Happy Feet

For some strange reason the censor will not allow me to write ****tsford?

Here's a little blast from the past as I re discovered one of my old journals the other day. My first bike trip when I was 28.
Some notable notes of note:

1. I wound up marrying that girl and we've been together for 28 years now.
2. I did return to eventually ride the Rogers Pass and do the trip in one week in 2016, 25 years later.
3. I did manage a life with little adventures along the way after all.
4. That bike really was a beast. 2x5 road gearing on a gas pipe 1st generation ATB - sheesh!

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July 11th, 1991...

Thursday,

I am laying in my sleeping bag beneath the tarp that I have pitched on the side of Tunnel Mountain. My bicycle trip has begun! I have wanted to do such a thing since I first arrived in Banff. My dream then was to go across Canada but just going from Calgary to Vancouver will be enough for now thank you.

I am very tired.

The first day I put in 112km’s through gently rolling foothills but battled a strong headwind from Kananaskis turn off onward. My ass is very sore and I bought a new seat in Banff. I don’t mind pedaling but when you hurt constantly it makes you grumpy and negative. I hope my “seat” problem gets better.

I left in the morning after saying good bye to my girlfriend and stopped at Franco’s Diner for breakfast. Already I miss her but feel ok knowing she will come down to BC at the end of the trip.

The night before the big trip



I keep trying to figure out what is going to happen tomorrow or the next day or the next and have to keep pulling myself back into the present. The only way to tackle a trip like this is one day at a time or the task tends to overwhelm a person. Tomorrow should be an easier day and I hope there is less head wind. I want to get past Lake Louise so that the next morning I can just zip down the Kicking Horse Pass into Field.

I found my bike to be incredibly heavy and I'm lightened my load even further. The leftovers I will leave with Allan tomorrow so that he can mail them back to Calgary for me. I met Allan in the coffee shop in Banff and I haven’t seen him for quite a while.

On the way out, near the Sibbald Creek turnoff I passed a car with a flat (across the Hwy). I thought I saw a man fixing the tire so I kept going but then something made me go back, just to make sure. Good thing because it was two old ladies. I feel that my day had purpose now and I fixed the tire for them. They wanted to pay me but I refused and instead rode off with a large handful of grapes resting on my handlebar bag.


Friday,

Whoo! What a day.

I am now camping in Golden, BC one day ahead of schedule. After breakfast with Allan I left Banff and arrived in Lake Louise at about 1:30pm. On the way met a guy from Winnipeg who was riding towards Banff.

In Lake Louise I had lunch at a restaurant and then went to the bakery for some more lunch. Who do I meet there but my old friend Glen. He is working for Parks. We chatted for a bit and then I was off. In the bookstore I once again looked at some elevation maps and am pretty sure I will hitch the stretch between Golden and Revelstoke. My bike is not geared low enough and I want to have a fun trip not a torture test.

Just west of Lake Louise



My legs are pretty worn out right now and I think tomorrow will be a rest / hitch hike day. The problem is that ever since the Kananaskis turnoff I have been battling a headwind. Even when I am going downhill I have to pedal. I hit the Kicking Horse Pass and sort of rolled down it but even there the wind held me back a lot. I arrived in Field at 3:15 and had a welcome rest in the information center. After thinking about it I decided to head out again and push closer to Golden but I didn’t actually think I’d go all the way. I just find it hard to sit around a lot and Field has got to be the most boring place on earth.

I figured I’d make it to the Hoodoo campground 26km’s away but when I got there I figured “what the hell”. The last half was very grueling though. I can feel the tendons in my knees (overworked) but that is all that is really bad. Part of the problem with the Rogers Pass section is that even now on slightly uphill sections I have to use the lowest gear. For the big climb I would probably have to walk.

I rolled into Golden and after eating some dinner decided to stay at a KOA campground. $12 but at least I don’t feel like I have to sneak around which I have begun to dislike doing. It’s actually kind of nice because there is a shower! Work hard – play hard.

