Day 4 Hope to Merritt 68 Miles

Today was the first real test of the tour.

Having done the usual housework and feeding duties, a group of us left the camp site at about 8am. The instructions were fairly simple; turn right and climb up Coquihalla Pass for 22 miles, then descend for 18 miles, turn right and pedal along the valley for 28 miles and pitch your tent next to the wood mill.

Sounds simple doesn’t it; I can assure you it was not. The climb literally started as we got out of the camp site and just got progressively steeper as we got higher. (Ranging from 8-10%)  After about 10 miles we were all down in what I refer to as baby gears and then it was just a case of hanging on and willing yourself to the top.

The weather was kind though and although it was cloudy and cold there was a slight tail wind which helped a little and the scenery was absolutely breathtaking. About two thirds of the way up we went past gun emplacements which they use to fire shells into the snow during the winter to prevent avalanches, and then rode through snow sheds that protect the road from rock or snow fall.

Having eventually ground my way to the top I soon realised that although I was boiling and sweaty it was not a good idea to dis-robe as it was only 10 degrees, after about a mile I had to stop to put something over my ears to prevent them being frozen off.

As we ate lunch near the top the sun came out and for the first time since we arrived we were able to get some of the extra layers off.

Then came 18 miles of steady and at times steep descending; at one point I got up to 47mph without needing to pedal.  I held on as long as I could but I sat up after a huge lorry went past me and its' wash caused me to have a little wobble.

At the bottom we turned onto a more rural road and the last 28 miles took us through beautiful rolling Cowboy Country. The smells of the flowers, trees and Indian reservation fires  all made for a really pleasant ride.

Merritt is a cowboy town; mostly based around beef and wood. There is a massive wood mill on the outskirts of town and then the town itself is just what you would imagine a 1960’s Western town to be even down to the swinging doors on the entrance to the pub.

I was on cooking duties today so we had a busy couple of hours and then a group of us headed into town for a wander about which turned into a Karaoke session in the local bar.

Tomorrow  is a rest day and a chance to catch up on laundry etc and then we hit the road again on Thursday; I will be cooking breakfast for the group so will be late leaving but I’m told it’s a flat day with only one climb of about 2 miles at the end; with a tail wind we should shoot along, after all its only about 87 miles!

I finally managed to Skype Zoe and Lois today, it was really good to see and hear them rather than relying on texting; hopefully over the next few days I will have better internet access.