On top of the world

Well I made it to Rogers Pass last night.  I have been struggling stomach cramps  for past couple days and trying to figure out what is causing them. I have also with no success been trying to figure out if I am in better shape than last year.

From Golden to Rogers can be broken into 4 sections. 30 km rolling hills. 10 I'm climb then another 30 km rolling hills followed by another 10 km climb.

When I got to the last section i started to bike up. But it was brutal and I gave up to walk.  I then blamed it on the string head winds and my legs.  After pushing the bike for a couple km I tried to ride on a more gentle stretch and realized when I got to the tunnels that my front tire was very flat.  I changed the tube and also pumped up the other 2 tires which were a little soft.

This helped a lot and I made great time through the tunnels. Although a nagging shifting problem became chronic. Once I was in the easiest gear it would not switch out. I could manually pull it over and that worked.  But with only 2 km to go I thought I would deal with it at the hotel.

As I pulled up it was drizzling so I see if they have any rooms.  I was role that they had 2 tour busses and were all booked up.  Plan 2 was to camp st the bottom of the hill. So I had a burger j fries at the hotel and while rating the part I had initially talked to swayed she found a stray room in the staff area. At which point the rain started to come down. I immediately accepted. 

I don't normally add salt to my fries, and I can asssure you I don't try and make them white. But this time I did and even licked the piles of salt off my plate. I think that I was extremely low on salt and wonder if my cramps will disappear now.

Well time to tune a bike and hear on to Vancouvern

Location : Columbia-Shuswap A, BC,

Hump Day

I am soooo tired this morning.  It's raining and overcast.  The overcast will be nice. Hoping a coffee will kick me into gear. It was so hot at the hosttel last night.  There are some nice hostels! And cheap! Never knew that before.

I stayed in Golden last night at the Dreamcatcher hostel.  It's a beautiful place and cheap! The ride yesterday was not to bad as it was just rolling hills and bless my heart it was cloudy for a lot of the ride which given the heat and sunburned of the day before was a blessing indeed.

I have now eaten at 3 different restaurants in Golden proper, not on the highway and I have to say the food is outstanding, creative and reasonably priced. Today I am having breakie at the Big Bend Cafe.

Last night I really didn't sleep well as it was way to warm for me. So I spent a lit if the night tossing and turning. Woke up sooooo lethargic and drained. I was going to get up at the crack of dawn but I let that slide.  I am feeling better now that I ate a little and had coffee. Sadly I have barely eaten any of my meal and I am feeling full. What a shame.

So after I leave here I need to decide if I need to take a day off or if I can take on Mr. Roger.

Location : Golden, BC,

Location : Golden, BC,

Day 2

The pic is of Castle Junction a very beautiful campground. I met a dutchman at the campground who was traveling accross the US and the Rockies of Canada.

The ride from day 1 with the head winds had really drained me. It made the ride today really hard.  Add to it the sun and heat and I am surprised I made it to Radium.  Sinclair Pass is just before Radium and it is 10th km of going up up up. Then you get a 13 km drop into Radium. 

I talked with one fellow who told ne that there was a massive accident near Radium on Friday.  A tanker collided with a motorhome and immediately blew up.  So on Saturday they had partially opened the highway and then they had the rockslide by field that diverted all that traffic south through Radium. I am glad I missed all that as it would have been nasty.

When I had just got to the very top of the pass I key a cyclist who was staying at a hostel in Radium. It didn't take any convincing to sway me to stay there when camping rates are 24 and the hostel was 27. To me that is a no brainer.

I spent a lot of time deliberating if I should go backbto Golden and the hwy 1 or go on to Creating then back to Revelstoke.  Radium-Golden-Revelstoke is 250 km. And via Creston would be 550 km.  Now I need to be in Sorrento for a reunion on Fri eve. Do to go the ling route would mean doing 150km every day. Which could be very very difficult if not impossible. So alas I have to go the other way just to make sure I can make it.


Location : Redstreak Rd, Radium Hot Springs, BC V0A 1M0,

Embarking

Even tough I did this trip last year it wad really hard to actually take that first peddle and perhaps it was because of last year that I hesitated.  I tought of being sore and tired every day and flashes of memories of being soaked for days at a time. 

