From the Sublime to the Ridiculous

Harrison Hot Springs was a wonderful first stop, even if it was a bit over-the-top in terms of our anticipated accommodations for this trip.

After 96km of riding in 32C heat we were tired, dehydrated and hungry and pretty much ready for a natural hot spa. Four of us shared the one room, which was 'cosy' and we managed to get some sleep, though Helen and I woke too early again (could still be a jet lag thing). So we thought we'd go for a short walk along the lake shore. It was another lovely morning.

After a slow start, Paul and I were back on the bikes again for the ride up to Yale, about 66km away. After the relative flat of our first day we found a few small hills to negotiate on the way to the town of Hope. But the riding was relatively easy.

Helen and Rachel had gone on ahead of us to check out the town and arrange for some lunch at the next reasonable sized town, Hope BC.

The Fraser River is pretty turgid at this time of year, with huge volumes of Spring melt swelling the river. We got to the turnoff down into Hope and seriously had second thoughts about all of that gratuitous downhill to get lunch, but knowing we would have to climb back up again to continue on our route up the Fraser Canyon.

After an excellent lunch, and a bit of a rest, we were ready to continue our journey up to Yale, where we would stop for the night at the Yale Historic Site. There seemed to be a few more hills in the second half of the day, and the temperature was a strident 32C, making it a bit tough. But the overall distance of 66km for the day meant that we had it done in about 4 hours of riding.

Our accommodations for the night were the historic Ward House, built in the 1880s and quite delightful.

Ward House is an historic cottage with modern appointments. Quite delightful.

Paul's girlfriend Jessica joined us to 'retrieve' him and take him back to Vancouver, and we had a wonderful meal together.

One of the interesting things about the Fraser Canyon is how ridiculously steep the 'hills' are on either side. The Canadian Pacific Railway winds its way up the canyon, passing through each of the small towns en route. Of course that means it passes through Yale, and quite close to pretty much everything. Large freight trains move through on the hour, every hour, which makes for an interesting time sleeping, especially when your bed is less than 50 metres from the tracks.

... every hour!

But we had a wonderful time in Yale, the first official visitors to stay at the Ward house ... ever ... it was quite an honour. The people were wonderful and friendly, and even the CPR trains seemed to fade into the distance. 

Tomorrow we have the haul up to Lytton.