The sun is setting. I want to write more but I am tired and want to go to sleep. Perhaps tomorrow I will talk about more than just the physical details of the trip. I got into Golden at 7:30pm covering about 250km’s in two days. Also, going through Yoho park was a nice experience because I was not trying to “get” somewhere. I was simply part of the road. On a bike distance kills so it is best not to think about it.


Saturday,

I am now in a campground in Enderby which is a long way away from Golden. Am I superman? No, I am super hitcher! I awoke in Golden and killed time until 9am but the bookstore was still not open so I made my decision to hitch to Sicamous. I wanted to know if it was worth getting off at the summit of Rogers Pass but could not remember if it was all down hill so I decided to hitch right through.

In the future I will return to cycle this section, Golden to Revelstoke, because in reality it is quite a beautiful area if you have a bike with low enough gears. I feel good about forgoing this section now though because Miguel – my bike – is too heavy and too highly geared. Even on these short hills I am in low gear and my knees are hurting. Did I already say that? I keep telling myself I will have a rest day but I just want to keep riding. If I could ride at night I think I probably would.

Rain near Enderby




Sunday,

I am writing by lantern light in the Peach Orchard Campsite in Summerland, BC. Today’s mileage was beyond what I expected. Today has been a good day and I have learned about myself. I don’t mind putting out all day but at the end I still enjoy a little security and comfort. I have begun enjoying the idea of a hot shower and safe camping even if it costs $12 to pitch my tent. The mental ease is worth it. No looking over my shoulder to see if I will get caught trespassing. If I could stay in hotel rooms each night then I could easily ride all day - dawn to dusk – and I also would need no gear. I figure with a good light bike I could do this whole trip in a week.

Today I left Enderby at 6:30am, grabbed a coffee and got to Vernon for breakfast at 9. I passed the old VACC (Vernon Army Cadet Camp) but did not go in yet it was good to see the ol’ Tasty Freeze was still right where I left it 13 years ago as a cadet.

I felt like I was traveling through the desert today, which in a way I was, and I got pretty burned but what the hell. I got into Kelowna at 3pm but it was so full of people and cars and noise that I decided to pass on through. The sun was getting to me though and for a short while I was pretty grumpy. I was even going to take a hotel but there was none cheap enough. Tomorrow I plan to get one in Princeton as a treat and an R and R break. It is hard to always be married to your bike so no one will swipe stuff.

Cooking near Kelowna



I didn’t like the atmosphere in Kelowna which is funny because most people would. It was very “Party on the beachlike" but that stuff leaves me feeling kind of hollow after a bit because I don't drink or like sun tanning. I was going to strike at Peachland but after I got there I decided to just keep going both because it was a little early to sleep and because I wanted to close the gap on Penticton so I can go all the way to Princeton tomorrow and get there early enough to enjoy my hotel room. Ha Hah!

I had a flat in Oyama and actually half enjoyed fixing it. There is a creek running 10 feet from my hooch and I think that I will turn in now and let it lull me to sleep.

Monday,

I awoke after the best sleep so far and quickly packed my gear. In a short time I rolled into Penticton and kind of coasted around looking for a place to eat. I ran across the El Rancho cafe and there were a lot of cars out front so I decided to eat there but the food was only mediocre. I hit a place called the Bike Barn hoping to get another peek at an elevation map but they didn’t have any. Big store though.

With a little trepidation I set out to Princeton.

I think I was in a grumpy mood because I kept wanting to try hitch hiking again. There isn’t much civilization between Penticton and Princeton and I had gotten used to stopping for snacks and drinks. I rolled into Keremeos with a sore derriere and decided to eat lunch at the K café. The place is named this because there is a big scar on a nearby mountain that looks like a “K”.

