too much drag and I polished off the first 26km to the climb really easily.
This was slow and sticky, at least at the bottom, so I just tapped my way up easily, trying to conserve energy and not get too warm. But it was only a 400m climb alongside the relatively shallow gradient of a main road so it seemed to go quite quickly. The bonus was at the top when the road crested a small rise and dropped me into a beautiful green and fertile valley, just that bit cooler than the arid valley I had left.
At first the bottom of the valley was a flat area of grasslands and reeds fed by a steam, then the attractive Monte Lake with fishermen’s boats and a spectacular railway track hugging the far shore.
After the lake the valley opened out onto a pancake flat area of farms, many of them with sprinklers going flat out and my first signs of the famous Okanagan fruit crops with cherries for sale by the road.
Once again this road was so flat and inviting I ignored all the temptations to stop and just lay gently on my handlebars while bowling along at a really good pace. In my mind’s eye I could see those days in the Tour de France when the peleton has 200km or more to ride across the baking plains of the Vendee and the teams send the “rouleurs” to the front to just eat up the kilometres at a steady pace. Nothing like the same pace on my laden steed but the feeling of just knocking off the miles quickly was enjoyment in itself.
At the end of the open valley section the surrounding hills suddenly closed in to form a narrow V and I was descending again towards my chosen mid ride break at Falkland. Nearly 50 miles/80km achieved over an hour ahead of plan so I treated myself to a breakfast and home-cooked blueberry pie just to celebrate. I chose the rather twee café which looked like an English tea room because I liked the seat on the terrace, but I don’t know anywhere at home that also has a mural of their “Stampede” on the wall, the Falkland Stampede being the town’s biggest event of the year. I guess we would understand it as a rodeo, but I gather the rodeo is just one of the events in a celebration of all things cowboy and country.
From Falkland the road then descended at varying gradients for almost another 30km until I emerged into the north end of the Okanagan valley which features a lake 135km long. The valley is the home of a busy tourism industry, British Columbia’s wine growing and fertile farming district.
My destination was ultimately Kelowna but my friends from the city were camping at Fintry, some 30km north of the city on the west side of the lake so I was able to turn down the quiet West Side Drive to complete my trip. I was feeling so pleased with myself I initially tried to slipstream two road cyclists on skinny lightweights as they came past but that idea lasted no more than a few metres of downhill before I was gasping for breath and my legs reminded me that this was day 4.
The road offered regular views over the lake and the houses in amazing settings, but it also meant that the ride finished with some stiff climbs up and around the headlands.
Last hill!
I was pleased I didn’t have to do any seriously big climbs, by now it was 1.30, the heat was stifling and the tarmac was melting on the road.
Arrival
Fintry was a delight, the former property of a rich Scottish man who had inherited some wealth and used it to escape to Canada and try to build a model farm on the banks of the lake almost 100 years ago. Today the old house is a museum and the area is mostly a delightful family camping ground by the lake where I was able to relax and have an afternoon snooze after a refreshing glass of white.
Fintry Mansion
Fintry Barns
I even justified carrying a can of extra strong insect spray all the way from Whistler – the only downside of the location!
Job done.
How to give a cyclist fork to mouth resuscitation.
I think I must have been complacent after yesterday’s ride and not eaten enough breakfast because I was caught by surprise after only 25 miles when my legs went to jelly in the pleasant and sleepy lakeside township of Savona.
A big shout out to the Roadside Diner therefore, your massive Roadside Omelette with refills of coffee and sourdough toast saved me.
Traffic worries – or not?
I wasn’t sure what to expect from today. The simple facts were 85km from Cache Creek to Kamloops and only a few hundred metres of climbing. But I was quite concerned that I was now joining Canada’s Highway 1, the Trans-Canada and the many trucks seen in Cache Creek could be coming my way. Plus the forecast for Kamloops was heading for 34 degrees, so I certainly didn’t want to be out in the main heat surrounded by traffic.
