Day 3 - Up the Coquihalla
The first stretch of the Yellowhead highway leaving Hope goes up the side of Coquihalla mountain and I was bit nervous for my first mountain pass. I also needed to make it to the meditation centre by 5 pm at the latest. My plan was to stuff myself at dinner so I'd have lots of energy for the ride. Cycling is great for gluttons.
I set off at 5:30 am and the climb started immediately. Only a slight grade but enough to notice it's not flat. 50 km on the real mountain pass starts and the grade keeps increasing up 8.5% for the final 5 km section. I went up and up, waiting for the horrendous part to start. I imagined my leg muscles screaming, my knees being ripped to shreds. Instead I came around a bend and the road leveled out. There was a big sign beside the highway: "Coquihalla Summit - 1244 m". My first climb was no problem at all. The last 30 km I serenely coasted down.
I heard later that the long, gradual climb was designed for transport trucks and that some other mountain passes will be more of a challenge.
Day 4 - Merritt
Continuing up the Yellowhead highway to Merritt was an easy ride. Perfect for a Sunday morning.
After Merritt I got my first flat when a piece of metal wire found its way into my front tube. The sunny day didn't seem quite so nice while I was changing the tube with trucks cruising by. At this point I was on the 97c going to Kelowna. But as the road started going up into the next set of mountains there was a sign prohibiting any vehicles that couldn't go at least 60 km/h from continuing. I thought long and hard about how I would convince a cop I had missed a sign posted at eye level 2 ft from the road if one happen to stop me. I decided I couldn't pull it off and headed off to Princeton down the 5a.
Kelowna probably sucks anyway.
Day 5 - Princeton
Heading towards Princeton turned out to be a great idea. The ride was mostly downhill, including a 3 km stretch of 7% grade that made my eyes water it was so exhilarating, and the weather got sunnier the further south I went. The guy at the cafe said that they didn't even get the storm that drenched me last night (Silver lining: the bike is clean again). The ranchlands and rivers made it the prettiest part of the interior I've seen so far.
Princeton is a nice, little town. The highlight was definitely meeting a couple of fellow cyclists doing the exact route I am but the other way. Apparently the whole ride on highway 3 into Alberta is just grand.
Next stop: the desert.
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