Day 11 - Revelstoke to Golden

Revelstoke to Golden
160 km. Overcast to cold rain.
Temperature – 6 degrees, to max of 10.

Tere,

(pictures, click on the title again)

I changed time zones now, I am only 2 hours difference from Ottawa. I dont know why they dont put the time zone line on the border of BC/AB. That Flemming guy....

Golden, in Kicking Horse country. For the people who race at Solstice, the coffee that we get in our race package comes from here. This town seems to be the number one town that I would consider moving here. If there was more French so my (eventual) kids could keep the language going, I would consider moving here. This place seems to rock. It has been the one that has impressed me the most, followed by Hope.

I debated on what to put first – the route (thus the hills), or the food.

Food – The Kicking Horse Grill. 2005 North American Resort Restaurant of the year. Starters: roasted squash soup with pesto cream (very good), and the 12 grain bread (straight out of the oven) with the garlic butter – lovely. Main course – their signature locally farmed Buffalo back ribs with their house BBQ sauce, with rosemary-garlic potatoes and vegetables. I didn't want the meal to end, it was so delicious. The meat was so tender – no eating ribs with your hands. You stick your fork in it, and it just falls to pieces. So great. The meat, the fat, the fascia, eat it all. I am hungry again. Beer – Big Rock Traditional Pale Ale (Alberta) – very very good. Desert – I requested their vanilla crème brule, but they were out of it. I settled for the apple crisp baked inside the apple. Whip cream and strawberry sauce on the side – nice touch. I didn't want to leave that place, especially in the drizzle outside to bike to the hostel.

The ride. The first 75 k were nice. Even though it was overcast, I enjoyed the hills. Yes, I did write that correctly. I love hills, I feel I was a mountain goat before (cycling wise), and I lost that. The Rogers Pass hill was fun. I caught up with these two Quebecers, Roger (60) and Jasmine (53), who are riding Vancouver to Montreal, raising money for cancer research. Lovely folks. They took the picture of me at the summit. They were stopping there for the night. Info at www.vancouver-chambly.ca

During lunchtime, it was starting to get cold (snow in the area, 5 degrees?). I put on my coat hoping to stay warm and dry (drizzle was staring) for a expected descent coming up. A great part was riding downhill, going through tunnels at 70-75 km/h (I think I went through 7 avalanche tunnels today, one being competely dark that i couldn't see with my orange lens, and barely with no shades on). After that 15 k downhill, the drizzle turned into rain, and it was my visitor for the rest of the ride into town. After a while, my feet were numb (like that swollen feeling in a shoe), they felt like stumps on my pedals. There was a nice descent of 4-5 km, 6 to 8%, in the rain, that was sort-of nice.

Visibility was fairly poor today, so I couldn't really enjoy the scenery as much. But, I can only imagine what it looks like here in the winter. It must be breath taking.

I had planned on camping again. I scoped out this place right in town (21 bucks), then went to eat. (boy that food was good). While reading some info at the restaurant, I decided to go to the hostel on the edge of town. For 8 bucks more, to have a clean bed, warm shower, and a place to hang up my clothes, I'll take it. Plus, it is very close to 2 things I want to try to do tomorrow – get my bike cleaned up (it is full of sand that was kicked up from the road today), and there are massage therapy and physiotherapy places nearby. We'll see if I get to have my legs ripped up by one of them.

I always enjoy reading the comments you guys post. They are funny. A few quick replies to them (the ones that I can think of off the bat):
solstice, I plan on being there. I decided to leave this early for this trip since I wanted to be (hopefully) back for the race on time, and I am done school (thus house is sold), so I didn't have to find a place to stay for a month. And, the sooner I am done the trip, the sooner I can start work. Call me crazy, but I like work. I like trying to make a difference in people's lives, plus I feel appreciated. Rewarding. If you enjoy what you do, it doesn't seem like work.
220, yes, it can be a lot of km. Just wait though... Look for repetitive 200+/days, and more. Les boys et les environs s'habituent, et l'equipement marche encore.
Capone's tunnels – already on my list.
Spa??? Do I look like a spa kind of guy? “Can I get the manicure, pedicure, and the bath special please?” Na, not for me. But if they have good therapists that can make me squirm when the beat me up, bring it on.
Big Al – un A pour notre projet – rock on. Dream team it was. Good work Chady(aka Chad).
Mario – putting on my (sometimes) damp spandex in the morning, when I come out of my warm sleeping bag and it's cool and damp outside – not the easiest, but it has to be done.
I'll skip on Twinkies, I do enjoy cupcakes, and I am not that keen on fruitcake.
I'll take a snake over a bear anyday. Consequences are less severe (except for potential embarassment of me “dancing” on the spot when I see a snake, vs freezing when I see a bear). In either cases, I am sure the audio is funny as hell (to others).

Off to Field, Lake Louise (the tourist trap), and end up in Banff tomorrow. I get to be in another province. It's considered a rest day, as I want to rent a bike, and hit those trails. I wonder if I'll have to duck down to Canmore to get what I want. In either cases, I want to ride those fat tires in a few days.

Thanks for the postings, and the emails too. I enjoyed reading a lengthy one today, it was nice to hear news from folks I dont get a chance to see that often.

Until next time,

p2
(oh, final note. No offence to vegetarians with my food postings. That is not my intentions. Cows are vegetarians, right?)