6/9/09. Bottom of segment 15. Revelstoke, BC to Golden, BC; 91 miles in 8:15 hrs
Yup, as I said several blogs ago: Expect the unexpected! This, in my career as a cyclist, was definitely one of those crazy, very memorable days that I’ll think about the rest of my days. I’m sitting here in a hotel – a gift to Ryan and I, on me - beginning this blog at 10pm MST, and I still cannot believe that we did what we did. What we did was ride 91 miles, up and over Rogers Pass, and all the way to Golden, picking up a day in ride time, and nuking our legs to a very massive degree. We just dragged 70-85 lbs of gear across a crazy mountain range, on a super beautiful day, through some of the most astounding scenery I’ve ever witnessed.
But let’s digress back to this morning, and take this insane day as it unfolded. We left Rory & Sarah’s home in Revelstoke this morning. Sarah was awesome in turning us on to some of her home made granola, with bottled milk (it’s delivered fresh from the farm!), and home made yogurt. It was not only delicious, but really filling. We ate with their children, who were a hoot, eating and getting ready for school. And then it was time to shove off. We said goodbye, and off we were for our second big day in the mts, and this was to be our REALLY big day, what with the famous Rogers Pass in our future.
Short Break here………we just went out for our second helping of dinner at 10:30pm MST – in this case 3 Micky D’s dbl cheeseburgers with fries.
Sarah gave us directions to get back on Trans Can 1, and we headed out of town. Almost from the get-go, we were heading up hill, up this long entry ramp to get on 1. Now Sarah said we would avoid a gnarly climb by not going back into town, and then getting on the Trans Can. So we did this little bypass thing. But let me tell you, sporting a yak, this entry ramp felt like a mountain, so essentially we were climbing right out of Revelstoke. I mean I was dressed with gloves, my two layers on the top, and tights, so by the time I got to the top of the entry ramp, I was dripping with sweat, and feeling like: Damn, and we have Rogers Pass to do today?
So let the REAL climbing begin. Now Rory had given us a brief on the ride for today, and he indicated that it was long, but not too bad with respect to the gradient……..until we reach the glacier and take a hard left, where the gradient goes steep. And he was spot on. We climbed in steps, descended slightly, and then climbed again, over and over for 4.5 hrs. For thoses of you who want an idea of the gradient of this long stretch, it’s about like Rt 303 out of Peninsula towards Hudson, for 4.5 hrs! Except for a little place called Albert Canyon – a major freaking ouch – where it was little cookie time for about a mile up the climb, and then it settled back to middle ring. We kept a good rhythm, and I stopped many times to snap shots of the mountains, the road, and the Canadian Pacific RR.
The day was absolutely incredible, what with cotton ball clouds here and there, and temps in the mid 60’s. Perfect for spending the day climbing up a mountain pass. I felt as though we were living a dream, cycling in some of the most outstanding scenery in the world, these immense, towering spires on our left and right side, covered in snow, glimmering in the warm summer sunshine. It was otherworldly for sure.
Ryan was doing quite well with his ITB issue. What with advise from our good buddy Pete Baughman, on lowering the seat a tap, and from my sis the doc, for prescribing an over the counter topical ibuprofen rub, he was doing just great. So it was climb, look at the scenery, climb, keep a rhythm, climb, stay out of the way of the 18-wheelers, climb, don’t hit the glass on the berm, climb, look again at the fantastic scenery, climb, smack me I must be dreaming.
For such a foreboding climb, this Rogers Pass thing was going great. And then we hit the infamous glacier and the hard left turn. And then it was little cookie all the way as the highway pitched up hard. You could hear the semis gearing down hard behind you, and then chugging up from behind, barely possessing enough speed to pass you by. I climb in and out of the saddle. That’s my style, and that’s why I use a yak, so I can get out of the saddle, with a lower center of gravity, and just fire away like a couple of pistons. And that’s what I did on this steep section of Rogers Pass. I would drop a gear or two and go out of the saddle for several hundred meters, and then upshift to an easier gear, and go in the saddle. This lasted for about 5K.
Finally, as I learned to watch for over the last two weeks of climbing, I saw the vehicles disappearing over the horizon after they passed me. The top! It was wonderful to have surmounted this first really major climb of the trip. Once I topped out and pulled into a filling station for a coke and goodies, 4.5 hrs of climb had elapsed. I mean, in any other place, you tell someone that: “hey, we have a climb today that will take you about 4.5 hrs to top out”……….ARE YOU KIDDING ME? But here, it’s a day of riding. And put them together, on long climb after another and all of a sudden you have 100 mile of climbing in.
So I topped out and hit the quick mart at the gas station. It was one of those gas stations that list themselves as: the only station for the next 60K! So they have a bit of everything – gas, food, tourist junk, supplies. You name it, they have it. I got a ice cold coke, a big chocolate bar, and some trail mix with M&M’s and raisons. Gone. And then Ryan pulled in. He looked good. No leg problems. BUT………he had another broken spoke – the rear as usual.
