My ride: 98 km to Castlegar

I spent most of the morning catching up on the blogs since I know everyone is waiting with “baited breath”. In the kitchen Nancy was making me some breakfast which included egg tortilla wraps, strawberries and blueberries. We talked over breakfast and met the family living upstairs. One of the boys Brennan (6 years old) donated $5 from his birthday gift which his parents Amy and Dylan matched! By the time I left it was noon.

There is only a gradual uphill out of Grand Forks with a little up and down but you wouldn’t notice unless weighted down like I was. The scenery is of course awesome like the previous day but with less ranches as the river is close to the highway.

The jewel of today’s ride was definittely Christina Lake which is a bit of a summer resort. It is quite a large lake that fills up a whole valley with the highway running along the East side. There is a bit of a town and a few ice cream and burger joints for hungry travellers. On the North side of the lake where the climbing begins there is a look out over the lake where I pulled up for a rest. Sitting on a bench looking over the lake was a couple from Northwestern Texas who had just rode here over 3 days. Their bike was a full on two passenger with a larger trailer in tow. The women was originally from Canada and had lived in Regina for a while but had always visited a relative in Shuswap Lake which is where they were heading now. The lake itself was a deep blue with no boat traffic to speak of so other than the odd car on the highway and the wind it was quiet and peaceful. Heavy forest lined both sides of the lake and I literally could have stayed here for hours, maybe days.

I bid farewell since Castlegar was calling and made my way up the side of the mountain which was pretty steep. After a while it petered out to a sign which stated Bonanza pass 1,500 meters – here we go!

I must admit it was pretty tame. It was a slow and steady climb until you reach the Paulston bridge at 1,100 meters. Only 400 more meters in elevation but the grade increases right after the bridge so it was time to work.

I filmed a few of the steep sections that put my head down and just cranked it out in the lowest gear. I was hardly moving and getting tireder and tireder as I snailed up the road. Sometimes I stop to take pictures or take in the view but twice I stopped because I was simply done.  I didn’t let it get to me though, I just laughed it off in a kind of “holy crap I’m getting my butt kicked but it is okay” attitude. As you get closer to the top it opens up again but to this time clear cuts so you can see the whole mountainside exposed. Gradually the grade eases off and it almost flattens out with a little bit of slight downhill. As you near the pass you can see a large snow covered mountain jutting out of a small range of mountains in the distance. What a view!

After the pass it is a huge downhill into Castlegar, even more than Grand Forks I think. In town I found the visitors centre but it closed at 5pm and it was now around 6pm. While sitting there a women and her young daughter pulled over to see if I needed help –  I love small towns! We discussed some food options and she indicated where I could camp for cheap. I thank her and rode North through the town. Crossed the river and then saw a sign for the campground. However it stated it was 17km away. This contradicted my phone which said 5km away. Was it worth riding 5 more kilometers only to find out it was farther away or was it better to go back in town and find a motel?

After about 10 minutes my brain unfroze and I went a little father up the road where a sign indicated a pub was 1 kilometer away. I know what your thinking but that wasn’t it. I was thinking go get dinner and find out what to do. No sooner had I turned off the highway did I see a sign for the Pass Creek campground. This was a very excellent discovery and probably what the women was referring to. Hot showers and a flat grassy area for a tent at a reduced $10 a night for cyclist, I was in a dream. I cleaned up and walked to the Lions Head pub for dinner. The night was warm and fairly dry so I sleep well.