In the great big grand scheme of things today did not jump out for me as being terribly important, however, thinking back on it right now there were definitely some tidbits of goodness.
Day 4 starts out with Xavier, Meagan and myself dragging ourselves out of bed after a beautiful sleep at the Holiday Motel of Hope, BC. In spite of our intention to be out and on the road by 10 (ish), the clock is well past noon by the time that anyone actually manages to get out the door with some intention of leaving.
The first person gone is Xavier, who has said that he would love to continue the bike tour with us again once we reach Revelstoke. Since he will be taking the southern route for the next couple of days and we are going north through the Fraser Canyon, this seems like a good enough place to meet up.
About 45 minutes after his departure, Meagan notices that there is a pair of cycling shorts on the motel driveway. Uhoh, this is Xavier's and I bet he is going to want these. A few quick text messages and he is turned around and heading back to meet us.
The shorts handed over, Meagan and I finally get on the road sometime around one PM. However before we get going Meagan comes to the conclusion that she is going to take advantage of this trip to make something special happen in her life; she calls her mom and tells her that she wants to find her father, and take the opportunity to bike to meet him. Some names and details written down on a napkin, and we hit the road.
At this point it is worth mentioning how much pain my legs are in. The ride yesterday has left my legs in a constant state of feeling tight, tense and soar. And as we start cycling I can almost immediately feel that acid burn all along my thighs. Blargh, can I really manage a day of this?
Well, about thirty minutes in we encounter the first significant climb of the the trip. From my past experience, I know that the little lump in front of us is just a minor inconvenience, however, given the state of my legs, and Meagan's inexperience in general (at this point) the climb is reasonably brutal.
Hmmm.
Well we make it up the hill, whereupon we encounter the natural counterpoint of the climb, which of course is the slick ride down the other side. My speedometer reads 66 kph, which is plenty fast.
The terrain in this part of BC is fairly dense coniferous forest, and in some spots we encounter areas where the shade covers some part of the road. We take one break here, and another about 20 minutes later at a very traditional looking roadside diner.
The locals inside direct us to watch out for the upcoming Jackass Mountain pass in a couple of days, and suggest a suitable place for us to stop near the Alexandra Bridge.
The town of Yale is the next stop where we conclude that we will head at least for the upcoming town of Spuzzum. Nothing like town actually seems to appear between the Yale and our eventual destination of the Alexandra Provincial Park, where I imagine that we camp illegally.
I guess that cycling with sore stiff legs is possible.
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