But I took that first pedddle and kept on going. Thinking back to last year I had a much easier time on that first set of hills leaving Cochrane compared to last year. I was feeling so good I thought .... Maybe I could really make dome distance today.  And then I entered the wind zone. Last year I lucked out as it was only a gentle breeze. Alas today I have had to peddle into the 50km winds for 40 km. I hope after I leave Dead man's Flats the wind calms down.

About an hour ago I started to worry that I may have forgotten my tent poles at home. Do it was with a HUGE sigh of relief that I wound them safe n snug in my bag when I stopped here. Now I can stop stressing over them and focus on biking.  Only 30 km left to Banff and then to see how I feel.  Next campground is another 50 km after Banff.

The clerk told me that there is a rock slide near Field.  That is going to force me to take the longer route. Unfortunately all the idiots on the road ware going to ne taking that route through Radium as well.  And its usually such a quieter route.

Location : Canmore, AB,

2011 - 17 hours till departure

Woke up tired. And feeling melancholy. Driving Treb to south side of Calgary from Cochrane.  I am going to miss Treble for the next 2 weeks.

Over the past year since I did this trip for the first time, I had hoped I would meet someone to join me on my crazy quest. Many  people asked my why I was going solo and I would always ask if they would like to join me. The reaction was always the same and very amusing.  You could see the wheels churning in there head then there yet would become big with horror as they realize the magnitude of a trip like this.

No soft beds at night. No gourmet meals.  Lots of massive hills that need to be conquered.  Long days in the saddle and each night needing to collapse off your bike but still needing to set up camp for the night.

But the cause is worth it just like it was last year and will be next. I met lots of interesting people last year and I hope my experiences this year are just as amazing.

So dog is now taken care of, and most details have been resolved.  I still need to find a way home at the end of this journey, make a couple clips to hold the trailer on the bike (lost one and MEC doesn't have any), and pack.  I am feeling apprehensive and a little stressed/nervous I hope I can do this, and that everything works out.

Location : 16711-17807 37 St SW, Calgary, AB T2Y 4Y2,

2011 Trip Preparation

So in 2 sleeps I am going to embark again on another trip to Vancouver.  This time I am not as prepared as I was last year, I still have lots of logistics to arrange and physically I am don't know if I am as prepared either.  This week I have only biked once which is unfortunate but I hope I get another ride in tomorrow evening.  

One of my decisions I still have to make is which route to take this year.  Last year it took 9 days of biking to make it to Vancouver by taking highway 1 from Cochrane to Kamloops and then the Coquihalla to Hope, where I then biked along hwy 7 to Vancouver.

I have been considering biking south from Banff through Radium Hot Springs, then taking either:

1. Back to Golden (1350 km)

2. Through Creston and take the 3A up to Revelstoke (1550 km)

3. Kill myself and go over the Salmo-Crest Pass and go through Nelson and take highway 3.(1550 km).

1 and 3 both have a major pass that need to be challenged, although #3 I think is a more challenging pass and has no reprieve at the top of the pass like Rogers has.

What are your thoughts? 

Otherwise I am mostly ready.  I still have to:

• Hang the banner on my trailer (and take a photo of me with my bike/trailer) 
• Purchase a headlamp for biking in the evenings
• Pack my bag
• Take my doggy to a wonderful boarding house.
• Oh and figure out how I am going to get home from the airport when I return.
• I am sure I have forgotten half of what I need to do still.

I should mention that when I asked Stan at RunDigital to make me a banner saying "I'm biking for... Prostate Cancer" he immediately responded by saying they would make it for free.  its a great banner.

I hope to post every day like I did last year as I biked along. I am sure that there is still minimal cell coverage through BC so it will be hit n miss when I can actually post.

  

Rainbow over the autumn Rockies

Hey there,

I thought that I'd share a photo I took early in the morning with the sun just peeking over the horizon behind me.  I was out capturing the beauty of autumn before winter shows its power and wipes out the beauty of autumn and was blown away by the rainbow over the mountains.

 I am looking for events to photograph so if you know of any I'd appreciate it. 



If you like photo's like this I will be posting more autumn photographs to my blog www.sarafinchan.com.

Cheers,
Quentin J Sarafinchan, B.Sc.

403.852.5003
www.sarafinchan.com

1 in 6 men will get Prostate Cancer in their lives, please donate today.



http://www.conquercancer.ca/site/TR?px=2361639&pg=personal&fr_id=1372