I have no idea why I worried. Most of the trucks I had seen the previous day were heading north as a new link has bypassed this East-West section of Highway 1. It is amazing to see that in any country a road designated number 1 was so lowly trafficked until much later in the morning. Most of the way it had at least a 1 metre shoulder and the drivers were unfailingly courteous, pulling far wider than expected or needed as the passed me. For long periods I was alone listening to birdsong and crickets.
The only exception was as I approached Kamloops. Volumes of vehicles shot up from traffic re-joining off the alternative route and the city itself was far bigger and busier than I had imagined. I guess I had been expecting the next size up from the small towns of previous days but this is a big, bustling town, a real shock to the system.
The ride
Actually little to report. Much of the riding itself was on open arid plateau or similar wide valley, irrigated to support crops with the road visible in the hazy heat winding into the distance.
Even after the spectacular descent to Kamloops Lake at Savona the road pulled away from the lakeside most of the way, climbing quite high before a steep final descent to the city of Kamloops.
It was very hot and I am frustrated that after lavish doses of factor 30 I neglected the tops of my legs which I never need to cover at home, by June they are always well browned. But of course this has not been that sort of summer in Europe and I have a painful pink line which I won’t share.
Other reflections on the way: Savona was a sweet, sleepy place and the locals take amazing pride in their lakeside gardens and flowers, shocks of colour against the dry scrubby landscape.
But almost every other house in Savona appeared to be for sale and all the way along there were what could be dream houses for sale. The real estate collapse in Canada was very much in evidence here.
To end.
In the big town I was quite taken aback at having to battle traffic and navigation to get to my motel.
However all was saved by the discovery of a riverside terrace nearby and a beautiful sunset. All is tranquil before another long hard day tomorrow.
Day 2 and a complete contrast to the previous day. A much shorter ride – only 55miles/87km. This time I had checked the route profile much more carefully. Most importantly the climbing was very different. I actually was climbing for nearly half the ride, sneaking upwards a few metres at a time but spread over 25miles/40km the net gradient was shallow and there was plenty of respite.
I also got out early to miss the warmest part of the day, leaving the motel at 7.30am so I was at my destination for lunchtime, and more importantly a long Skype call home at a sensible time for my family in England. So less about the pain and suffering today and much more about the features of this part of British Columbia and another delightful ride. Good day!
New landscapes
Lillooet was being gently lit by a sun that peeped over the valley edge and highlighted the main street and the tidy buildings, including my star Greek restaurant, Dina’s.
It was also clear that this was going to be a very different day in landscape terms. Even dropping into Lillooet last night it was clear this was something different. All the way from Whistler the previous ride had featured waterfalls running down from snow in the mountains. The valleys were lush and the rocks were grey.
This was now very different, arid and dusty. There was no snow to feed streams and the soil had turned a sandy red and yellow. Irrigation was being used to water the occasional flash of bright green on a farm, but otherwise the plant life was largely scrub.
The Frazer River showed its power by carving out a deep gorge in the soft stone as our road gradually gained height up the gorge side providing some spectacular views. (Below and first photo above) 
The riding wasn’t too painful this time, I could sit and ride up in my lower gears and I only needed to bounce out of the saddle occasionally for a change of position.
Pavilion Lake
After about 20miles/30km the road swung east to make the final climb up to Pavilion, Pavilion Lake and the Marble Canyon. As I had already gained half the height of the day this last steeper section went by easily and almost by surprise I reached my highest point. This allowed me a massive treat. The valley was lush, wide and inviting.
The blue of Pavilion Lake was breath-taking and I envied the people camping or owning summer houses by the water in this beautiful place. (Second photo above and below) 
The lakeside road was 4miles/6km long, rippling gently up and down as I rolled along easily.
From the end of the lake the water starts to flow down towards Cache Creek but only along a long shallow valley so there were no sharp descents until the very end. Visitors from Europe would easily recognise the farming patterns, cattle out in the fertile valleys enjoying summer pasture fed by the river while the hillsides were becoming dry and barren.
There was a niggling head wind but I rolled along steadily, especially when I realised that lunch in Cache Creek and an afternoon off was an option. I even got out of the saddle and thrashed up a couple of small climbs because I wanted to – I must have been feeling better.