Ok, we’ll get camp up here and fix it asap. It was only 1:30pm at this time. So I ask the gas attendant about camping up here, which we were told exists, and he said he really didn’t know of anything. Said I should check the Parks Canada office next door. So I roll over there while Ryan is eating and check out our camping options. I go to the Parks Canada office and ask about camping and they look at me like I’m an alien. “No,” they say, “all the camping areas are closed right now. We don’t officially open for another week.” Now this is a National Park, Glacier National Park to be exact, and when they say no camping in the park at this time, they mean it. No commando stuff here, or else you get a hefty fine with your night in the park. “So what are our choices,” I asked. The gal pointed to the Hotel at the top of the pass – a total and unconditional tourist trap that charges out the ying yang for knuckleheads to sleep at the top of Rogers Pass.
Now I budgeted some cash for a hotel now and then as a treat, but NOT this place. This was a hundred fifty bucks for nothing. Out the door. Throw it away. So I asked about campgrounds out of the park. She made a call and go no answer at a place some 20 K down the road. We then looked at a map together, and determined that the next town, Donald, would be our best bet. But “The Don” was 50 K down the road. Fifty freaking K! Over 30 more miles when we already had the mindset that we were done for the day. And what’s worse is that she told me that we had a big climb to do. It wasn’t all descent, as we were expecting. Great!
So I go back and relay the info to Ryan. And he takes it pretty good. I mean heck, this kind of thing is never set in stone, and there’s always these unexpected things that go down. So we decide to roll to The Don. We put on gloves, earwarmers, armwarmers, and extra jersy’s for the descent, and roll. And not more than 300 meters down the road……binggggggggg…….he pops another spoke. SH__ I yell out. We stop, inspect the damage. Now he’s got two spokes broken on the cog side. Wonderful. And we have no 17mm wrench to pull the cog lock off. I ask him if he wants to go back up to the gas station or continue to The Don. Nope, on to the Don.
So we descend, and descend down through 4 avalanche shelters over the road (these are like tunnels but they protect the road from being washed out by avalanches). It’s cold. I fly down fast, while Ryan has to keep it slower due to the shimmy in the rear wheel. So we descend for about a half hr. And then we hit that “big climb” that the park service lady had told us about. Now in any other place this climb would be considered a monster, a Godzilla of a climb. But after climbing for 4.5 hrs to get over Rogers Pass, this 40 min climb was ok. Hell, we had to do it.
So I wait at the top of this thing, and eventually Ryan comes over. “Broke a third spoke,” he says. Now he has a serious wobble. And I’m really concerned that we could be pulling over in the middle of nowhere, and trying to fix this mess with no wrench to hold the freewheel tool and pull against the chain whip. I’m thinking, yup, this is very epic today, and we could well be sleeping in grizzly country with a bike that cannot be fixed.
He asks me if I’ve ever heard of anyone riding a bike with 3 broken spokes. And I tell him I’m not sure. But over the course of the next several miles, as my mind is kind of racing to get this thing figured out, I remember that I’d done a couple of rides with 2 broken spokes, but three………not sure. And definitely not pulling 70 lbs on a yak. We agree that one more broken spoke and game over.
So we do this massive descent, the one we felt we deserved an hour ago, down to the……um…….well…..the place called Donald. What The Don was, was a dilapidated old RR area in the middle of nowhere. No gas station. No stores. No nothing. There has to be a town dammit! I mean it’s on the map for goodness sake. Nope. We finally go by this camping area. It’s down a dirt road, and off around a corner. And we pull in. And Ryan was like, “this is it. I’m done.” And as were pedaling down the dirt road I look at this dump off in the distance, and say to Ryan: “Sign back there says that Golden is 35K away. Hotel on me if you want to ride to Golden!” He turned that rig around and was in the GAME ON mode instantaneously.
So there you are. Now we’re riding to Golden, doing two days of riding in one day. And we see buildings in the distance once we get back on Trans Can 1. And we think that we can at least get a water bottle fill-up and a coke. But as we get closer, no chance, just a dilapidated farm house and barns. So we ride on. Another sign, and now Golden is just 22 K away. We do several more climbs, but on the very mellow side, and keep it chugging. Another sign, and Golden is 15 K away. Now we have a tailwind, and I’m feeling pretty good. Another couple of climbs and Ryan is off the back, having spent 45 more min in the saddle than me, and I’m at 8 hrs of ride time. He’s now close to the break point.
We have a final descent of 3K into town. I felt absolutely wonderful once I hit town at 7:30PM MST. Ryan pulled in about 10 min later, and went straight to the Subway sub place. I told him that I was going to get a hotel while he was eating and drinking. I got a little place on the first floor, and pulled my gear in, called Judy, and then Ryan pulled in while I was on Skype. He told me he was nearly incoherent when he pulled into town, and had to get soda, water, and food ASAP. I was feeling pretty dead myself.
Well, it’s after midnight now here in Golden. I’ve knocked off two 12-inch subs, 3 dbl cheeseburger, fries, and 6 beers – and I’m still hungry. Ryan – a 12-in sub, 2 cheeseburgers and fries, and lots of soda – and he’s still hungry. Ryan is sawing logs in a big way.
We have entered a new time zone. Great consolation there. But more than anything, we were able to really kick butt today in the heart of the Canadian Rockies with a totally strong ride.
Tomorrow? Sleep late. Work on his wheel. And then………who knows. We may stay here for the day, or may head up to Lake Louise, north of Banff.
Whatever, this was truly a day to remember. Thanks to all of you for your emails and well-wishes. You give us a real sense of purpose here as we’re riding along. And thanks also to those of you we’ve met along the way – you’re in our thoughts as we pedal further and further away from your lives.
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