As I was eating a guy on a tour bike rode by. I finished eating and started out of town intending to hitch from the outskirts. It seems I hit a slump in the mid-afternoon where I get very negative and everything gets to me. Anyway, to make a long story short, I met the bicyclist at the tourist info booth and we chatted for about 20 minutes. Once I started riding I felt ok again and as I was eating in Hedley the tour biker showed up once more. His name is Dan and he has been riding since Montreal! We rode together into Princeton where of course, we ate again. Does it sound like I eat a lot?

Dan.. on the way to Vancouver from Montreal



Out of Princeton, riding with Dan inspired me to just keep going and I’m glad I did. Just out of Princeton is the biggest hill I have yet ridden a bike up. It is called Coppermine Hill and is 4km’s of 8% grade or more and there is a big pull off at the top with a sign describing the layout of the road for truckers. I just kept cranking away like a steam engine going oh.. so slow in low and I was about to start walking my bike when “ta dum” I was at the top! Dan was impressed because he has low gears and he thought for sure I wouldn’t make it. We decided to camp there and we just set up camp before the sun went down after yet another day of big mileage.


Tuesday,

All we have to look forward to is Hope!

Today is Manning Park day, Sunday Summit day and Allison Pass day. I was sure I would be hitching at some point but decided not to give up too easily. Dan gives me spirit by his company. We hit Manning Park lodge after going over Sunday Summit which was not so bad at all. We were going uphill true but not so severe and suddenly there was a sign “Sunday Summit”. We were whooping it up over that one because these two hills really had us worried. On the elevation map I saw they looked bad and we were warned about these “killer” passes.

I saw a black bear on the side of the road but it scrammed as soon as it heard me coming so Dan didn’t get to see it. We ate lunch at the lodge and watched the little squirrels play on the grass, then we set off for Allison Pass. I was in good spirits for this and figured I would walk up it if I had to because after that it was sort of downhill to Hope.

Chug chug chug… it was uphill but really not so bad and then we were at the top again. Along the side of the road was a small cross where some guy had died after driving into the ditch. A few snap shots and we set off for Hope. The hills were easier I think because of having company to chat with along the way and point things out etc…

One happy camper at Allison Pass



We rolled down some whopper hills. Down, Down, Down. Then we hit 9 mile hill outside of Hope and it was pissing rain like crazy but we didn’t care and I had my brakes on full but was picking up speed and had to drag my foot to slow down and could hardly see it was raining so hard and then we were in Hope.

We ate and then were going to ride out of town to camp but it was raining and we were wet and Dan had a flat and I still hadn’t splurged on a hotel so I broke down and got one for $35. It was luxury to lay in bed and watch TV but I had the worst sleep of my life. I was used to sleeping on the ground.


Wednesday,

Woke up and set off. I didn’t have to load my bike up this morning because I didn’t use my sleeping gear last night. We ate breakfast and then began to make our way along the north shore of the Fraser River. About 10km’s out of Hope Dan got a flat again. His rear tire is worn through and in another 10 minutes he had another flat. Then his spare tube had three holes in it. He was pissed off and finally decided to hitch hike. Amazingly, someone stopped and he was off. We said a quick goodbye and I was on my own again.

It is funny that on the last day my knees would really start to hurt but that’s just what they did and it was a slow painful trip into Mission. Most of the road was fairly flat except for this one section near Harrison Mills (not Harrison Hot Springs) where someone decided to run the road up and over a small mountain. The last hurdle!

As I crossed the Mission Bridge and rode into my home town I felt a little proud of myself. I felt I had done something that a lot of people, including myself, only talk about or dream about. As usual I want to keep going because the feeling of accomplishment is nice and in some ways life like this is simple and uncomplicated. I feel I can live and let live when I am doing things I enjoy. However, I miss my girlfriend and what I want to do is carry this good feeling with me into my domestic life until the next little adventure.

Instead of living only for the next adventure with no life in between now I want to have a life with adventures along the way.

Hum...

Doug64