... began bright and early, with Helen and I packing up our tent and other gear into the car for the drive across to Merritt. The plan was for her to drop me off at the bike store by 9:00am, maybe grab some breakfast together, and then she would drive back to Lytton to collect Rachel. They would then drive on to Calgary together.
The drive to Merritt was lovely, from Lytton to Spencers Bridge up Highway 1 and then down Highway 8 that winds its way through a small valley to Merritt. All of the rivers and waterways were very turgid, swirling masses of brown, sediment laden water. But we hadn't seen much evidence of actual flooding, something that many people had been warning us about for a few days now.
We arrived in Merritt a little before 9am and met Travis, the bike shop owner, who said he could have the spokes replaced in about an hour. Excellent! Just enough time to find somewhere nice for breakfast, probably our last meal together for a while.
Walking along the street, we met a lady painting the fascia of one of the shops. The best source of local knowledge is the locals, so we asked where we should go for breakfast. 'Brambles Bakery and Cafe' was recommended, just a couple of hundred metres up the street. What a treat. Real coffee - and home made soup, breads, cakes (fudge browny).
A wonderful breakfast.
Then back to the bike shop, unload all of the gear from the car, and bid my lovely wife adieu.
Riding out of Merritt there was some evidence of the flooding that people kept talking about. The river was running hard and there was sandbagging along one section of the road that was nearly 0.5m high, with the river brimming behind it.
On the road again and the ride up the 5A to Kamloops was lovely. Relatively flat undulating road along the shore of Nicola Lake, until I got to Quilchena. The General Store there has been recently re-opened and I stopped in for some soda and a couple of bananas.
Catherine and Melissa had decided to start the store up again, and it looked great. Evidence of the recent flooding in the sandbagging across the front of the building.
Whilst at the store I was asked whether I was riding with the other cyclist that had come through some 20 minutes before. A 'fellow traveller'. Intriguing. I decided that I would either catch them up or I wouldn't and that there was no point in pushing hard to make up that kind of time difference (There's a life lesson in there somewhere).
About an hour later I came across a guy resting on the side of the road. From a distance his prone bike looked dark and ominous ahead (all obsessions about bears aside), but when I rode up he was sheltering in the shade of a small bush on the side of the road, looking very flushed and tired. Turns out he was about 26, a bicycle courier from Toronto, and starting to have some serious doubts about this idea about riding to St. Johns Newfoundland.
We spoke for a short time and then he just took off up the road ahead of me, which was interesting. Stopping for a short 'lunch break' I thought I would let him get a comfortable distance ahead, since he apparently didn't want to ride together. It was hot, I was thirsty, and I had nothing to prove.
The riding to Quichena from Merritt had been very cruisy, gentle rolling hills, but then we started getting into some more serious riding. About one and a half hours later I found myself catching up to my Canadian colleague as we headed up a small rise. Before I actually caught up to him, he abruptly pulled into a house, apparently to refill a water bottle, and I sailed past. I didn't see him again.
Some gorgeous scenery as I rode along beside streams and past lakes, until I got to a rather nasty climb, just to the South of Kamploops. It was a bit of a monster, and the first really serious climb that I had experienced fully loaded with all of my gear. Ouch! Lowest gear, and just grind it out. 3.5km of up!
Getting to the top was a real sense of achievement and there was a real sense of being 'on the top of the range'.
The big roll down into Kamloops was wonderful after such a long day. 93.5 km travelled and 775 m vertical. It was a good day.
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