Cache Creek
The biggest disappointment was the end of the valley. Just 5km to go but I left my sleepy highway 99 to join a much bigger road and a blustery head wind. I put my head down in best British Time Trial mode and allowed the suction of the trucks to give me a bit of a boost every few hundred metres. I really hadn’t thought about it much before but the traffic volumes previously had been unobtrusive and unfailing polite in passing me, a strong recommendation.
And so to Cache Creek, a nondescript collection of motels and houses at a highway junction. Few redeeming features, but the motel is spotless and welcoming and I have enjoyed a laid back afternoon catching up.
Route profile credit:
There is very little on line material about cycle touring in this area. I got my information from Bikely.com and in particular the routes put up by user nozza who has done much of the same route I am riding. The image below is a screen copy of nozza’s route – please visit the site for more information and or some of the other great routes this user has done. Thank you very, very much!
Hustle and bustle at the chalet this morning. There is a real mixture of riders here at Bear Back Biking which reflects the diversity of rising in Whistler. Downhill culture gets all the publicity because of the Whistler Bike Park but the variety of trails and facilities means that small groups will go off in different directions.
Today I had a guided ride off to the area known as Riverside which as it suggests is a series of routes up and down a steep sided valley with a glacial river flowing down the gorge. Beautiful spot with a choice of gravel forest roads or a network of swooping and dipping trails up and around the river. And once again the guys at Bear Back had pitched it just right for my level so I was really able to enjoy it.
Yesterday was very much about riding skills but today was more about scenery and landscapes, although as most cyclists knows that means more hills – you can’t have views without some climbing and for me why come to a mountain resort unless you are going to get up to a level, even with low cloud around.
And I got to meet the neighbours too!
The other highlight of the valley was the sheer exuberance of the greens in the little hollows and ponds which featured up and down the valley. It was almost temperate rainforest in its appearance with the combination of ferns and fronds, a rare combination in most countries.
Great to be here in Whistler for my two days mountain biking.
It was an amazing trip up here – I was told the Sea to Sky Highway was something special – it certainly is. Imagine a four lane highway alongside a fiord, swooping up and down to take in enormous views. And then at Squamish we turn in towards the mountains for the first time, following the valley up to Whistler.
Arrival at the Alta Vista Chalet last night, home of Bear Back Riding, my hosts for the next two days.
The welcome was warm, the food was excellent and it was also good to bike up to the Village to see Canada Day fireworks on the mountain.
Today some trepidation – how would I cope in this mecca of mountain biking? 50 year old roadie, not done much off road for a couple of years and definitely carrying a few kilos that I could do without when we start climbing. And needless to say the rain was hammering down
Probably didn’t need to worry. Full suspension bike from one of the many rental stores in the Village which frankly rides better than my bike at home. My guide Jamie took me off to the Lost Lake trail area which I gather is the testing ground for new arrivals.
I had an excellent day – 3 hours with Jamie in the morning and then another two hours after lunch on my own to freshen up my skills. The trails selected were about right for my ability although I got absolutely infuriated with myself because I couldn’t get up anything technical at all. As soon as a few rocks or roots got in the way I seemed to just stall. In the afternoon I felt much better.
The trails were probably “Red” by UK standards which is just about my limit at the Seven Stanes or centres in Wales, so that worked really well. What I haven’t ridden much are the wooden bridges as I don’t ride North Shore at home but these were really not slippery given the awful conditions. Best named section “Pinnocchios Furniture” – because this boy is made of wood.
Not many photos today as the weather wasn’t very good for views but I have stocked up a few for a blog post about Whistler itself tomorrow. Interesting to compare such a bike mecca with the transport cycling towns that we have been discussing last week – this is a whole different outlook.
Low cloud line!
Last two days in Vancouver before I move into holiday mode.
Rounding up some incidental photos from across the week, wanderings on Saturday and then off to watch the European Championships finals in the Italian area of Vancouver – which was achieved by way of a few discoveries on the way.
So this is a messy post, but one that closes the week nicely.
Mood – chilled out. Everywhere should have a cycle route called Chilco, but it sums up the weekend mood in Vancouver just nicely.
And Saturday’s ride was a gentle meander after the rain which took me to Inukshuk.
T
he symbol of the stones is actually seen all over BC as a welcome, but this one on the Seaside was oddly accompanied by pillars of stones set on the rocks by the sea. I am sure I could look up why, but they seemed oddly apt beside the larger piece.
Nearby I also saw the most over-ambitious roof garden I have ever seen. It’s a bit grainy, but yes there is a tree on that roof facing the sea winds. “More money than sense” as your granny would say.
Sunday
And to today’s ride. Out from the city centre to Commercial Road which is lined with Italian cafes and restaurants, so the obvious spot to see Italy play Spain in the Euros.
And handily marked a quiet streets cycle route out to my destination and back.
Diverting slightly off route via Chinatown on the way out I found this amazing mural.
The Chinatown is not as ornate as those in London or Manchester with such defined entrances, it seems to be a more authentic Chinese living and trading area than a tourist trap.
Chinatown then gives on to some lovely residential streets with what I would call “colonial” style houses, although that is probably not the politically correct term in the 21st Century.
To Commercial Road where throngs are gathered on the pavements outside every cafe, although it appears the Spanish are almost as populous as Italians, and even more so when they won – resulting in a street parade of honking horns and flags.
So finally I drift back towards the railway and bus station for my bus to Whistler.
And I am rewarded by excellent views back over the city, some great cycling themed murals and then finally the outstanding modernist 1920s interior of the Vancouver main railway station – a building lost well out from the city centre. A shame because the interior is a treat.
I have been trying to get my head round watching the Tour de France from British Columbia. Particularly this year because of the British interest with Wiggins and Cavendish. So I just sat down with the official Tour web site and the trusty time zone calculator to discover that Wiggo should be donning the yellow jersey for the first time around 8.30 am tomorrow.*
And after that the stage finishes should all be around the same time each day. Amazing – able to watch the sport without the slightest guilt that I am wasting the day, not sold out because I am watching not riding, not having to do the ironing to justify watching sport all afternoon. And then I can go ride my bike afterwards.
Yippee!
*Over-optimism may be creeping in with the joy of this discovery.
Tour de France at the Halfway Inn, Kent, England
Having had several days where the weather has been good and the sunlight has brought out the very best in Vancouver tonight’s bike parade was a rather gloomy affair.
Sadly few modern cities of steel and concrete can look at their best in under darkened skies. However a real brightness was brought by the volunteers from the Hub in their bright yellow shirts, but oather than that it was a bit dour. A shame, because I had already done much of the route in the sunshine over the last few days and it was great and for some of the delegates this will be their main bike excursion around the city.
The other thing that ruined the photography was the lack of many interesting participants from the city, I was really hoping we might get some of the cycling sub-cultures out on the street. Our delegates were somewhat uniform because they are almost all on the Bixi public bike sharing machines from Montreal and wearing the uniform black Lazer helmets issued by the organisers to encourage us to comply with the mandatory helmet law here. (Although many didn’t comply.) Thank heavens for some Dutch humour – they always say laughter is one of the greatest weapons in advocacy. Well done.
So limited photography of the kind I like, you will have to go back the Vienna RadPaRade for some real cycling diversity. But a few shots – we did enjoy ourselves and for those that had never done a Velo-city bike parade with 800 people in a close road convory were really enjoying the novelty.
Yesterday’s early morning ride. Waterfront, Stanley Park and views from Lion’s Gate Bridge.
I happened to have a moment when I had to fill a short gap from the stage of our conference. I told the European delegates that if they didn’t use the fact they are all waking up at 5am to get down there at first light they would regret it. I hope there is a small convoy of Bixi bikes out there now even as I am typing. The light quality is brilliant. And for photographers I can say that the shot above did not use any filters or treatment – the diffraction effect just came naturally.
Bike parade round the city tonight. Should be god for lots of photos, although the conference talk is of how many delegates and locals are going to use it as a chance to protest about the compulsory helmet law.
And welcome to my new best friend – what $129 buys you from the bike recycling scheme at Ride On Again – just the job.
This gallery contains 7 photos.
Lots of stuff about Velo-city 2012 on the official ECF web site and trending seriously on twitter after this morning’s barnstorming opening presentation by Gil Penalosa. #velocity2012. But that is the day job which you can follow on http://www.ECF.com – … Continue reading
Detail – The Raven and the first men – Bill Reid
British Columbia Museum of Anthropology – great backdrop to kick off Velo-city global in Vancouver.
More shots to come – but this one is enough for tonight.
Background here
There are benefits to time zone changes. Awake at 4, on the bike at first light. Vancouver’s Stanley Park was stunning as the light broke over the mountains.
Sunrise, Stanley Park Vancouver
“Girl in a wet suit” statue
The promise – promotion for National Bike Week in Dublin
I feel really sorry for my hosts for the last few days.
To be fair they did put on an excellent cycling conference. But to invite an international cycling group to your city and have every possible weather cliché come true is really sad, there is really no reason why a storm should wreck everything in June.
To give it some science. Those outside northern Europe may not know that the Atlantic Jetstream is bringing storms across the Atlantic hundreds of kilometres further south than is normal at this time of year which brings record rainfall since April.
And global warming means these storms are wetter and windier than we really should expect. When I got back to the UK last night the country was covered in flood warnings and Brussels has been awful for weeks too.
So sadly the Dublin cycling tour to look at what the city has done on cycling just became a mess, unprepared riders in difficult gloomy conditions. By the time we set off to ride to the conference on Friday I had every sympathy with people from Slovenia or Romania who had run out of dry clothes.
So this trip’s photo record reflects the experience. All I can promise is that I will go back.
“Do not despair” message of the day?
Despite the rain being on a bike was just so much better than being in the congested car traffic. And credit to the hardy Dublin cyclists who replicated Copenhagen’s Green Wave – but as a small wave of high viz bowling in to town.
I hope Vancouver gives me some respite next week. And as a Brit I really hope the weather doesn’t do to the Olympics what it just did to Dublin Cycling Campaign. Fingers crossed.
Any port in a storm
Plan B – the only viable alternative
With just a week to go until I leave with the rest of the ECF team to attend Velo-city Global 2012 in Vancouver it has just hit me what amazing four weeks I have coming up.
This week it is off to Dublin for the Dublin Cycling Campaign conference which is focussing on participation and equality, especially cycling for women. Muireann O’Dea, Dublin Cycling Campaign’s new Chairperson talks about it here.
The day before the conference I am running a workshop in Dublin with the participants in VOCA The “Volunteers of Cycling” Academy (VOCA) Project. The two year project brings together small cycling advocacy groups from 11 European cities. Dublin, Seville (Spain), Nicosia (Cyprus), Vienna (Austria), Copenhagen (Denmark), Maribor (Slovenia), Prague (Czech Republic), Budapest (Hungary), Warsaw (Poland), Lisbon (Portugal) and Bucharest (Romania).
They are the great group I met on tour in Austria and I’ll be working with them to look at how we can improve the up and coming cyclists groups across Europe. Excitingly I’m running the same workshop in Vancouver where I’ll be joined by Jeff Miller from the Alliance for Bicycling and Walking who do amazing stuff with community cycling groups all across the US.
After the conference I’m spending about two weeks in British Columbia. Couple of days around Vancouver and the “lads” of ECF will meet to watch the European Cup Final (soccer to US and Canadian followers). Then off to Whistler – just booked two days guided mountain bke riding on the legendary trails. Three days touring across the mountains, then staying with an old school friend for a week before I have to get back to the UK to see Bruce Springsteen in Hyde Park, London, my wife’s Christmas present.
No idea how all that is going to hang together, not least because the cycle tour in Canada depends on me buying a recycled bike in Vancouver!
But to make it all come to life I have gone over to the dark side, star man Julian at ECF got me fired up to the potential for twitter. So now you can hopefully follow the tour by tweet too, although I feel like a bit of a numpty at the moment. @maynekevin for what its worth.
I Do Not Despair 